Seoul International Children's Film Festival Concludes Successfully... Grand Prize Goes to '20,000 Species of Bees'

Closing Ceremony on the 20th... Hanbok Fashion Show, Awards Ceremony, Performances by Hwang Minho and Nine to Six
International Feature Competition Grand Prize '20,000 Species of Bees' Est?valis Uresola Solaguren

"Children's dreams and imaginations continue"

The 11th Seoul International Children's Film Festival, the first world film festival for children held in Eunpyeong, opened on the 13th and successfully concluded its 8-day schedule.

This festival, attended by many children and viewers, came to a grand finale with the closing ceremony on the 20th. Despite heavy rain that day, the rain stopped dramatically just before the main event, and a rainbow appeared behind the stage, drawing cheers from the audience.

The closing ceremony held at Seoul Innovation Park featured an awards ceremony, a hanbok fashion show, and a closing declaration. Trot prodigy Hwang Minho and the group Nine to Six performed congratulatory stages. Popular celebrities Haha and SBS announcer Lee Byunghee hosted the ceremony, with famous actors such as Park Inhwan, Park Sangwon, Yang Mikyung, and Ahn Junghoon also participating.

Under the theme "We Are All Children," this festival received a record-breaking 3,164 films from 108 countries worldwide. Among them, 136 films that passed the preliminary screening were shown during the festival.

Awards were presented in four categories: International Feature Competition, International Short Competition, Animation Competition, and Children's Competition.

In the International Feature Competition category, ▲Grand Prize went to "20,000 Species of Bees," directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. ▲Jury Prize was awarded to "Bread Girl and Me," directed by Billy Luther. ▲Actor Award went to Emma Skirmante for "Sisters."

In the International Short Competition category, ▲Grand Prize was awarded to "Children of the Sun," directed by Madalbekov Dastan. ▲Jury Prize went to "Hanging," directed by Park Jiin, and Ramazan Kırkıcı. ▲Actor Awards were given to Oh Jinju for "Hanging" and Ulukbek Timurjanov for "Children of the Sun."

In the Animation Competition category, ▲Grand Prize went to "Finding the Lost Socks," directed by Oscar Rehema. ▲Jury Prize was awarded to "Moon and Heaven," directed by Li Shuchin. ▲Special Jury Mention was given to "Listen to Me," by Camille Anne, Julie Vandenbeughe, Martin Laurent, Eliza Tohis, Camille LeRoux, and Luca Poutier.

In the newly established Children's Competition category to discover young directors, ▲Grand Prize was awarded to "Suspicious Classroom" by Yang Yunseo. ▲Talent Awards went to Park Subin for "I Choose You," Hong Inji for "Noise," Baek Yul for "Homework," and Kim Heeun for "Hope." ▲Encouragement Awards were given to "Mask" by 4th-grade students of Redona Elementary School, "Strange Story" by Kim Muyeol, "Champion" by the Kitira Film Club, and "Garbage Invasion" by Dora Bosnik, Nola Skarbek, Yurai Char, Lucya Paltak, Hana Honjek, Leonarda Meshegh, and Magdalena Milosnic.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to ▲This Year’s Institution Award to the Distribution Team Seed of the Korean Independent Animation Association, and ▲This Year’s Children’s Award to actress Moon Seungah.

Kim Mikyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, said, “During the festival, Eunpyeong-gu was transformed into a festival ground where the dreams and imaginations of children from around the world unfolded,” adding, “I hope children enjoyed a happy time watching various films and experiencing diverse attractions and activities set against the backdrop of Bukhansan and the Hanok Village.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.