# Bleak Night

Bleak Night (Korean: 파수꾼; RR: Pasukkun; lit. "The Lookout") is a 2010 South Korean coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Yoon Sung-hyun. The film is about a father's search for answers following his son's death, and the shifting dynamics at play among three high-school friends. A Korean Academy of Film Arts graduation project by Yoon Sung-hyun, it received rave reviews and won several Best New Actor awards for Lee Je-hoon, as well as Best New Director for Yoon at the Grand Bell Awards and Busan Film Critics Awards.

## Plot

Still mystified by his son's death, the father (Jo Sung-ha) of high school student Ki-tae (Lee Je-hoon) tries to track down his two best friends, classmates Hee-joon (Park Jeong-min) and Dong-yoon (Seo Jun-young), to try to find an explanation. Through Ki-tae's classmate Jae-ho, the father meets Hee-joon, who says he cannot help as he moved schools "weeks before what happened to Ki-tae." Afterwards, Hee-joon berates Jae-ho for giving his phone number to Ki-tae's father but Jae-ho tells him that Ki-tae "went crazy" after he moved away. Hee-joon manages to trace Dong-yoon and urges him to contact Ki-tae's father and provide some answers. In parallel, flashbacks to the time gradually reveal what really happened, starting with Ki-tae's needling and bullying of Hee-joon and the latter's response.

## Cast

* Lee Je-hoon as Ki-tae
* Seo Jun-young as Dong-yoon
* Park Jeong-min as Baek Hee-joon ("Becky")
* Jo Sung-ha as Ki-tae's father
* Bae Jae-ki as Jae-ho
* Lee Cho-hee as Se-jung, girlfriend of Dong-yoon

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
| 2010 | 15th Busan International Film Festival | New Currents Award | Bleak Night | Won |
| 2011 | 20th Buil Film Awards | Best New Actor | Park Jeong-min | Nominated |
| 2011 | 20th Buil Film Awards | Best New Actor | Seo Jun-young | Nominated |
| 2011 | 20th Buil Film Awards | Best New Director | Yoon Sung-hyun | Nominated |
| 2011 | 20th Buil Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Yoon Sung-hyun | Nominated |
| 2011 | 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival | FIPRESCI Prize | Bleak Night | Won |
| 2011 | 35th Hong Kong International Film Festival | SIGNIS Award | Bleak Night | Nominated |
| 2011 | 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam | Tiger Award | Bleak Night | Nominated |
| 2011 | 48th Grand Bell Awards | Best New Director | Yoon Sung-hyun | Won |
| 2011 | 48th Grand Bell Awards | Best New Actor | Lee Je-hoon | Won |
| 2011 | 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actor | Lee Je-hoon | Won |
| 2011 | 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Actor | Seo Jun-young | Nominated |
| 2011 | 32nd Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best New Director | Yoon Sung-hyun | Won |
| 2011 | 12th Busan Film Critics Awards | Best New Director | Yoon Sung-hyun | Won |
| 2011 | 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards | Best Screenplay | Yoon Sung-hyun | Nominated |
| 2011 | 21st Black Movie Festival | Young Adults Jury Awards | Yoon Sung-hyun | Won |
| 2011 | Cine 21 Awards | Best New Director | Yoon Sung-hyun | Won |
| 2011 | Cine 21 Awards | Best New Actor | Lee Je-hoon | Won |
| 2011 | 19th Korean Culture and Entertainment Awards | Best New Actor | Lee Je-hoon | Won |
| 2012 | 3rd KOFRA Film Awards | Best New Actor | Lee Je-hoon | Won |