‘The Heiresses’ wins top international prize at Jeonju film fest

The 19th Jeonju International Film Festival announced a total of 12 awards across five categories, in a closing ceremony held in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Wednesday.

The grand prize for the international competition and Korean competition went to Marcelo Martinessi’s “The Heiresses” and Jung Hyung-suk’s “The Land of Seong-hye,” respectively. Kwon Ye-ji’s “Dong-a” grabbed the grand prize in the Korean Competition for Shorts section, which saw 21 short films compete. 

“The Heiresses” tells of a woman and discrimination based on personal experiences delicately, and noted its solid structure and daring, challenging spirit, jury member Kwon Hae-hyo said in selecting the film.

“The Heiresses” is Marcelo Martinessi’s debut feature film, and also won the Silver Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year.

About Jung Hyung-suk’s second feature film, Korean grand prize winner “The Land of Seong-hye,” jury member Jung Ji-woo commented, “The main character Seong-hye’s daily routine is calmly depicted in mature cinema language.”

The best picture prize in the international competition went to Shevaun Mizrahi’s “Distant Constellation,” and the international competition’s special jury prize went to Malene Choi Jensen’s “The Return.”

The CGV Arthouse Distribution Support prize in the Korean competition went to Cho Sung-bin’s “Dreamer,” and Choi Chang-hwan’s “Back From the Beat” won the CGV Arthouse Upcoming Project Prize. As part of the awards, “Dreamer” will appear in CGV cinemas for at least a two-week run and Choi will receive funds toward a future project.

In the Korean Competition for Shorts, Song Ye-jin’s “Refund” won for best director, while Cho Hyun-min’s “Apocalypse Runner” was awarded the special jury prize.

“Overall, I could feel diverse perspectives and attempts, as well as vigorous efforts, from the filmmakers in the festival program,” said director Kim Dae-hwan of the jury.

“I hope the Jeonju IFF will continue to bring hope to directors in the future,” Kim added.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)