Hollywood film by Korean-American director wins top prizes at Sundance

All News 16:52 February 02, 2020

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) -- A Hollywood drama by a Korean-American director starring South Korean actresses has received top prizes at the Sundance Film Festival.

Sundance said "Minari," directed by Lee Isaac Chung and featuring, among others, Youn Yuh-jung and Han Ye-ri, won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the Dramatic category at its annual ceremony in Park City, Utah, on Saturday (local time).

In this EPA photo, Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung accepts the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for his film "Minari" during the annual ceremony in Park City, Utha, on Feb. 1, 2020. (Yonhap)

The film follows a seven-year-old Korean-American boy named David, whose father moves the family to rural Arkansas in the mid-1980s in pursuit of the American Dream.

It's the first U.S. film for Youn, an award-winning, 72-year-old veteran, and Han, a 35-year-old with a series of hit films and TV series to her credit.

Korean-American actor Steven Yeun, whose filmography includes popular TV series "The Walking Dead" and "Okja," a film by Oscar-nominated director Bong Joon-ho, plays the father, Jacob, in "Minari."