"Broker" A South Korean Drama: A Sincere Story That Brings Humanity To Some Uncomfortable Subject Matter

April 7, 2023

Ha Sang-hyeon is the owner of a hand laundry and volunteers at the nearby church, where his friend Dong-soo works. The two run an illegal business together: Sang-hyeon occasionally steals babies from the church's baby box with Dong-soo, who deletes the church's surveillance footage that shows a baby was left there. They sell the babies on the adoption black market. But when a young mother So-young comes back after having abandoned her baby, she discovers them and decides to go with them on a road trip to interview the baby's potential parents. Meanwhile, two detectives, Soo-jin and Lee, are on their trail.

The idea for "Broker" was initially conceived by Filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda while researching the Japanese adoption system for his 2013 Film Like Father, Like Son, discovering in the process its similarities with the South Korean adoption system. He learned about Japan's only baby box, a place where people can anonymously leave children and the criticism surrounding the system in Japan. It can be found all around the world, including South Korea, where it is much more popular in comparison with Japan. After Kore-eda discussed Song, Bae, Gang making a film together, he decided to combine the two ideas. Kore-eda had previously become acquainted with Song and Gang at various film festivals, while he met Bae on the set of his 2009 Film, Air Doll. Kore-eda has described Broker as being a companion piece to his 2018 Film Shoplifters, with the two films sharing a thematic interest in social outcasts who come together to form unconventional families.

Awards
Broker was released on June 8th, 2022, on 1,594 screens. It opened with 146,221 admissions and topped the South Korean box office. The film crossed 1 million cumulative admissions in 11 days of release and it became the first film directed by Kore-eda to surpass 1 million admissions in South Korea.

Broker was selected to compete for Palme d'Or and won the Ecumenical Jury Award at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Song Kang-ho became the first South Korean Actor to win Best Actor in the Cannes Film Festival history. The film was selected in the CineMasters competition section at Munich Film Festival, where it won the Best International Film Award.

Tickets
The showing will be Tuesday, May 16th, 2023 at 7:30 p.m., shown in Korean with English subtitles with a run time of 129 minutes. The film will be hosted by Shelly Isaacs who will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion.

All screenings are GENERAL ADMISSION and begin at 7:30 p.m. Lobby opens at 6:30 p.m. and the Auditorium opens for seating at 7:00 p.m.

Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center. Buy tickets online at: www.aventuracenter.org - Or by phone at: (877) 311-7469. Or: (954) 462-0222. Or in person at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center box office Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. and 90 minutes prior to each performance. For Group Sales, please call: (954) 660-6307. Tickets start at $12.

Parking
Free parking is available in the lots adjacent to the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center in front of the Aventura Community Recreation Center and the Aventura City of Excellence School.

Valet service is available for most performances at $20 per vehicle. Valet parking is located at the main entrance of the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center in the circular drive. There is a convenient drop-off area in front of the building.

The Aventura Arts & Cultural Center is located at: 3385 Northeast 188th Street, Aventura, Florida 33180.

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