Film Festival in South Korea
"The film reveals the director's consistent strength. It has an uncompromising story and superb acting," said the jury, chaired by acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.
Two other filmmakers came in for special mentions: Chinese director Wanma Caidan for his documentary-style film about life in modern Tibet, titled Silent Holy Stone and an upcoming South Korean director Yoon Jong-Bin for The Unforgiven. Yoon's film, which looks at the psychological effect of the country's military service programme on Korean men, also won two other smaller jury awards and was highly appreciated by critics.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Unlike many major film festivals such as Berlin and Cannes, there is only one competitive section in Busan, widely regarded as Asia's biggest and most prestigious cinema gathering.
Festival programmer Kim Ji-seok said there were no plans to introduce more prizes in years to come. "The reason we are supporting a non-competitive festival is because we want to give a boost to new and upcoming director," he told AFP.
A plethora of minor prizes and cash grants are handed out to documentary makers' feature film projects during the festival.
Source: AFP