Background
Lee Su-jin was born in Gimcheon in 1977.
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Lee Su-jin
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His first feature was the award-winning Han Gong-ju (2014). Lee made his feature film directorial debut with Han Gong-ju, which he also wrote and produced. Based on the infamous Miryang gang rape case in 2004, the film follows a traumatized, withdrawn teenage girl who is forced to change schools and move to a remote city after a horrific incident, who then attempts to rebuild her life and connect with others through music
Despite the subject, Lee said he "decided to focus more on the life of the victim after the crime rather than the crime itself" and that he "wanted to make a film about how a girl struggles to not let go of her hope" in order "to give courage to all the Han Gong-jus in the world who find themselves in the same situation." He said he cast breakout star Chun Woo-hee in the title role because he was struck by her sensitivity and intelligence, and "that she has a face that makes her look familiar." Han Gong-ju went on to more acclaim in the international film festival circuit, winning top prizes such as the Golden Star (Étoile d"or) at the 13th Marrakech International Film Festival, the Tiger Award at the 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Grand Prize (Regard d"or) at the 28th Fribourg International Film Festival, as well as the Jury Prize, Critics" Prize and Audience Award at the 16th Deauville Asian Film Festival.
In 2014, Han Gong-ju was released on 226 screens in South of Korea and drew 225,580 admissions, making it one of the most commercially successful Korean low-budget independent films.
Achievements
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Born
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Nationality
South Korean
Awards
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Movie Collage Award; Film ; Grand Prize; the Citizen Reviewer's Award; Wildflower Film ; Star award; Film Archive Award 2015 16th Jeonju International Film Festival: Moet&Chandon Rising Star Award (Han Gong-ju) 2014 14th Director's Cut : Best Independent Film Director (Han Gong-ju) 2014 34th Korean Association of Film Critics : Best Screenplay (Han Gong-ju) 2014 35th Blue Dragon Film : Best New Director (Han Gong-ju)Movie Collage Award; Film ; Grand Prize; the Citizen Reviewer's Award; Wildflower Film ; Star award; Film Archive Award 2015 16th Jeonju International Film Festival: Moet&Chandon Rising Star Award (Han Gong-ju) 2014 14th Director's Cut : Best Independent Film Director (Han Gong-ju) 2014 34th Korean Association of Film Critics : Best Screenplay (Han Gong-ju) 2014 35th Blue Dragon Film : Best New Director (Han Gong-ju)