Ha Jung-woo Wins Achievement Award at London Asian Film Festival

The 10th London Asian Film Festival (LEAFF) kicked off on the 23rd (local time) at the Odeon Leicester Square Theatre in London, as announced by the executive committee on the 27th.

This year's festival features the theme 'Faces of Asia', celebrating the diversity and creativity shown by the Asian film industry over the past decade while expressing a commitment to leap into a new decade.

At the opening ceremony awards, director Ha Jung-woo, invited with his new film 〈The People Upstairs〉, received the 'LEAFF Honorary Award'. This award is given to individuals who have contributed to the Asian film industry.

In his acceptance speech, director Ha Jung-woo stated, "When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a director after watching Charlie Chaplin's 〈Modern Times〉, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to present my work in London and receive this award." He plans to have a dialogue session with the audience in London during the festival.

Hong Kong master director Yonfan, participating in the festival with the animation 〈Praying Mantis〉, received a lifetime achievement award at the opening ceremony. Director Yonfan also surprised everyone on stage by proposing that director Ha Jung-woo appear in his next film.

Directors Kang Yoon-sung and Heo Ga-young, invited with 〈Project Y〉 and 〈FIRST SUMMER〉, respectively, also introduced their works at the opening ceremony and expressed their excitement about meeting the audience.

The opening film was a 4K remastered version of the 1992 work 〈Hard Boiled〉 by Hong Kong noir master John Woo. This film is regarded as a representative work of the golden age of Hong Kong action cinema.

Running for 11 days until the 2nd of next month, this festival will showcase a total of 45 works from East Asian countries including Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.