High Commendation, Best Feature Film, 2012
1982 Busan. Ik-hyun, corrupt customs officer on the verge of being fired, decides to go out with a bang when he happens upon a stash of heroin. His plan is to sell the heroin in Japan, but he needs a business partner. Hyung-bae, Busan’s most powerful gangster, is impressed by Ik-hyun’s ability to talk his way out of sticky situations, and the pair team up. With Hyung-bae’s back alley prowess and Ik-hyun’s lobbying skills, the pair rise to the top of Busan’s underworld. But when the war against crime is announced in the ’90s, cracks in their relationship appear. Who will have the last laugh?
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
