South Korean indie film wins New York Festivals award

A South Korean indie film has received the top honor for feature films during the 57th New York Festivals, the movie's local distributor said Friday. "Let Me Out" that opened simultaneously in South Korea and the United States last year won the prestigious Gold World Medal in the feature films category of the 2014 New York Festivals' International TV & Film Awards, beating out 50 competitors, BaekDu-DaeGan Films Co. said. It was the first Korean film to grab the award. Co-directed by Kim Chang-rae and Soh Jae-yeong, the comedy-drama follows an arrogant film school student as he completes a movie in what he calls the "zombie-romance" genre for his first love, which he finances with money from a scholarship that he happened to receive after acidly criticizing a movie in front of its director who is a renowned filmmaker. Among other Korean winners are MBC's TV documentary "In Memory of Hannah, the Miracle" that received the Gold World Medal in the "Human Concerns Documentary" section and SBS' "The Silent Cries in School: Rain Shower School" that won the Silver World Medal in the "Social Issues Documentary" category.