A South Korea film director, Lee Chang-dong, is a Cannes award-winning (best screenplay award) director who served as South Korea’s culture minister from 2003 to 2004. Lee Chang-dong’s fifth film “Poetry” was named best picture at the 25th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland, the event‘s organizers said Monday.
The Festival ran from March 19 to 26 and Lee took the top Regard d’or award out of 12 films in the festival’s international competition; winning a total of 30,000 Swiss Francs (US$32,000) in prize.
The film, Poetry, tells the story of a conflicted elderly woman who finds happiness in writing poetry for the first time, while a harsh reality simultaneously forces her to suffer guilt and fear.
“Poetry” also received the jury award given by the International Federation of the Cinematographic Press for promoting cinema as an art and encouraging new and young cinematographers.
IFCP jury said on its website, “’Poetry‘ traces a critical psychogram of society whilst examining the question of guilt and the place occupied by poetry within a ruthless world. …For the skillful fusion, the perfect unity, the beauty, the purity and essence of art in itself.”
(아주경제 이수지 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com