Following his thriller The Beasts (2022), Rodrigo Sorogoyen changes course to craft a complex and delicate melodrama delving into the relationship between a father and daughter. Javier Bardem plays Esteban, a renowned film director who, after a 13-year estrangement, offers the lead role in his new film to his daughter Emilia in an effort to reconnect. Sorogoyen simultaneously portrays an egocentric film director who rules the set through a reign of terror and a young woman forced to confront the father who abandoned her family long ago. Above all, the duel between two exceptional actors - Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo - is the very heartbeat of the film. The Beloved deconstructs the myth of the omnipotent artist while capturing the reality of filmmaking with astonishing authenticity. The unbroken 18-minute dialogue in the opening is reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman’s masterpieces, standing out as one of the most intense and unforgettable sequences of the year.
Programme note by SEO Seunghee
Stills4
Screenings2
Sat, 10/10
16:2018:35
CGV Centum City IMAX
285KE, Korean subtitles + English subtitles or English dialogue
Mon, 10/12
10:4012:55
LOTTE CINEMA Centum City 8
532KE, Korean subtitles + English subtitles or English dialogue
Rodrigo Sorogoyen is a Madrid-born director who broke into film after working in television drama. His short film Mother (2017) earned him an Oscar nomination, and he has won six Goya Awards. He co-founded the production company Caballo Films in 2012, and through his long-running collaboration with screenwriter Isabel Peña, he delivered a string of successes including May God Save Us (2016) and The Realm (2018). The Beasts (2022) marked the peak of his career, sweeping nine Goya Awards and winning the Tokyo Grand Prix following its Cannes screening. Having also proven his mettle as a showrunner with the 2024 series The New Years, he cemented his status as one of Europe′s leading directors with his latest film, The Beloved, starring Javier Bardem, which marked his first entry into the main competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
