Song Kang-ho wins best actor at Cannes for Koreeda’s ‘Broker’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:19 JST, May 29, 2022

CANNES, France — Song Kang-ho of South Korea won best actor for his role in “Broker,” directed by Hirokazu Koreeda, at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

The South Korean film tells the story of people who meet at a baby hatch, where people who cannot raise their children leave them anonymously.

This year’s Palme d’Or went to “Triangle of Sadness” directed by Ruben Ostlund. Koreeda won the top award in Cannes for “Shoplifters” (Manbiki Kazoku) in 2018.

Special mention for Hayakawa

Director Chie Hayakawa received the Camera d’Or Special Mention award for “Plan 75.”

This prize is the runner-up to the Camera d’Or, which goes to the best film at Cannes by a first-time director. With more than 20 films on the list this year, it is a great achievement to win the special mention award.

Hayakawa’s film was among the official selection of Un Certain Regard, the second major section after the Competition section.

“Every filmmaker has a first film … I’m grateful that I was invited to Cannes with my first movie, which is so special and important to me, and that it was recognized,” Hayakawa said at the awards ceremony. “I was told that ‘Plan 75’ is a film that is indispensable for people living today. These words resonate deeply in my heart.”

Starring Chieko Baisho, the story is set in Japan in the near future. As a solution to the nation’s declining birthrate and aging population, a system has been introduced that allows people at age 75 and older to choose whether to live or die.