Jerome Yoo’s debut feature film MONGRELS has won the prestigious FIPRESCI Critics Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). The award, which is presented by a jury from the International Federation of Film Critics, promotes film art and supports new and young cinema globally. MONGRELS was also presented with the First Feature Competition’s Special Jury Prize For the Cast. Vancouver and Seoul-based Yoo was present to accept the award at the PÖFF ceremony on November 23rd in Estonia.
This is the second festival and second award win for Yoo, who recently had a sold out world premiere of MONGRELS at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) where he was honoured with the Director’s Guild of Canada’s Horizon Award for emerging Canadian director. MONGRELS was one of five films in post-production selected to be highlighted at the Udine Far East Film Festival’s FOCUS ASIA.
MONGRELS is the compelling story of an immigrant family trying to find their way in a new world. In rural Canada in the 1990s, a Korean family – a widower, his teenage son, and young daughter – attempts to find footing in a new land while navigating the dark forests of grief. Sonny has been hired to eradicate the feral canines plaguing the town, while sensitive Hajoon figures out what it means to be a man. Finally, young Hana, missing her mother, dreams up ways to make her return.
Gorgeous and brilliantly structured, MONGRELS is a lyrical and gut-wrenching tale of immigrant survival and resilience in Canada. Dreamlike, surreal, and filled with raw emotion, Mongrels is a remarkable study of family, loss, and hope in the midst of profound uprooting. MONGRELS stars Jae-Hyun Kim, Da-Nu Nam (To All the Boys: Always and Forever), Candyce Weir (The Hammer), Jedd Sharp (Rug Burn), Morgan Derera (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), Sangbum Kang and introducing newcomer Sein Jin in her first role.
Jerome Yoo is a Seoul-born filmmaker based in Vancouver. His films often explore complex themes of cultural identity, existentialism, and youth-hood, blending surreal elements that blur the boundaries between dreams and reality. Growing up in Canada, there is a pulsating undercurrent in his works, conveying a profound longing to reconnect with his motherland. Yoo’s films have received international recognition. His credits include Gong Ju, River Boy Blues, Idols Never Die, which was featured at the Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner and TIFF’s “Summer of Seoul” programme and his viral concept Third Street, which was featured in online fashion-culture magazines such as Hypebeast, Complex, and Elle.
