A trailer for "Hope" plays outside a movie theater in Seoul on Sunday. [Yonhap]
A trailer for "Hope" plays outside a movie theater in Seoul on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Director Na Hong-jin has won the Action Cinema Award at the New York Asian Film Festival for his new film "Hope."

"Hope" distributor Plus M Entertainment announced Thursday that Na received the "Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema" at the 25th New York Asian Film Festival on Monday (local time).

The award was established to honor Daniel Craft, a co-founder of the festival and devoted action film enthusiast who died in 2013. It is presented to filmmakers who have advanced the art of action cinema.

"I am truly grateful for this recognition," Na said. "I feel honored to receive such a weighty and meaningful award."

The New York Asian Film Festival is one of North America's leading Asian film festivals, founded in 2002 to introduce Asian cinema and culture to wider audiences. This year's festival also features a retrospective of all of Na's feature films, including "The Chaser" (2008), "The Yellow Sea" (2010) and "The Wailing" (2016).

"Hope" was invited to screen in the festival's Centerpiece Presentation section and had its North American premiere on Monday.

Na took part in a question-and-answer session with the audience following the screening. At the venue, he also met director Ari Aster — known for "Hereditary" (2018) and "Midsommar" (2019) — and the two spoke about filmmaking.

"Hope" is a science-fiction film set in the port village of Hopohang near the demilitarized zone, where an unidentified creature arrives and sets off a chain of events. Actors Hwang Jung-min, Jo In-sung and Jung Ho-yeon play villagers, while Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell portray alien characters.


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