Director July Jung wins French cultural award in ceremony held on sidelines of BIFF

Korean director July Jung, whose works have been invited to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, has received a French cultural order, the French Embassy in Korea said Wednesday.

Jung was awarded the Chevalier of France's Order of Arts and Letters in a French Night ceremony held in Busan last week, according to the embassy.

The Chevalier is one of three grades that comprise the Order of Arts and Letters, alongside the Commandeur and the Officier.

Jung, who made her directorial feature debut through "A Girl at My Door" (2014), has also helmed "Next Sohee" (2022) and "Dora." All three features were screened at Cannes.

Her latest feature, "Dora," is a film co-produced by Korea, France and Luxembourg.

Jung said she was initially unsure whether she was eligible to receive the honor, but she then remembered the support she received from the French audiences she had met across the French cities of Paris, Cannes and Strasbourg.

"Thanks to their encouragement, I once again realized the power of cinema, in which the lives portrayed in a film could become our own stories," she said during the ceremony.

Some 150 filmmakers, actors, screenwriters and industry officials from Korea and France attended last week's ceremony.

The event, aimed at promoting ties between Korean and French filmmakers, was held alongside the 31st edition of the Busan International Film Festival to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Yonhap