Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) has acquired the worldwide rights to Korean love story “Bedford Park,” written and directed by Stephanie Ahn, TheWrap has exclusively learned.
The film, Ahn’s feature directorial debut, had its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and took home the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature. This marks Sony Pictures Classics’ second acquisition out of the festival.
The film stars Moon Choi (“A Girl With Closed Eyes,” “Anarchist From Colony”), Son Sukku (“Nine Puzzles,” “Heavenly Ever After”), Won Mi Kyung (“Our Unwritten Seoul,” “My Unfamiliar Family”), Kim Eung Soo (“2009: Lost Memories,” “Once Upon a Time”) and Jefferson White (“Yellowstone,” “Civil War”).
The film’s official logline reads: “The film follows Audrey’s struggles between loyalty to her Korean immigrant family and her own American identity, as a child raised in New Jersey. Her mother gets into a car accident which leads to a fateful meeting with Eli, an ex-wrestler battling his own fractured past. They journey through an unexpected relationship and create a bond navigating self-preservation, cultural pressures and chosen love.”
“Debut director Stephanie Ahn has made a riveting drama exuding the confidence of a master. ‘Bedford Park’ gives us a complete world, full of rich character and incident, steeped in the history of our current intercultural moment,” Sony Pictures Classics said in a statement. “This authentic story of two people in New Jersey is relatable and will resonate everywhere — a great movie that’s a pleasure to share with the world.”
The filmmaking team and producers behind “Bedford Park, added: “Sony Pictures Classics is the gold standard for thoughtful, filmmaker-driven distribution, and partnering with them on ‘Bedford Park’ is a dream outcome. Their impeccable taste and legacy of high quality films that have stood the test of time make it an honor for us to join that family. SPC truly understands how to nurture intimate, human stories and help them find their audience around the world. Their belief in our film and their commitment to giving it the right platform means everything to our team.”
“Bedford Park” is produced by Gary Foster of Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment, Chris S. Lee of B & C Group, Nina Yang Bongiovi of Significant Productions, Theresa Kang of Blue Marble Pictures, and Son Sukku of Stannum, with Russ Krasnoff also serving as producer. Executive producers include Sungwon Choi, Sungwon Jee, Yoon-Hyue Julia Kim, Clara Wu Tsai, Agnes Chu, Alex Peace Power, Charles Zhong, Crystine Zhang, Charley Hine, Annie Yang, Julia Xu, Raymond Lee, Chee Ching, Nina Fialkow, Hyun Park, Lenox Huh, Oliver Hsu, Mark Gooder, Alison Thompson, Yang Jinmo, Caroline Garity, Amy Lee, Bryan Hwang, Ali Jazayeri, Viviana Zarragoitia and Stefan Klink.
Ahn had never heard of either actor when she set out to cast the film. After searching Korean-American actors, she turned to Korea where six years ago she found Choi, a well known local actress, and they began rehearsing for months via Zoom.
“I wanted a killer actress,” Ahn told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman at Sundance. “She absolutely embodied certain characteristics of me … a fighter spirit, a rawness inside that’s not always apparent on the outside.”
In his review of the film, TheWrap’s Zachary Lee wrote, “This is a deeply sincere film, one that avoids the cringe of melodrama by rooting all that transpires, the quiet and vociferous, elation and tragedy, in the lives of its characters. We never deal with one crisis at a time; ‘Bedford Park’ understands this, and it reminds us to hold close to those who will hold us in those storms.”
The film was negotiated between Sony Pictures Classics and CAA Media Finance in conjunction with Cornerstone Films on behalf of the filmmakers.
