Korean Director Park Chan-wook’s New Film “No Other Choice” to Open the 2025 Asian World Film Festival

LAPost / Los Angeles (November 2, 2025) — According to an official press release from the Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), Korean director Park Chan-wook’s latest film “No Other Choice” has been selected as the opening film of this year’s festival, which will take place November 11–20 at the Culver Theatre in Los Angeles.

In July 2025, “No Other Choice” was selected for the main competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Lion. It was also chosen as the opening film of the 30th Busan International Film Festival. The Korean Film Council later confirmed that the film would represent South Korea in the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards.

Following its world premiere in Venice, the film received a nine-minute standing ovation and scored 3.7 out of 4 in the festival’s official publication CIAK in Mostra. On Rotten Tomatoes, “No Other Choice” achieved a 100% Fresh rating, with all 39 critics and journalists giving it positive reviews. Before its theatrical release in Korea, the film sold over 400,000 pre-sale tickets, setting the highest pre-sale record for a Korean film in 2025.

On its opening day, the film drew more than 330,000 viewers, topping the box office and marking the highest opening-day performance of Park Chan-wook’s career. It went on to lead the daily box office for nine consecutive days, and drew over 600,000 viewers during its opening weekend.

According to reports, Park began developing “No Other Choice” in 2017 but faced repeated difficulties securing investment and distribution. However, after the casting announcement featuring Park Chan-wook, Lee Byung-hun, and Son Ye-jin, production interest quickly surged. On April 26, 2025, the film was officially confirmed to be financed and distributed by CJ ENM.

The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), widely regarded as the premier Asian film festival in the United States, will showcase outstanding films from more than 30 Asian countries, including 20 national Oscar submissions for Best International Feature. Fifteen films will compete for the Snow Leopard Trophies, awarded in categories such as Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Jury Discretionary Award, Special Jury Prize, and Audience Award.

In addition to “No Other Choice”, the closing film of this year’s festival will be “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, directed by Kaouther Ben Hania of Tunisia. Other festival highlights include Cannes Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident”, “A Useful Ghost” by Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, and “Left-Handed Girl” directed by Shih-Ching Tsou.

The festival will also feature five world premieres, including “Love and Karma” directed by Giovannie Espiritu and “Sisterhood” directed by Yoon Eun-kyoung. A special 10th anniversary screening of “Dragon Blade”, starring Jackie Chan, will be held to celebrate the milestone. The film’s Hong Kong director, Daniel Lee, will attend the festival in person for this commemorative event, revisiting the historical action epic with audiences.

AWFF Executive Director and CEO Georges N. Chamchoum stated, “From the beginning, our mission has been to celebrate the diversity and creativity of Asian cinema. Over the past eleven years, we have showcased films from more than fifty Asian nations and regions — stories that reveal the vibrant soul of Asia to the world.”

For the full lineup and ticket information, visit the festival’s official website: asianworldfilmfest.org