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Korean films once again proved a popular draw at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, which this year awarded prizes to two Korean films. PARK Hoon-jung’s action-mystery The Witch : Part 1. The Subversion earned the Best Actress prize for KIM Da-mi while JEON Go-woon’s indie drama Microhabitat earned the AQCC-Camera Lucida Award.

The fifth feature film from PARK, who is also responsible for New World (2013) and The Tiger (2015), among others, The Witch : Part 1. The Subversion had its festival debut at Fantasia. The main Fantasia jury commented that “Newcomer KIM Da-mi delivers an immaculate, layered performance, displaying intricacy and range in realms both physical and emotional. This portrayal marks the introduction of a kick-ass new heroine.” The film has proven to be a hit in its native Korea, where it was released by Warner Bros. Korea on June 27 and has to date accrued 3.19 million viewers (USD 24.36 million).

The debut film by JEON, Microhabitat debuted at the Busan International Film Festival last October. The AQCC-Camera Lucida jury wrote that “Microhabitat uses skilled criticism of consumer society and offers a powerful portrait of a woman that is subtly both comedy and drama, all backed by elegant and controlled staging.” Microhabitat has steadily turned into a festival hit, picking up the CGV ARTHOUSE Award in Busan and Tiger Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film from the New York Asian Film Festival.

The 22nd Fantasia International Film Festival took place from July 12 to August 2 this year in Canada.