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Chechon Fest Presents Movies That Are Music to the Ear

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

Chechon, a small city of 140,000 in North Chungchong Province, is well known for its peaceful, beautiful and clean environment, but that may soon change as visitors flock to its first ever festival of music and films.

The Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF) will take place Aug. 10-14 at the multiplex theater, TTC Cinema and amusement park Chungpung Land for the first time. Movies with beautiful scores and films on the subject of music and musicians will be featured in the festival as well as concerts and other outdoor events.

"We wanted to hold a really fun festival for residents and visitors in the city's beautiful natural environment", said Song Jee-ho, executive director of JIMFF. "To differentiate our event from other film festivals, we decided to focus on music in films".

As music is a core element of movies, the festival will offer the joy of "listening films" during the festival, Song added.

Opening with the 2004 Japanese film "Swing Girls" by Yaguchi Sinobu, the festival will show a total of about 40 films in six sections. And the 1976 Italian animation "Allegro Non Troppo" by Bruno Bozzetto has been chosen as the closing film for the festival.

"Swing Girls" is a story about students who are not interested in music at all but happen to join a high school band in a small countryside village. "Allegro Non Troppo" is about a group of animators who try to create an orchestra in their animated film.

In the section "For Mania", various documentaries about musicians will be shown. Japanese director Masyuki Gen's "Shout of Asia" depicts the local rocker Kang San-eh's journey through Asia, and the British documentary "Punk: Attitude" by Don Letts explains what punk music is through renowned musicians and punk music fans.

The section "Musician's Choice" screens five movies with well-made original soundtracks. Chosen by music directors and pop music critics, the five movies include "The Contact", "My Beautiful Girl, Mari", and "Waikiki Brothers".

Other events include a series of outdoor concerts Aug. 11-13, entitled "One Summer Night", which will present the works of local and international musicians. The concerts are followed by outdoor film screenings.

Participating musicians include singers Kang San-eh, Lee Sang-eun, acid soul band Common Ground and the Japanese fusion band Harvard.

Jecheon International Music & Film Festival

When: Aug. 10-14

Where: TTC Cinema, Chungpung Land in Chechon, North Chungchong Province

How much: 5,000 won per screening, 12,000 won for an outdoor concert

Info: Call (043) 646-2242 or (02) 925-2242 or visit http://www.jimff.or.kr

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