Swiss-Korean director Hae-Sup Sin has been selected to receive the Allwyn Residency Grant at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.

The scholarship, awarded as part of Future Frames, a program for young European filmmakers, offers a participant the opportunity to participate in a tailor-made professional program in Los Angeles to accelerate the next stage of their career.

Sin impressed the jury with his short film “Ban Dal” (Half Moon). The film tells the story of a Swiss adoptive mother and her son, who travel to South Korea to meet his biological mother.

“Her work focuses on cross-cultural stories set in diaspora communities, exploring issues of identity, belonging and cultural memory,” according to a statement.

The scholarship is awarded for the fourth time by Allwyn, European Film Promotion and the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. It is organized in collaboration with Hollywood talent agencies United Talent Agency and Range Media Partners.

The month-long residency in Los Angeles includes one-on-one mentoring, job shadowing, specialized training, and one-on-one meetings with producers, distributors, and other key professionals in the American film industry.

Karel Och, artistic director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, said the festival “has always been a place of discovery” and thanks to the Future Frames initiative and the Allwyn Residency Fellowship, “we can go one step further. We are not only introducing young talent to the festival audience, but we are also actively helping them launch their careers at the very heart of the global film industry.”

Robert Chvátal, CEO of Allwyn, said: “At Allwyn, we firmly believe that success favors those who have the courage to step out of line and seize opportunities. Supporting the next generation of creators is a very significant investment in the future of European culture for us. Our goal is to help build bridges between extraordinary talent and the contemporary world of the film industry.”

EFP Director Irina Ignatiew-Lemke said: “European cinema brings incredible inner strength, courage and a unique diversity of stories to the global stage. Our mission at EFP is to help these young voices be heard far beyond the borders of Europe.”

Sin studied at the Zurich University of the Arts, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in 2019, followed by a master’s degree in feature film direction in 2025. He is currently developing his first feature film, “Some Korean Summer.”

The scholarship has been awarded annually since 2023. The first director to receive the award was Amalie Maria Nielsen from Denmark, followed by her compatriot William Sehested Høeg in 2024. Last year, the winner was Simon Schneckenburger from Germany.