JEONJU International Film Festival and the Korea Creative Content Agency Sign an MOU on April 11 to Support VR Films to Promote Immersive Content

· Expect mutual cooperation for promoting the production as well as domestic and overseas expansion of VR films

· Plan to create a virtuous circle ecosystem of the Korean film industry and the immersive content industry

The JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, festival director Lee Joondong) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA, president Jo Hyunrae) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to support VR films to promote immersive content.

The signing of the MOU was held on Monday, April 11, and it was attended by seven important officials from both organizations, including Lee Joondong, festival director for the JEONJU IFF, and Jo Hyunrae, president of KOCCA. Prior to the signing, the attendees had time to discuss the production of VR films as well as their domestic and overseas expansion. Festival director Lee Joondong remarked, “We will do our best to discover and support excellent VR film contents and screen them at the JEONJU IFF, so that Korean VR films can also enter overseas film markets.”

Through this MOU, the two organizations announced that they will establish a close and organic cooperation system to: 1) discover VR film projects; 2) support and manage the budget for selected projects; and 3) screen, promote, and distribute completed VR films.

With VR contents being developed in various fields in recent years, VR films are also attracting public attention. Leading international film festivals, such as the Venice International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, and Sundance Film Festival, have already been introducing various VR projects and content in specific sections.

Interest in VR film production and screening has been on the rise in Korea as well. A synergistic effect is expected between the Korean film industry and the immersive content industry, as the cooperative partnership between the two organizations provides the possibility of creating new genres and conducting cinematic experiments in the Korean film industry,

In addition, this cooperative partnership is meaningful in that it will help secure excellent VR film content and provide a foothold for Korean VR films to enter overseas markets. It is also noteworthy that the Jeonju IFF and the KOCCA, which seek to expand the genre of the Korean content industry, agreed to support content production, rather than simple technical support. The VR film projects completed through this cooperative partnership are scheduled to be screened at the JEONJU IFF in 2023.

The announcement of application guidelines for VR film projects will be posted on the KOCCA website (www.kocca.kr) in April. The JEONJU IFF and the KOCCA will cooperate to select the final two projects and provide up to 300 million KRW as production support fund for each project. Detailed schedule and information will be available on the KOCCA website in the near future.

The 23rd JEONJU IFF will be held in the Jeonju Film Street area for ten days from Thursday, April 28 to Saturday, May 7.