The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival Announces 14 Jury Members for the Competition Sections and NETPAC Award

· Juries consist of experts from various regions around the world, such as South and North Americas, Europe, and Asia.

· Invitations extended to international guests for the first time in three years; all juries will attend Jeonju to select the winners of all competition sections.

The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, festival director LEE Joondong), which is scheduled to open on Thursday, April 28, has selected a total of 14 jury members, consisting of film professionals including directors, actors, and programmers, to judge the titles competing in the competition sections and for the NETPAC Award.

This year, the JEONJU IFF put a lot of effort into the selection of its juries, bringing in film industry experts from various regions around the world, such as South and North Americas, Europe, and Asia. As JEONJU IFF has announced the news to bring back its offline events since the pandemic, all international guests will be invited for the first time in three years, and the jury members will be in Jeonju during the festival period to evaluate the entries offline.

One of the first to be named as a jury member for the International Competition was actor PARK Haseon, who has a close connection with the JEONJU IFF. She hosted the Opening Ceremony for the last year’s JEONJU IFF and FIRST CHILD (2021), the film she starred in, was a finalist in the Korean Competition section. Other members of the jury include Andrei T?N?SESCU, programmer for the Vilnius IFF and a member of the Venice IFF “Venice Days” selection committee; JOO Jinsook, professor emeritus of the Film Department at Chung-Ang University who had served as the director of the Korea Film Archive and the president of the Korean Film Critics Association; CHANG, a filmmaker, music video director, commercial director, and founder of the production company Purple Cats Film; and Clarisa NAVAS, one of the most promising young directors in Latin America today whose two feature films have swept film festivals around the world. They will judge the first or second feature films directed by new filmmakers from around the world.

The jury members for the Korean Competition section are Jenna KU, a founding member of INDIESTORY and CEO of Vol Media who built a career in film at film festivals, distributors, and production companies; Robert CUETO, programmer for San Sebastian Film Festival; and Lili HINSTIN, artistic director for Villa Medici Film Festival. The three judges will select the Best Director and the Grand Prize winners.

The Korean Competition for Shorts will be judged by actor GONG Seungyeon, whose performance in Aloners (2021) gained acclaim from various Korean and global film festivals, winning her Best Actor in the Korean Competition section at the 22nd JEONJU IFF and Best New Actress at the 42nd Blue Dragon Film Awards; Ben RUSSELL, a filmmaker, producer, and curator, whose work has been presented at numerous international film festivals including the Venice IFF and the Berlinale; and filmmaker JEONG Ga-young, who directed a number of shorts including What’s Wrong with Me? K K (2015) and Love Jo. Right Now. (2017), and the commercial film Nothing Serious (2021).

The recipient of the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award, given to the best Asian film featured in non-competition sections, will be selected by three judges, including SEO Koksuk, a professor and film critic who served as a member of the Review Committee for international film festivals at the Korean Film Council; Ed LEJANO, the festival director of the QCinema IFF and the vice-president of the NETPAC; and OH Youngsuk, an HK research professor of the Institute for East Asian studies at SungKongHoe University.

The winners selected by the 14 judges will be announced at the award ceremony on May 4 (Wed). The awards in the International Competition section include the Grand Prize (a cash prize of KRW 20 million and a trophy), the Best Picture Prize (sponsored by NH Nonghyup Bank; a cash prize of KRW 10 million and a trophy), and the Special Jury Prize (a cash prize of KRW 10 million and a trophy). The awards in the Korean Competition section include the Grand Prize (a cash prize of KRW 15 million and a trophy) and the Best Actor Prize (sponsored by ONFIFN), which awards a cash prize of KRW 5 million and a trophy to two actors starring in films competing in the section. In the Korean Short Film Competition, the Grand Prize (a cash prize of KRW 5 million and a trophy), the Best Director Prize (sponsored by Kyobo Life Insurance; a cash prize of KRW 3 million and a trophy), and the Special Jury Prize (a cash prize of KRW 2 million and a trophy) will be awarded to films competing in the section. The NETPAC Award, consisting of a certificate and a trophy, will be given to an Asian film screened in non-competitive sections.

The 23rd JEONJU IFF will be held on Jeonju Film Street and neighboring areas from Thursday, April 28 to Saturday, May 7 and online screenings will be provided through ONFIFN, an online platform dedicated to Korean film festivals.