Santa Barbara (Korea)
Opening July 17
Romance. Directed by Cho Sung-kyu
When naïve music director Jung-woo (Lee Sang-yoon) meets a talented creative director Soo-kyung (Yoon Jin-seo) to work on an advertisement project together, at first, they do not get along very well because of striking differences in personalities. But one day, they happen to find similarities in three things: movie taste, a love for wine, and longing for Santa Barbara in the U.S. With these similarities, they grow closer. However, their relationship is put to the test when Soo-kyung misunderstands Jung-woo and stops talking to him. Time passes and they meet again by serendipity in Santa Barbara.
Confession (Korea)
Opened July 10
Crime, Drama. Directed by Lee Do-yoon
Hyun-tae (Ji Sung), In-chul (Ju Ji-hoon) and Min-soo (Lee Kwang-soo) have been close friends for 20 years. One day, a deadly fire occurs and takes the life of Hyun-tae’s mother and destroys all of her property. The accident evolves into an unsolved mystery. Hyun-tae’s suspicion grows over the death of his mother as he begins looking for any kind of evidence. Hyun-tae asks his friends to help, but as the truth unfolds, he begins to doubt their friendship and loyalty.
The Divine Move (Korea)
Opened July 3
Crime, Action. Directed by Jo Bum-gu
Professional go player Tae-seok (Jung Woo-sung) watches as his brother is murdered by Sal-su (Lee Bum-soo) during a high-stake go match. He is even allegedly framed for the crime and locked up in prison. While he serves his time, he resolves to take revenge on notorious Sal-su and his gang. He gathers professional go players and forms a team to prepare for the final match against Sal-su’s invincible team. His players play one-by-one in the life-or-death, blood-spattered game of go. Tae-seok finally faces Sal-su for their first and last match.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (U.S.)
Opened June 25
Action, SF. Directed by Michael Bay
This fourth installment of the “Transformers” film series takes place four years after the invasion of Chicago that left the city destroyed in “Transformers: Dark of Side of the Moon.” A mechanic (Mark Wahlberg) discovers that his old semi-truck is deactivated Autobot Optimus Prime. Once the Autobot’s survival is known, a shadowy group reveals itself in an attempt to take advantage of the robots to control the direction of history. Optimus Prime and other Autobots rise to fight against the challenges threatening the humanity. Michael Bay teams up with Steven Spielberg to produce their fourth series.
Wadjda (Saudi Arabia, Germany)
Opened June 19
Drama. Directed by Haifaa Al Mansour
Wadjda (Waad Mohammed) is a brave and adventurous 10-year-old girl living in Saudi Arabia. She wants to buy a green bicycle to race against her friend Abdullah (Abdullrahman Algohani), but her mother won’t let her, fearing backlash from a conservative society that sees bicycles as dangerous to girls’ virtue. So Wadjda decides to raise the funds by herself. She enters a Koran recitation competition at her school for the cash prize. It will not be an easy competition for Wadjda, known as the troublemaker at school, as she has to compete with pious and studious students. But she is determined to fight for her dreams. Haifaa Al Mansour, the first female director in Saudi Arabia, received a number of international awards for this film.
