▲ This photo captured from the '2021 Student Academy Awards' video, which is uploaded on the Oscars' official YouTube channel, shows a scene from "Unforgotten." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- An animation film on elderly women who suffered as 'comfort women' for Japanese troops during World War II, was awarded a gold medal at the "2021 Student Academy Awards."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Thursday (local time) that it has selected "Unforgetten" directed by Kim Su-jin, a student at California Institute of the Arts, as the gold award winner in the Animation category for Domestic Film Schools.

"Unforgotten" embodies the painful memory of comfort women as well as their resilient energy to overcome such trauma and injustice through the use of animation.
 

▲ This photo, captured from Oscars' official YouTube channel, shows Kim Su-jin, who won the gold medal for her animation work "Unforgotten." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
"This comfort women issue has been very important issue in my country. When I watch other films about this topic, most of them are too much focusing on visualizing how violently those women are sexually abused," Kim said during her acceptance speech. "I think that could be another visual violence to those victims. This thought led me to explore and also present an alternative way to visualize the violence and someone's painful memory."

"I hope the audience can focus on (the victim's) will of resistance and their internal strengths giving the testimonies to the world that women will never be sexually sacrificed during war," Kim added. "Most importantly, I always try to express the resilient human energy against such injustice because I really believe we can overcome those injustice or painful memories or sadness when we briefly visualize it."

The Student Academy Awards, established in 1972 and presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, selects each winner every year from domestic and international film schools in four different categories, including Alternative/Experimental, Animation, Documentary, and Narratives.

All Student Academy Award winners are eligible to compete for the Oscars. The past award-winning student films have been nominated for the Oscar 65 times and have won 14 awards.

Former Student Academy Award winners include Pete Doctor, who is best known for director Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc., American film director Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis of "Back to the Future" series, and Cary Fukunaga, who directed the finale of the 007 series "No Time To Die"

(END)

 

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]