JIFF to feature 3 renowned Asian directors
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There are so many film festivals in Korea that it's difficult to stand out. But the Jeonju International Film Festival has weathered the competition in the past decade, thanks to its unwavering focus on promising filmmakers and their digital projects.
In 2000, the festival introduced its first Digital Project as a core event, focusing on the future of digital movies. Since then, 27 filmmakers from around the world have joined the project, producing digital short films. What's notable is the organizers' attempt to broaden horizons, featuring European and African filmmakers in 2007 and 2008.
This year, however, the Jeonju Digital Project ("Visitors") has returned to Asian filmmakers to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
"When we first launched the project in 2000, we set a new standard by helping promising filmmakers across the world to make digital films. This year, we are featuring three Asian filmmakers ahead of the anniversary", said Min Byung-lock, chief festival organizer, at a news conference in downtown Seoul on Tuesday.
The featured filmmakers are Hong Sang-soo from Korea, Naomi Kawase from Japan and Lav Diaz from the Philippines.
Hong, who directed "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors", the opening film for the first Jeonju film festival, said that it will be his first digital short film project. His reputation as a filmmaker is likely to raise expectations about his new project "Lost in the Mountains".
The 30-minute film follows Mi-sook, who visits Jeonju to discover her close friend and ex-flame share a shocking secret.
Naomi Kawase, another participant of the project, acquired fame as the youngest winner of the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes International Film Festival for her first feature film, "Suzaku", in 1997. She then cemented her position as a leading filmmaker by winning the Grand Prix at Cannes for her film "The Mourning Forest of Mogari" in 2007.
For the Jeonju project, she will introduce "Koma", a tale with a heavy Korean influence. "There was a town named Koma in Japan, and I felt the place bears some features reminiscent of Korea's Goryeo period, and that's why I set out to work on this film", she said.
Lav Diaz, who won the Orizzonti Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival with his film "Melancholia" in 2008, joins the project with "Butterflies Have No Memories".
"This is a film set in an island in the Philippines where its environment is destroyed, and I want to show that the environment, once damaged, tends to be a serious problem for many people for a long period of time", Diaz said.
The 10th Jeonju International Film Festival will be held from April 30 through May 8. For more information, visit http://www.jiff.or.kr
By Yang Sung-jin
In 2000, the festival introduced its first Digital Project as a core event, focusing on the future of digital movies. Since then, 27 filmmakers from around the world have joined the project, producing digital short films. What's notable is the organizers' attempt to broaden horizons, featuring European and African filmmakers in 2007 and 2008.
This year, however, the Jeonju Digital Project ("Visitors") has returned to Asian filmmakers to celebrate its 10th anniversary.
"When we first launched the project in 2000, we set a new standard by helping promising filmmakers across the world to make digital films. This year, we are featuring three Asian filmmakers ahead of the anniversary", said Min Byung-lock, chief festival organizer, at a news conference in downtown Seoul on Tuesday.
The featured filmmakers are Hong Sang-soo from Korea, Naomi Kawase from Japan and Lav Diaz from the Philippines.
Hong, who directed "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors", the opening film for the first Jeonju film festival, said that it will be his first digital short film project. His reputation as a filmmaker is likely to raise expectations about his new project "Lost in the Mountains".
The 30-minute film follows Mi-sook, who visits Jeonju to discover her close friend and ex-flame share a shocking secret.
Naomi Kawase, another participant of the project, acquired fame as the youngest winner of the Golden Camera Award at the Cannes International Film Festival for her first feature film, "Suzaku", in 1997. She then cemented her position as a leading filmmaker by winning the Grand Prix at Cannes for her film "The Mourning Forest of Mogari" in 2007.
For the Jeonju project, she will introduce "Koma", a tale with a heavy Korean influence. "There was a town named Koma in Japan, and I felt the place bears some features reminiscent of Korea's Goryeo period, and that's why I set out to work on this film", she said.
Lav Diaz, who won the Orizzonti Grand Prize at the Venice International Film Festival with his film "Melancholia" in 2008, joins the project with "Butterflies Have No Memories".
"This is a film set in an island in the Philippines where its environment is destroyed, and I want to show that the environment, once damaged, tends to be a serious problem for many people for a long period of time", Diaz said.
The 10th Jeonju International Film Festival will be held from April 30 through May 8. For more information, visit http://www.jiff.or.kr
By Yang Sung-jin
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