South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s English debut film “Snowpiercer” won a series of awards from associations of American movie critics, the film’s South Korean distributor said Wednesday.

“Snowpiercer” received the best sci-fi film award from the Phoenix Film Critics Society, composed of movie critics working in Arizona on Wednesday, last week, CJ E&M said.

On Friday, the film’s writer-director Bong and cowriter Kelly Masterson took home the best screenplay award from the Utah Film Critics Association.

Tilda Swinton won best supporting actress from the Las Vegas Film Critics the same day for her role in the film.

Earlier this month, the movie was named best picture by the Boston Online Film Critics Association while its best supporting actress award went to Swinton.

The group also listed the movie among its 10 best films of 2014 along with “Under the Skin,” “Boyhood,” “Only Lovers Left Alive,” “The Babadook,” “Two Days One Night,” “Birdman,” “Calvary,” “Inherent Vice” and “Selma.”

“Snowpiercer” has been nominated for three categories of this year’s Critics’ Choice Movie Awards: best sci-fi/horror film, best supporting actress and best art direction. Held annually by the U.S. Broadcast Film Critics Association, one of the most influential organizations of movie critics in North America, this year’s awards ceremony will fall on Jan. 15.

“’Snowpiercer’ has much significance in the Korean film history as many audiences and critics around the world say they felt the potential of the Korean film industry through the film,” an official of CJ E&M said.

The movie opened in North American theaters in June, following a series of openings in 11 countries around the world, including France, China, Taiwan, Japan and Italy, since October last year.

Based on the French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige,” the flick depicts inter-class struggles among the world’s last-remaining inhabitants aboard a perpetually moving train.

The film brought together an international cast including South Korean film star Song Kang-ho, Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Jamie Bell and Ed Harris. (Yonhap)