Jecheon festival looks to blend music and film

The fourth Jecheon International Music & Film Festival will kick off its six-day schedule Aug. 14, introducing 82 flicks from 30 countries plus a variety of music performances.

"The festival aims to develop a new genre, putting together music and film, and we expect a fresh momentum this year as we introduce a competition section for the first time", said festival organizing committee head Eom Tae-young at a news conference in Seoul on Tuesday.

JIMFF, started in 2005, is Asia's first music-oriented film event where moviegoers and music lovers can share opportunities to enjoy both. This year it has established a new competition section titled World Music Film Today, where 10 films from nine countries compete to win awards and a cash prize worth $15,000 in a bid to solidify its position as a film festival.

Cho Seong-woo, executive director of the festival, said the slogan for this year, "Jump! JIMFF!" illustrates the organizers' resolve to upgrade the event's status into one specializing in genre movies.

"The city of Jecheon is very actively supporting this unique festival, which we hope will provide a key venue for people working in the music film genre", Cho said. "Jecheon festival is not about original soundtracks in films, but about movies which deal with music as their theme and subject". Jecheon, a city of 140,000 in North Chungcheong Province, is known for its serene landscape and clean environment, and the festival's rapid rise to public recognition is its unique combination of music and film, while inviting tourists to join related events, especially outdoor concerts featuring well-known musicians.

The Jecheon festival will open with "Young@Heart", an intriguing British documentary about a rock chorus. What's special about this energetic and powerful group is that the average age of its members is 81. In the film directed by Stephen Walker, the senior citizens, ages 75 to 93, defy conventions and prejudices in a refreshing style that celebrates music and also plays a fine opener for the festival.

The closing film, "The Visitor" by Tom McCarthy, is equally music-oriented. In the film, a widowed college professor living in Connecticut travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment. The professor finds new meaning in life when the couple teaches him to play an African drum.

The Cine Symphony section this year features 12 music-oriented films including Esteban Sapir's "La Antena", Ahmed El Maanouni's "Burned Hearts", Craig Zobel's "Great World of Sound". This section at the heart of the festival offers the latest movies that make music a central theme.

"The definition of music films remains vague and unclear to the public, but the Cine Symphony section is part of the festival's efforts to give a clearer definition about music films", festival programmer Jeong Wu-jeong said.

The Music in Sight section features 12 music documentaries that illustrate the colorful life of talented musicians. The Korean Music Film Now section revisits six Korean films that use plenty of music, including director Lee Joon-ik's "The Happy Life" and Ha Gi-ho's "Radio Dayz".

The Theme and Variations section will bring audiences to the golden days of musical films, featuring seven well-known pieces such as "The Broadway Melody", "42nd Street" and "The Jazz Singer".

JIMFF, which will run through Aug. 19 at the multiplex theater TTC Cinema, Jecheon Media Center and Cheongpung Lake Stage, takes pride in the city's relaxing "closer-to-nature" atmosphere that differs from other film festivals held in big cities.

Other popular events include a series of outdoor concerts entitled "One Summer Night", introducing local and international musicians. Korean music groups such as DJ DOC, Jaurim and Crying Nut will perform with foreign guests such as Chelsia Chan and MAU Project.

The tickets are 5,000 won per screening and 15,000 won for an outdoor concert. Online ticket reservations will be available from Aug. 1 at the festival's official website at Open the link, and for further information, call (02) 925-2242.

By Yang Sung-jin