We acknowledge Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF are based.
We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

Riceboy Sleeps

Directed by Anthony Shim
2022
Canada
117 minutes
M
Book Tickets
Buy a Flexipass and save up to $270.
A strong-willed Korean single mother and her young son start a new life in 1990s Canada. Anthony Shim’s semi-autobiographical drama has won more than 20 international awards.
Seoul-born Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim’s second feature is an achingly intimate portrait of a mother’s love for her son. With delicacy and tenderness that never tips into sentimentality, Shim charts the difficulties faced by So-young and Dong-hyun as they attempt to fit into Canadian suburbia in a time when virtually no support was available. Years later we meet Dong-hyung (now known as David) as a wayward teenager who’s grown distant from his mother until a critical event takes them on an unpredictable journey into their Korean past. This shot-on-16mm treasure, drawing laudatory comparisons with Minari (SFF 2021), is superbly performed by dancer-turned-actor Choi Seung-yoon in her first feature role and 2022 TIFF Rising Star award winner Ethan Hwang.

Hear from the filmmakers of Riceboy Sleeps at a talk at the Korean Cultural Centre - Growing Up Outside Korea.
A poignant coming-of-age story… It could almost be a companion piece to Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari.
Allan Hunter, Screen International
A tender, ambitious, meticulous and deeply empathetic work.
Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Punching well above its weight, the film is a triumph of independent filmmaking, and Shim should now be on every serious cinephile’s radar.
Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

Special Guests

Anthony Shim
Director
Anthony Shim was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada with his family in the early 90s. His sophomore film, Riceboy Sleeps, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was named the winner of the prestigious Platform Prize.
Choi Seung-yoon
Cast
Choi Seung-yoon is a dancer, choreographer and actor based in Seoul, South Korea. In 2019, she co-directed and starred in I By You By Everybody (2019), a documentary feature about dancers’ lives in Seoul, which screened at several film festivals including Busan International Film Festival and Doclisboa.

Tickets

Thu 8 Jun
2:30pm
State Theatre
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Past Event Cancel
Sat 10 Jun
5:30pm
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 9
Selling Fast
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Book Tickets Cancel
Sun 18 Jun
5:45pm
Ritz Randwick - Cinema 5
Selling Fast
Assisted Listening
Wheelchair
Book Tickets Cancel
Program Strand
Features
Year
2022
Classification
M
Country
Canada
Language
In English and Korean with English subtitles
Director
Anthony Shim
Producer
Bryan Demore, Rebecca Steele, Anthony Shim
Cast
Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Hwang, Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Hwang
Screenwriter
Anthony Shim
Cinematographer
Christopher Lew
Editor
Anthony Shim
Premiere
Australian Premiere
Genre
Festival Award Winners, Asia
Company Credits
Australian Distributor: Icon Distribution
Cart
Clear Cart

Your in cinema cart is empty.

View over 500 sessions to find the right films and events for you!

Browse In Cinema Program

Check out our list of films showing in your area

Browse Films

Donate Today
Help us bring you the best in cinema worldwide.
Booking Fee
$0
Subtotal
Total
Planner

Your planner helps you schedule your entire SFF experience. It shows sessions you've saved, purchased or added to your cart in a helpful timeline.

Sign in or register to save your planner!

Your planner is empty.

Use your planner to create your own unique SFF Experience

Browse Films & Events