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.
Oct 3 & 4: Q&A
Cooperating Organizations
Media Partner
Community Partner
Choi Seung-yoon, Kim Seung-hwa, Jung Hwan, Kim Dasol, Joo Ye-rin
South Korea
2025
In Korean with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Joh Gun-shik
Producer
Son Bit-na
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.
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Things You Kill
Thirty-something professor Ali leads an apparently stable life. But when his ailing mother dies under ambiguous circumstances, he starts to unravel, resulting in an act that shatters our understanding of his person.
Analogue Revolution: How Feminist Media Changed the World
Bonnie Thompson, Bonnie Sherr Klein, Moira Simpson, Zainub Verjee, Judy Rebick are among the Canadian feminist creatives who recount tales from the trenches, the gory glory days of 1970s, 80s and 90s, before the internet changed everything.
Nika & Madison
Two young Indigenous women become fugitives following an act of self-defence and are forced to flee into the wilderness. Inspired by Thelma and Louise, this compelling story of unbreakable friendship sheds light on systemic injustices.