South Korean actors Song Kang-ho and Song Joong-ki have been invited to the prestigious 76th Cannes Film Festival, with their films "Cobweb" and "Hwaran" receiving official invitations.

The Cannes Film Festival office announced the official selection list on April 13th during a press conference in Paris, France. "Hwaran" was invited to the festival's "Un Certain Regard" section, which showcases original and aesthetically accomplished films. Notable South Korean films previously invited to this section include Yoon Jong-bin's "The Unforgiven," Bong Joon-ho's "Mother," Na Hong-jin's "The Yellow Sea," Kim Ki-duk's "Arirang," Hong Sang-soo's "Hahaha," and Jung July's "A Girl at My Door."

"Hwaran" is a noir drama that follows the story of a young boy named Yeon-gyu (Hong Sa-bin), who wishes to escape his hellish reality and ends up entering a dangerous world with a mid-level crime boss named Chi-geon (Song Joong-ki). The film marks director Kim Chang-hoon's feature debut, with Hong Sa-bin, Song Joong-ki, and Kim Hyung-seo (Bibi) starring.

Plus M Entertainment, the investor, distributor, and co-producer of "Hwaran," stated that the film was created to "discover talented and excellent filmmakers and offer a different kind of emotion and fun to audiences from conventional commercial films." They expressed their honor in being able to showcase the film's good intentions on a world-renowned stage.

Actor Song Kang-ho, who won Best Actor at the 75th Cannes Film Festival for his role in "Broker," received another Cannes invitation this year with his film "Cobweb," which has been invited to the non-competitive section. The movie, set in the 1970s, revolves around a film director (Song Kang-ho) obsessed with reshooting the ending of his film "Cobweb" and the ensuing tragic and comical events that unfold as he attempts to film under extreme conditions. Directed by Kim Ji-woon, the film stars Song Kang-ho, Lim Soo-jung, Jeon Yeo-bin, Oh Jung-se, and Krystal Jung.

With "Cobweb" invited to Cannes, director Kim Ji-woon marks his third entry into the festival, following "A Bittersweet Life" (2005, Official Out of Competition) and "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" (2008, Official Out of Competition).

This will be Song Kang-ho's second consecutive invitation to Cannes, where he has appeared in numerous films, including "The Host" (2006), "Secret Sunshine" (2007), "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" (2008), "Thirst" (2009), "Parasite" (2019), "Emergency Declaration" (2021), and "Broker" (2022). Song Kang-ho currently holds the record for the most Cannes invitations among South Korean actors.

Director Kim Ji-woon and Song Kang-ho's fifth collaboration will mark their return to the Cannes red carpet after 15 years. For "Cobweb" co-stars Lim Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-bin, and Jung Soo-jung, this will be their first Cannes Film Festival invitation.

The 76th Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16th to 27