Like most independent directors of his generation in South Korea, Cho Hyun-hoon first gained notice with his short films, Metamorphosis (2007) and The Mother’s Family (2013). This first feature was produced with the support of the Korean Film Council's Independent Film Fund. He spent a year talking to street kids to develop the screenplay, which focuses on two marginalized characters. "Personally, I have been attracted to stories of runaways and transgender people and made friends with them," says Cho. "I realised that they have extraordinary strength and courage that I really wanted to tell others about." Jane was one of a handful of buzz titles at last year's Busan International Film Festival where it won the CGV Art House Award that guaranteed it local distribution. The jury commended the film's acting and direction that "enable us to anticipate the future of Korean cinema with excitement".

A graduate of Suwon University, Lee Min-ji is one of Korean cinema's most recognizable and awarded indie actresses. Early in her career she headlined two striking debut features, Jang Kun-jae's youth drama Eighteen (2009) and Jo Sung-hee's apocalyptic horror End of Animal (2010); for the latter she won a Muhr AsiaAfrica Special Mention at the Dubai International Film Festival. A year later, her performance in Lee Woo-jung's short See You Tomorrow secured her the Independent Star Award at the 2011 Seoul Independent Film Festival and Best Actress at the Busan International Short Film Festival. In 2013 she starred in Moon Byoung-gon's Safe, which won Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2015, she started to land smaller roles in mainstream films, including Coin Locker Girl, The Piper and Phantom Detective. With Jane, she continues her winning streak, with Best Actress of the Year award at last year's Busan International Film Festival.

A graduate of Seoul Institute of the Arts, Gu has directed three short films, Turtles (2011), Where is My DVD? (2013) and Now Playing (2014). He has also made quite a mark for his roles in indie features and shorts, including Jo Sung-hee's 43-minute Don't Step Out of the House (2009). Gu has played a wide variety of characters and received praise for his innate knack at conveying emotion not only through dialogue, but also deceptively subtle expressions. Gu’s strikingly candid portrayal of the titular transgender woman in Jane is a milestone in the depiction of LGBTQ characters in Korean cinema. Awarded Actor of the Year at last year's Busan International Film Festival for this achievment, a juror stated, "There are many other up-and-coming actors in the field of cinema, however, based on his performance in the film, this actor has moved my heart the most."