Director YOON Ga-eun’s debut feature The World of Us continues to garner global acclaim after winning the Golden Slipper, the top prize at the 56th Zlin Film Festival, the International Film Festival for Children and Youth in the Czech Republic. The indie drama also picked up the Best Child Actor in Feature Film for Children award for its young star CHOI Soo-in.

As with her shorts, YOON’s feature deals with the lives of young girls and the world from its protagonists’ point of view, affording a window into the complicated process of growing up and entering more complex emotional relationships.

The World of Us had its world premiere earlier this year as part of the Generations lineup of the Berlin International Film Festival. Two years earlier, director YOON’s film Sprout earned the Crystal Bear for Best Short in the same section, after having won the Sonje Award for Best Short at the Busan International Film Festival the previous year. Following its Berlinale bow, YOON’s debut has also screened at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival and Udine Far East Film Festival. The film will go on release in Korea on June 16th.

Prior Korean films to compete in Zlin include Ounie LECOMTE’s A Brand New Life, starring KIM Sae-ron, but this is the first time a Korean feature has picked up a major prize at the long-running event.