Seoul International Drama Awards 2020 Grand
Prize goes to
<Orphans of a Nation> from Brazil
- Dramas from various countries including
Germany <The Turncoat>, U.K. <World on Fire>, and Colombia
<Bolivar> won prizes at SDA 2020, the worldwide drama festival
- JTBC <Itaewon Class> won the
Silver Bird Prize in the Mini-Series category, SBS <Everything and
Nothing> won the Silver Bird Prize in the TV Movie category, showing the
power of K-Drama
- KBS <When the Camellia Blooms> won
5 prizes - Best Screenwriter, Best Actress in International Competition
category, Excellent Korean Drama Prize, Outstanding Actor Prize, and OST Prize in
the Outstanding Korean Drama category
- Actress Hyo-Jin Kong won the Best Actress
Prize in the International Competition category, while actor
Ha-Neul Kang and actress Ye-Jin Son won the Outstanding Actor and Actress Prize in the
Outstanding Korean Drama category
- Asian Star Prize was awarded to Ryusei Yokohama
from Japan and Dingdong Dantes from Philippines
- U.S. drama <Snowpiercer>,
Philippines adaptation <Descendants of the
Sun> and Italy’s <The New Pope> were selected as the Most Popular
Foreign Drama of the Year
Seoul, South Korea (September 15, 2020) – The highest glory of the Seoul International
Drama Awards 2020 (SDA) went to <Orphans of a Nation> from Brazil.
The Seoul International Drama Awards
Organizing Committee (Chairman Sung-jae Park) announced the winners of SDA 2020
awards during the ceremony which was aired on MBC at 3 p.m. September 15.
■ Winner Program in International
Competition category - Brazil’s <Orphans of a Nation> showing the lives
of refugees and immigrants wins Grand Prize
The Grand Prize winner,
<Orphans of a Nation> is a
drama of 154 episodes and based on a novel in Brazil, combining various
cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds. The story is about a Syrian refugee
heroine and a male main character from Lebanon, overcoming the challenges of
their environment with family love and amid a violent whirlwind of fate,
jealousy, obsession and escape. The juries evaluated that the quality of the
work was enhanced by a solid story composition that dealt with refugees and
their plight, sophisticated visual aesthetics, and grand scale spanning
continents.
The
Golden Bird Prize in the TV Movie category went
to <The Turncoat> from
Germany. The drama tells the story of a young German soldier and his love,
agony and despair during the war in 1944. <The Turncoat> recorded 14% viewer
ratings in Germany, and was evaluated as a drama with outstanding directing,
story and music by SDA juries. <Everything
and Nothing> showed the power of Korean drama, winning the Silver
Bird Prize in the TV Movie category.
The drama’s story of growing pains of ordinary 17 year olds, long-take edits
and delicate directing contributed to its evaluation as a well-made drama.
The
Golden Bird Prize in the Mini-Series category went
to <World on Fire> from the
U.K. The drama drew upon the life of ordinary people during the Second World
War through a realistic story and splendid picture. The Silver Bird Prize in the Mini-Series
category went to <Itaewon Class> from South Korea, proving its quality of work
and popularity. The drama presented a cathartic experience and moved viewers
through the story of a poor, young man’s passionate revenge and success.
<Bolivar> from Colombia had the honor of winning the
Golden Bird Prize in Serial Drama category,
and <Mr. Fighting> from China
won the Silver Bird Prize in Serial Drama category.
<Bolivar> is a drama based on the true story of Simon Bolivar, a
revolutionist who liberated Latin America from Spanish colonial rule. <Mr.
Fighting> tells the story of an unknown entertainer’s rise to stardom and
romance. The drama’s support for ordinary people who faithfully live their
lives was highly complimented.
<18h30> from France won the Golden Bird Prize in Short-Form
category, which is the newly
established award this year. The two main characters who are co-workers, head
to the bus stop together every evening at 6:30 p.m. The drama gathered the
five-minute moments leading to the stop and realistically described changes in
daily life and relationships. This piece was highly evaluated for its
challenging and detailed production and cinematography such as one scene, one
cut.
■ Individual Prize in International Competition
category - <When the Camellia Blooms> wins the Best Actress & Best
Screenwriter Prizes
Hyo-Jin
Kong of <When the Camellia Blooms> won the
Best Actress Prize in the individual prize category. She was highly praised for her role and
irreplaceable acting as Dongbaek, the character who is surrounded by prejudices
but has a strong character. Sang-Choon Lim,
the author of <When the Camellia Blooms> was selected for the
Best Screenwriter Prize. His
humorous and sophisticated lines were praised for adding quality to the drama.
The
Best Actor Prize was
given to British actor Waleed Zuaiter,
who led the story with his thoughtful acting skills in <Baghdad Central>.
Adam Smith of <World on Fire>
won the Best Director Prize, giving
<World on Fire> a double crown following the Golden Bird Prize in the
Mini-Series category.
Jury’s
Special Prize were given to <The Cage> from the Czech
Republic, a psychological thriller about an elderly and young man who claimed
to be her distant relative, and South Korea’s <XX> which tells a refreshing revenge story about friendship
and love among young people, starring actress Hani Ahn and Seung-Eon Hwang.
■ Non-Competition category -
#Leaders of Hallyu #A feast of great acting #Popular remake of Korean dramas
The
Excellent Korean Drama Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category was won by <When the Camellia Blooms>. Actor Ha-Neul Kang, who captivated the television screen with his savory
Chungcheong dialect and pure charm in <When the Camellia Blooms>, also
won the Outstanding
Korean Actor Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category. At the same time, the
Outstanding Korean Drama OST Prize was
awarded to Punch with ‘Like a
Heroine in the Movie’, OST of <When the Camellia Blooms>. As a result, <When
the Camellia Blooms> won 5 prizes this year, following the Best
Screenwriter, Best Actress in International Competition category.
Actress Ye-Jin
Son, who showed her unrivaled presence in <Crash Landing on You>, won
the Outstanding
Korean Actress Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category.
<Crash
Landing on You>, <Hot Stove League>
and <Extraordinary You>, which
were loved by drama fans from all over the world beyond Korea, received the
Outstanding Korean Drama Prize.
Asian
Star Prize was
awarded to Ryusei Yokohama, a rising
star in Japan, playing an important role in the Japanese drama <Your Turn to
Kill>, which was one of the
entries of SDA, and to Dingdong Dantes who played the lead role in the Philippines version
of <Descendants of the Sun>.
The
Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year,
which is an award for global dramas loved by TV viewers around the world, went
to the U.S. drama <Snowpiercer>,
a remake of director Joon-Ho Bong’s original film, and to the Philippine
adaptation of <Descendants of the
Sun>, based on the KBS drama, and <The
New Pope> starring Jude Law and John Malkovich.
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