The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival Announces 10 Titles for International Competition
· 6 Feature Films, 3 Documentaries and 1 Hybrid Film
· 491 films from 75 countries were submitted - 6 out of 10 films are directed by women
The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Director Lee Joondong) announced the 10 titles selected for International Competition.
The 23rd JEONJU IFF’s International Competition introduces the first or second feature films of promising directors from around the world. 491 films from 75 countries were submitted from Wednesday, November 24, 2021 to Monday, January 10, 2021. Overall, a total of 10 films were selected for their Asian premieres and some for International premieres through preliminary evaluation.
Among the official selections, 6 titles are feature films, and two of them are about youth. Actual People is a bold portrayal of youth. Album for the Youth, on the other hand, is a coming-of-age story about two friends who just graduated high school. Other two films feature women as protagonists. Medusa deals with political and timely themes about women with some wit and humor. A Human Position tells the story of a female journalist who became interested in Afghan refugees in a secluded small town in Norway.
Moreover, there is Raydio, a Taiwanese film that projects the growing gap between the rich and the poor, generation gap, and employment problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic, into the miserable daily life of a father and son. Unrest, a Swiss film that sets in a clock factory in a small town in Switzerland at the end of the 19th century and captures the workers’ solidarity with the anarchist movement domestically as well as internationally through beautiful images. It seems that these two films respectively represent the reality and ideal.
There are three documentaries selected. The Silence of the Mole re-examined the tragic modern history of Guatemala, where many people were brutally sacrificed by the military dictatorship, through the testimony of a journalist risking his life working as a mole, seeking for democracy. Geographies of Solitude depicts the magical beauty of the island and the daily life of Zoe Lucas, a scholar and environmentalist, who has been living in Sable Island located off the Atlantic coast of Canada since the 1970s, exploring and documenting nature every day and collecting plastic waste from the land. TOKYO KURDS, a heartrending film about the Turkish Kurdish refugees settled in a suburb of Tokyo.
Last but not least, Aleph is an experimental hybrid film by a former Yugoslavian director who currently works in the United States, after being inspired by the work of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges.
Susana Santos Rodrigues, program advisor at Rotterdam International Film Festival, Alejandro Gomez Trevino, subdirector of programming at Cineteca Nacional Mexico, and JEONJU International Film Festival Programmers Moon Seok, Sung Moon, Chun Jinsu participated the selection.
On behalf of the jury members, programmer Chun Jinsu said, “In terms of quantity, it is good enough to say that we have returned to the pre-pandemic era. In International Competition section, it is difficult to pinpoint a certain trend that penetrates the entire submissions, as various themes of films are submitted from various countries. However, 6 among selected 10 films were directed by women. Just like last year, women filmmakers continued to make rapid strides.”
Review of International Competition at the 23rd edition
The number of films submitted to International Competition Section of the 23rd JEONJU IFF was 491, an increase of 93 compared to last year. In terms of quantity, it is good enough to say that the number of submissions has returned to the pre-pandemic era, thanks to many directors and distributors taking interest in International Competition. Compared to the previous year, the ratio of feature films increased by 5%, while documentaries decreased by 5%. Meanwhile, the number of entries by continent was almost the same as in previous years, recording the number of submissions in the order of Europe-Asia-Latin America-North America.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Susana Santos Rodrigues, the program advisor at Rotterdam International Film Festival, and Alejandro Gomez Trevino, the subdirector of programming at Cineteca Nacional Mexico, who took part in pre-selection.
In International Competition section, it is difficult to pinpoint a certain trend that penetrates the entire submissions, as various themes of films are submitted from various countries. However, as 6 among selected 10 films were directed by women, it seems that the female filmmakers continue to make rapid strides just like last year. We are looking forward to seeing more outstanding works by female filmmakers in the future.
First of all, Album for the Youth by Argentinian director Malena Solarz is a coming-of-age story about two friends, Pedro and Sol, who just graduated high school. Actual People by American director Kit Zauhar follows Riley, a college senior whose anxiety is growing because of the things that will happen to her through her daily life. Medusa by Brazilian director Anita Rocha Da Silveira tells the story of 21-year-old Mariana who is forced to portray a perfect woman using unique directing.
Unlike the first three feature films that spotlight young women as the main characters, the other three films are experimental films and documentaries. Geographies of Solitude, directed by Jacquelyn Mills, depicts the magical beauty of the island and the daily life of Zoe Lucas, a scholar and environmentalist, who has been living in Sable Island located off the Atlantic coast of Canada since the 1970s, exploring and documenting nature every day and collecting plastic waste from the land. The Silence of the Mole by Guatemalan director Anais Taracena re-examined the tragic modern history of Guatemala, where many people were brutally sacrificed by the military dictatorship, through the testimony of a journalist risking his life working as a mole, seeking for democracy. These films show the remarkable achievements of two female filmmakers on nature and history.
In addition, Aleph, by Iva Radivojevi?, a former Yugoslavian director working the US, is a philosophical and fantastic ‘cine poem’ filmed in 10 countries after being inspired by the work of the master of modern literature, Jorge Luis Borges,.
Meanwhile, as we enter the 21st century, there are several films this year that deal with the refugee issues. TOKYO KURDS by Hyuga Fumiari is a documentary about the unstable lives of the young Turkish Kurdish refugees settled in a suburb of Tokyo. Norwegian director Anders Emblem´s feature film, A Human Position tells the story a female protagonist working for a small town newspaper setting out on a journey after reading an article about an Afghan refugee. It approaches the refugee issue with unusual characters and unique narrative style.
In addition, Taiwanese director Zhan Kaidi’s Raydio depicts the miserable daily life of a father and son in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic where the gap between the rich and poor has widened and where it has been difficult to find a job. Unrest by Swiss director Cyril Schaublin sets in a clock factory in a small town in Switzerland at the end of the 19th century, captures the workers’ solidarity with the anarchist movement domestically as well as internationally. It seems that these two films respectively represent the reality and ideal.
Comparing to the previous year´s Asian films that were submitted to International Competition, especially Chinese and Japanese films, this year´s submissions from these two Asian countries enhanced their quality using various perspectives, allowing us to look forward to their work in the future. Once again, we would like to express my gratitude and support to the directors and representatives worked on the submissions.
JEONJU International Film Festival Programmer CHUN Jinsu
* International Competition Selection (10 titles, in alphabetical order)
1. Actual People, Kit ZAUHAR
2. Album for the Youth , Malena SOLARZ
3. Aleph , Iva RADIVOJEVI?
4. Geographies of Solitude , Jacquelyn MILLS
5. A Human Position, Anders EMBLEM
6. Medusa, Anita ROCHA DA SILVEIRA
7. Raydio , ZHAN Kaidi
8. The Silence of the Mole,Anais TARACENA
9. TOKYO KURDS , HYUGA Fumiari
10. Unrest, Cyril SCHAUBLIN
