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| JIFF executive committee head and Jeonju mayor Woo Beom-ki, center, and festival's co-directors Min Sung-wook, left, and Jung Joon-ho attend the press conference for the Jeonju International Film Festival held in Seoul, Thursday / Courtesy of JIFF |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Organizers of the 24th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), an annual celebration of independent films, have promised the program will be "bold" and "buzzy" to attract audiences.
JIFF will take place from April 27 to May 6, featuring a total of 247 films from 42 countries. This year's selection includes 66 world premieres. The opening ceremony will be held at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.
"Jeonju Independent Film House is being built on an open space previously occupied by Jeonju Dome. Unlike previous years when most events and outdoor screenings were held within the cinema street, the festival space will be expanded throughout Jeonju," JIFF co-director Min Sung-wook said.
"We will newly launch Focus: East Asian Films Now to introduce new filmmakers from Korea, China and Japan and organize the Star Wars Day event."
Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "Tori and Lokita," which won the 75th anniversary prize when it premiered at Cannes last year, will be the opener at JIFF. The Dardenne Brothers will attend the festival to greet Korean fans.
Director Kim Hee-jung's "Where Would You Like to Go?" a Korea-Poland co-production about a woman who travels to Warsaw after the death of her husband, will close the festival. Based on a short story of the same name by best-selling author Kim Ae-ran, it stars Park Ha-seon as the lead.
The 10 titles in the international competition are comprised of first or second features by rising directors. The selection includes China's "Absence" by Lang Wu, Japan's "There is A Stone" by Tatsunari Ota and Ukraine's "Sashenka" by Alexander Zhovna.
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| A scene from Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's "Tori and Lokita" / Courtesy of JIFF |
A total of 11 films were chosen for the Korean competition section, including Shin Dong-min's "From You," Sohn Koo-yong's "Night Walk" and Yun Su-ik's "Heavy Snow."
"The majority of submitted films cover diverse topics, including LGBTQ and sci-fi elements. In the shorts category, there are many films that show compassion and highlight the best in humanity," JIFF programmer Chun Jin-su explained.
Veteran actor Jung Joon-ho, who was named the co-director of JIFF last year, addressed the concerns surrounding his experience starring in popular films and TV series. Several JIFF executive committee members quit in protest against Jung being named the new co-director of JIFF which represents independent and arthouse films.
"I'm feeling the full weight of responsibility of being the co-director of JIFF. I will do my best to make sure JIFF improves by at least 0.1 percent. I recently launched a supporters association, consisting of corporations and film buffs, for sponsoring indie filmmakers," he said.
This year's event will include a screening program that presents works of the Korean Academy of Film Arts. It will show 40 short films that are classified into seven themes ― the beginnings of Korea's top actors, debuts of master filmmakers, family, love and youth.
Bek Hyun-jin, the multifaceted artist, musician and actor, was named the special programmer of this year's edition. He will share two of his own shorts and three titles by Spanish auteur Luis Bunuel (1900-83).
