"I Saw the Devil" wins top prize at Brussels film fest

Official poster of the 29th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival [Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival]

Korean thriller "I Saw the Devil" has scored the top prize at the 29th annual Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) over the weekend, according to the official website of the fest on Wednesday.

"Devil," helmed by famed Korean auteur Kim Jee-woon, beat out other international feature films for the Golden Raven at the fest held at Brussels in Belgium starting from April 7 to 19.

The award was handed out by an international jury composed of Enzo Castellari (president), Jake West, Simon Boswell and Nicolas Gob.

Past winners of the Golden Raven include Korean films "The Isle" by Kim Ki-duk in 2001, Jang Jun-hwan's "Save The Green Planet!" in 2004 and Bong Joon-ho's epic picture "The Host" in 2007.

First created in 1983, the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival is a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. The awards at the fest compete under the categories of Golden Raven, Silver Raven, 7th Orbit, Silver Melies, Pegase and Thriller Award.

"Devil," starring Lee Byung-hun who plays a secret agent who plots revenge against a serial killer played by Choi Min-sik, has garnered much attention from both fans in Korea and overseas.

Since opening in local theaters on August 12 last year, the pic has attracted over 1.2 million moviegoers which amounts to a gross of about 9.3 billion Korean won.

The films was pre-sold to France, England Taiwan and Turkey during the Cannes film market in May and has also been invited to this year's Toronto International Film Festival under the Special Presentations category, which recognizes major films from famous directors.

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