News

Korean Film Festival to visit Benalla for third year

By Benalla Ensign

Aug 21, 2026

Once We Were Us is one of four films from the 17th annual Korean Film Festival in Australia to be screened in Benalla in September.

Benalla is one of only five regional towns to host screenings of the 17th Korean Film Festival in Australia this year.

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While the festival is being held in Sydney from August 20 to 25, festival organisers have partnered with five LGAs to present a free touring program in the weeks that follow.

This will mark the third year in a row that the festival’s films have been screened in the Rose City.

KOFFIA programmer Inji Jung said the festival was Australia’s longest-running celebration of Korean cinema and the local screenings would be free to attend, thanks to a partnership with Benalla Rural City Council.

“After a string of Australian premieres in Sydney, we’re taking the best of contemporary Korean cinema on the road, free and direct to regional audiences,” Ms Jung said.

“If you think you know Korean cinema, throw expectations to the wind.

“If you've never seen it, get ready for star-crossed lovers, neo-noir thrillers and stories that go straight to the heart of the human experience.

“You won't find this program anywhere else."

There will be four films screened in the Rose City:

Once We Were Us: Starring Koo Kyo-hwan and Mun Ka-young, it moves between Seoul in 2008 and a reunion more than a decade later, following two people whose friendship becomes an extraordinary love before adulthood pulls them apart.
Maze: Ko Kyung-pyo is a grieving husband hunting for someone to blame after his wife’s death, led by a private detective towards a truth he has spent years avoiding.
Project Y: Han So-hee and Jun Jong-seo star as two women who steal illicit cash and hidden gold hoping to start over, and become the targets of an unforgiving chase.
Journey There: There’s music, family and unexpected connection, as an older woman moving near a hospital meets a conductor searching for his birth mother and an orphan who dreams of the piano.

The screening will be on Saturday, September 5 at the Benalla Cinema.

Phone the cinema on 5762 5515 to reserve your seat.