Aju Middle School's “The angle” Wins Grand Prize at Songpa Youth Film Festival

New Cinematography, Acting and Directing Awards; 13 Teams Honored in Total

A short film titled “The angle,” made by students at Aju Middle School, won the grand prize at the 2026 Songpa Youth Film Festival, hosted by Songpa-gu, Seoul, whose mayor is Seo Kang-seok. The festival, now in its sixth year, received 23 short films. The young filmmakers explored everything from everyday stories to social messages through their own perspectives.

Winners pose for a commemorative photo at the awards ceremony of the 2026 Songpa Youth Film Festival, held on the 7th at Seoul Nori Madang. Photo provided by Songpa-gu.

According to Songpa-gu, the awards ceremony was held at 1 p.m. on November 7 at Seoul Nori Madang. The grand prize-winning film tells the story of two students with different interests and concerns who come to find themselves through one another. It was praised for depicting the process of inner growth from a young person’s perspective.

The Excellence Awards went to “That Summer Is Still in the Making” (Jamsin Middle School and others) and “The Chase” (Hanlim Arts High School). The Outstanding Awards went to “Until You Smile” (Yeongdongil High School), “Art High School Ghost Story” (National High School of Traditional Korean Arts), and “Between the Present and the Future” (Gangdong High School). The Encouragement Awards went to “The Perspective We’re Missing” (International Dream School), “Time Returning to You” (Hanlim Arts High School), “Countdown” (Garak High School), and “Mirage” (Aju Middle School).

This year, the festival added three individual special award categories—cinematography, acting, and directing—to highlight students’ individual talents separately from their films. The cinematography award went to Yoon Taeseong of Hanlim Arts High School for “The Chase”; the acting award went to Kim Dongeun of Gangdong High School for “Between the Present and the Future”; and the directing award went to Kang Ira of Seoul Broadcasting High School for “For Us.”

Starting at 3 p.m. that day, 10 award-winning films and three special screening selections were shown at Lotte Cinema World Tower. After the screenings, a “Guest Visit” (GV) session followed. The young directors spoke directly to the audience about their creative intentions, filming processes, and the messages in their works.

The festival is a Songpa-gu-supported initiative to develop young people’s content creation skills and help them explore careers in related fields. The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with an education expo so that students, parents, and residents could enjoy it together.

Lee Seojun, the director of the grand prize-winning film, said, “I had dreamed of working in film, and this experience gave me an opportunity to make my career goals more concrete.”

Songpa District Mayor Seo Kang-seok said, “The process of young people seeing the world from their own perspectives and turning what they see into a film is, in itself, a valuable growth experience. We will continue to provide a variety of hands-on opportunities so that young people can freely develop their creativity and abilities.”

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