The 2nd Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival poster (PIPFF)
The organizers of Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival announced the details of this year‘s edition of the event slated for next month in an online press conference Tuesday.
“We are proceeding with the festival in the hopes to heal what has been perished by COVID-19 and recover our peaceful everyday (existence),” festival director Pang Eun-jin said.
The second edition of PIPFF, established in August 2019, will take place June 18-23 in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, a city that has become a symbol of peace since hosting the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.
A total of 97 films -- 50 feature-length films and 47 shorts -- from 35 countries will be introduced at this year’s festival, including eight films nominated for the International Feature Competition and 18 films nominated for the Korean Shorts Competition.
“We have removed programs, exhibitions and events that raise the chances of close contact between people, and will make our best efforts to strictly follow the social distancing rules through alternative cinemas and outdoor screenings,” programmer Kim Hyung-seok said.
Chairman of the Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival Moon Sung-keun (from left), festival director Pang Eun-jin and programmers Choi Eun-young and Kim Hyung-seok attend the official press conference on the festival held Tuesday. (PIPFF)
“Adventures of a Mathematician” by Berlin-based director Thor Klein will open the festival. The film tells the true story of a Polish immigrant mathematician of Jewish background, Stanislaw Ulam, who made important contributions to the creation of hydrogen bomb during World War II.
Composer and pianist Jung Jae-il, the musical director of Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” will perform during the opening ceremony.
“While the overall event has been scaled-down greatly, the opening ceremony will be held in the local plaza (Olympic Medals Plaza) and we have expanded outdoor screenings to various well-known locations in Pyeonchang, including Woljeongsa Temple and Rock Park,” Pang said.
With this year marking the 20th anniversary of the historic June 15 South-North Joint Declaration and as well as the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the festival will also include related forums and special exhibitions.
By Choi Ji-won (
jwc@heraldcorp.com)
