Widely considered one of the giants of Korean cinema, Im Kwon-taek is a remarkably prolific director with 102 films to his name, encompassing genres including war, action and period films. His 1993 film Seopyeonjae was an enormous box office success, becoming the first Korean film to surpass one million admissions. Kwon-taek has won numerous international awards, and has been twice nominated for the world’s leading festivals, the Cannes Palme d’Or (Painted Fire [2002], Chunhyangdyun [2000]), the Berlinale Golden Bear (Gilsoddeum [1986], Taebek sanmaek [1994]) and the Venice Golden Lion (Low Life [2004], The Surrogate Woman [1987]). He won Best Director at Cannes in 2002 for Painted Fire and in 2005 was awarded an honorary Golden Bear at the Berlinale for his lifetime achievements.
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.
