Australian director Ariel Keliman’s feature debut “Partisan” will open the 16th edition of Jeonju International Film Festival, inviting a slew of cineaste to the southwestern city of Jeonju from April 30 to May 9.
Starring Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan”), the film depicts a closed community composed of troubled women and children who are trained to become child soldiers. The film is told through the eyes of a boy named Alexander (Jeremy Chabriel), illustrating the themes of violence, class struggles and capital. The film received critical acclaim at the recent Sundance Film Festival.
Korean film “Snow Paths,” directed by Kim Hee-jeong, is among the 45 flicks that will get a world premiere during this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival. (JIFF)
Screening 200 films from 47 countries, including 45 world premieres, this year’s festival will celebrate artistic freedom and keep the festival’s tradition of upholding experimental and indie-films, organizers said.
“We will uphold our principle that the authorities and politicians support and do not interfere with (the festival),” said Kim Seung-soo, who doubles as the festival’s chairman and Jeonju mayor, at a news conference held in Seoul, Tuesday.
The remark touched upon the issue of censorship, a hot topic in the local film industry now.
Korea’s most successful film festival, the Busan International Film Festival, came under attack after it screened a politically controversial documentary “The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol” last year, defying an open objection from the city of Busan. Following the screen, the city’s mayor, a member of the conservative ruling party, demanded the resignation of the festival’s chief organizer in what industry pundits see as an attempt to undermine the festival’s independence. “The Truth” chronicles and raises questions about the government’s poor response to the sinking of the Sewol ferry in April 2014, which claimed the lives of over 300 victims, mostly high school students on a class trip.
The Jeonju organizers said that there were no entries focusing on the tragedy. “We would have gladly created a special section dedicated to films about the ferry disaster, but there weren’t any submitted,” said the head programmer Kim Young-jin.
This year’s festival arrives with some major changes from the past, the organizers said.
The number of screened films will be increased by 19 from the past year, thanks to the addition of new venues, including outdoor screening at Jeonju Sports Complex and the newly opened CGV Jeonju Hyoja Theater, which will serve as the festival’s main venue.
Also, the festival’s 16-year-old program Jeonju Digital Project will be renamed Jeonju Cinema project and will continue to fund production and distribution of three selected film projects.
The three films which will get a world premiere in Jeonju under the project are: Argentinian director Benjamin Naishtat’s “El Movimiento” and Korean directors, Lee Hyun-jung’s “Samnye” and Kim Hee-jeong’s “Snow Paths.”
The jury for the International Competition section includes Austrian film director Jessica Hausner (“Amour fou”), Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (“Gyeongju”), Korean actress Moon So-ri (“Oasis”) and Greek actor Vangelis Mourikis (“Attenberg”). “H.” by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia, “Poet on the Business Trip” by Ju Anqi, are among the 10 selected features vying for the top honor.
For the Korean Competition section, 10 local films have been selected out of 118 entries, which will be judged by Argentinian programmer Marcelo Alderete and Korean director Kim Sung-ho (“How to Steal a Dog”).
This year’s JIFF, under the slogan of “Jeonju in Spring” will run from April 30 to May 9 at various venues in Jeonju. For more information, visit www.jiff.or.kr
By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)