Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) has announced the UK Premiere of Na Hong-jin unique and epic sci-fi action thriller HOPE. The film will screen in IMAX at Cineworld Fountainbridge on Sunday 16th August.
Fresh from blazing a trail across Cannes, HOPE is the new film from incendiary filmmaker Na Hong-jin (The Wailing, The Yellow Sea, The Chaser) and stars South Korean talent Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing, Veteran), Zo In-sung (Moving, Smugglers)andHoyeon (Squid Game, Disclaimer)as well as Taylor Russell (Bones and all, Waves), Michael Fassbender (Shame, The Killer) and Alicia Vikander (Tomb Raider, The Danish Girl).
In the remote South Korea village of Hope Harbor, police chief Bum-seok (Hwang Jung- min) and officer Sung-ae (Hoyeon) are called to find a mysterious creature that has wreaked havoc on the village.
In the nearby forest, a coterie of hunters, including Sung- ki (Zo In-Sung) set out to track the beast and find themselves hunted instead. But all is not as it seems, and perceptions can be misleading. What begins as ignorance plants the seed of disaster, escalating through human conflict into a tragedy of cosmic proportions.
Delivering action on a thrillingly huge scale, prepare for the biggest action-adventure a screen can handle.
This special screening joins 38 new feature film presentations including 21 feature film World Premieres at this year’s EIFF as well as special presentation screenings of including Anthony Minghella’s iconic film The Talented Mr Ripley, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, Takeshi Miike’s Visitor Q, Hal Ashby’s Coming Home and Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s Little Miss Sunshine.
EIFF CEO and Festival Director, Paul Ridd has said: “For almost three hours this spectacularly exciting and unpredictable film from one of the most exciting filmmakers currently working takes us on a breakneck thrill ride through the Korean countryside, via a decimated town, and into dense woodland, as hapless mortals do battle with extraterrestrial forces on foot, on horseback and in cars.
This is big budget, big scale genre filmmaking of the highest order and we are over the moon to unleash its UK Premiere on Edinburgh audiences”
Press and Industry accreditation is now open for this year’s Festival and available to apply for via the EIFF website.
This year’s EIFF runs from 13 – 19 August 2026 and opens with the International Premiere of Edinburgh-born filmmaker Louis Paxton’s debut feature The Incomer and closes with Louise Lockwood’s powerful debut documentary feature Bel.
EIFF’s invigorated vision under leadership from CEO & Festival Director Paul Ridd and Festival Producer Emma Boa continues to accelerate the discovery of new film talent and engage with audiences, industry members and local, national and international media.
EIFF 2026 is supported by Screen Scotland and the BFI Audience Projects Fund, awarding National Lottery funding, the Industry Programme is backed by EXPO funding from the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland, and VisitScotland.
The EIFF team continues to create a world-class showcase for independent film and filmmaking talent.
The Festival is supported by a Board chaired by Andrew Macdonald of DNA Films, producer of the iconic Edinburgh-based film Trainspotting, including Vice Chair Amy Jackson, producer of BAFTA award-winning indie Aftersun; Peter Rice, former chairman of General Entertainment at Disney and President of 21st Century Fox; Teresa Moneo, producer and former Director of UK Film, Netflix; Isla Macgillivray, Partner at Saffery; and video game producer Romana Ramzan.
