The Wildflower Film Awards

April 12, 2015June 13, 2015

The 2nd Wildflower Film Awards Unveils Victors

The 2nd Wildflower Film Awards

The 2nd Wildflower Film Awards, a prestigious event honouring the very best of Korean independent film from the past year, was held at Seoul’s Literature House in the district of Chungmuro.

An array of film talent turned up to the celebration of indie cinema, including movie stars Park Hae-il (War of the Arrows, The Host) and Chun Woo-hee (Thread of Lies, Sunny).

The prizes were quite evenly spread throughout the pool of films released during the past 12 months, with director Lee Su-jin’s Han Gong-ju adding yet another two trophies to the already staggering number of awards received.

Best Actress Chun Woo-hee and Best Actor Ahn Jae-hong

On a special note the Appreciation Award went to Jung Sang-jin of AtNineFilm, who has consistently supported Korean independent cinema for years through both the production wing of his company as well as in terms of distribution through his art house cinema Art Nine in Isu.

For the full list of winners, please see below.

Grand Prize – Han Gong-ju, dir. Lee Su-jin
Best Director: Narrative Film – Hong Sangsoo, Hill of Freedom
Best Director: Documentary – Park Chan-kyong, Manshin
Best Actor – Ahn Jae-hong, The King of Jokgu
Best Actress – Chun Woo-hee, Han Gong-ju
Best Screenplay – July Jung, A Girl at My Door
Best Cinematography – Kelvin Kyung Kun Park & Stone Kim, A Dream of Iron
Best New Director – Lee Yong-seung, 10 Minutes
Best New Actor – Choi Woo-shik, Set Me Free
Best New Actress – Kim Su-an, Mad Sad Bad – Picnic

Appreciation Award: Jung Sang-jin, atninefilm
Special Jury Award: Actress Shin Min-a, Gyeongju

The 2nd Wildflower Awards winners take to the stage

To visit the official Wildflower Film Facebook page and see photos from the night, please follow the link here.

Festival News Korean Film Festivals 2015

March 27, 2015April 13, 2015

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The 2nd Wildflower Film Awards Announces Nominations

The 2nd Wildflower Film Awards

The Wildflower Film Awards has unveiled the nominations for its second edition, with the prizes to be bestowed at a ceremony on April 9th in central Seoul.

The organisation is dedicated to celebrating the achievements of Korean independent cinema, as well as films that have a budget of less than 1 billion won. With the vertically-integrated nature of the commercial industry in Korea such films often have an arduous production and a battle to secure distribution, despite the incredible creativity and insight contained within.

The nominations were selected by a panel of film professionals and cineastes, headed by Korean cinema specialist director Darcy Paquet, a figure renowned for his contributions in promoting films from the region. The committee – which Hanguk Yeonghwa is proud to be a part of – chose the finalists from over 60 features and almost 30 documentaries released throughout 2014.

Out of the 21 films nominated July Jung’s A Girl at My Door leads with seven nods, while Lee Su-jin’s Han Gong-ju and Woo Moon-gi’s The King of Jokgu have five. Lee Yong-seung’s 10 Minutes, Zhang Lu’s Gyeongju, and Hong Sang-soo’s Hill of Freedom have four nominations each, respectively.

In the build-up to the awards ceremony, from April 6th~9th screenings of six of the nominees will occur at Seoul Theater, accompanied by Q&A sessions with the filmmakers involved.