The highest accolade in the short film section at the Berlin International Film Festival went to a talented Korean newcomer this year:
NA Young-kil’s short
Hosanna won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. Hosanna reinterprets the ‘salvation of God’ as written in the bible’s ‘book of Psalms’ by re-examining the ethics and value of salvation through the vicious accounts of a young boy with the power of healing others and a remote village that disintegrates because of the boy’s unusual abilities. The film already attracted considerable attention in the local festival scene with numerous award wins including the 15th
Jeonju International Film Festival Korean Competition for Shorts Special Jury Award, the 13th
Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival Special Jury Award, the Passionate Staff Member Prize at the 40th Seoul Independent Film Festival, as well as an entry in the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival International Competition before its invite to Berlin.
The director looked stunned as he stepped onto the stage when his name was called during the festival’s closing ceremony held February 14th (Sat). As he held the Golden Bear trophy in his hands, he seemed to be struggling with words until he repeatedly ‘thanked the Lord’ and then his girlfriend sitting in the audience which spurred a big round of applause from the audience.
The director once again received the spotlight at the following press conference. After he exclaimed, “it was this film that granted me this first trip to Europe,” he then expressed his satisfaction, “I always wanted to meet fellow filmmakers at film festivals overseas, and now this wish has been granted.” In addition he stated, “I was very touched by how the theater filled up with people from all over world, who wanted to see my film, and how they responded to it.” To a German journalist’s comment on the film’s slightly extreme level of expression, the director responded by stating his “regret for not taking things to the extreme,” aptly adding, “This film fundamentally asks where we can seek healing and hope, but in fact it donned on me that a different kind of hope or future can be found when we look into and face the deepest abyss in ourselves at the moment of ultimate despair. We need to fall into a deeper hole.”
Hosanna’s Golden Bear win is the first Korean short film in four years since the brothers
PARK Chan-wook and
PARK Chan-kyong directed
Night Fishing received this award in 2011, which also set a new record as the first smartphone film ever to receive an award at an international film festival.
Berlin=NA Won-jung