A Woman Dancing on the Waves (2026): Cast, Story and Release

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

A Woman Dancing on the Waves follows Yoon Young-ja, a shaman whose unwritten novel becomes the starting point for an intimate exploration of memory, family history, and a life built from nothing. Directed by Choi Se-dam, the South Korean documentary centers its story on a woman gradually losing her memory.

A Woman Dancing on the Waves is a South Korean documentary directed by Choi Se-dam. At its center is Yoon Young-ja, a grandmother who spent her life as a shaman and helped build her family from nothing.

The film takes its title from the novel Young-ja once hoped to write. As her memory gradually fades, Choi makes her grandmother the protagonist while tracing the unusual family history connected to the unfinished book.

A Woman Dancing on the Waves movie details

Story without spoilers

Yoon Young-ja wanted to write a novel titled A Woman Dancing on the Waves, but she never completed it. Over time, she also forgot the identity of the woman at the heart of the proposed story. The documentary uses this unfinished project and Young-ja’s changing memory as a way to examine her life and the history of her family.

Young-ja spent her life as a shaman and played a central role in building the family from nothing. Through Choi Se-dam’s perspective, the film connects the grandmother’s personal history with the unresolved mystery surrounding the novel’s title character, without revealing how that story develops.

What to expect

As a documentary, the film is grounded in the life of Yoon Young-ja and the family history surrounding her. Its premise points toward an intimate account of memory, authorship, and the way personal stories can remain meaningful even when their original details begin to disappear.

The film’s focus is documentary observation and family remembrance rather than a fictional plot. The supplied information also identifies several family members or associates appearing as themselves, suggesting that Young-ja’s story is presented through a broader group of personal voices.

Cast and creative team

Choi Se-dam directs A Woman Dancing on the Waves. Yoon Young-ja appears as herself, alongside Kang Won-chun, Kang Mi-ra, Kang Shin-hoon, and Oh Se-jeong, who are also credited as appearing as themselves. No writer is listed in the supplied credits.

• Yoon Young-ja as Self
• Kang Won-chun as Self
• Kang Mi-ra as Self
• Kang Shin-hoon as Self
• Oh Se-jeong as Self

Release and production context

A Woman Dancing on the Waves is a 2026 documentary from South Korea, spoken in Korean. It has a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes and is produced by Pado Film and Cinema DAL. The supplied release date is October 9, 2026, and the film is listed as released.

Production companies: Pado Film, Cinema DAL

A Woman Dancing on the Waves official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

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A Woman Dancing on the Waves approaches family history through an unwritten novel and the recollections of the woman who imagined it. Its premise places Yoon Young-ja’s life, work as a shaman, and changing memory at the heart of a personal documentary portrait.

Film data:
TMDB