A graduation film of a Korean university student won a top honor at Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.

Na Young-kil, 32, won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the German film festival for “Hosanna,” his gradation project at the Korea National University of Arts.

Na Young-kil shows off the Golden Bear award (AP-Yonhap)

The 24-minute-long horror-fantasy film centers on a boy living in a remote village who has the power to heal the sick and raise the dead. The villagers get a new lease on life through the boy’s help, yet find themselves mired in their same old miseries. Though they curse and antagonize the boy, he continues to cure them of their illnesses.

The 2014 film received the special jury award from Jeonju International Film Festival last year.

“Through the boy, I wanted to ask questions about the meaning of life, death and resurrection,” said the director.

The last time a Korean film won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film was in 2011, when “Night Fishing,” directed by Park Chan-wook and his brother Park Chan-kyong, won the honor. In the same year, director Yang Hyo-joo received the second prize, a Silver Bear in the same category, for “Broken Night.”

A scene from short film "Hosanna" (Korea National University of Arts)

A total of eight Korean films, including “Hosanna,” were shown at the film festival, which is one of the most prestigious in the world, alongside those of Cannes, Venice and Toronto. The Korean box-office hit “Ode to My Father” by Yoon Je-kyoon, Busan International Film Festival-winning “End of Winter” by Kim Dae-hwan, and director Im Kwon-taek’s 102nd film, “Revivre,” were screened in noncompeting sections.

“Snowpiercer” director Bong Joon-ho was part of the seven-person jury for the competing sections, becoming the second Korean to serve as a jury member after actress Lee Young-ae, who served on the jury in 2006.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)