Kim Min-hee Returns to Screen in Hong Sang-soo's Locarno-Selected Film, Months After Giving Birth

Kim Min-hee is back on screen. Still images from Hong Sang-soo's new film 눈 둘 데가 없네 — his 35th feature — mark her first confirmed return to the industry since giving birth to Hong's son in April 2025.

On July 9, the Locarno Film Festival's executive committee announced the film had been selected for the International Competition section of the 79th edition, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival ranks among the world's oldest and champions auteur and experimental cinema.

Hong "has once again shown why he is one of the great masters of our time," the festival said, noting that the film conveys "the meaning, beauty and complexity of life in a comfortable way through the poetic expression it creates."

Kim Min-hee stars and served as production manager. The cast includes Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Seok-ho, and Park Mi-so. Drama actress Choi Myung-gil joined Hong's regular collaborators for the first time.

This marks the fifth Hong Sang-soo film selected to Locarno. 우리 선희 (2013) won the Director Award. 지금은맞고그때는틀리다 (2015) took the Golden Leopard and Best Acting Award. 강변호텔 (2018) earned Best Acting Award. 수유천 (2024) also won Best Acting Award.

The relationship between Hong and Kim has been publicly contentious since 2017, when the two admitted to an affair at a press conference for 밤의 해변에서 혼자. Hong married a non-celebrity in 1985 and has a daughter with her. He filed for divorce but lost the case in 2019. Kim's out-of-wedlock birth last year drew another wave of public criticism. The stills, apparently, are doing the talking now.