The Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s largest, will this yr posthumously honor late South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun with the Korea Cinema Award, organizers mentioned Friday.
Lee, finest recognized globally for his starring function in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” was discovered lifeless in an obvious suicide in December 2023 after a two-month police investigation over suspected drug use, sparking business outcry and widespread public concern.
The competition’s Korea Cinema Award is “presented to filmmakers who have elevated the status of Korean cinema and contributed to its global growth,” BIFF organizers mentioned in an announcement.
This yr, the award “will be given to the late actor Lee Sun-kyun, who won the hearts of both domestic and international film fans through his diverse work,” it mentioned, including the award ceremony can be held throughout the opening of the subsequent BIFF on Oct. 2.
This yr’s competition may also characteristic a particular screening of the actor’s six movie and tv works, together with “Parasite,” “Our Sunhi” (2013) and a portion of the TV collection “My Mister” (2018).
The program additionally consists of Lee’s final work, launched posthumously, “Land of Happiness” (2024), through which the late actor performed a army solider throughout South Korea’s authoritarian interval within the Nineteen Seventies.
A graduate of South Korea’s prestigious Korea National University of Arts, Lee gained popularity of his performances in a wide range of roles since his debut within the early 2000s, together with a charismatic chef and a genius neuroscientist who’s incapable of empathy.
Lee acquired widespread important popularity of his efficiency within the 2018 TV drama collection “My Mister,” for his portrayal of a diligent architectural engineer, whereas globally, he’s finest recognized for his function as the rich and shallow patriarch in Bong’s “Parasite.”
“We aim to reflect on the acting career and achievements of the late actor Lee … who has represented South Korea through his … profound performances, while also creating a meaningful memorial space,” BIFF mentioned.
Following Lee’s loss of life, a police officer has come beneath investigation for allegedly leaking confidential particulars of Lee’s case, which critics declare led to intense mainstream media protection and a surge of damaging and unverified movies on social media platforms like YouTube.
Previous winners of the Korea Cinema Award embrace late South Korean acclaimed actress Yoon Jeong-hee, French movie critic Charles Tesson and Goran Topalovic, the co-founder of the New York Asian Film Festival.
This yr’s BIFF can be held in South Korea’s port metropolis of Busan from Oct. 2 to 11.
Source: www.dailysabah.com