Kim Eung-su (김응수)

A Whole Host of Winners at JIFF 2009
Jeonju Film Festival Closes with Great Expectations
By Matthew Love
Associate Editor & Writer
Sherad Anthony Sanchez's "Imbrunal" winner of this years JIFF Woosuk Award for International Film

The Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) ended its nine day celebration of independent and art cinema on Friday night (May 9th) with Uberto Pasolini's latest feature "Machan" (2008).

The closing film, a comedy drama about a group of hapless young Sri-Lankan men trying to get to Europe, in search of a better life by forming a national handball team to compete in an international tournament, was an excellent finale to compliment a fine collection of work on exhibition at this years' JIFF dedicated to Sri Lankan cinema.

The JIFF, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, was its biggest and most successful year to date, with attendances from industry, foreign press and the general public substantially increased on previous years. A good number of the films sold out, almost immediately after tickets went on sale, and most enjoyed playing to almost half to full houses, particularly over the weekend.

This successful factor can be attributed first and foremost to the reputation and experience the festival has gained over the last decade, bringing a quality selection of world cinema and new domestic independent products to Korean and international audiences; secondly, the added attraction of free live music stages, outdoor screenings, some strange (but fascinating) street theatre, a B-Boy dance championship coupled with some fine warm spring sunshine was satisfactory enough to entertain the crowds outside the movie theatre houses. This ensured that the festival wasn't merely for film snobs or the arts elite, but also for a diverse and large cross section of the local people and visitors, young and old, regardless of their social or economic standing.

The Daum Special Jury Prize, "Inland-Gabbla" by Tariq Teguia.

The hospitality and kindness of the local people and businesses in Jeonju city did not falter, along with the many JIFF volunteers (with their bright yellow jackets) who participated in the event, who played an incredible variety of roles, including directing traffic, assisting in orientation and providing guidance for festival-goers. The volunteers, many of them students were always at hand nearby and ready to help located throughout the main venues in Cinema Town, at the free bus shuttle stops, hotels and external venues.

The human and caring people friendly attitude of the JIFF was not contained to the organisation of the festival itself but, indeed, extended fully to what was on offer on exhibition on screen throughout the festivals nine day run. A large number, in fact, most of the film narratives this year dealt with and challenged a wide range of contemporary issues facing the world today, ranging from social political problems due to widening economic divisions, environmental destruction, violence, gender roles and sexual orientation, human trafficking and exploitation, immigration and the effects on traditional agrarian societies through industrialisation processes, to highlight but a few of the many subjects tackled by this year' filmmakers.

These of course, are not new subjects and have existed since the very birth of the modern cinema since the end of the 2nd World War, nonetheless, what ...More

The 10th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), one of Korea's three major cinema showcases along with PIFF and PiFan, has revealed a selection of 11 new films for its Korean Feature Competition section that will vie for the JJ Star Award for top film, a cash award of 10 million Won.

Among the films selected are director Sin Dong-il's third feature, "Bandhobi", which tells about the relationship between a Bangladeshi laborer and a Korean high school girl. SIN debuted with the award-winning "Host and Guest" (2005) and followed it up with the critical...More

By Nigel D'Sa
Contributing Writer

The 9th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) is nearing, and an impressive line-up of films has been announced for this year's event.

Set in its picturesque namesake city in Jeollabuk-do (province), JIFF runs May 1-9, bringing together innovative and independent films and filmmakers from around the world.

This year's program boasts a record total of 169 films with opening night going to Manda Kunitoshi's The Kiss in its International Premiere.

Japanese writer-turned-director Manda has already gained notice and won prizes at Cannes for his previous films, making this latest work highly anticipated.

JIFF's curtain-closer will be the Korean omnibus film "If You Were Me 4", produced by the National Human Rights Commission.

Each film in the series has a human rights issue as its theme with past concerns ranging from discrimination to forced surgery and bringing together a group of talented directors.

This year's project features five shorts on the theme of contemporary Korean youth and the stress of education and growing up.

The participating directors were Bang Eun-jin ("Princess Aurora"), Kim Tae-yong ("Family Ties" - "The Birth of a Family"), Lee Hyeon-seung ("Il Mare"), Jeon Gye-soo ("The Ghost Theater") and Yoon Seong-ho ("Milky Way Liberation Front").

JIFF has renamed its 'Indie Vision' section the 'International Competition' section, raising its profile and adding a second-best film prize, the 'Daum Special Jury ...More

Ten Korean features will have their World Premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) this spring. Now in it's 9th edition the festival will run May 1st – 9th in the attractive and historical city of Jeonju, in North Jeolla province.

Korean highlights include documentary director Kim Dong-won's latest, "63 Years On", about the 'comfort women' enslaved by the Japanese military in stations across Asia during WW2. The film provides an historical investigation along with interviews with victims still living in Korea, China, and the Philippines. KIM is best known for his 2003 film Repatriation which raised the documentary genre to commercial prominence in South Korea.

In the Korean Cinema on the Move section, presents 10 new independent features mostly by debut directors. Among the most interesting are "Synching Blue" by SEO Won-tae, a director whose shorts films have garnered praise for their visual arrangements. This HD feature is about a man who seeks comfort in adult web sites but is unable to function in a relationship with a real woman.

"Children of God" by director YI Seung-jun is a documentary about the coexistence of life and death along a holy river in Nepal where people go to cremate their loved ones. "My Dear Diary" by debut directing duo KIM Baek-joon and JEONG Seong...More

Kyu Hyun Kim (qhyunkim)

Six twenty-something characters are invited for a party by their elementary school classmate Mi-ja (Seo Young-hee, the neurotic landlady from "Jealousy Is My Middle Name"), who has been caring for her former teacher Ms. Park (Oh Mi-hee), now infirm and wheelchair-bound. The guests turn out to be a motley crew of losers and basket cases, however.

Worse, each of them bears a serious grudge against Ms. Park. Sun-hee (Lee Ji-hyeon, Yeo Gyoon-dong's "La Belle"), traumatized by the teacher's public taunting of her baby fat, has become Addicted to plastic surgery and suffers from bulimia. Park Hyo-joon ("A Dirty Carnival") ruined his leg while being punished by Ms. Park and had to fold his childhood dream of becoming an ace baseball player. Se-ho (Yeo Hyeon-soo, "Holiday") and Eun-young (Yoo Seol-ah), now a couple, is still struggling against the memories of insults and put-downs regarding their childhood poverty.

Even Myung-ho (Lee Dong-gyoo, Kim Eung-su's "Desire"), an obvious teacher's pet, is trying to medicate away the nightmares involving Ms. Park's creepy "affection". As if these were not bad enough, the loving teacher used to keep her horribly deformed child in the bas...More