News: 2nd Wildflower Film Awards Reveals Nominees

By Pierce Conran

Following its launch last year, the Wildflower Film Awards Korea revealed the nominees of its upcoming 2nd edition last week. Leading the pack with seven nominees is July Jung's A Girl at My Door, while Han Gong-ju and The King of Jokgu following at five a piece and 10 Minutes, Gyeongju and Hill of Freedom each picking up four.

Set up by Korean film critic and festival consultant Darcy Paquet, the Wildflower Film Awards have been praised by industry professionals as a means to recognize the achievements of Korea's thriving independent scene. Despite critical acclaim and success on the international festival circuit, low-budget films have had a tough time at local theaters, due in part to the vertically integrated nature of Korea's studio system.

The event's top categories are the Best Director - Narrative and Best Director - Documentary prizes, which each have seven nominees, while a top Grand Prize will also be selected among all 14 nominees. The Wildflower's selection committee, which is made up of local film professionals and indie film lovers unaffiliated with the industry, picked 21 films across 10 categories from a pool of around 90 films, each with a budget under $1 million and released in local theaters in 2014.

Six of the nominees will be screened at the Seoul Theater over April 6-8 just ahead of the awards themselves on April 9. In addition, the event also launched its first Wildflower Film Awards Annual, which features 11 essays and interviews on independent films. Check out the full list of nominees below:

Best Director - Narrative Films

Leesong Hee-il, Night Flight

Woo Moon-gi, The King of Jokgu

Zhang Lu, Gyeongju

July Jung, A Girl at My Door

Lee Su-jin, Han Gong-ju

Lee Yong-seung, 10 Minutes

Hong Sangsoo, Hill of Freedom

Best Director - Documentaries

Kelvin Kyung Kun Park, A Dream of Iron

Park Moon-chil, My Place

Park Chan-kyong, Manshin

Lee Sang-ho & Ahn Hae-ryong, The Truth Shall Not Sink With Sewol 

Lee Chang-jae, The Hospice

Jung Yoonsuk, Non-fiction Diary

Hong Jae-hui, My Father’s Emails

Best Actor

Park Hae-il, Gyeongju

Song Sae-byuk, A Girl at My Door

Ahn Jae-hong, The King of Jokgu

Jung Eui-gap, The Dinner

Kase Ryo, Hill of Freedom

Best Actress

Kim Saeron, A Girl at My Door

Moon Sori, Hill of Freedom

Bae Doona, A Girl at My Door

Shin Min-a, Gyeongju

Chun Woo-hee, Han Gong-ju

Best Screenplay

Kim Tae-gon, The King of Jokgu

Kim Da-hyun, 10 Minutes

Lee Su-jin, Han Gong-ju

July Jung, A Girl at My Door

Hong Sangsoo, Hill of Freedom

Best Cinematography

Kim Hyunseok, A Girl at My Door

Kelvin Kyung Kun Park & Stone Kim, A Dream of Iron

Cho Young-jik, Gyeongju

Jee Yune-jeong, Lee Sun-young, Yoo Ji-sun, Manshin

Hong Jae-sik, Han Gong-ju

Best New Director

Park Chan-kyong, Manshin

Woo Moon-gi, The King of Jokgu

Lee Su-jin, Han Gong-ju

Lee Yong-seung, 10 Minutes

July Jung, A Girl at My Door

Best New Actor

Kwak Siyang, Night Flight

Baek Jong-hwan, 10 Minutes

Byun Yo-han, Tinker Ticker

Lee Jeajoon, Night Flight

Choi Woo-shik, Set Me Free

Best New Actress

Kong Ye-ji, Shuttlecock

Kim Su-an, Mad Sad Bad - Picnic

Park Joohee, The Wicked

Lee Yoo-young, Late Spring

Hwang Seung-un, The King of Jokgu

Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema. For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (Korean Standard Time).

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.