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Yoo Ji-tae wins Jury Prize at Deauville for directorial debut

Wow, congrats to Yoo Ji-tae on his Jury Prize win this weekend at the 15th Deauville Asian Film Festival in France. (To clarify, it’s not his first directorial endeavor ever, but it is his debut feature.)

The award went to his film titled Mai Ratima, which is about a Thai woman named Mai (played by newcomer Park Ji-soo) who comes to Korea to marry, but finds herself mistreated by her husband’s family. She has no place to stay and also no place to return to; meanwhile, Bae Soo-bin plays a man with nothing to his name and nobody to lean on. He helps her when he sees her in trouble, and their relationship plays out “variations on hope and betrayal.”

Yoo Ji-tae’s primary career is still acting (with films like Ditto and Oldboy having launched him to fame), but he’s been steadily working over the years at his writing and directing as well. He garnered notice for his short films in the past and screened at various film festivals; he gravitates toward small stories with something perceptive to say about human experience/emotion, and it’s awesome to see him continuing to get recognized for his work.

Here’s a short clip of the award presentation at Deaville. Who knew Yoo Ji-tae spoke such good English?

Mai Ratima was praised by Deauville’s jury president, Jérôme Clément, for its sensitive handling and Yoo’s keen insight as director. Clément said, “It’s astonishing that this is his first feature film. This award is presented with the hopes that this film will have a chance to be seen widely by film fans worldwide.”

Mai Ratima will premiere in theaters in Korea in May

Via My Daily

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Congrats, indeed. It's nice to see him earn this award. He seems to be one that is after artist pursuit rather than idol-dom.

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Thank you for sharing this. And congratulations to him! That must be encouraging...

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What a handsome, classy man he is. Weep, all you flower boys.

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If you look up his bio, he is a serious student of his craft. Better than that, he and his wife are quite philanthropic! He is truly an admirable person.

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Yes! I really admire him for their socially conscious point of view. In a world full of commercialism, flower this and that and idol-dom (not saying I don't enjoy this) they are refreshing and I am very glad to see him win. Woot!!

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One of my fave actors....so happy for him

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Wow, congratulations! I look forward to seeing this movie!

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Good movie i think. I'm gonna watch it.

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Wow, he truly is a gem. He can act and direct. So talented. Plus he won a prize. May his tribe increase. Nice to see their talents being honed and enhanced.

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His voice is like velveeeet~
Also, I really did not know his English was so good. Kim Hyo Jin is a lucky lady *__*

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Yoo Ji-tae is the definition of class, talent and heart.

He's a gifted actor who likes to challenge himself (from Oldboy to Hwang Jin Yi to Hello Schoolgirl) and knows how to pick his roles. He's an altruistic person; does charities all the time, spread the awareness of adoption of abandoned animals, has campaigned against domestic violence towards migrant wives (taken from Wiki) and the list can go on forever. To add on, he is incredibly humble (as seen from his interviews) and his looks are just a bonus (HE HAS BROAD SHOULDERS TOO. Haha!).

The only wish I have is him to have more international fans. I'm glad he's getting more recognition from the worldwide. LOL @ the little miscommunication between the translation and YJT. Anyway, congratulations Yoo Ji-tae and I'm proud of being his fan.

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How could they do that to ME?!
Two weeks before I go to Deauville :(

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Ooh! Hope it will be accesible to wider audiences soon. I love Bae Soo Bin.

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Aw....

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congrats yoo ji-tae! a worthy winner indeed.

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I hope that film gets a London screening......

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Does no one else think it's problematic for the film to be about a Thai woman and then cast a Korean woman instead??

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Was thinking of that too but then again, Hollywood cast Justin Chatwin as Goku and Zach Tyler Eisen as Ang. I think it's easier to cast a Korean actress as it'll be easier for her to read and say the lines instead of casting a Thai actress who requires a translator (and then there's the flight costs). It all comes down to money and time.

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