Cecilia Kang, a Buenos Aires-born filmmaker of Korean descent, won the Best Emerging Director award at the 78th Locarno International Film Festival on Saturday for her debut fiction feature "Hijo Mayor" ("Elder Son"). The film, which examines Korean immigration to South America, competed in the festival's prestigious Filmmakers of the Present section, which specifically showcases first and second feature films from emerging directors.
The award, presented by the City and Region of Locarno, honors a director who has dedicated nearly a decade to documenting the Korean diaspora experience through her filmmaking. Born in Buenos Aires in 1985 to Korean immigrant parents, Kang studied at Argentina's National Film School and has been building her reputation as a thoughtful chronicler of cultural identity and immigration stories.
Kang's filmmaking career began gaining international recognition with her 2015 short film "Videojuegos," which screened at the prestigious Berlinale film festival. Her documentary work has also garnered significant acclaim, particularly her 2023 film "A Boat Departed From Me Taking Me Away," which examined the experiences of Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan's Imperial Army during World War II, commonly referred to by the euphemistic term "comfort women." The documentary explored these historical traumas through the perspectives of young Korean Argentine women as they examined their own identity and connection to this painful history. The film won both Special Jury and Audience prizes at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.
Her award-winning feature debut "Hijo Mayor" follows the story of Antonio, a Korean immigrant who first arrives in Paraguay before eventually settling in Argentina. The film employs an innovative approach that blends fiction and documentary elements, starring Kim Chang-sung, Suh Sang-bin, and Anita B. Queen in the fictional portions, while incorporating documentary segments that feature Kang herself and members of her own family, creating a deeply personal exploration of the immigrant experience.
"I make films as a way to understand who I am," Kang explained to Variety magazine in July. "My own sense of identity has always been shaped by this cultural duality. Even though it has nourished me in many ways, it has also been a complex and contradictory presence in my life." This personal approach to filmmaking reflects her ongoing exploration of what it means to navigate multiple cultural identities in contemporary South America.
Kang's personal life also connects her to the international film community, as she is the partner of acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Yeo Siew Hua, whose film "A Land Imagined" won the Golden Leopard, Locarno's top prize, in 2018. This year's Golden Leopard went to Japanese director Sho Miyake for "Two Seasons, Two Strangers," marking Japan's first victory at Locarno since 2007. In the same Filmmakers of the Present section where Kang won her award, the section's top prize was awarded to Nicolas Graux and Truong Minh Quy for their film "Hair, Paper, Water," highlighting the international scope and diversity of emerging cinema being recognized at the festival.
