A political thriller film The Man Standing Next will be South Korea’s entry for the International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards.
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it has chosen The Man Standing Next out of 13 films as the country’s submission to the 93rd Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category.
Based on an original novel of the same title, the film depicts the intense power struggle among the Korean government’s high ranking officials and the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) during the presidency of Park Chung Hee. Directed by Woo Min Ho, The Man Standing Next chronicles the 40 days before Park Chung Hee was shot to death at a safe house in Seoul by KCIA director Kim Gyu Pyung.
Formerly called Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the category was renamed as Academy Award for Best International Feature Film from the 92nd Academy Awards. Only one film can be selected for each country, and this year’s choice was Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which swept Best Picture, Directing, International Feature Film and Writing (Original Screenplay).
“It is an attractive film featuring a rather dark side of the history of South Korea, which made rapid leaps in post-war economic growth and is now leading cultural trends,” KOFIC said in its press release. “Lee Byung Hun, who is well-known in the U.S., also showed outstanding performances. We hope more Korean films will be released to audiences around the world and receive good results.”
The Academy Awards selects the Best International Feature Film out of five final nominees during an annual ceremony held in Los Angeles.
