Korean flick "Poetry" wins grand prize at int'l film fest in Switzerland

Korean film "Poetry" [Uni-Korea]

Korean flick "Poetry," starring veteran actress Yoon Jeong-hee, won the grand prize at an international film festival held in Switzerland over the weekend.

"Poetry," helmed by famed Korean director Lee Chang-dong, won the Regard d'Or (Golden Gaze) award at the 25th annual Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF)on March 26, according to the fest's official website on Monday.

The dramatic feature, which tells the story of an elderly woman who learns how to write her own poems while fighting Alzheimer's, also took home the FIPRESCI jury award aimed at promoting cinema as an art and encouraging new and young directors.

The film was a smash hit during last year's Cannes Film Festival, winning the award for best screenplay and selling its distribution rights to several countries including Hong Kong, Syria, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Russia, Taiwan and Brazil.

Another winner at FIFF was Korean film "Late Autumn," starring Hyun Bin and Chinese actress Tang Wei, which scored the E-Changer award aimed at encouraging youths to express themselves at the film fest.

"Late Autumn," tells of the brief encounter between a male gigolo named Hoon (played by Hyun Bin) who is on the run and Anna (Tang Wei) who gets a pardon for three days from the jail, also received a special mention by the members of the International Federation of the Film Societies.

The movie was first released in 1966 by famed Korean director Lee Man-hee and was re-made three times -- into "Promise of the Body" in 1975, "Manchu" in 1982 and Japanese film "Promise" in 1972.

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Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@