Lee Sun-kyun wins best male actor at Las Palmas film fest

Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun has won the award for best male actor at the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival held in Spain this month, according to the film's distributor Myung Film on Tuesday.

Myung quoted the judging committee as handing Lee high points for his role in "Paju," portraying the anguish he felt for loving his wife's younger sister. This is the first acclaim that Lee has received at a film festival since his debut.

The Las Palmas de Gran Canaris film festival first opened in 2000, showcasing creative and independent films competing in different categories internationally. The annual event was held from March 12 to 20 this year.

"Paju" has received both local and international recognition since its screening at the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) last year. The film became the first Korean production to open the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in January and shared the Special Jury Prize with Taiwanese film "Au Revoir Taipei" at the Deauville Asian Film Festival in France earlier this month.

The pic, also starring Korean actress Seo Woo, has also been selected to compete at the Tribeca Film Festival next month -- another first by a Korean movie.

The romantic drama is directed by famed director Park Chan-ok, whose others works include "Warm Swamp" and "Jealousy is My Middle Name."

Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr