Film archive, 2025

Don’t Let the Sun

Director Jacqueline ZÜND

1Festival entries

★Avg. rating

This is Zünd’s first drama, following three documentaries that have been steadily introduced to Korean audiences. For a director who has long documented human relationships, a story about a society where someone carries out another’s role is fitting. Here, a man who has lived a proxy life without ever experiencing family meets a girl conceived through artificial insemination, who believes she doesn’t need a father. But this is science fiction. Set in a future where people avoid going outdoors during the day because of solar heat, the deserted, sun-scorched streets evoke brittle, dried-out human connections. And yet, this is no mere metaphor—it is rooted in the fragments of reality Zünd has captured through her documentary work. In contrast to the lifeless landscapes, Zünd approaches her characters with warmth and familiarity. A gentle tone of melancholy, characteristic of her films, permeates the story. By the end, even if it moves you to tears, you’ll have to steady yourself—for in the credits, just behind the title, a hidden line awaits your discovery.