''Old Partner'' (; lit. "Cowbell Sound") is a 2008

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

directed by Lee Chung-ryoul. Set in the small rural town of Hanul-ri in Sangun-myeon,

Bonghwa County Bonghwa County (''Bonghwa-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It lies inland, at the northern edge of the province, and borders Gangwon province to the north. To the east it is bounded by Yeongyang and Uljin counties, ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

, the film focuses on the relationship between a 40-year-old cow and an old farmer in his 80s. The film was a surprise success. It attracted over 2.93 million viewers, setting the record for the highest grossing independent film in Korean film history. It won the PIFF Mecenat Award at the

Pusan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festiv ...

and the Audience Award at the Korean Independent Film Awards. Lee Chung-ryoul became the first independent film director to receive the Best New Director award at the

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

Awards and nominations

*Won the PIFF Mecenat Award at the 2008

*Won the Audience Award at the 2008 Seoul Independent Film Festival *Nominated for the World Cinema Documentary at the

2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Award winners *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize ...

*Won the Audience Award at the Korean Independent Film Awards *Won Best New Director at the

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

*Won ''Best International Documentary'' at the 2009 Italian Environmental Film FestivalOld Partner – Wyo-nang so-ri
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References

External links

* * * * 2008 films South Korean documentary films South Korean independent films 2000s Korean-language films 2008 documentary films Documentary films about agriculture Films about cattle Documentary films about South Korea 2008 directorial debut films 2008 independent films 2000s South Korean films {{environment-documentary-film-stub