130, Suyeonggangbyeon-daero,
Haeundae-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea,
48058
Director July Jung of Next Sohee, Won Best Director at the 26th Fantasia Int’l Film Festival
The Film, Special Delivery, Won the Special Jury Mention, with the ‘Jury’s Unanimity’
Director July Jung of Next Sohee won the Best Director award at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival. After being selected as the closing film of the Festival de Cannes Critics' Week, Next Sohee was selected as the closing film of the Fantasia International Film Festival again, drawing expectations from the time when it was invited. About Next Sohee, the film festival said, "The film depicts a cruel but frighteningly efficient system that uses up and throws away teenage girls. It is meaningful what the sober title suggests that ‘she’ can be replaced by the same worker at once while giving the character vitality and specificity."
Next Sohee depicts a story about Sohee (Kim Sieun), a high school student who starts training for a subcontracted position at a call center and dies in the end, and Yujin (Bae Doona), a detective who doubts Sohee’s death, going deep into the case. The story is based on a true story that occurred in 2017.
Two Korean films won awards in the major categories at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival as the film Special Delivery also won the Special Jury Mention. Directed by Park Daemin and starring Actor Park Sodam, Special Delivery is a humor and action film depicting a chase that takes place when a special delivery driver specializing in a 100% success rate is involved in a delivery accident.
The film festival said, "It was decided unanimously by the jury. The passionate car chasing scenes, the beautifully staged action scenes, and excellent directing and editing made it impossible for us to take our eyes off. Especially, Actor Park Sodam's acting was also brilliant."
In response, Director Park Daemin said, "The screening of Special Delivery at the Fantasia International Film Festival with the masters of the best reactions was an unforgettable moment that is like a gift to me. And I'm so happy that I even won the award." The film, Special Delivery has been invited to so many international film festivals, including the Rotterdam International Film Festival in the Netherlands, one of the world's top 10 film festivals, and the Udine Far East Film Festival in Italy, the largest film festival in Europe that introduces Asian films to the world, drawing attention from overseas audiences beyond Korea.
The Fantasia International Film Festival, which marks its 26th anniversary this year, is the largest genre film festival in North America, which kicked off on July 14 and will be held in Montreal, Canada until August 3.