Canadian-Korean Indie Comedy Film ‘The Mother and the Bear’ Trailer
by Alex Billington
November 24, 2025
Source: YouTube
“Do you think that we’re good parents?” Dekanalog has revealed the official US trailer for an acclaimed indie film from Canada titled The Mother and the Bear, made by talented Canadian-Chinese filmmaker Johnny Ma. The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival last year and it also played at a few other festivals and is finally opening in limited release (in the US) soon. In the snow-swept city of Winnipeg, school teacher Sumi is hospitalized after a fall. On hearing the news, her anxious mother, Sara, flies over from Seoul to be with her comatose daughter — once Sara sets herself up in the young woman’s apartment, she discovers she doesn’t really know Sumi at all. As Sara meddles in Sumi’s life via a dating app, she ends up on a journey that will leave her forever changed. “A stylized, whimsical narrative of crossed wires, secret lives, and conflicting agendas, the film is ‘a uniquely charming comedy about one woman’s quest to discover more about herself.” Starring Kim Ho-jung, Lee Won-jae, Jonathan Kim, Amara Pedroso, Kalyn Bomback, Susan Hanson, Samantha Kendrick, and Leere Park as Sumi. Looks amusing & heartfelt.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Johnny Ma’s film The Mother and the Bear, from YouTube:
After 26-year-old Sumi (Leere Park) suffers an accident on the streets of wintry Winnipeg, Canada, her overbearing mother Sara (Kim Ho-jung) flies in from Seoul to be by her now comatose daughter’s side. Desperate to ensure Sumi will have someone to look after her in the future, Sara embarks on a mission to catfish a suitable (preferably Korean) husband before her daughter wakes up. However, as Sara meddles in Sumi’s life via a dating app, she ends up on a journey that will leave her forever changed. The Mother and the Bear is directed by Canadian-Chinese filmmaker Johnny Ma, director of the films Old Stone and To Live to Sing previously. Produced by Niv Fichman and Juan de Dios Larraín. This initially premiered at the 2024 Toronto Film Festival last year. Dekanalog will debut Johnny Ma’s The Mother and the Bear film in select US theaters starting January 2nd, 2026 early next year. For more info, head to their official site.
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