The Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) will run from 20–25 August 2026 with a program of ten films, including nine Australian premieres, showcasing some of the most exciting new voices, established filmmakers and stars of contemporary Korean cinema.
Opening Night: Once We Were Us – starring KOO Kyo-hwan and MUN Ka-young, moves between Seoul in 2008 and a reunion more than a decade later, following two people whose friendship becomes an extraordinary love before adulthood pulls them apart. Director KIM Do-young will attend the Sydney screening for a post-screening Q&A.
The Ugly – The latest from YEON Sang-ho, director of Train to Busan, follows a son investigating the life and mysterious death of his mother after her remains are discovered forty years after she disappeared.
Project Y – HAN So-hee and JUN Jong-seo star as two women who steal illicit cash and hidden gold hoping to start over, only to become the targets of an unforgiving chase. Director LEE Hwan will attend the Sydney screening.
The Day She Returns – The latest film from acclaimed auteur HONG Sang-soo, following an actress returning to public life after years away as memory, performance and reality begin to blur.
Actor KO Kyung-pyo and producer KANG Taeu will join a post-screening Q&A following Maze, which follows a grieving husband hunting for someone to blame after his wife’s death, led by a private detective toward a truth he has spent years avoiding.
Directors KIM Do-young (Once We Were Us), LEE Hwan (Project Y) and KIM Jin-yu (Journey There) will also appear at selected Sydney screenings. Journey There brings together music, family and unexpected connection as an older woman moving in near a hospital meets a conductor searching for his birth mother and an orphan who dreams of the piano.
SYDNEY FESTIVAL DETAILS
When: 20–25 August 2026
Where: Event Cinemas George Street, Sydney
Tickets: Koffia.com.au
THE FREE TOURING PROGRAM
After Sydney, Once We Were Us, Maze, Project Y and Journey There, will travel to five regional centres, free to attend, in partnership with five councils.
Benalla (VIC): 5 September 2026 | Benalla Cinema
Temora (NSW): 17 September 2026 | Town Hall Theatre
Burnside (SA): 7–10 October 2026 | Regal Theatre
Victor Harbor (SA): 10–11 October 2026 | Victa Cinema
Victa Cinema Scenic Rim (QLD): 16 October 2026 | Boonah Cultural Centre