Seoul International Drama Awards 2020 Grand Prize goes to

<Orphans of a Nation> from Brazil

- Dramas from various countries including Germany <The Turncoat>, U.K. <World on Fire>, and Colombia <Bolivar> won prizes at SDA 2020, the worldwide drama festival

- JTBC <Itaewon Class> won the Silver Bird Prize in the Mini-Series category, SBS <Everything and Nothing> won the Silver Bird Prize in the TV Movie category, showing the power of K-Drama

- KBS <When the Camellia Blooms> won 5 prizes - Best Screenwriter, Best Actress in International Competition category, Excellent Korean Drama Prize, Outstanding Actor Prize, and OST Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category

-  Actress Hyo-Jin Kong won the Best Actress Prize in the International Competition category, while actor Ha-Neul Kang and actress Ye-Jin Son won the Outstanding Actor and Actress Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category

- Asian Star Prize was awarded to Ryusei Yokohama from Japan and Dingdong Dantes from Philippines

- U.S. drama <Snowpiercer>, Philippines adaptation <Descendants of the Sun> and Italy’s <The New Pope> were selected as the Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year

Seoul, South Korea (September 15, 2020) – The highest glory of the Seoul International Drama Awards 2020 (SDA) went to <Orphans of a Nation> from Brazil.

The Seoul International Drama Awards Organizing Committee (Chairman Sung-jae Park) announced the winners of SDA 2020 awards during the ceremony which was aired on MBC at 3 p.m. September 15.

■ Winner Program in International Competition category - Brazil’s <Orphans of a Nation> showing the lives of refugees and immigrants wins Grand Prize

The Grand Prize winner, <Orphans of a Nation> is a drama of 154 episodes and based on a novel in Brazil, combining various cultures, religions and ethnic backgrounds. The story is about a Syrian refugee heroine and a male main character from Lebanon, overcoming the challenges of their environment with family love and amid a violent whirlwind of fate, jealousy, obsession and escape. The juries evaluated that the quality of the work was enhanced by a solid story composition that dealt with refugees and their plight, sophisticated visual aesthetics, and grand scale spanning continents.

The Golden Bird Prize in the TV Movie category went to <The Turncoat> from Germany. The drama tells the story of a young German soldier and his love, agony and despair during the war in 1944. <The Turncoat> recorded 14% viewer ratings in Germany, and was evaluated as a drama with outstanding directing, story and music by SDA juries. <Everything and Nothing> showed the power of Korean drama, winning the Silver Bird Prize in the TV Movie category. The drama’s story of growing pains of ordinary 17 year olds, long-take edits and delicate directing contributed to its evaluation as a well-made drama.

The Golden Bird Prize in the Mini-Series category went to <World on Fire> from the U.K. The drama drew upon the life of ordinary people during the Second World War through a realistic story and splendid picture. The Silver Bird Prize in the Mini-Series category went to <Itaewon Class> from South Korea, proving its quality of work and popularity. The drama presented a cathartic experience and moved viewers through the story of a poor, young man’s passionate revenge and success.

<Bolivar> from Colombia had the honor of winning the Golden Bird Prize in Serial Drama category, and <Mr. Fighting> from China won the Silver Bird Prize in Serial Drama category. <Bolivar> is a drama based on the true story of Simon Bolivar, a revolutionist who liberated Latin America from Spanish colonial rule. <Mr. Fighting> tells the story of an unknown entertainer’s rise to stardom and romance. The drama’s support for ordinary people who faithfully live their lives was highly complimented.

<18h30> from France won the Golden Bird Prize in Short-Form category, which is the newly established award this year. The two main characters who are co-workers, head to the bus stop together every evening at 6:30 p.m. The drama gathered the five-minute moments leading to the stop and realistically described changes in daily life and relationships. This piece was highly evaluated for its challenging and detailed production and cinematography such as one scene, one cut.

■ Individual Prize in International Competition category - <When the Camellia Blooms> wins the Best Actress & Best Screenwriter Prizes

Hyo-Jin Kong of <When the Camellia Blooms> won the Best Actress Prize in the individual prize category. She was highly praised for her role and irreplaceable acting as Dongbaek, the character who is surrounded by prejudices but has a strong character. Sang-Choon Lim, the author of <When the Camellia Blooms> was selected for the Best Screenwriter Prize. His humorous and sophisticated lines were praised for adding quality to the drama.

The Best Actor Prize was given to British actor Waleed Zuaiter, who led the story with his thoughtful acting skills in <Baghdad Central>. Adam Smith of <World on Fire> won the Best Director Prize, giving <World on Fire> a double crown following the Golden Bird Prize in the Mini-Series category.

Jury’s Special Prize were given to <The Cage> from the Czech Republic, a psychological thriller about an elderly and young man who claimed to be her distant relative, and South Korea’s <XX> which tells a refreshing revenge story about friendship and love among young people, starring actress Hani Ahn and Seung-Eon Hwang.

■ Non-Competition category - #Leaders of Hallyu #A feast of great acting #Popular remake of Korean dramas

The Excellent Korean Drama Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category was won by <When the Camellia Blooms>. Actor Ha-Neul Kang, who captivated the television screen with his savory Chungcheong dialect and pure charm in <When the Camellia Blooms>, also won the Outstanding Korean Actor Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category. At the same time, the Outstanding Korean Drama OST Prize was awarded to Punch with ‘Like a Heroine in the Movie’, OST of <When the Camellia Blooms>. As a result, <When the Camellia Blooms> won 5 prizes this year, following the Best Screenwriter, Best Actress in International Competition category.

Actress Ye-Jin Son, who showed her unrivaled presence in <Crash Landing on You>, won the Outstanding Korean Actress Prize in the Outstanding Korean Drama category.

<Crash Landing on You>, <Hot Stove League> and <Extraordinary You>, which were loved by drama fans from all over the world beyond Korea, received the Outstanding Korean Drama Prize.

Asian Star Prize was awarded to Ryusei Yokohama, a rising star in Japan, playing an important role in the Japanese drama <Your Turn to Kill>, which was one of the entries of SDA, and to Dingdong Dantes who played the lead role in the Philippines version of <Descendants of the Sun>.

The Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year, which is an award for global dramas loved by TV viewers around the world, went to the U.S. drama <Snowpiercer>, a remake of director Joon-Ho Bong’s original film, and to the Philippine adaptation of <Descendants of the Sun>, based on the KBS drama, and <The New Pope> starring Jude Law and John Malkovich.

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