25th JEONJU IFF draws record number of 747 entries from 81 countries for International Competition
2024-01-15 10:00:00

- An increase of 143 entries from the previous year

- Expectations to push the festival's genre boundaries

- Programmer CHUN Jinsu, "These figures show what Jeonju International Film Festival means to young filmmakers."

The 25th Jeonju International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Co-Director Min Sungwook and Jung Junho) has successfully concluded its call for entries for International Competition with 747 films from 81 countries, the highest number of submissions ever.

The 25th JEONJU IFF received 747 films from 81 countries for the International Competition during the submission period (November 8, 2023 - January 3, 2024). There were 143 more films submitted this year than in the previous year when 604 films were submitted. This is the highest number of submissions in the festival's history and demonstrates the strong interest in the festival from international filmmakers.

By continent, Asia had the most entries with 403 entries, followed by Europe with 277, South America with 110, North America with 79, and Africa with 7; by country, Iran had the highest number of entries with 110, indicating the strength of Iranian cinema. This was followed by China with 85, India with 54, France with 46, and the United States with 44.

In terms of genres, narrative films dominated this year's submissions with 435 entries, more than half of the total. This was followed by 233 documentaries, 55 experimental films, 9 animations, and 15 other genres. Compared to the previous year, there were 78 more narrative films, 45 more documentaries, 25 more experimental films, and 3 more animations. The increase in experimental and animation films was significant, indicating that this year's JEONJU IFF will be a venue for a wide range of films in a variety of genres.

Chun Jinsu, the programmer of JEONJU IFF said, "We are grateful to the filmmakers from all over the world for submitting their precious works. The record number of entries is an expression of the will of young filmmakers to be evaluated through film festivals, who have fewer opportunities to introduce their work in theaters due to the emergence of various platforms," "These figures show what Jeonju International Film Festival means to young filmmakers." said Chun. "We will introduce great works through fair and fierce judging."

Meanwhile, the 25th JEONJU IFF will be held for ten days from May 1 (Wed) to May 10 (Fri), 2024 in Jeonju, including Jeonju Film Street.