BiFan 2018: REVENGE & LAND OF HAPPINESS Claim Top Prizes
After ten days of hot days, long summer nights and endless genre treats in Bucheon, this year's BiFan finally drew to a close in late July. Earning this year's top award was Coralie Fargeat's acclaimed horror-thriller Revenge. Meanwhile Jung Min-kyu's Land of Happiness earned the top award in the Korean competition section.
Among this year's Bucheon Choice section, three of the four prizes went to films directed by women. Beyond Revenge, Issa Lopez took home Best Director for the Mexican fantastical drama-thriller Tigers are Not Afraid while YU Eun-jeong earned the Audience Award for her Korean debut Ghost Walk. Isora Iwakiri won the Jury Choice Prize for his Japanese film The Sacrament.
Beyond its Best Korean Fantastic Film win, the dark drama Land of Happiness also walked away with the Best Actress gong for lead Ye Su-jeong. The Best Actor prize went to Kim Yeong-ho, who featured in Shin Hae-gang's Dogs in the House and the Korean Fantastic Audience Award went to Hwang Woo's music-themed drama Live Hard.
Among the shorts sections, it was Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre by Ilja Rautsi that earned Best of Bucheon, Pan by Yugo Sakamoto and Nagiko Tsuji that won the Jury's Choice prize and Rip from Albert Pinto and Caye Casas that took home the Audience Award. Jason Yu's The Favor earned the Best Korean Short Film prize and Youn Dong-ki was given the Audience Award for The World of MiMi.
All of the other independent juries gave their prizes to Japanese features. The EFFFF Asian Award went to One Cut of the Dead by Shinichiro Ueda, with a special mention to Kazuya Shiraishi's The Blood of Wolves, the NETPAC Award was split between Takaomi Ogata's The Hungry Lion and Masaaki Kudo's I'm Crazy, and Mari Okada's Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms won the BIFAN Children's Jury Award.
The closing ceremony was followed by Advait Chandan's Indian hit Secret Superstar and once we've all recovered from the emotional and physical toll of this year's event it'll be time to count down the days to next year's 23rd BiFan!
