The JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Co-Festival Directors Min Sungwook and Jung Junho) unveiled Cinephile JEONJU screenings and this year’s Guest Cinephile.
Cinephile JEONJU is a sphere for film enthusiasts who enjoy cinematic adventures. This program explores classics, film history and genres, and documentaries on filmmakers, evoking fragments of cinematic history. For its fourth anniversary, Cinephile JEONJU is collaborating with notable international institutions, including the Harvard Film Archive (HFA), the Embassy of Australia in Korea, and Cinemateca Capitólio.
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| ▲ From the left: Guest Cinephile Adrian Martin, Bill Mousoulis, Margot Nash |
Guest Cinephile is a mini-section of Cinephile JEONJU, launched in 2023, that invites renowned guests in the field of film restoration, preservation and cinema history. These guests will also give lectures on cinema as part of the program. Adrian Martin, one of the most renowned film critics, is this year’s Guest Cinephile—a section where the festival invites a distinguished figure from the world of cinema to curate a selection of films. He has been writing about films, and involving himself in international film culture, since the late 1970s. He also established the concept of "dispositif," marking a turning point in the mise-en-scène-centered field of film theory.
As a Guest Cinephile, he curated a total of seven Australian films under the theme of “The Other Australian Cinema, 1980s to Now." The selections are by independent filmmakers Margot Nash, Bill Mousoulis, and Corinne Cantrill, who have worked experimentally and beyond the mainstream.
It has been 16 years since Adrian last visited Jeonju, following his attendance at the 10th JEONJU IFF in 2009. He mentioned, “I am very honoured to be the Guest Cinephile of the JEONJU IFF in 2025,” adding “I last visited this great event in person back in 2009, and I contributed to last year’s wonderful book on Tsai Ming-Liang.” He explained his selection of special films, stating, “My aim is to provide a special look at the independent and experimental filmmaking scene in Australia—a robust tradition that is too little known around the world.”
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| ▲ From the left: My Darling in Stirling, Vacant Possession |
For Australian Cultural Week from May 3 to May 8, a selection of brilliant films has been curated, offering a glimpse into Australian cinema from the 1980s to the present. Examples include My Darling in Stirling (2023), Bill Mousoulis’ latest film, a lively yet melancholic musical in which every line is sung; Vacant Possession (1994), directed by Margot Nash, a story of two families—one white, one Indigenous—both living in the shadow of the past; and In This Life's Body (1984), directed by Corinne Cantrill, which explores her childhood in 1930s Sydney, her quest for personal, creative, and sexual authenticity, and her evolving relationship with her body through motherhood, illness, and recovery. A total of seven films will be screened in this section. Notably, In This Life’s Body, presented on 16mm film, is composed almost entirely of still photographs and narrated by Corinne Cantrill.
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| ▲ From the left: One Is Few, Two Would Fill, Onda Nova, The Four Times |
Regarding the Cinephile JEONJU, a gathering place for film lovers who aren’t afraid of cinematic adventures, this year features unique curations through collaborations with various institutions and experts. First, One Is Few, Two Would Fill (1970), restored under the leadership of programmer Leonardo Bomfim from Brazil’s Cinemateca Capitólio, and Onda Nova (1983), featuring a brief appearance by famous Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso, offer rare insights into forgotten Brazilian cinema. Continuing a three-year partnership of 35 mm screenings with JEONJU IFF, Harvard Film Archive director Haden Guest has selected films exploring portrayals of animals in cinema.
Finally, a special program—possibly the highlight of Cinephile JEONJU—commemorates the 80th anniversary of both the end of World War II and the liberation of Auschwitz through the screenings of the restored version of Claude Lanzmann’s monumental Shoah (1985), first screened at the Berlinale 40 years ago, along with Guillaume Ribot’s documentary All I Had Was Nothingness (2025), featuring previously unseen footage and stories from Shoah. Lanzmann (1925–2018), who would have turned 100 this year, created an enduring masterpiece that continues to affirm George Santayana’s words: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Cinephile JEONJU, which contributes to film restoration and preservation, along with its mini-section Guest Cinephile: Adrian Martin, will engage with audiences at the 26th JEONJU IFF, taking place from April 30 (Wed) to May 9 (Fri) throughout Jeonju.
| The 26th JEONJU IFF Cinephile JEONJU Selections |
| Title |
Director |
Country |
Year |
RT |
| All I Had Was Nothingness |
Guillaume RIBOT |
France |
2025 |
94 |
| The Declic Years |
Raymond DEPARDON |
France |
1984 |
65 |
| A Dream Longer Than the Night |
Niki DE SAINT PHALLE |
France |
1976 |
82 |
| Nightshift |
Robina ROSE |
United Kingdom |
1981 |
68 |
| Onda Nova |
Ícaro (Francisco C) MARTINS,
José Antonio GARCIA |
Brazil |
1983 |
104 |
| One Is Few, Two Would Fill |
Odilon LOPEZ |
Brazil |
1970 |
95 |
| The Sealed Soil |
Marva NABILI |
Iran |
1977 |
90 |
| Shoah |
Claude LANZMANN |
France |
1985 |
566 |
| Videoheaven |
Alex Ross PERRY |
United States |
2025 |
173 |
| The Old Mill |
Graham HEID, Wilfred JACKSON |
United States |
1937 |
9 |
| A Divided World |
Arne SUCKSDORFF |
Sweden |
1948 |
8 |
| The Four Times |
Michelangelo FRAMMARTINO |
Italy, Germany,
Switzerland |
2010 |
88 |
** 12 titles, alphabetical order
| The 26th JEONJU IFF Guest Cinephile: Adrian Martin Selections |
| Title |
Director |
Country |
Year |
RT |
| In This Life's Body |
Corinne CANTRILL |
Australia |
1984 |
147 |
| My Darling in Stirling |
Bill MOUSOULIS |
Australia |
2023 |
79 |
| Dreams Never End |
Bill MOUSOULIS |
Australia |
1983 |
9 |
| The Experimenting Angel |
Bill MOUSOULIS |
Australia |
2010 |
7 |
| Into the Wild |
Bill MOUSOULIS |
Greece, Italy,
Australia |
2011 |
7 |
| Vacant Possession |
Margot NASH |
Australia |
1994 |
95 |
| Undercurrents: meditations on power |
Margot NASH |
Australia |
2023 |
20 |
** 7 titles, alphabetical order by director’s name
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