Official awards of the 28th Busan International Film Festival have been announced and a grand prize of USD 30,000 was awarded to “The Land of Morning Calm” and to “MA – Cry of Silence”.

According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international cinema journalist, The closing ceremony of the 29th Busan International Film Festival was held in the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea, with the presence of members of the jury of different competition sections, cinematographers present at the festival, activists of the cinema industry, and also those interested in the seventh art. Winners of New Currents Award, Kim Jiseok Award, Mecenat Documentary Award, Sonje Award, FIPRESCI Award “International Federation of Film Critics”, NETPAC Award, etc.

The best film of the New Currents Award

The members of the jury of the New Currents Award in the 29th Busan International Film Festival, who were; Iranian director and screenwriter Mohammad Rasoulof as president of the jury, Korean director LEE Myung-Se, Chinese actor Zhou Dongyu, Indian actor Kani Kusruti and Vanja Kaludjercic Croatian International Film Festival Rotterdam director Vanja Kaludjercic, they announced their votes as follows:

The award for the best film of this part of the festival includes; $30,000 prize to the “The Land of Morning Calm” directed by PARK Ri-woong (Korea) and the “MA – Cry of Silence” directed by The MAW NAING (Myanmar, South Korea, Singapore, France, Norway, Qatar).

The best film of the Kim Jiseok Award

The members of the jury of the Kim Jiseok Award in this prestigious film event, which were; Christian Jeune, director of the film department at Cannes International Film Festival from France - head of the jury, Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage, and Korean director Shin Suwon, announced their votes as follows:

The award for the best film in this section includes; $10,000 prize to the film “Village Rockstars 2” directed by Rima DAS (India, Singapore) and the film “Yen and Ai-LEE” directed by Tom LIN Shu-Yu (Taiwan).

The best documentary of the Mecenat Award

The members of the jury of the documentary of the Mecenat award in this period of the festival were; Iranian director and screenwriter Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Asako Fujioka vice president of Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and Korean director Lee Soojung, announced their votes as follows:

The award for the best Korean and Asian documentary film of this section includes; $7,400 prize to the documentary film “Works and Days” directed by PARK Minsoo and AHN Kearny Hyun (Taiwan) and the documentary film “Another Home” directed by Frankie SIN (Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, France).

The best short film of the Sonje Award

The members of the jury of the Sonje Award at the 29th Busan International Film Festival, which were; Korean director and screenwriter Lim Dae-hyung from South Korea, American director Constance Tsang and Japanese director Yoko Yamanaka, announced their opinions as follows:

The award for the best Korean and Asian short film of this part of the festival includes; $7,400 prize to the short film “Yurim” directed by SONG Jiseo, (Korea) and to the short film “A Garden in Winter” directed by Eléonore Mahmoudian and Hiroshi Matsui (Japan, France).

The best film of the FIPRESCI Award

The jury members of the FIPRESCI award section of the International Federation of Film Critics in this artistic event included; Teréz Vincze, university professor and film critic, from Hungary, Hsin Wang, film critic from Taiwan, and Souewon Rhee, film critic from South Korea, awarded the best film award of this section to the film “Tale of the Land” directed by Loeloe. HENDRA (Philippines, Taiwan, Qatar.)

The best film of the NETPAC Award

The jury members of the NETPAC Award the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema in this period of the festival, which were; Japanese director Kohei IGARASHI, Herman VAN EYKEN, university professor from Belgium, and Korean director KIM Miyoung, was awarded the best film to the “The Land of Morning Calm” directed by PARK Ri-woong (Korea).

The best film of the Cinephile Award

This award is given to the best Korean and Asian documentary film presented in the Wide Angle documentary showcase section. The jury of college students, including numerous students from the cinema-related departments of six universities in Busan region, select the winner.

The Cinephile Award was given to the documentary “No Other Land” directed by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (Palestine, Nepal).

Audience Award

This award is given to the film that is most highly rated by festival audiences from the New Currents section.

The audience award in the New Currents Award of the festival was awarded to “The Land of Morning Calm” directed by PARK Ri-woong (Korea).

Commemoration of the Portuguese director Miguel Gomes

The 29th Busan International Film Festival, showing films by filmmakers from different countries of the world in several competition, including; 10 feature films in the New Currents Award, 11 Korean short films in the Wide Angle competition, 10 Asian short films in the Wide Angle competition, 10 documentary films in the Wide Angle competition, 8 feature films in the Kim Jiseok Award, Mecenat Award, Netpac Award, Sonje Award, FIPRESCI Award as well as non- out of competition including; 28 films in the A Window on Asian Cinema section, 5 films in the Gala Presentation, 7 films in the Open Cinema, 17 films in the, a Japanese short film and 17 documentaries in the Showcase, 6 films movies in the Midnight Passion, 6 films in the On Screen, 9 films in the Special Program in Focus on the teena Spirit, teen movies, 5 films in the commemoration of famous Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, 6 films in the commemoration of the late Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, 29 films in the World Cinema, 23 films in the Korean Cinema Today, 11 films in the Flash Forward, the Asian Film Academy, the Special Screening, the Miguel Gomes specialized film workshop and Hong Kong-Chinese director Ann Hui, Asian Cinema Fund, Asian Film Market etc, it was held from October 2 to October 11, 2024 in the Busan cinema and other cinemas in the city of Busan in Korea.

Credit images website of the Busan International Film Festival

For more details:

https://www.biff.kr/eng/addon/10000001/page.asp?page_num=8417