BERLINALE WATCH

In Kill Boksoon, director Byun Sung-hyun invites us into an astonishing, chilling world in which a killing agency offers an elite path to success and wealth, and talent scouting is all about spotting promising psychopaths and orphans who have nothing to lose.

Director: Byun Sung-hyun

Country: South Korea

Producer: Yi Jin-hee

World Sales: Netlcix

Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s enthusiasm for the many twists and turns of his clever thriller is palpable and infectious. His use of the confined space of the manhole is deft, as is the way in which he picks up the pace of the narration.

Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri

Country: Japan

Producers: Tsuyoshi Matsushita, Hideki Hoshino

World Sales: Gaga Corporation

In his previous film, The Wound, South African filmmaker John Trengove explored how a male rite of passage unleashed repressed feelings with the same potential for danger as opening a pressure cooker. A similar force is at work inside the protagonist of Manodrome, in whom Trengove observes a disturbing phenomenon from an original angle.

Director: John Trengove

Country: United Kingdom

Producers: Gina Gammell, Ben Giladi, Riley Keough, Ryan Zacarias

World Sales: CAA Media Finance