South Korean actress Kim Min-hee with South Korean director Hong Sang-soo at the 77th Locarno International Film Festival on Aug 17. GENEVA – South Korean actress Kim Min-hee received the best performance award on Aug 17 at the 77th Locarno International Film Festival for her role in director Hong Sang-soo’s 32nd film, By The Stream. Titled Suyucheon in Korean, the film stars Kim as Jeon-yim, a lecturer at a woman’s university who asks her uncle, a blacklisted actor-director, to direct a skit at the university.
While Jeon-yim goes out every night to paint by the stream and get inspiration, her uncle becomes embroiled in a scandal with a professor at the university’s textile department. The movie is the 15th collaborative work between Kim, 42, and Hong, 63. The actress, best known for her role as Lady Hideko in the film The Handmaiden (2016), also participated in By The Stream as a line producer.
“I’m really in love with your films, director Hong. Thank you for making this beautiful film. Thank you for allowing me to work with you,” she said in her acceptance speech during the awards ceremony held in Locarno, Switzerland.
She added that the period of shooting – five days in total – was too short for her, but that it was still happy and enjoyable. Kim and Hong have been romantically involved since shooting Right Now, Wrong Then in 2015. The film was directed by Hong and starred Kim as the female lead.
He is separated from his wife, whom he married in 1985, but they have not divorced. It is the fourth time auteur Hong was invited to the film festival, Switzerland’s largest film event, following Our Sunhee (2013), Right Now, Wrong Then and Hotel By The River (2018). All three works won awards.
Founded in 1946, Locarno is one of the world’s longest-running annual film festivals and focuses on auteur cinema. Held on the shores of Lake Maggiore in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland, the festival was attended by nearly 150,000 people in 2023. The 2024 edition, which began on Aug 7, featured 225 films, including 104 world premieres and 15 debut movies.
Toxic – the debut feature-length movie by Lithuanian director Saule Bliuvaite – won the Golden Leopard top prize. The festival also honoured Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, New Zealand director Jane Campion and Mexican film-maker Alfonso Cuaron with special awards. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK, AFP A post shared by Locarno Film Festival (@filmfestlocarno) Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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