The World of Us

The World of Us, directed by Yoon Ga-eun, is a South Korean film about Sun, an outcast elementary school student who makes a new friend over summer break, only for the friendship to be tested by bullying once school resumes. Director Yoon Ga-eun drew on a similar friendship she lost at age twelve, but said she wanted to make a film not about bullying itself but about the complexity of friendships. None of the child actors in the film had ever acted before; lead actress Choi Soo-in had actually been rejected from acting classes for being too shy. The director never gave the children a script, instead explaining the situation and letting them speak in their own words. The film won Best Youth Feature Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and Yoon Ga-eun won Best New Director at the Blue Dragon Film Awards. Who it's for: anyone curious about a South Korean film built from first-time child actors who worked without a script, exploring the complexity of friendship through the lens of bullying. Who it's not for: those wanting a simple bullying story with clear villains and victims, since the film focuses on the murky, layered nature of relationships instead.