The 45th Yeongpyeong Awards, Director Lee Ran-hee's 'The Final Semester' Wins Best Film Award

The 45th Yeongpyeong Awards Best Film Award, selected by the Korean Film Critics Association, has been awarded to Director Lee Ran-hee's 〈The Final Semester〉. The association announced this year's winners on the 6th.

〈The Final Semester〉 depicts the stories of vocational high school students who go on field practice and experience their first labor environment. It has been praised for its calm portrayal of the students' daily lives, resonating with the audience. Director Lee Ran-hee also won the Best Screenplay Award, achieving two awards.

The Best Director Award went to Director Jeong Byeong-ki for 〈When This Summer is Over〉.

The Best Actor Award was given to Park Jung-min, who played dual roles in Director Yeon Sang-ho's 〈The Ugly〉, while the Best Actress Award went to Jang Seon-yi for 〈YADANG: THE SNITCH〉.

In the Supporting Actor category, the Best Supporting Actor Award went to Park Hee-soon for 〈NO OTHER CHOICE〉, and the Best Supporting Actress Award went to Kim Geum-soon for 〈YADANG: THE SNITCH〉.

In the Newcomer category, Director Park Jun-ho of 〈3670〉 won the Best New Director Award, and Jo Yu-hyun from the same film won the Best New Actor Award, sweeping two categories. The Best New Actress Award went to Na Ae-jin for 〈Silver Apricot〉.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Director Choi Ha-won. Director Choi debuted with 〈Trees Stand on Slope〉 (1968) and is known for capturing the issues and perspectives of contemporary Korean society, with his representative work being the film adaptation of Hwang Soon-won's novel, 〈An Old Potter〉 (1969). He also contributed to nurturing future generations as a professor when the Korean Film Academy was established in 1984.

In the technical categories, the Best Lighting Award went to Hong Cho-rong for 〈The Land of Morning Calm〉, while the Best Cinematography and Best Music Awards were awarded to Kim Jeong-min-woo for 〈Prayer of the isle〉.

The Independent Film Support Award in the feature film category went to Director Jeong I-woong for 〈The Land of Morning Calm〉, and in the documentary category, Directors Park Soo-nam and Park Ma-ui for 〈Voices of the Silenced〉 received the award.

The International Federation of Film Critics Korean Headquarters Award for the domestic category went to Director Park Chan-wook for 〈NO OTHER CHOICE〉, and for the international category, it was awarded to Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Apelhan for the Netflix animation 〈K-Pop Demon Hunters〉.

The Yeongpyeong 10 selections, which focus on aesthetic quality, include 〈Spring Night〉, 〈Prayer of the isle〉, 〈The Land of Morning Calm〉, 〈NO OTHER CHOICE〉, 〈The Ugly〉, 〈When This Summer is Over〉, 〈The Match〉, 〈YADANG: THE SNITCH〉, 〈The Final Semester〉, 〈3670〉.

This year, the Yeongpyeong Awards ceremony will not be held. The association stated, "We faced constraints due to the realities of the film support project and will focus on discovering quality films and widely promoting their significance instead of forcing an awards ceremony."