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
Erupcja
Charli xcx headlines this indie gem about a young English couple coming unmoored over a few days in Warsaw. Will means to propose. Beth has cold feet -- and an escape hatch she has barely admitted to herself... Think Before Sunrise 2025.
The Doll
In our new Film Studies series on Thursdays, Devan Scott guides us through the evolution of lighting techniques from the silent era to the present day. Each presentation will include a classic film screening; this week, The Doll (1919).
The Art of Adventure
The unbelievable adventure story of how painter Robert Bateman and ecologist Bristol Foster drove a Land Rover from Africa to Australia in 1957, developing a love of nature to last a lifetime. An inspirational love letter to the adventure of life itself.
How Deep Is Your Love
Filmmaker Eleanor Mortimer tags along with a team of oceanographers and marine biologists as they survey the Clarion-Clipperton fracture, one of the most remote spots on Earth, home to a dazzling array of unknown creatures.