Could this be the new future of award shows?
The 56th Daejong Film Awards, also known as The Grand Bell Awards in English, took place in Seoul, South Korea, on Wednesday, June 6, with a number of precautions in place due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
While big-name stars showed up to walk the red carpet, this was the first time since 1962 that the awards show took place without an audience due to the pandemic. Guests were offered hand sanitiser and had to walk through a thermal checkpoint on arrival while staff (including security and photographers) at the event wore face masks.
The event was held at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul hotel, with Lee Hwi-jae and Han Hye-jin acting as MCs. Even though there wasn't an audience, live musical performances still took place and tables for all the stars were carefully arranged to follow social distancing.
Parasite was the night's big winner, taking home five trophies including Best Film and Best Director. Other winners from the night include Lee Byung-hun as Best Actor for his performance in Ashfall, while Jung Yu-mi of Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 was named Best Actress. The Best Supporting Actor Award went to Jin Seon-kyu of Extreme Job while Best Supporting Actress went to Lee Jung-eun of Parasite.
The Best Rookie Director award was given to Kim Bora who directed House of Hummingbird, while Jung Hae-in of Tune in for Love and Jeon Yeo-been of After My Death received the Best Rookie Actor and Actress trophies, respectively.
The Daejong Film Awards, considered the Korean equivalent of the Academy Awards, was originally set for February 25 but had to be postponed due to Covid-19.
Here's a list of all the winners:
Best Film: Parasite
Best Director: Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)
Best Actor: Lee Byung-hun (Ashfall)
Best Actress: Jung Yu-mi (Kim Ji Young: Born 1982)
Best Supporting Actor: Jin Seon-kyu (Extreme Job)
Best Supporting Actress: Lee Jung-eun (Parasite)
Best New Actor: Jung Hae-in (Tune In for Love)
Best New Actress: Jeon Yeo-bin (After My Death)
Best New Director: Kim Bo-ra (House of Hummingbird)
Best Planning: Kim Mi-hye, Mo Sung-jin (Extreme Job)
Best Screenplay: Han Jin-won, Bong Joon-ho (Parasite)
Best Cinematography: Kim Young-ho (The Battle: Roar to Victory)
Best Lighting: Jeon Young-suk (Svaha: The Sixth Finger)
Technical Award: Jin Jong-hyun (Visual effects, Ashfall)
Best Editing: Lee Kang-hee (Exit)
Best Music: Jung Jae-il (Parasite)
Best Costumes: Lee Jin-hee (The Great Battle)
Best Art Direction: Seo Seong-kyeong (Svaha: The Sixth Finger)
Achievement Award: Shin Young-kyun
War
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor
Rating: Two out of five stars
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
