The 22nd JEONJU IFF’s Programmer of the Year Revealed!
Actor RYU Hyunkyung Named 2021’s J Special: Programmer of the Year
? Actor and director RYU Hyunkyung was selected for the newly launched Programmer of the Year!
? 4 feature films and 4 shorts were selected by actor and director RYU Hyunkyung, including I, The World of Us, and Black Light
The 22nd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Director LEE Joondong) announced that the first star of the newly introduced special section, J Special: Programmer of the Year, is the actor and director Ryu Hyunkyung.
For the J Special: Programmer of the Year section, a person working in many fields will be selected each year as a programmer to fully reflect their cinematic perspectives and tastes through a selection of films to show at JEONJU IFF. This year will be the inaugural year of this program. It will become a leading section at the JEONJU IFF in the coming years.
The star who will open the doors to J Special: Programmer of the Year in 2021 is actor and director Ryu Hyunkyung, who is making a big stride in both commercial and independent films as an actor and director. Ever since her debut in 1996 with drama Gomtang, she consistently stood out on the silver screen with her roles in The Divine Weapon (2008), Cyrano Agency (2010), MANSHIN: Ten Thousand Spirits (2013), Intimate Enemies (2014), and more. She also starred in independent films as the lead performer in The Artist: Reborn (2016) and Pray (2018), and the recently released, I (2021), bringing her closer to the audience. Also, she’s expanding her field of expertise in directing with Kwang Tae´s Basic Story (2009) and Heart Robber (2010) which have gone to leading film festivals in Korea.
Programmer Ryu Hyunkyung will meet with the audience with a total of 8 shorts and features at the 22nd JEONJU IFF. Song Yejin’s Refund (2018), Kwon Yeji’s Dong-a (2018), Before the Moving (2014) directed by and starring Kim Raewon, and Ryu’s own Heart Robber are the 4 shorts, while Hur Jinho’s Christmas in August (1998), Yoon Gaeun’s The World of Us (2016), Bae Jongdae’s Black Light (2020), and Kim Hyuntak’s I (2021), in which Ryu plays the lead character, are the 4 features being introduced. From April 30 to May 2, Ryu will also participate as the moderator of J Special Class, which are conversations with film guests held right after the screenings of J Special: Programmer of the Year. In addition, Ryu plans to participate as a panelist in Women, Actor, and Director: The Way They Meet Audiences to share her personal experiences.
Programmer Moon Seok of JEONJU IFF said, “Ryu Hyunkyung is an actor who has always shown a strong presence in both leading and supporting roles. The fact that even after she became established in mainstream films, her deep affection for independent projects allowed her to work in various titles, and proves she’s a special actor. In particular, she majored in film direction in university and was able to direct a few short films. This makes us look forward to the birth of a filmmaker-actor who will stir up the Korean film industry.” He added, “Along with one of the films she directed, 2 films that star her and 5 other titles selected by her as a programmer will allow us to understand the cinematic world she loves and is pursuing.”
Meanwhile, with the announcement of the titles in J Special: Programmer of the Year, the 22nd JEONJU IFF’s full programming has been confirmed. This year, 194 titles from 48 countries were selected, of which are 120 features and 74 shorts. Among them, 109 are international titles, while 85 titles are from Korea.
The 22nd JEONJU IFF from April 29 to May 8 will hold its physical offline screenings in the Jeonju Film Street area, while the online screenings will be made available on the OTT platform, wavve (www.wavve.com, only in Korea). All talks and special programs will be available on JEONJU IFF’s official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/JEONJUIFF).
