French Ambassador to South Korea Philippe Lefort will present Etoile du Cinema awards to Korean actress Bae Doona and Kwak Sin-ae, producer of the award-winning film “Parasite,” in Busan this week, the embassy said.

From Saturday to Sunday, Lefort will be attending the 2019 Busan International Film Festival, set to kick off Thursday.

The trip marks Lefort’s first visit to Busan since he took the post here last year, the embassy said.

In Busan, Lefort will also attend the screening of French film “#IAmHere,” staring Bae and French actor Alain Chabat, shot in the country’s capital Seoul and Incheon Airport.

At the event Lefort will present the Etoile du Cinema award to Bae for her role in “#IAmHere.”

The Etoile du Cinema awards were created last year to acknowledge Korean films that are popular among French moviegoers as well organizations and individuals that helped raise awareness of French movies here.

The award will also be presented to Kwak, CEO of Barunson E&A, who is one of the three producers of the smash hit black comedy “Parasite,” which won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Setting a 15-year high record in France as the most watched Cannes-winning film, some 1.6 million people there have seen the satire as of September this year, according to the CBO box office.

Last year’s Etoile du cinema awards were given to Lee Jun-dong, who produced the Korean film “Burning,” Seoul Pride Film Festival Commissioner Kim Cho Kwang-soo and programmer Kim Seung-hwan.

“Burning” sold over 180,000 tickets in France and ranked No. 3 in the French box office, while the Seoul Pride Film Festival was recognized for screening foreign movies on LGBT rights.

Meanwhile, during his visit to Busan Lefort is to pay tribute to the 44 French Korean War soldiers who were laid to rest at the UN Memorial Cemetery in southeastern Busan, the embassy said. 

By Kim Bo-gyung (lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)