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The Quiet Applause film image; family walking joyfully down a tree-lined path

The Quiet Applause

Sanui Sonppyeok

Panorama

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World Premiere

Byun Sung-bin’s film stars Yang Hae-bom as San, an adorable toddler enjoying life in the countryside. Her older brother Pul (Park Ji-ho) is severely autistic, and his outbursts of aggression have created a division between their parents: Mother Sun-hee (Yang Jo-a) wants to keep Pul at home, while father Ki-yeol (Lee Han-joo) thinks he’s old enough to move into a group home. San’s reactions to this conflict range from understandable to mysterious, and at times she seems more invested in the fate of Mimi, a lamb being raised by the family…

Gentle and lyrical, The Quiet Applause is a crowd-pleaser in minor key. Yang has a quietly astounding screen presence, and the brilliance of her performance is a matter of direction as much as acting — Byun knows just when to hold the camera on her and when to cut away. Few films about (or for) families have achieved this level of tenderness and intelligence.

 

Oct 2 & 3: Filmmaker Q&A

Director
Cast

Yang Hae-bom, Yang Jo-a, Lee Han-joo, Park Ji-ho

Credits
Country of Origin

South Korea

Year

2026

Language

In Korean with English subtitles

Film Contact
18+
81 min
Cinemas of Asia Drama Family Relations
Ssarinamu Film

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Byun Sung-bin

Producer

Lee Kyeong-min

Screenwriter

Byun Sung-bin

Cinematography

Kim Woo-young

Editor

Lee Young-hoo

Production Design

Yoo Soo-san

Original Music

Han Kwang-hoon

Byun Sung-bin headshot

Byun Sung-bin

BYUN Sung-bin studied Eastern Philosophy and Film. His short films Horn(2014), The Chicken of the Wuzuh(2015), Hands and Wings(2019), and God’s Daughter Dances(2020) won the Audience Award at the Clermont-Ferrand Int.l Short Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival and screened at the Busan Int.l Film Festival and the Bucheon Int.l Fantastic Film Festival. His debut feature, Peafowl(2022), won the Watcha Award at the Busan International Film Festival and has been invited to numerous LGBTQ+ film festivals.

Filmography: Peaflown (2022)

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