Nine days of international films will make North Jeolla Province a focal point for cinema lovers when the Jeonju International Film Festival starts on April 27 and May 5.
This years JIFF, the seventh, will introduce 194 feature films and shorts from 42 countries. The opening film is "Offside" by Jafar Panahi from Iran, which tells the story of girls who secretly enter a men-only football stadium, disguised as men because they want to see the beautiful game. "The movie offers an interesting perspective on women in the Muslim world, where sports are off-limits to them", says festival programmer Yu Wun-seong.
The closing film will be "Don't Look Back" by Kim Yeong-nam, who garnered attention with his short "I Can Fly to You But You…" His feature, "Don't Look Back" focuses on three 20-somethings trying to come to grips with new uncertainties. It stars Kim Tae-woo of "Woman is the Future of Man" and Kim Hye-na ("Ggot Seom" - "Flower Island"). Critics say the film shatters established notions of youth as a time of either despair or of passionate energy.
There are 11 sections besides the competition. Cinema Scape showcases films by world-renowned directors and remarkable ones by new faces. A total of 36 films will be shown in the section, including "Les Amants réguliers" by Philippe Garrel, which takes a fresh look at the 1968 revolution in France, and "A Perfect Couple" considered to be the finest movie yet by Nobuhiro Suwa.
The Cinema Palace section was created to attract not just cinephiles but also ordinary audiences to the festival and the city. The 15 films in the section include "Qian li zou dan qi" by Zhang Yimou of "Raise the Red Lantern" fame and classics like Elia Kazan's "A Streetcar Named Desire' and "Getaway" by maverick director Sam Peckinpah.
The festival opens at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju and runs at 18 theaters in the Kosa-dong cinema district and elsewhere in the city. Movie fans can book tickets online the opening and closing films from April 7 and for the rest of the program form April 11 at ticket.jiff.or.kr. A temporary ticket office will be set in front of Megabox in Kosa-dong from April 13.
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