“The Future of Cinema Lies in the Past”

The 24th JEONJU International Film Festival Unveils the Cinephile JEONJU Screening List

- Screen in restored versions of great classic films such as THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE and Branded to Kill

- A memorial section for the late director Jean-Luc Godard, the master of Nouvelle Vague, will be held with two documentaries about his life and thoughts will also be screened

- The Guest Cinephile, a newly created section under the Cinephile Jeonju to invite people in the field of film restoration and preservation and opens with the Harvard Film Archive (HFA)

The JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Co-Director Min Sungwook and Jung Junho) unveiled the Cinephile JEONJU screening list. The festival has gradually revealed the official selection list, including Korean Competition for Shorts and Local Cinema.

The Cinephile JEONJU, newly established last year, began with a quote from the late director Jean-Luc Godard, master of Nouvelle Vague, saying, "The future of cinema lies in the past." The Cinephile JEONJU was created to see cinema history as a living thing, to save forgotten films worth discussing in the present gaze, and to build a new context in film history through new films that tell the story of the past.

This year's Cinephile JEONJU features restored versions of great classic films such as Jean Eustache's THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE (1973) and Suzuki Seijun's Branded to Kill (1967), as well as Valeria Sarmiento's short film A Dream as in Colours (1972), which has been restored recently and has not been introduced much yet.

Three documentaries that will bring back memories of masters of film history are also waiting for the audience. Fragments of Paradise (2022): The story of Jonas Mekas, who was an iconic figure in experimental films, Sergio Leone - The Italian Who Invented America (2022): The story of a leading director of the Spaghetti Western genre, and 1967 - Pasolini in NYC (1967): Portrays Pier Paolo Pasolini, the Italian film director who made unconventional moves in the film industry in the 1960s, through the perspective of Agnès Varda, are on the list.

Following last year, a classic film and a film inspired by it are bundled together and introduced in double feature format. Paulo Rocha's The Green Years (1963) and the documentary Where Is This Street? or With No Before And After (2022, co-directed by João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata), which recalls the scenes from The Green Years in Lisbon, Portugal, were chosen.

Not only that but there are also films about people who should be called anonymous heroes. Jeune Cinema (2023) is about the founders of the Festival international du Jeune Cinéma, Kim's Video (2023) tells about the owner of New York's famous Kim's Video, Kim Yongman, and NITRATE: To the Ghosts of the 75 Lost Philippine Silent Films (1912-1933) (2023) deals with ghosts of the disappeared films from the history of the Philippine cinema.

Film Fetish (2023) introduces an underrated Japanese experimental filmmaker, Okuyama Jun'ichi, and the posthumous film Silent Witnesses (2023) co-directed by Jerónimo Atehortúa, and Luis Ospina will also be screened. The late director Luis Ospina is a hero of Latin American cinema who created social and political documentaries.

A mini-section is also prepared to honor the late director Jean-Luc Godard, who said, "The future of cinema lies in the past," which became the keynote phrase of the Cinephile JEONJU. Jean-Luc Godard took the lead in the Nouvelle Vague, a film movement aroused among young filmmakers in France in the late 1950s and showed a new paradigm to the film industry. He passed away last year leaving enormous assets in the film industry.

In remembrance of the director, the 24th JEONJU IFF presents two documentaries in the Cinephile JEONJU section, which reflect his life and thoughts as a film director. The audience can enjoy GODARD CINEMA (2022), a guide to Godard's life and work and Godard Is Here (2023), filled with his thoughts on films.

Lastly, Guest Cinephile, a newly created section under the Cinephile Jeonju will invite prominent figures in film restoration and preservation to talk about films. Those who work in film history, from archiving managers to companies dedicated to reviving the film's past, film festivals, and research institutions, will curate selective films. The first personality of launching this program will be with the director of the Harvard Film Archive (HFA), Haden Guest.

Med Hondo's West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (1979), a masterpiece that revealed the political and social issue of the slave trade through visual innovation, and Ed Pincus's Diaries (1971-1976) (1982), a fameless film from 40 years ago but surprisingly modernistic personal documentary filmmaking, will be screened in a digitally restored version. In addition, two North American experimental films, Godfrey Reggio's documentary Koyaanisqatsi (1983) and legendary director Stan Brakhage's short film The Garden of Earthly Delights (1981), will be screened in 35mm from HFA's collection. There will be an opportunity to listen to director Haden Guest's commentaries before or after screening.

The 24th JEONJU IFF unveiled the screening list of the Cinephile JEONJU, which strives to restore and preserve films. The festival will be held ten days from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, May 6, 2023, in and around Jeonju Film Street.