Director Hong Sang-soo's "Introduction" won the Silver Bear for Best Script at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival, which ended on March 5. (Screen capture from festival's YouTube channel)

By Jung Joo-ri and Lee Jihae

Director Hong Sang-soo has won a Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for the second year in a row.

His 25th feature film "Introduction" won the Silver Bear for Best Script at the festival's 71st edition that ended on March 5. Last year, he was named best director at the event for "The Woman Who Ran."

Filmed in black and white, "Introduction" is about a man who searches for his father, lover and mother. The festival's judging panel said, "More than telling a story or advancing a narration with efficiency, this script fabricates those momentary intervals between one action and another, where, for an instant, a hidden truth of human life is suddenly revealed, bright and lucid."

"Introduction" is Hong's fifth film invited to the festival following "Night And Day" (2008), "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" (2013), "On the Beach at Night Alone" (2017) and "The Woman Who Ran" (2020).

"Introduction" is Hong's third film to win a Silver Bear, after Kim Min-hee was named best actress for "On the Beach" and Hong best director for "The Woman Who Ran."

A clip of Hong reading from a paper with his acceptance speech was released on the festival's website. He also showed a clip of a snail that he found while strolling with Kim.

"Hi, this is Hong Sang-soo. Greetings from South Korea. I heard the news about this prize and I was surprised and happy. I would like to thank the jury for their appreciation of the film."

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Berlin festival will be held in two stages this year. The event's invited works will be released offline to the public from June 9-20.

etoilejr@korea.kr