Yoon-a Deemed Most Popular Actress in Asia at 1st Marianas International Film Festival
Korea was a major presence at the recent awards ceremony for the 1st Marianas International Film Festival held in Saipan, commonwealth of the United States in the Pacific Islands, on December 8th.
The Prison director
NA Hyun earned the Best New Director Prize while indie title
Merry Christmas Mr. Mo was given the Best Music Award. Girls’ Generation member
Yoon-a was also on hand to pick up the Most Popular Actress in Asia Award.
Celebrating global cinema with a focus on works from the United States, Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Marianas International Film Festival featured 27 films, whittled down from 350 entries.
Starring
HAN Suk-kyu and
KIM Rae-won,
The Prison features a cop who goes undercover to bust a crime group that runs its business from behind bars. The film was a hit for
Showbox earlier this year, welcoming 2.93 million viewers (USD 21.88 million). The thriller recently picked up the award for Best Lighting at the Daejong Film Awards.
The black and white family comedy-drama
Merry Christmas Mr. Mo, which follows an elderly man who decides to make a short film with his son, premiered in the New Currents competition of the
Busan International Film Festival last year where it picked up the NETPAC Award. The debut of
LIM Dae-hyeong, the film opened theatrically in Korea on December 14.