World Premiere
Seo Eun-sun makes her feature debut with this tense psychological thriller. Lee Hayoung (Choi Seung-yoon) is a trainer who works domesticating rescue dogs, a job she’s dedicated to in part because she likes to dominate. Hayoung’s sister Sora (Kim Seung-hwa) is fresh out of prison and harbours some hard feelings; likewise, Hayoung distrusts her ex-con sister, just as she distrusts anyone she can’t control. As the sisters’ uncomfortable reunion takes shape, a vicious dog escapes, leaving Hayoung on the hook to find it. Sora takes an interest in the situation, and from there things ratchet further and further up, leading to a cathartic and tragic climax.
Wrangler is a film about the mystery of character and the maddening inaccessibility of others’ minds. Seo’s film features complex characterization and subtext that descends from the easily apparent to murkier depths. On the surface are envy, fear, and wrath; below lie motivations that are even scarier because they’re, on some level, unknowable.
Choi Seung-yoon, Kim Seung-hwa, Jung Hwan
South Korea
2025
In Korean with English subtitles
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Credits & Director
Producer
Joh Gun-shik
Screenwriter
Seo Eun-sun
Cinematography
Lee Ju-hwan
Editor
Seo Eun-sun
Production Design
Lee A-young
Original Music
Koo Ja-wan
Seo Eun-sun
After graduating with a degree in Film from Myongji University, Seo pursued film directing at the Korean Academy of Film Arts. Her graduation project, Hot Summer Night (2015), was screened at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival and the Seoul Independent Film Festival. The film won Best Screenplay at the Paris Korean Film Festival and Best Film at the Jeju Film Festival. Wrangler is her feature debut, developed through KAFA’s feature film production research program.
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Wrangler
Two sisters face each other down over the course of this tense, mysterious psychological thriller. Hayoung is trainer of violent rescue dogs; Sora is fresh out of prison. Their reacquaintance will lead to a violent, cathartic climax.
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