Showbox brings Ra Mi-ran and Ko Kyung-pyo's crowd-pleasing comedy to international buyers at the Marché du Film, testing Korean popular genre beyond thriller and crime

Peter Jackson receives the Honorary Palme d Or from Elijah Wood during the Opening Ceremony as part of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes (provided by IMAGO / ABACAPRESS)

The 79th Cannes International Film Festival opened officially on May 12 (local time) in Cannes, France. The opening ceremony saw Hollywood actress Jane Fonda and Chinese actress Gong Li take the stage together to declare the start of the festival. Gong Li remarked: "Jane comes from the West, I from the East. Tonight we stand here together. That is the magic of Cannes."

Director Peter Jackson, best known for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, received the Honorary Palme d'Or from presenter Elijah Wood to a standing ovation.

This year's Official Competition features 22 films. Park Chan-wook serves as jury president — the first Korean filmmaker to chair the Cannes Competition jury, and the first Asian to do so in twenty years, since Wong Kar-wai in 2006. The jury is completed by Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Ruth Negga, and Stellan Skarsgård. Among the early frontrunners for the Palme d'Or, Polish director Paweł Pawlikowski's Fatherland and Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's All of a Sudden were widely cited as leading contenders. Japan made a notable showing this year with three titles in Official Competition. From Korea, Na Hong-jin's sci-fi blockbuster Hope was selected for Competition, generating strong local buzz. Independently of its award prospects, Hope was reported to have achieved the largest-ever overseas sales volume for a Korean film, making it a landmark commercial result. The Palme d'Or ultimately went to Romanian director Cristian Mungiu for Fjord.

Alongside the festival, at the Marché du Film (Cannes Film Market), Korean distributor Showbox officially launched the comedy Bok-ja's Special Rice Cake Shop.¹ The feature debut of director Kim Kyung-yun, the film stars Ra Mi-ran and Ko Kyung-pyo. It is a remake of the French film Paulette (2012), in which bread and drugs in the original become rice cakes and drugs in the Korean adaptation. The story follows Bok-ja (Ra Mi-ran), who runs a rice cake shop and accidentally witnesses a drug deal — a black comedy of errors that ensues. Also drawing attention is the involvement of Minnie, a Thai-born member of K-pop group (G)I-DLE, who joins the cast in a supporting role.

Korean films at the Cannes market have historically skewed toward thriller and crime genres. The launch of Bok-ja's Special Rice Cake Shop as a comedy represents an attempt to gauge interest from international buyers in a different register. As comedy is a genre where humor is deeply tied to cultural context, translating the film's sensibility for international audiences will be the central challenge for its overseas distribution going forward.

Sources

• Screen Daily, "Peter Jackson receives honorary Palme d'Or from Elijah Wood at Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony," 2026.05.12

• The Straits Times, "Jane Fonda and Gong Li open Cannes Film Festival," 2026.05.12

• Screen Daily, "Showbox opens 'Bok-ja's Special Rice Cake Shop' to buyers at Cannes," 2026.05.13

• Screen Daily, "Cannes 2026: Major market projects – latest updates," 2026.05.12

• Deadline, "Cannes Film Festival 2026 Photos Day 2: Demi Moore, Gillian Anderson, 'Nagi Notes' & 'A Woman's Life' Premieres," 2026.05.14

• Deadline, "James Franco Says He's Living 'A Positive Life' And Has First Studio Movie Role In A Decade," 2026.05.12

• Deadline, "Cannes 2026 Photos: Opening Ceremony," 2026.05.12

• Deadline, "Japan Named Country of Honor at Cannes Film Festival," 2026.05.12