What was notable about this year's Grand Bell Awards was that trophies were handed out to actors who did not attend and that an OTT section was opened. The Grand Bell Awards also gave awards to candidates who did not appear, including Choi Min-sik, Lee Byung-hun, Kim Si-eun, and director Ryu Seung-wan. In addition, a separate OTT category was created and awarded to keep up with the trend.
The 59th Daejong Film Festival was held at the Gyeonggi Arts Center Grand Theater in Paldal-gu, Suwon on the 15th. Actor Cha In-pyo and comedian Jang Do-yeon served as hosts.
Choi Min-sik's acceptance speech was replaced with a video, but his absence did not affect the award.
Meanwhile, the Grand Bell Awards have been suffering for several years due to internal conflicts, controversy over fairness, and the absence of awardees. Accordingly, filmmakers launched a promotion committee to normalize the Grand Bell Awards last year and introduced reform plans, such as drastically changing the judging method.
It appears that trust and relationships have not been completely restored in the film industry and actors, with several major actors absent from this awards ceremony. However, it attracted attention by showing changes compared to before, such as improving the point that was pointed out as 'controversy over attendance' and following trends by establishing a new OTT division.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr