Park Chan-wook’s "No Other Choice" dominated the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards field with a ceremony-leading 12 nominations.
On the 21st, organizers for the 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards unveiled nominees across this year’s major categories. Final lists were set through a combination of industry-panel selections and a first-round fan vote conducted October 1-19.
Fifteen competitive races were announced: Best Picture, Director, New Director, Best Actor and Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress, New Actor and Actress, Cinematography and Lighting, Screenplay, Music, Art Direction, Editing, and Technical Award. The Audience Choice for Most Popular Film and the Cheongjeongwon Popular Star Award were not part of this announcement.
Best Picture contenders are "No Other Choice", "The Ugly", "My Daughter Is a Zombie", "The Old Woman With The Knife", and "Harbin"―an eclectic lineup that balances critical acclaim and mainstream pull, setting up a tightly watched finish at this year’s Blue Dragons.
"No Other Choice", from director Park, leads the pack with 12 nods, underlining both its craft and box office muscle. Leads Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin are in the hunt for Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively.
Face follows with 10 nominations, "Harbin" earns 8, and both "My Daughter Is a Zombie" and "Hi-Five" pick up 6 apiece.
A wave of bold, inventive titles also made the cut, signaling a wider-than-ever snapshot of Korean cinema through the Blue Dragons’ lens.
"Uprising" and "The Old Woman with the Knife" score 5 nominations each; "Noise" and "The Match" take 3. Two-nomination titles include "3670", "Dark Nuns", "A Normal Family", "Idiot Girls and School Ghost: School Anniversary", "Pretty Crazy", and "Omniscient Reader"―spotlighting fresh voices and genre experimentation from rising filmmakers.
Fan voting to determine the final winners runs from the 21st via the CelebChamp mobile app, spanning 16 categories: Best Picture, Director, New Director, Best Actor/Actress, Supporting Actor/Actress, New Actor/Actress, Cinematography and Lighting, Screenplay, Music, Art Direction, Editing, Technical Award, and the Cheongjeongwon Popular Star Award. The fan vote will carry the same weight as a single jury ballot.
The 46th Blue Dragon Film Awards will take place Wednesday, November 19, at KBS Hall in Yeouido and will be broadcast live on KBS2.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)