The JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Co-Directors Min Sungwook and Jung Junho) announced 10 selected films for the International Competition.
The International Competition is a section aimed at the first or second feature-length films of directors, which will have their Asian Premiere.
For the Pre-selection Advisors for International Competition, Paola Buontempo, Son Cecile Hyojeong, Moon Seok, Sung Moon, and Chun Jinsu participated. On behalf of the juries, programmer Chun Jinsu stated, “Documentaries continued their strong showing with over 200 submissions for the second consecutive year, with many being ‘personal documentaries’ based on directors’ individual experiences”, adding that this phenomenon reflects “the challenging production environment following the COVID-19 pandemic, which underscores the urgent need for support for filmmakers.”
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| ▲ From the left: Always, Ulysses, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) |
Chinese director Chen Deming’s Always is a documentary that follows a rural Chinese boy crafting his life through poetry, capturing his transformation over time with beautiful visuals. Japanese filmmaker Uwagawa Hikaru presents Ulysses, a three-part film that quietly observes and savors the minute details in characters’ lives. Furthermore, Joel Alfonso Vargas’ Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) provides an authentic portrait of Dominican Americans in the Bronx, New York.
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| ▲ From the left: CycleMahesh, Cherub |
From India, Suhel Banerjee’s CycleMahesh recounts the journey of a young man who travels 2,000 kilometers home on his bicycle during the pandemic, skillfully blending documentary and fictional elements. Canadian director Devin Shears offers Cherub, a nuanced character study examining body image and identity through the overweight protagonist.
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| ▲ From the left: Ollie, Sugarland, The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov |
In Ollie, French filmmaker Antoine Besse crafts a tender story of friendship between a young boy and an outsider through skateboarding, set in a rural French village. Austrian director Isabella Brunäcker makes her impressive debut with Sugarland, demonstrating remarkable control in a narrative largely confined to a car’s interior, elevated by the cast’s powerful performances and minimalist directorial style. Yuri Semashko, who was born in Belarus but currently lives in exile in Poland, presents The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov, a surprisingly innocent and uplifting portrayal of the creative generation and their efforts to transcend difficult realities.
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| ▲ From the left: Then, the fog, Resistance Reels |
Argentine director Martín Sappia’s debut film Then, the fog offers a man’s moving exploration of personal reconciliation with his past, while Spanish co-directors Alejandro Alvarado Jódar and Concha Barquero Artés present Resistance Reels, a fascinating documentary that revisits and reinterprets an unfinished work of filmmaker Fernando Ruiz Vergara—who, after completing his only documentary Rocío in 1980, faced censorship and confiscation amid Spain’s political turbulence and was ultimately forced to flee to Portugal.
The selected films in the International Competition will engage with the audience at the 26th JEONJU IFF, taking place from April 30 (Wed) to May 9 (Fri) throughout Jeonju.
| The 26th JEONJU IFF International Competition Selected Films |
| Title |
Director |
Country |
| Always |
CHEN Deming |
United States, France,
China, Taiwan |
| Cherub |
Devin SHEARS |
Canada |
| CycleMahesh |
Suhel BANERJEE |
India |
| Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) |
Joel Alfonso VARGAS |
United States |
| Ollie |
Antoine BESSE |
France |
| Resistance Reels |
Alejandro ALVARADO JÓDAR,
Concha BARQUERO ARTÉS |
Spain, Portugal |
| Sugarland |
Isabella BRUNÄCKER |
Austria |
| The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov |
Yuri SEMASHKO |
Lithuania, Germany |
| Then, the fog |
Martín SAPPIA |
Argentina |
| Ulysses |
UWAGAWA Hikaru |
Japan, Spain |
** 10 title, alphabetical order
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