Korean Indie Sci-Fi Film About Aliens Among Us – ‘Unidentified’ Trailer
by Alex Billington
July 28, 2023
Source: YouTube
“Do you know why the UFOs are here?” Buffalo 8 has revealed an official US trailer for an indie Korean sci-fi film titled Unidentified, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Jude Chun. This little indie premiered at the 2022 BendFilm Festival last year, and it also played at the 2023 Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year. It’s now set to open in September. In 1993, planet-like spheres descended from space, hovering above every major city on earth. 29 years later, the UFOs remain, having become a part of the landscape of modern life. In the hustle and bustle of Seoul, people go to coffee shops, they work dull and repetitive office jobs, riding public transportation and visiting psychics. A man walks the streets wearing a sandwich board that reads “UFO’s are not real”. But paranoia is growing: some of these people may, in fact, be aliens. Described as a mockumentary / extra dry comedy, the film is a “hilarious, moving and whimsical speculative fiction about our yearning for belonging and connection in a world that looks increasingly less like home.” Starring Jang Sun, Kim Hyo-in, and Jeon Ho-hyun. I really like the spherical ships in here.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ Korean poster) for Jude Chun’s Unidentified, direct from YouTube:
1993: South Korea begins to democratise. UFOs suddenly appear, hovering over cities across the world. 29 years later, a filmmaker interviews subjects from all over who (re)connect with people from the past and future in their dreams. Other people, no longer feeling they belong here on Earth, find solace in UFO cults. Meanwhile, the nation sees a wave of ridiculously petty assaults by ‘aliens’ on humans (or is it the other way round?). Alternating between sci-fi mockumentary and absurdist comedy, the film offers a hilarious, quirky and surprisingly moving portrait of the Korean millennial psyche. If you have ever experienced apocalyptic anxiety, cosmic homelessness, or yearned for a borderless utopia, this is for you! Unidentified, also known as 미확인 in Korean, is both written and directed by Korean-Canadian filmmaker Jude Chun, making his feature directorial debut after a few other short films previously. Produced by Hyeong Jun Ahn and Yena Gim. This initially premiered at the 2023 Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year. Buffalo 8 will debut Chun’s Unidentified in select US theaters + on VOD starting September 23rd, 2023 later this year.
