Lee Jung-jae's directorial debut Hunt all set to screen at Cannes  

South Korean veteran actor and current global sensation Lee Jung-jae is all set to take over the Cannes Film Festival with his directorial debut Hunt.

While the actor has been an A-List actor and household name in South Korea for decades, he grabbed global attention with his impeccable performance as Seong Gi-hun in Netflix’s mega successful dystopian show, Squid Game. The star is now all set to showcase his directing chops with Hunt.

The Squid Game star's first film will premiere at the prestigious film festival, in Cannes’ Midnight Screening section.

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Lee Jung-jae's directorial debut Hunt is a spy thriller set in 1980s

Hunt, aka Namsun, is a Korean spy thriller set in 1980s. Both directed by and starring Lee Jung-jae, Hunt follows the lives of two special agents in the Korean National Intelligence Service, both of whom have the same mission, figuring out who the North Korean mole within the agency is. While neither knows the other's mission intentions, during the course of their investigations the duo are faced with a shocking truth. The mission, however, must be completed at all costs.

Apart from directing and starring, the Deliver Us from Evil actor also co-wrote the film. While Lee takes on the mantle of one of the agents, the other is played with aplomb by Jung Woo-sung, the star of several films including Steel Rain, Reign of Assassins, and Innocent Witness.

The Cannes’ Midnight Screening section features mostly thrillers and genre fares, making Hunt a perfect fit for the competition. Other films competing in the same category include Moonage Daydream, directed by Brett Morgen, and Fumer Fait Tousser, directed by French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux.

The film festival's coveted list of selections was unveiled in Paris on April 14. Some of the most eagerly awaited films all set to screen include The Handmaiden director Park Chan-wook's latest venture Decision To Leave, Ali Abbasi's Holy Spider, and David Cronenberg's Crimes Of The Future.

After being forced to compromise due to the global pandemic for the last two years, the film festival reclaims its usual schedule. The 2022 Cannes Film Festival will take place between May 17-28.

Meanwhile, Lee Jung-jae has been on a roll since the release of Squid Game. The actor took home several major awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series. Lee Jung-jae also signed on with the American agency CAA to look after his international ventures, along with co-star Jung Ho-yeon.

Lee Jung-jae's next on-screen appearance after Hunt will be in Choi Dong-Hoon’s adaptation of the 2009 Hong Kong film Overheard, titled Wiretap.