'The Age of Shadows' wins Korean film critics' award

All Headlines 16:34 October 24, 2016

SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean espionage film "The Age of Shadows" directed by Kim Jee-woon picked up the best film prize given by the local film critics' association, the organization said Monday.

Along with best film, the espionage period thriller also won the best music award at the 36th annual Korean Film Critics Association Awards, the group said in a release.

Lee Kyoung-mi received the best director award for the mystery thriller "The Truth Beneath," for which Son Ye-jin earned the best actress honor for her successful portrayal of both a young mother and a desperate woman with a deteriorating mental condition as she tirelessly searches for her missing daughter.

Best actor went to Lee Byung-hun, who received critical acclaim for his performance in Woo Min-ho's political revenge flick "Inside Men."

For new talent, Yoon Ga-eun picked up the best new director prize for "The World of Us", which casts light on social issues affecting children in Korea, and Jeong Ha-dam won the rookie actress award from "Steel Flower" for successfully depicting the life of a scared, homeless girl who is determined to forge a path out of poverty.

Meanwhile, the best rookie actor award was left vacant.

The technical award went to the zombie thriller "Train to Busan" and the best cinematography award was given to Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden," centered on the lesbian relationship between a servant and her master.

This year's prize for contribution to cinema was awarded to Im Kwon-taek, one of the most famous directors in Korea, for his influence in the development of the Korean movie industry.

Among other prize winners are directors Kim Dong-ryung and Park Kyoung-tae, who received the best independent film award for co-producing the documentary film "Tour of Duty," which chronicles the lives of three women struggling to overcome pain and persecution during the U.S. military presence in South Korea.

The black-and-white biographical period film "Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet" won Lee Joon-ik an award from the local Film Critics Society composed of movie critics working in Korea, and earned its writer Shin Yeon-shick the best screenplay award.

The 36th award ceremony, emceed by actor Kim Sung-kyun and actress Uhm Ji-won, will fall on Nov. 8 at 6:30 p.m at Seoul Press Center in downtown Seoul.