French and Chinese directors win 2023 DMZ Docs awards

Scene from director Sylvain George’s "Obscure Night" (DMZ Docs)

French director Sylvain George's “Obscure Night” won the grand prize at the 2023 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, or DMZ Docs, which took place Sept. 14-21.

On Thursday evening, DMZ Docs held its closing ceremony at the CGV Goyang Baekseok theater in Gyeonggi Province, awarding 10 documentary films.

George's “Obscure Night” was praised for its in-depth depiction of young migrants in Morocco who are trying to travel from Africa to Europe via land routes.

A total of 148 documentaries from 54 countries were screened at the festival this year.

Scene from director Wang Bing’s “Man In Black” (DMC Docs)

Meanwhile, Chinese director Wang Bing’s “Man in Black” received the grand prize in the Frontier category, and was praised by DMZ Docs as "politically courageous."

“Man in Black” tells the life story of Chinese composer Wang Xilin, 86, who was a victim of political persecution during the Cultural Revolution in China from 1966 to 1976.

In the Korean Competition category, director Nam A-rum’s feature film, “Patriotic Girl,” and Yang Ji-hoon’s “The Shooters” received the Features Grand Prize and Shorts Grand Prize, respectively.

The Special Awards went to director Kim Eung-su's "Jean-Luc Godard," director Choi Jong-ho’s "Oryu Market” and director Kim Sang-pai’s “In the Sunshine,” each with cash prizes of 10 million won.

Poster for the 2023 DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs)

By Hwang Joo-young(flylikekite@heraldcorp.com)