Director Hong Sang-soo and actor Kim Min-hee's collaborative film "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes" has won three awards at the 79th Locarno Film Festival.

At the closing ceremony of the 79th Locarno Film Festival held on the 15th (local time), director Hong Sang-soo won the Best Director Award and the Ecumenical Jury Award, while actor Kim Min-hee received the Best Performance Award for "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes".

Director Hong has built a deep connection with the Locarno Film Festival. Starting with the Best Director Award for "Our Sunhi" in 2013, followed by the Golden Leopard Grand Prize and Best Performance Award (Jung Jae-young) for "Right Now, Wrong Then" in 2015, the Best Performance Award (Ki Joo-bong) for "Hotel by the River" in 2018, and the Best Performance Award (Kim Min-hee) for "By the Stream" in 2024, he has earned the honor of winning once again.

The Ecumenical Jury Award, won alongside the Best Director and Best Performance awards, is an independent prize conferred by a jury of Swiss Protestant and Catholic churches. It is given to works that deeply capture human life and dignity, social values, peace and human rights, and messages of a spiritual dimension.

Following her win of the Best Performance Award at the 77th Locarno Film Festival for director Hong Sang-soo's "By the Stream" in 2024, Kim Min-hee claimed her second Best Performance Award at the festival for "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes".

Upon receiving her award, Kim Min-hee said, "Thank you to the director for making a film as beautiful as a poem," adding, "I am so grateful to our wonderful colleagues, and I want to share this award with them."

She continued, "Thank you so much to my other colleague, Sumi. She is with the baby right now," and showed tears after making the remark.

Kim Min-hee said, "My friends in Jeju, I am so happy to deliver such joyful news. Thank you," and added, "Moving forward, I will act with only a truly loving heart."

Mentioning director Hong Sang-soo once again, she concluded her acceptance speech by saying, "Whenever my heart feels heavy and stifled, I will definitely watch this movie again every time. Thank you, director."

Director Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee formed a relationship as director and actor in the 2015 film "Right Now, Wrong Then," and confessed that they are "in a relationship" at a press screening for "On the Beach at Night Alone" in 2017. Hong Sang-soo is a married man with a daughter. Kim Min-hee gave birth to a son with director Hong Sang-soo last year.

"Nowhere to Lay My Eyes" is scheduled for domestic release in the second half of this year following its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)