Hong Sang-soo's 'Nowhere to Lay My Eyes' wins three awards at Locarno

Director Hong Sang-soo's 35th film, "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes," took three awards at the Locarno Film Festival.

The film won the Best Director Award, the Ecumenical Jury Prize and the Best Performance Award — the last going to actor Kim Min-hee — at the closing ceremony of the 79th Locarno Film Festival on Saturday (local time).

The Ecumenical Jury Prize is an independent award presented by a separate jury of Swiss Protestant and Catholic church representatives. It goes to films that offer a profound exploration of human life and dignity, social values, peace and human rights, and spiritual themes.

The Best Performance win marks Kim's second such honor at Locarno — she previously received the award at the 77th edition in 2024 for Hong's film "Suyucheon." At this year's festival, Kim and Hong drew considerable attention when they made their first public appearance together since the birth of their son.

Hong has a long history with Locarno. He first competed in the international competition section with "Our Sunhi" in 2013, winning the Best Director Award, and returned with "Right Now, Wrong Then" (2015), "Hotel by the River" (2018) and "Suyucheon" (2024). "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes" is his fifth film to receive an official invitation to the festival.

The film follows Sanghee (played by Kim Min-hee), the daughter of a broken family, as she travels to Jeju Island in search of her mother, whom she last saw 10 years ago. The cast also includes Choi Myung-gil, Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Seok-ho and Park Mi-so.

After its world premiere at Locarno, the film is scheduled for domestic release in the second half of this year.