Thank you to everyone who submitted their precious projects to the 25th JEONJU International Film Festival’s Korean Competition.

Announces 10 Selection of Titles for Korean Competition

This year, 8 narrative films, 2 documentaries were selected.

We have selected the following works to screen at the 25th JEONJU International Film Festival’s Korean Competition.

Official Korean Competition Selection (10 titles, in Korean alphabetical order)

1) A Chronicle in Spirals (KIM Yiso)｜Korea｜2023｜82min｜DCP｜Color + B/W

2) Blanket Wearer (PARK Jeongmi)｜Korea｜2024｜116min｜DCP｜Color

3) MIMANG (KIM Taeyang)｜Korea｜2023｜93min｜DCP｜Color

4) My Missing Aunt (YANG Juyeon)｜Korea｜2024｜77min｜DCP｜Color

5) Autumn Note (KIM Sol)｜Korea｜2024｜72min｜DCP｜Color

6) Sister Yujeong (CHUNG Haeil)｜Korea｜2024｜102min｜DCP｜Color

7) Mother's Kingdom (LEE Sanghak)｜Korea｜2023｜97min｜DCP｜Color

8) Silver Apricot (JANG Man-min)｜Korea｜2023｜122min｜DCP｜Color

9) Deprivation (KIM Solhae, LEE Dojin)｜Korea｜2024｜85min｜DCP｜Color

10) Time to Be Strong (NAMKOONG Sun)｜Korea｜2024｜99min｜DCP｜Color

Commentary on Korean Competition Section

The 25th JEONJU International Film Festival has received approximately 20 more entries in the Korean competition section than the previous year, with a total of 134 films competing. With 20% more entries, it may indicate that the Korean film industry, specifically the independent film industry, has finally bounced back from the dreadful Covid pandemic. However, it can also be a result of the fact that the risk caused by the pandemic is still ongoing or even worsening.

If it was under the same conditions before the pandemic, many of the films would have been released in cinemas or via OTT. Korean independent films are struggling to get on screens in cinemas, and diverse support schemes are disappearing. Additionally, OTT platforms do not make it easy for independent filmmakers. These situations have likely caused a greater reliance on film festivals, which notion is further supported by the fact that the films submitted this year are quite different from what JEONJU IFF has typically represented over the years.

Even though the competition became harder with more entries, those ten films selected for the Korean competition section are more solid and substantial than ever. Narratives about women keep strong again this year. Regardless of the directors’ genders or genres, the majority competing in the Korean competition section feature women at the center of the films, and many of them penetrate their inner selves. Representative films are such as Sister Yujeong, Deprivation, Autumn Note, My Missing Aunt, Blanket Wearer. An experimental film of A Chronicle in Spirals also talks about women.

There are also many films about family, some of which overlap with the aforementioned films that are about female narratives. Mother's Kingdom and Silver Apricot put family upfront in the face, and Sister Yujeong, Deprivation and My Missing Aunt, the issues of women are addressed within a framework of family.

This year’s Korean Competition section truly showcases the significance of the JEONJU Project, the business program of JEONJU IFF, through its remarkable achievement. Three films that attended the Work In Progress in last year’s JEONJU Project such as MIMANG, Blanket Wearer and My Missing Aunt have successfully made to the Korean competition section. Moreover, the JEONJU Project selection MIMANG was screened at the Discovery section at Toronto International Film Festival last year. Now there is another reason for the industry to pay close attention to this year’s Work In Progress program.

Even not directly from the JEONJU Project, there are other films scheduled to be screened that have a long standing connection with the city of Jeonju. Director Kim Sol, who co-won the Korean Competition Award at the 20th JEONJU IFF with Scattered Night (2019), presents Autumn Note. And director Namkoong Sun, whose film Ten Months (2021) screened in the Korean Cinema section at the 21st JEONJU IFF, returns with Time to Be Strong, which is also a human rights film that tackles the issue of a retired idol.

While it's a privilege to present such outstanding and diverse films, we also concerned about the future of the film industry. We would like to urge not just the independent film industry, but also other film industries and the government to work together to overcome this crisis.

Our gratitude goes out to all the filmmakers who submitted their films to the 25th JEONJU International Film Festival despite the challenging environment.

Programmer MOON Seok, Sung MOON, CHUN Jinsu