Korea’s Showbox has expanded its sales lineup for Hong Kong FilMart with the addition of Taboo: The Silent Day, a horror mystery directed by first-time filmmaker Park Kyung-kun.
Filmed in Indonesia with a Korean cast and crew, the story follows a group of friends whose trip to Bali takes a terrifying turn when they accidentally shatter a mysterious urn, unleashing vengeful spirits on Nyepi Day—Bali’s sacred Day of Silence, during which all forms of eating, pleasure, travel, and lights must cease.
The film features Kwon Da-ham (A Killer Paradox, D.P.), Choi Tae-eun (Graceful Friends, Checkmate), and Lee Jeong-hoon (High School Love Story). Currently in post-production, Taboo: The Silent Day is aiming for a third-quarter release this year.
Showbox’s FilMart slate spans multiple genres. Among its highlights is Big Deal (working title), a drama from director Choi Yun-jin that follows a young investment firm associate (Lee Je-hoon) who returns to Korea during the 1997 Asian financial crisis to help revive the nation’s leading soju company, which is on the brink of collapse. Co-starring Yoo Hai-jin, the film is set for a second-quarter 2025 release.
Once We Were Us, a romantic drama from director Kim Do-young (Kim Ji-young, Born 1982), stars Koo Kyo-hwan and Mun Ka-young as former lovers who unexpectedly cross paths on a flight more than a decade after their separation. The film is scheduled for a third-quarter 2025 release.
Also on the slate is The Verdict, a crime drama co-directed by Lee Chang-hee (A Killer Paradox, The Vanished) and Yusron Fuadi (Tengkorak, Setan Alas!).
The film follows a court security officer (Rio Dewanto) who takes desperate measures to seek justice for his murdered wife after an unexpected turn in the trial of her killer. The thriller is slated for release in the third quarter of this year.
Rounding out the lineup is White Blast, a mystery thriller directed by Hong Eui-jeong (Voice of Silence) and Park Sun-woo. Starring Kim Yun-seok and Koo Kyo-hwan, the story unfolds at a remote, snow-covered train station, where a station master on his final day of work encounters a mysterious young man as reports of escaped convicts spread. The film is set to be released at the end of the year.
