5th Jecheon Int'l Fest to Kick Off

Set by the side of a wide, scenic lake surrounded by luscious green forests, the 5th Jecheon International Music Film Festival (JIMFF) is set to kick off this month, running August 13 – 18 in the namesake city in North Chungcheong province. The opening film is Joe Wright's The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downie Jr.

JIMFF this year screens 87 music films from 35 countries. Last year, JIMFF launched its international competition section. This year's jury includes Korean director Lee Myeong-se, Japanese producer Iseki Satoru, film music composer Lim Giong, and French director and DOP, Dominique Brenguier.

Sections include Music Shorts on Track, which screens 14 Korean and 14 international short films, Cinema Concert, which screens German silent film classic The Golem to the distinctive live accompaniment of Austrian string quartet Naked Lunch, and Family Fest, which screens children-oriented films such as the Sergeant Keroro the Super Duper Movie – Dragon Wars.

A number of Korean films, old and new, will screen at the fest including street-performance themed documentary A Better Tomorrow on the Street, music-themed romantic-drama "Dancing Zoo", YOU and YOU - a film about a girls choir, "Sogyumo Acacia Band's Story" – a documentary about a duo band, and classics from the past such as "Yeong-Ja's Heydays", "Deep Blue Night", and "Lee Jang-ho's Baseball Team".

Nigel D'Sa (KOFIC)