22nd New York Asian Film Festival

Jul 14-30, 2023

Photo: © 2023 Plus M Entertainment & October Cinema Inc. All Rights Reserved.

International Premiere

Dream

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From acclaimed director Lee Byeong-heon comes one of the year's most highly anticipated blockbusters. Both pulse-raising and heartwarming, this is the story of a virtuoso soccer player, Hong-dae (to whom Park Seo-jun lends his impossibly good looks and rather stunning skills with a ball), a star athlete with an attitude problem, who comes across fast-talking, cynical producer So-min (K-pop megastar IU). The two embark on an impossible journey to fix the athlete’s PR issue, and form a national soccer team made up of... homeless individuals. Inspired by the real-life Korean team that participated in the 2010 Homeless Football World Cup, Dream turns the spotlight on the resilience and determination of those who have truly hit rock bottom, and brings absolutely nothing that you’d expect from a conventional sports movie to the screen.

Director: Lee Byeong-heon
Cast: Park Seo-jun, IU
Languages: Korean with English subtitles
2023; 125 min.; DCP

SCHEDULE:

Monday July 17, 6:00pm
Film at Lincoln Center

Intro & Q&A with director Lee Byeong-heon.

Saturday July 22, 5:45pm
Barrymore Film Center

Lee Byeong-heon
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Lee Byeung-heon started his career in as a script editor on the hit comedy, Scandal Makers (2009). He then co-wrote Sunny (2011), a huge success that spawned remakes in Vietnam, Japan and Hollywood. Lee made his directorial feature debut with Cheer Up Mr. Lee (2013), which he also wrote. His young adult comedy Twenty (2014) proved a major box office success. He returned in 2018 with What a Man Wants (NYAFF 2018). Lee’s next film, Extreme Job, was a runaway hit and became the highest grossing film in South Korean history. He wrote and directed his latest film, Dream (2023).