[HanCinema's News] "Exhuma" Leads Nominations at the Blue Dragon Awards

The Blue Dragon Film Awards conducted its nomination ballot among film industry professionals from October 11th to October 27th, and recently released its list of nomination for the 45th iteration of its awards. Over fifteen categories, the occult horror film "Exhuma" has emerged as the clear favorite with twelve nominations. The tense historical military film "12.12: The Day" is next up with nine nominations. "I, The Executioner" alongside "Escape" and "Handsome Guys" all have seven nominations.

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All of those films except for "Escape" are among the five competing for Best Film. The fifth competitor in this category is "Past Lives" which is somewhat surprising as "Past Lives" is not strictly speaking a South Korean film, though CJ ENM was involved in its production. In the United States, "Past Lives" competed for 2023 calendar year awards, although it's worth noting that the Blue Dragon Film Awards do not define award viability in terms of calendar years.

Director Celine Song was nominated for Best New Director and Best Screenplay, with "Past Lives" having three nominations overall. While film industry professionals decided the nominating slates, South Korean netizens will be able to vote with the Celeb Champ app, which will be given a vote equal to one cast by the deciding judges. The Blue Dragon Film Awards ceremony, as well as the winners, will be revealed on November 29th via a KBS2 live broadcast.

Written by William Schwartz