'Chun Tae-il,' 'Persona' win at Annecy animation film fest

Two South Korean animated films, "Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On" and "Persona," have been awarded at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

According to the winner's list Monday (Korean time), "Chun Tae-il," a biopic on the Korean workers' rights activist directed by Hong Jun-pyo, received the Contrechamp Jury Distinction prize at the 46th edition of the festival that kicked off June 13 and ran through Saturday.

The 109-minute feature was competing with nine other animations in the Contrechamp section, which was inaugurated in 2018 to showcase unique full-length films.

In the 2020 edition, Korean director Ahn Jae-huun's animated film "The Shaman Sorceress" won the same prize.

In the Graduation Short section, "Persona," directed by Moon Su-jin, won the top prize of Cristal for a Graduation Film.

The six-minute short was the first Korean animated film to be invited to the competition section for short films at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Launched in 1960, the Annecy festival is one of the highest-profile animation events in the world.

South Korea's "My Beautiful Girl, Mari" and "Oseam" were named the best feature films in 2002 and 2004, respectively. (Yonhap)