Hong Sangsoo Wins Second Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at Berlin Film Festival

by Lee Jonggil

Published 25 Feb.2024 13:35(KST)

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Director Hong Sangsoo won the Jury Grand Prix at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival. The jury of the competition section at the Berlinale announced Hong's new film The Novelist's Film as the winner of the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at the awards ceremony held at the Berlinale Palast on the 24th (local time). Director Hong had previously won the same award in 2022 for The Novelist's Film. With this award, he has participated seven times in the competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival and set a record by winning the Silver Bear, the category-specific prize, five times in total.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

On stage, Director Hong said, "I thank the jury. I don't know what they saw in my film. I'm curious," which brought laughter from the audience. He then pointed to Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian and said, "Thank you for inviting me so often. I appreciate that you empathize with my films." Earlier, Artistic Director Chatrian praised the film, saying, "It is a quintessential example of filmmaking free from budgetary constraints. With an A-list actress and other cast members, it created a special comedy."

The Novelist's Film is Hong's thirty-first feature film. It tells the story of Iris, a woman from France, who teaches French to two people in Korea. The production company Jeonwonsa described Iris as "someone who likes to walk barefoot on the ground and lie on stones. She tries to observe moments non-verbally and strives to live a life based as much as possible on reality. Still, life remains hard. She simply relies on Makgeolli every day to find a bit of comfort."

Iris is played by French actress Isabelle Huppert, who has won the Best Actress award twice at the Cannes Film Festival. This is her third collaboration with Director Hong, following In Another Country (2012) and Claire's Camera (2018). On camera, she forms an ensemble with Lee Hye-young, Kwon Hae-hyo, Jo Yoon-hee, Ha Sung-guk, and Kim Seung-yoon. Director Hong took charge of directing, writing, producing, cinematography, editing, and music. His partner, actress Kim Min-hee, participated as the production manager.

Hong Sangsoo Wins Second Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix at Berlin Film Festival

Director Hong was first invited to the competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival in 2008 with Night and Day. He won trophies for On the Beach at Night Alone (Silver Bear Best Actress - Kim Min-hee) in 2017, The Woman Who Ran (Silver Bear Best Director) in 2020, and Introduction (Silver Bear Best Screenplay) in 2021. In 2022, he received the Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix for The Novelist's Film. His film In Front of Your Face, presented last year in the Encounters section, which introduces new cinematic visions, was invited but did not win any awards.

The highest honor, the Golden Bear, went to Dahomey, directed by Mati Diop (France). The documentary records the political controversy following the return of twenty-six artifacts from the Kingdom of Dahomey (Benin), colonized by France in the late 19th century, in November 2021. Director Diop, an actor and filmmaker of Senegalese descent, won the top prize with her third feature film.

Meanwhile, this year's Berlin International Film Festival featured five Korean films, including The Novelist's Film, Crime City 4 (Special Gala), Exhumation (Forum), It's Okay, It's Okay, It's Okay! (Generation Kplus), and Circle (Short Film Competition). Among them, It's Okay, It's Okay, It's Okay!, the feature debut of director Kim Hye-young, won the Crystal Bear awarded by the children's jury.