‘The 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards’
Beating the strong favorites Park Chan-wook and Jang Hang-jun, ‘Master of the World’ director Yoon Ga-eun took the Baeksang Best Director award.
At COEX D Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 8th, the Best Director award in the film category at ‘The 62nd Baeksang Arts Awards’ went to director Yoon Ga-eun, who helmed the film ‘Master of the World’. It is a hard-earned achievement after competing with formidable masters such as Park Chan-wook(‘Cannot Be Helped’), Jang Hang-jun(‘The Man Living With the King’), Kim Do-young(‘If We’), and Byun Sung-hyun(‘Good News’).
Clutching the trophy, director Yoon Ga-eun began in a trembling voice, “Senior Jang Hye-jin, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, told me to speak properly like a director wherever I go, but I cannot pull myself together.” She continued, “I was happy just to be nominated alongside directors I respect and like, and I am deeply honored.”
The director recalled the difficulties of producing it as an independent film and offered heartfelt thanks. “It took as short as six years, and as long as a lifetime, to make one film. As an independent film, it could not have been made without production support from many places,” the director said, naming those who helped one by one.
In particular, at the close of the speech, the director dedicated the honor to those who inspired the film, prompting a solemn round of applause from the audience. Yoon said, “To the survivors of intrafamilial sexual violence who shared their most painful and agonizing, yet also most radiant moments, I am truly grateful for confiding your private stories.”
The film ‘Master of the World’ depicts the story that unfolds when an eighteen-year-old high school girl, ‘Ju-in’, who oscillates between being an insider and an attention seeker, single-handedly refuses a schoolwide signature drive. Having emerged at the center of attention with nominations in six categories at the Baeksang Arts Awards this year, the film has reaffirmed its artistry with the Best Director win.
