Finally Surpassing 20,000 Audience! The 51st Seoul Independent Film Festival Closing Ceremony and Award Results on December 5, 2025

Finally surpassing 20,000 audience! The 51st Seoul Independent Film Festival held its closing ceremony on December 5. The closing ceremony concluded the 9-day journey with this year’s event report and awards. The Seoul Independent Film Festival is a festival that summarizes the year’s independent films, showcasing a record 167 films under the slogan ‘You are needed for the film to come’ which grandly opened on November 27. The festival attracted a total of 20,023 audience members (19,575 in 2024), confirming the unwavering interest and expectations for independent films. The honor of this year’s Grand Prize, showcasing the vision and potential of independent films, went to Director Gam Jeong-won’s 〈Stars and Sand〉.

The closing ceremony of the 51st Seoul Independent Film Festival, hosted by actors Gong Min-jung and Seo Hyun-woo, successfully concluded with this year’s event report and awards. A total of 12.7 million won (including in-kind) was awarded to the largest number of award-winning films in history across 6 main categories, 2 new selection categories, and 10 special awards. The closing ceremony began with a trailer directed by Kim Jong-kwan and a sketch video capturing the festival’s 9-day journey, followed by the presentation of awards and prize money to the 5 ‘Actor Project’ winners who will become the new faces of independent films, presented by actor Kwon Hae-hyo. This year’s judges, including actor Jeon Yeo-bin, directors Lee Eon-hee, Kim Mi-young, Yoo Jin-mok, Park Kyung-geun, and Byun Seung-min, attended the ceremony to present awards and convey messages of support and encouragement to the creators.

The Grand Prize, which comes with a cash prize of 20 million won, was awarded to Director Gam Jeong-won’s 〈Stars and Sand〉. 〈Stars and Sand〉 tells the story of two people who, avoiding the speed of the city, search for their own dreams, meeting each other by the riverside in late summer and facing each other’s wounds and weaknesses as they pass through a season together. The main competition jury stated, “We thought this was a type of film that AI could never produce, no matter how advanced it becomes,” and explained the reason for selection, saying, “It made us rethink what cinema is.” Director Gam Jeong-won, who won the Grand Prize, expressed, “While filming the Kumho River in this movie, I learned about the power and love for new lives, and I fell in love with what I do again,” and added, “I am very grateful and love the friends in Daegu who made me realize the joy and happiness of making films, and the audience in front of me.” Notably, this work was selected for the ‘3rd Lee Gang-gil Independent Film Creation Support’ and is a meaningful result that has been recognized since the creation stage. It is even more significant as it premiered to the audience through the Seoul Independent Film Festival 2025.

The Best Film Award went to Director Kim Bo-sol of 〈Plaza〉. The judges stated, “Thanks to the perseverance of the production team despite the long production period, we were able to see this happy film.” Director Kim Bo-sol shared, “During the post-production, the mixing director asked me about the meaning of this film, and I want to convey the answer I thought of then,” adding, “In the Korean Academy of Film Arts archive, all directors’ first works are neatly lined up, and soon my first feature will also find its place there,” and expressed heartfelt gratitude, saying, “I sincerely thank the Seoul Independent Film Festival for recognizing and supporting that effort today.”

The Excellent Film Award was awarded to Director Park Seok-young for 〈Winter Vacation of Ray〉. The judges evaluated it as “a work that quietly observes the record of time in a calm language.” Director Park Seok-young expressed gratitude, saying, “I am thankful that the Seoul Independent Film Festival is still healthy.” He continued, “I wanted to make sure to say that we should all come together to restore the regional film budget.”

The short film Grand Prize was awarded to Director Yang Hee-jin’s 〈The Rain of Tonight〉, receiving a cash prize of 10 million won. The short film competition jury described it as “a work that honestly and deeply expresses the difficult and confusing period of a middle school student in adolescence.” Director Yang Hee-jin expressed, “I am still a film student,” and shared, “While watching the films at this year’s Seoul Independent Film Festival, I thought, ‘Ah, I am still a rookie,’ and I have a lot to learn, but I am so happy to receive this award.” She added, “I will continue to make films in a fun way.”

 The short film Best Film Award was awarded to Director Park Yoo-sun’s 〈We Must Meet Again〉. Director Park Yoo-sun shared, “I enjoyed this year’s Seoul Independent Film Festival,” and expressed gratitude for the unexpected award, saying, “I will not forget the love given to me and will use this experience as a foundation for my future work.” The ‘Short Film Excellent Film Award’ was awarded to Director Lee Ji-won’s 〈Kang-i and Dugi〉 and Director Lee Seong-wook’s 〈Material Form〉. Director Lee Ji-won expressed gratitude to all the staff and actors who worked hard for the film, saying, “I will make films with a humble heart in the future.” Director Lee Seong-wook expressed, “I am very happy to receive a meaningful award. I thank the displaced persons and actors who were with me during the filming, as well as those who helped with the post-production.”

The ‘New Selection Award’ category, which focuses on the new and innovative works of emerging directors, was awarded to Director Han Chang-rok’s 〈Chung Chung Chung〉. The judges introduced it as “a work that captures the energy of the film with the director’s bold approach to strong visual imagery and the inner world of the characters.” The ‘New Perspective Award’ was awarded to Director Kim Jin-yu’s 〈Flowing Journey〉. Director Kim Jin-yu shared, “I hurriedly came here while writing a statement about the regional film budget issue, and receiving this award makes me think a lot,” adding, “I put a lot of effort into making this film, so it is even more meaningful, and I will strive to continue to raise my voice in the independent film scene.”

 Additionally, the ‘Special Award from the Executive Committee’ was awarded to Director Wang Min-cheol for 〈Simply, Where We Stay〉. The ‘Independent General Award’ selected by the Korean Independent Film Association’s operating committee was awarded to Director Choi Seung-woo’s 〈Winter Days〉, with the judges commenting, “It is a work that faithfully captures the lives of those living silently in the winter landscape of Seoul.”

The Independent Star Award, which has discovered new independent film actors such as Jeon Yeo-bin, Lee Joo-seung, Lee Joo-young, Lee Sang-hee, and Byun Yo-han, was awarded to actor Noh Sang-hyun from 〈Kang-i and Dugi〉 and actor Park Hyo-eun from 〈The Goats〉. 〈Kang-i and Dugi〉 won two awards, including the ‘Short Film Excellent Film Award.’ The ‘Passionate Staff Award’ was awarded to Director Park Se-young of 〈Fins〉 in the cinematography category. The ‘CGK Cinematography Award’ presented by the Korean Society of Cinematographers was awarded to cinematographers Heo Cheol-nyeong and Jeong Sae-byeol for 〈Eddie Alice: Take〉, receiving a prize worth 5 million won and a plaque. The ‘Amnesty International Candlelight Award’ selected by the Korean branch of Amnesty International was awarded to Director Ko Eun-sang for 〈New City K〉.

The newly established ‘Strong Inside and Outside Award’ this year was awarded to Director Jo Barun for 〈Layer〉. Director Ryu Seung-wan, who presented the award, stated, “I was able to debut my feature film thanks to the award I received at the Seoul Independent Film Festival last century, so I created the ‘Strong Inside and Outside Award’ to repay that debt,” and added, “I was deeply moved while watching many independent films this year, and I look forward to the next works of these directors more than anyone.” Strong Inside and Outside representative Kang Hye-jung announced, “We have decided to continue the ‘Strong Inside and Outside Award’ for at least 10 years, if not more. I will take full responsibility to ensure that the prize money does not run out,” stating, “This is an award given to directors who will become the true seeds to lead the next generation of Korean cinema.”

The ‘Independent Film Matching Project: Next Link’ initiative, which aims to provide practical help to creators as well as interest in independent film distribution, awarded the Next Link Award to Director Yoo Jae-in’s 〈The Road to Erasure〉 and Director Park Seok-young’s 〈Winter Vacation of Ray〉. Director Park Seok-young received the honor of winning two awards, including the ‘Excellent Film Award.’ The Cineplay Local Cinema Award, established in 2021 to focus on the works of directors based in the region, was awarded to Director Lee Woo-ri’s 〈Mountain Climbing〉, and the Audience Award, selected through audience voting, was awarded to Director Lee Il-ha’s 〈Horomong〉 and Director Nam So-hyun’s 〈Those Who Leave Buy Flowers〉.

Celebrating its 51st edition, the Seoul Independent Film Festival 2025 concluded as a film festival summarizing the year’s independent films under the slogan ‘You are needed for the film to come.’ The festival will not end here; it plans to share more with the audience after the festival by releasing programs such as the creators’ workshops and talk forums conducted during the festival on the official YouTube channel of the Seoul Independent Film Festival (youtube.com/@siff1998).