Seoul: Director Park Chan-wook has won the Best Director award for his latest dark comedy, "No Other Choice," at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain, the movie's local distributor, CJ ENM, said Monday. The celebrated South Korean auteur was honored during the 58th edition of the festival, which has been renowned for celebrating fantasy and horror genres since its inception in 1968.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the film is based on the 1997 satirical thriller novel "The Ax" by American novelist Donald E. Westlake. It follows the story of Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun), a desperate father of two who wages his own personal war for survival after losing his long-time job. Park is a frequent honoree at the Spanish festival, with previous wins including Best Film for "Oldboy" in 2004 and the Grand Audience Award for the erotic thriller "The Handmaiden" in 2017.
The Sitges honor is the latest in a string of international accolades for "No Other Choice." Last month, it won the International People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and competed for the prestigious Golden Lion at this year's Venice International Film Festival. The film has also been submitted as South Korea's official entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming Academy Awards.