Director Hong Sang-soo and actor Kim Min-hee took home the Best Director and Best Performance awards, respectively, for the film 'What Does That Nature Say to You' at the 79th Locarno Film Festival.

According to AFP, the festival announced on its closing day, the 15th (local time), that it would present the Best Director award to Hong Sang-soo and the Best Performance award to Kim Min-hee and Italian actor Monica Bellucci.

'What Does That Nature Say to You' depicts the journey of Sang-hee (played by Kim Min-hee), the daughter of divorced parents, who travels to Jeju Island to see her mother for the first time in 10 years. The film stars Kim Min-hee alongside Kwon Hae-hyo, Shin Seok-ho, Park Mi-so, and Choi Myung-gil.

With this latest work, Hong was invited to the Locarno Film Festival's international competition section for the fifth time, and 'What Does That Nature Say to You' marks his 35th feature film. Hong previously won Best Director for 'Our Sunhi' in 2013 and the Golden Leopard for 'Right Now, Wrong Then' in 2015. Kim Min-hee also has a track record of winning the Best Performance award for 'By the Stream' in 2024.

Meanwhile, this year's Golden Leopard went to 'You Don't Belong Here' by Romanian director Florin Serban, while the Special Jury Prize was taken by 'The Riverbank' by Brazil-born directors Mateus Farias and Enoque Carvalho.