Film Director Kim Ki-duk to Receive "Vittorio de Sica Film Award"

Film Director Kim Ki-duk will receive the "Vittorio de Sica Film Award", an internationally renowned film award of Italy.

According to Ambassador to Italy Cho Young-jae on Oct. 12, Kim has recently been chosen as the winner of the Vittorio de Sica Film Award and will attend an award ceremony to be held at the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome on Oct. 28.

A total of 17 people from around the world will receive Vittorio de Sica awards in different categories. Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi will present these awards to the winners at the ceremony.

On the decision to select Kim as an award winner, Gian Luigi Rondi, chairman of the Screening Committee of the Vittorio de Sica Awards, said, "Kim is the best film director representing the Far East. He is receiving favorable acclaim from both critics and audiences for his artistic works, and is one of the film directors who has won success in Europe without incurring excessive production costs".

Previous winners of the Vittorio de Sica Awards include directors Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1978) and Akira Kurozawa (Japan, 1981), and musician Ennio Morricone (Italy, 1986), considered the world's best living film music composer.

An Italian newspaper said that the Italian media and audience were the first in Europe that paid high tribute to Kim's films.

Kim's film "The Bow" will be screened across Italy through the film distribution agency "Migado" starting from Oct. 21.