Winter in Sokcho

Having never met her long-absent French father, Son-ha (Bella Kim) is startled when artist Yan Kerrand (Roschdy Zem) arrives to stay at the small hotel where she works in a Korean seaside town. The half-Korean literature student and the French outsider form a tentative bond, but Son-ha can’t help but wonder about the truth behind his identity and his reason for visiting. An intimate drama set against the naturally majestic background of its wintry setting, Koya Kamura’s understated triumph sketches out a nascent parental relationship in which newcomer Kim proves a real discovery, more than holding her own against veteran performer Zem (The Innocent, Rendez-Vous 2023). The delicately rendered result is a story of tentative beginnings, cross-cultural bonding, and the never-ending search for self-understanding.