Yeon Sang-ho's 'Paradise Lost' to premiere at Toronto film fest

Yeon Sang-ho's 'Paradise Lost' will have its world premiere at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival in the Special Presentations section, distributor CJ ENM announced Tuesday. The mystery thriller follows a mother who uses an AI program to remember her missing son but is unsettled when he returns after nine years.

Director Yeon Sang-ho's upcoming film "Paradise Lost" will have its world premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, the film's distributor said Tuesday. The mystery thriller will be screened in the Special Presentations section of the 51st edition of the prestigious festival, set for Sept. 10-20, according to CJ ENM. "Paradise Lost" follows So-young Kim Hyun-joo , who uses an artificial intelligence AI program to remember her son, Sun-woo Bae Hyun-sung , who went missing, but finds herself discomforted when he actually returns after nine years. Yeon called the film, based on the Korean novel "Black Inferno," one of his darkest pieces that portrays a mother who grapples between the son she has reinvented through AI and her real son. TIFF's Special Presentations section is known for showcasing outstanding contemporary films from around the world. It has previously featured iconic Korean films, including Bong Joon-ho's "Mother" 2009 and "Parasite" 2019 , Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden" 2016 and "Decision to Leave" 2022 , Kim Jee-woon's "The Age of Shadows" 2016 and Ryoo Seung-wan's "I, the Executioner" 2024 . Yeon returns to TIFF in just a year, following the screening of his mystery thriller "The Ugly" last year. Yonhap