Hong Sang Soo Wins Best Director at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival for The Woman Who Ran

It might not seem like a big deal after director Bong Joon Ho won Best Director at the 2020 Academy Awards last month for Parasite but it really is rare for the Asian film directors to win at the International level. Director Hong Sang Soo adds another notch to the list by winning Best Director (the Silver Bear) this week at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival, taking the award for his film The Woman Who Ran starring his girlfriend and muse Kim Min Hee. He’s the second South Korean director to win Best Director at the Berlinale after Kim Ki Duk in 2004 with The Samaritan Girl. Of course Kim Ki Duk’s star was greatly tarnished by being accused in the Me Too movement two years ago by an actress for his film Moebius for forcing her to do a sex scene. But the talented directors who are shitty human beings problem is pretty widespread, last week actresses walked out of the Cesar Awards in France after accused child rapist Roman Polanski won the top prizes. Sigh.