The 24th JEONJU International Film Festival Announces 10 Selections for International Competition

- 9 fictional films and 1 documentary! Selections include films with various perspectives and experimental films with unique visuals

- Programmer CHUN Jinsu commented, “An opportunity to meet ambitious works of various genres created by young filmmakers.”

The 24th JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Co-Director Min Sungwook and Jung Junho) announced a total of ten selections for the International Competition.

The International Competition at the 24th JEONJU IFF is a section that introduces the first or second feature-length films of emerging directors from around the world. A total of 604 films from 83 countries were submitted from Wednesday, November 23, 2022 to Wednesday, January 18, 2023. After preliminary rounds, a total of ten films were selected.

Annina Wettstein and Aaron Cutler, and JEONJU IFF programmers Moon Seok, Sung Moon, and Chun Jinsu participated in the preliminary selection. On behalf of the pre-selection committee, programmer Chun commented, “Unlike last year’s edition which was dominated by documentaries, this year’s selection included films with various perspectives and experimental films with unique visuals. Audiences could meet ambitious works of various genres created by young filmmakers at the competition section.”

Among the nine fictional films, About the Clouds directed by María Aparicio, is a beautiful black and white Argentinian film that tells the story of the four main characters who have nothing in common except that they live in the same city. Absence directed by Wu Lang, features actor Lee Kang-Sheng in the lead role, maximizing his loneliness.

After directed by Anthony Lapia depicts the youth through after party at a club blasting with techno music and wild dancing in Paris. Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster directed by Umut Subaşi, focuses on the younger generation of Türkiye, showing their worries and anxieties in a delightful way through the characters’ close relationships and directing.

H by Carlos Pardo Ros leads audiences to a bizarre experience through the story of Uncle H, who died at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Desvío de noche (Night Detour) directed by Ariane Falardeau St-Amour and Paul Chotel, captures the story of a journalist who searches for a famous figure skater who suddenly disappeared during a visit to her hometown with mysterious visuals.

The Quiet Migration directed by Malene Choi is notable for the director's autobiographical story. It depicts the psychology of a Korean adoptee who lives a quiet life with his adoptive parents in a rural village in Denmark but suffers an identity crisis.

Sashenka reflects the presence of Ukraine which is being destroyed by the war. Directed by Olexandr Zhovna, the film deals with the tragic life of the main character in the former Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. There is a Stone directed by Ota Tatsunari captures the flow of emotions from a simple story about a man and a woman who happens to meet at the stream skipping stones and then looking for the stone thrown into the water together.

One documentary was selected for the upcoming edition. Orlando, My Political Biography by director Paul B. Preciado is a French documentary inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography. The film shows that transsexualism is not simply a matter of gender, but a choice that can be interpreted in various ways.

Meanwhile, the 24th JEONJU IFF will be held for ten days from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, May 6, 2023, in and around Jeonju Film Street.