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People in a Circle

  • Running Time
    119 minutes 4 seconds
  • Genre
    Drama - Arthouse
  • Language
    Korean
  • Completed
    December 12, 2024, South Korea

Five flawed but ordinary people come to fear the person most important to them, and their relationships spiral toward ruin.

Set in a village within Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, People in a Circle is a black comedy that portrays the inner deficiencies of five characters and the collapse of their relationships. Inspired by the structure of traditional Korean mask dance drama, the film reimagines the symbolism of the circle in a contemporary setting. The film explores how human beings live behind masks that conceal their darker instincts. Yet those hidden flaws are often revealed most clearly in intimate relationships, where we can become the most frightening presence to those closest to us. As fear, emotional fracture, and misunderstanding deepen, everyday life begins to repeat itself like a circle, raising the question of whether even a small step toward maturity is possible.

Tagline: Everyone becomes someone’s most feared person

Festival Selections & Awards

  • Festival Selections / Awards

    • Best Screenplay Award – Kanazawa Film Festival
    • Official Selection – Girona Film Festival
    • Official Selection – Indie Vegas Film Festival

About the director

Cheol-bin Yim is an independent arthouse film director and producer based in Suwon, South Korea. Since the late 1990s, he has studied cinema through various cinematheques in Korea and developed his cinematic voice through short films and independent productions.

His first feature film, People in a Circle, received the Best Screenplay Award at the Kanazawa Film Festival and was officially selected at the Girona Film Festival and Indie Vegas Film Festival.

His work explores human relationships, emotional fractures, and the contradictions hidden within everyday life, combining contemporary social observation with symbolic and psychological storytelling.

 

 

 

Written & Directed by
Cheol-bin Yim

 

Cast:
Young-ho: In Hong
Jin-hee: Cha-im Yun
Seung-bong: Seo-jun Hong
Soo-hyang: Eun-ju Kim
Dong-gyu: Uk Huh
Grandma Dong-hee: Hye-jin Park
Jin-cheol: Seung-won Seo
Mi-young: Do-i Kim

Cinematography
Woo-rim Lee

Lighting
Seong-in Hong

Production Sound Mixer
Baek-hyeon Yu

Production Design
Hyun-deok Seo

Music
Se-young Kwon

Sound Mixing
Soo-hyun Kim