The 19th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) will end this evening but awards were already handed out on Friday night during the closing ceremony. This year's Bucheon Choice winner was Hong Kong drama-thriller Port of Call by Philip Yung, which also won the Best Actress prize for Jessie Li and got a special mention for Best Actor for Michael Ning. Based on a true life murder story and shot by legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle, the film was an early favorite with critics and audiences alike.
The triumvirate of Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell, behind New Zealand-Canada production Turbo Kid, shared the Best Director prize, while Chino Darin won the Best Actor prize for Death in Buenos Aires and Han Jun-hee's local gangster tale Coin Locker Girl took home the Jury's Choice Prize. Elsewhere, Fiona Glascott received a special mention for her performance in the Ireland-Italy co-production House of Shadows and Swedish thriller The Master Plan earned the NH Nonghyup Citizen's Choice award.
Beyond the main competition, Japanese films had a strong showing, with Hasumi Eiichiro's Assassination Classroom taking the EFFF (European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation) Asian Award and the widely praised 100 Yen Love by Take Masaharu winning the Netpac Award. In addition, Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet received a special mention for the EFFFF Award and Huh Eun-hee's Boy from Wonderland picked up the LG HiEntech Prize for Best Korean Film.
The closing ceremony was followed by the world premiere of Kim Hwi's shamanist horror film The Chosen: Forbidden Cave. Check out below for the full list of award winners:
Bucheon Choice: Feature
Best of Bucheon: Port of Call (Directed by Philip YUNG)
Best Director: Turbo Kid (Directed by Francois SIMARD, Anouk WHISSELL, Yoann-Karl WHISSELL)
Best Actor: Chino Darin of Death in Buenos Aires (Directed by Natalia META)
※ Special Mention: Michael Ning of Port of Call (Directed by Philip YUNG)
Best Actress: Jessie Li of Port of Call (Directed by Philip YUNG)
※ Special Mention: Fiona Glascott of House of Shadows (Directed by Rossella de Venuto)
Jury's Choice: Coin Locker Girl (Directed by HAN Jun Hee)
NH Nonghyun Citizen's Choice: The Master Plan (Directed by Alain DARBORG)
Bucheon Choice: Short
Best Short Film: Reunion (Directed by Iddo SOSKOLNE, Janne REINIKAINEN)
Jury's Choice for Short Film: A Love Story (Directed by Steven BAKER)
※ Special Mention: The Fisherman (Directed by Alejandro SUAREZ LOZANO)
Best Korean Short Film: The Scoundrels (Directed by AHN Seung hyuk)
Citizen's Choice for Short Film: Sweet Family (Directed by PARK Joong Ha)
European Fantastic Film Festival Federation (EFFFF) Asian Award
EFFFF Asian Award: Assassination Classroom (Directed by HASUMI Eiichiro)
※ Special Mention: Bombay Velvet (Directed by Anurag KASHYAP)
Netpac Award
100 Yen Love (Directed by TAKE Masaharu)
LG HiEntech Award
Boy from Wonderland (Directed by HUH Eun Hee)