Korean American Leaders in Hollywood (KALH) will hold its inaugural Honors celebration on December 7, and three major figures will be honored at this year’s ceremony: director Park Chan-wook, filmmaker Maggie Kang, and actor Lee Byung Hun.
KALH formed in 2020 “to create a network of industry leaders that connects and leverages our diverse areas of expertise to further educate, engage, and empower Korean Americans throughout film, television, and streaming media,” per its website.
Deadline reports that at this year’s KALH Honors celebration, Park Chan-wook will receive the Visionary Filmmaker honor as “one of cinema’s greatest auteurs” who has “written and directed some of the most acclaimed and influential films in contemporary cinema.”
Chan-wook’s portfolio, including his latest film, No Other Choice, spans three decades and KALH has chosen to honor him for “elevating Korean cinema to global prominence and inspiring a generation of artists and filmmakers from across the globe.”
KPop Demon Hunters co-writer and co-director Maggie Kang will receive the Pioneer Award for her work on the surprise hit animated film from Sony and Netflix.
Lee Byung Hun will receive the Distinguished Actor honor following back-to-back performances in No Other Choice and Netflix’s Squid Game. He was nominated for a Gotham Award for his performance in Chan-wook’s film and received a Toronto Film Festival Special Tribute Award and the Newport Beach Film Festival Artist of Distinction Award earlier this year.
“From the exuberant energy and style of KPop Demon Hunters, to the heartbreaking duality of the desperate everyman Man-su in No Other Choice, to the combustive iconography of Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, The Handmaiden and Decision to Leave, Maggie Kang, Lee Byung Hun and Park Chan-wook illuminate the power of art without limits and demonstrate the breadth, diversity and richness of Korean storytelling,” said Kymber Lim, founder and executive director of KALH. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to recognize each of these phenomenal filmmakers with our inaugural KALH Honors award.”
The inaugural Korean American Leaders in Hollywood Honors celebration will take place in Los Angeles on December 7.
Source: Deadline
