“A Fresh Girl” wins top prize at Boston film festival

A still cut of film "A Fresh Girl" [Daeheung Entertainment]

Korean film "A Fresh Girl" has won the top prize at the 9th Boston International Film Festival (BIFF).

According to the official website of BIFF, “A Fresh Girl” (2009), a local low-budget film by director Kim Jung-ho, won the “Indie Spirit Best Picture Award” at the film festival held from April 13 to 22.

A press release by the film's producer quoted Patrick Jerome, the director and founder of BIFF, as lauding the film for its cinematic achievement, saying it contains the elements of drama, tragedy and happiness which is "a surprising feat" for an indie film.

“I feel like I’ve received a gift from heaven. All my film colleagues at home will congratulate me. I'm so happy to receive such a big award and I'll repay by making even better ones,” director Kim was quoted as saying in the statement.

The 94-minute film which has re-interpreted the motif from the old fairy tale "The Story of Sim Cheong," about a filial daughter who sacrifices her life to cure her blind father, is a cruel, modern version of the story about a teenage girl called Cheong-ah, who while trying to support her crippled and drunk father, ends up having to sell herself and loses hope.

The same film was also screened at the Chungmuro International Film Festival in Seoul last year and is currently aiming for a premiere in Korea around November of this year.

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