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Director Kim Da-eun (right), who ranked first in the domestic competition, and Kim Sang-beom, President of Seoul Metro (left), are taking a commemorative photo.
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul Metro (President Kim Sang-beom), in collaboration with the Seoul International Short Film Festival Association, held the 11th Seoul Metro International Subway Film Festival (SMIFF), where director Kim Da-eun's film "Invisible Shield" was selected as the best film.
Since its inception in 2009, this annual festival is celebrating its 11th edition this year with the official slogan "90 seconds, enjoy the subway!"
The awards ceremony was held on the 17th at the Seoul Metro headquarters and was conducted in an untact (contactless) manner without a separate audience invitation.
This year’s festival, boasting the largest scale ever with 1,075 films submitted from 58 countries, awarded a total of five works.
In the domestic competition category, director Kim Da-eun's "Invisible Shield," director Yoo Byung-hyun's "Gaze and Breath," and the jointly directed "Life Train" by directors Gok Seong-jin, Ahn Hyun-sook, and Hwang Hye-min won first, second, and third prizes respectively.
In the international competition category, director Kang Tae-woong's "2023, Ordinary Days" won the first prize.
Additionally, the special competition special award was given to director Kim Joo-kwang's "Flower."
Notably, the first prize winner in the domestic competition, "Invisible Shield," is a film about people working hard to disinfect the Seoul subway during the COVID-19 crisis.
Along with a prize of 3 million KRW, the film has been invited to the TMB Film Festival hosted by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) in Spain, providing an opportunity for simultaneous screenings on Barcelona’s subway, bus, and tram systems.
Until last year, the awards ceremony included inviting audiences to watch the winning films at rented theaters, but this year, due to the spread of COVID-19, an online contactless screening event was held so viewers could comfortably watch from home.
The online screening event, which also featured a congratulatory performance by popular singer "Broccoli, You Too," can be viewed through the official Seoul Metro YouTube channel and the festival’s website.
Jung Seon-in, head of Seoul Metro’s Media Office, said, “Despite many difficulties such as COVID-19, we are pleased to have successfully completed the 11th Seoul Metro International Subway Film Festival this year,” and added, “We have also prepared an online screening event that can be easily and comfortably watched at home, so we hope many people will enjoy it.”
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