Florence Awards PARK Chan-wook Key to the City

NEWS & REPORTS
News
Korean Film News

Korean Film News

NEWS & REPORTS

Florence Awards PARK Chan-wook Key to the City

Mar 30, 2017

Writer by Pierce Conran
View3285

First Korean Artist to Receive Prize in Birthplace of Renaissance

PARK Chan-wook was honored in Florence last week, where he was given an honorary Key to the City by Mayor Dario Nardella. The filmmaker was awarded for his contributions to the arts and his role in connecting the cultures of Italy and South Korea.

Well known in the country for his boundary-breaking genre works such as Old Boy (2003) and Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in 2005, PARK stated after the ceremony that “I am delighted to receive it in this city, the heart of the humankind's culture and art. I feel I have joined the line of artists who have embellished Florence.” He added that “I hope Italians could get to know the South Korean culture through Korean movies as much as Koreans love and cherish Italian culture.”

Meanwhile, the director was in town for the 15th edition of the Florence Korea Film Fest, where he was invited to participate in both a masterclass and a retrospective of his works, spanning everything from Joint Security Area /JSA (2000) to last year’s The Handmaiden, and including several short films co-directed with his brother PARK Chan-kyong.

Director PARK is the first Korean to be conferred with the prize, which has in the past been bestowed to cultural luminaries such as opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.

Any copying, republication or redistribution of KOFIC's content is prohibited without prior consent of KOFIC.

Related People