Filmmaker Park Hoon-jung wins top prize at French festival with 'Tristes Tropiques'
Poster for director Park Hoon-jung's new movie "Tristes Tropiques" / Courtesy of Mindmark
Director Park Hoon-jung's new action noir film "Tristes Tropiques" won the Nouveau Genre Grand Prize, the top honor in the international competition section at the 32nd L'Etrange Festival in France, its overseas distributor Finecut said Wednesday.
The prestigious award reinforces the director's standing in the international film circuit following a strong festival run across Europe.
The film previously won the Silver Raven in the international competition at the 44th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and was officially invited to the 58th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival as well as Germany's 40th Fantasy Filmfest.
"Tristes Tropiques" revolves around a group of young assassins trained in a tropical rainforest by a ruthless master. After a pivotal incident shatters their trust, the killers begin to suspect one another and embark on a brutal journey of revenge. The movie blends deep suspense with fast-paced action, keeping the audience glued to the screen.
L'Etrange Festival, held annually in Paris every September, is one of France's premier venues for bold and inventive genre cinema. Notable Korean hits such as "Exhuma" (2024), "Concrete Utopia" (2023) and "The Spy Gone North" (2018) were previously screened at the festival.
Marc Troonen, an international programmer for the festival, praised the film for its stylistic intensity and relentless pace.
"Tristes Tropiques is an opera-like action thriller that accelerates relentlessly toward a furious climax as if there were no tomorrow," Troonen was quoted by Finecut as saying. "It features stylized action, raw instincts, and deep melancholy that collide intensely, evoking the golden era of 1980s and 1990s Hong Kong cinema."
Park, who established his reputation writing screenplays for "The Unjust" (2010) and "I Saw the Devil” (2010), made his directorial debut with "The Showdown" in 2011. He has since directed critically acclaimed genre films including "New World" (2013), "The Witch" series and "Night in Paradise," as well as Disney+ series "The Tyrant."
"Tristes Tropiques" is currently undergoing final post-production work ahead of its domestic theatrical release.