'The King of Pigs' Theatrical Release 25 January



‘THE KING OF PIGS’(cert tbc)

by YEUN Sang-ho

South Korea / 2011 / Cert tbc / 97 mins / In Korean with English subtitles / Colour

"…so compelling and complex in its telling, and so elegantly austere in its animation, that you’ll want to see it at least twice" – SIGHT & SOUND

‘THE KING OF PIGS’ (Dwae-ji-ui wang) is an ultra-violent Korean animation set in a high-school world in which rich "dogs" rule over the "pigs".

The film is directed by Yeun Sang-ho and stars the voices of familiar Korean actors, Yang Ik-june and Kim Kkobbi from the internationally acclaimed ‘BREATHLESS’(released by Terracotta Distribution in 2009).

A festival favourite, this feature animation (aka Manwha) premiered at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival and has since played in various international festivals including the Director’s Fortnight 2012 making it the first animated Korean film to screen at the Festival de Cannes.

‘THE KING OF PIGS’ will be released theatrically in UK from 25^th January followed by DVD in March 2013.

Synopsis

After murdering his wife, a businessman on the verge of bankruptcy, Hwang Kyung-min, finds an old classmate, Jung Jong-suk whom he hasn't seen for fifteen years. During a reunion dinner they look back on their school days, hiding their present situations.

Back then there were class distinctions among the pupils. The elite students - 'The Dogs’ - rich, successful and particularly cruel, exercised a reign of terror over the weaker, poorer students - 'The Pigs'.

Jong-suk and Kyung-min were powerless against the ‘dogs’. When Kim Chul, one of their fellow pigs, stood up, he fast became their last hope to end the circle of fear.

Fifteen years later, Chul remains a hero. But behind his figure, the two men recall the murky story of their bond and return to the site where the most shocking truth of what happened there is finally revealed.

Cast and Crew

Cast features voices of: YANG Ik-june (as JUNG Jong-suk), OH Jeong-se (as HWANG Kyung-min), KIM Hye-na (as KIM Chul), KIM Kkobbi (as young JUNG Jong-suk), PARK Hee-von (as young HWANG Kyung-min)

Director/Screenwriter: YEUN Sang-ho was born in Seoul, Korea in 1978. After graduating from Sangmyung University with a degree in Painting, he made a series of short films targeted at adults: D-DAY (2000), THE HELL (2003), THE HELL: TWO KINDS OF LIFE (2006) and LOVE IS PROTEIN (2008). THE KING OF PIGS is his first feature.

Production: The King of Pigs Production Committee./ Co-production: Studio Dadashow
Original Character: CHOI Gyu-seok/ Character Design: YEUN Sang-ho, KIM Chang-soo
Art Director: WOO Je-keun/ Editor: YEUN Sang-ho, LEE Yeun-jeong

Festivals

Official selection at Directors’ Fortnight Festival de Cannes 2012, 16^th Busan Int’l FF, Leeds FF, London Korean FF, Terracotta Festival UK tour, Fantasia Int’l FF Canada, 59^th Sydney FF (Official Competition), 17^th Los Angeles FF, 66^th Edinburgh Int’l FF (Competition), 10^th Festival Paris Cinema (Competition), 11^th New York Asian FF. Winner: Satoshi Kon Award for Achievement in Animation, New Flesh Award for Best First Feature.

"Ugly, pitiless, and mightily provocative in its representation of human debasement, this satire on class inequality burns like acid." – THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

“..with undeniable fury and a good measure of intelligence” – VARIETY