Mongrels, the debut feature film by award-winning Korean Canadian director Jerome Yoo, will premiere internationally in the First Feature Competition program at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) in Estonia.

Mongrels world premiered at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) where Yoo took home the Director’s Guild of Canada’s Horizon Award for an emerging Canadian director.

The film stars Jae-Hyun Kim, Da-Nu Nam (To All the Boys: Always and Forever), Candyce Weir (The Hammer), Jedd Sharp (Rug Burn), Morgan Derera (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Sangbum Kang and introducing newcomer Sein Jin in her first role.

Set in rural Canada in the 1990s, a Korean family–a widower, his teenage son, and young daughter—attempts to find a footing in a new land while navigating the dark forests of grief. The town has hired Sonny to eradicate the feral canines plaguing the town, while sensitive Hajoon is figuring out what it means to be a man. Finally, young Hana, missing her mother, dreams up ways to make her return. Mongrels is the compelling story of an immigrant family trying to find their way into a new world.

Jerome Yoo is a Seoul-born filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada. His films often explore complex themes of cultural identity, existentialism, and youth-hood, blending surreal elements that blur the boundaries between dreams and reality. Growing up in Canada, there is a pulsating undercurrent in his works, conveying a profound longing to reconnect with his motherland.

Watch a clip from Mongrel