Cinema Fest has been a section to introduce films that achieved cinematic quality and high popularity among audiences from different generations. Cinema Fest selections are solid and approachable at the same time. This year, Cinema Fest features ten films.
We have selected four East Asian titles, three Japanese and one Taiwanese films. Compared to the previous editions of JEONJU IFF, we have fewer East Asian titles this year overall. Still, we introduce four very solid East Asian titles that are at the same time engaging, touching, and giving us a lot to think about. The Asian Angel by Ishii Yuya from Japan stars renowned Japanese actors Ikematsu Sosuke and Odagiri Joe. Korean actors Moon Choi and Kim Minjae also star in the film. That it is exclusively shot in Korea with Korean staff marks a new attempt in the Japanese cinematic landscape. Taiwanese title JANG-GAE: The Foreigner tells a story about a boy bullied for his being half-Chinese. The protagonist’s heritage is similar to that of the director’s, in that both are born between a father from Taiwan and a Korean mother and work in Korea. This film is based on the director’s early life, asking Korean viewers to think again about widespread prejudice in Korean society, inclusion, and understanding. Japanese documentary JAZZ KISSA BASIE traces the history of a unique form of music venue developed in Japan. The singular style of cultural venue is presented, along with the history of jazz cafés in Japan.
Cinema Fest titles include Here We Are, a wonderful but sad family movie depicting conflicts and tension between parents raising a developmentally disabled son in his 20s. His mother wants him to live by himself, while his father cannot agree with her and leaves home with the son. Brother’s Keeper offers a critical view of authoritarian and violent culture through a friendship between an 11-year-old Turkish boy Yusuf and his best friend Memo. Adults are described from the children’s eye view, appearing to be indifferent, uncaring, self-centered, and always busy in covering their back and shift responsibilities. The Pit covers a similar theme, following Markus’ turbulent journey to stand against prejudice and fulfill his dream. Markus’ lives with his grandmother in a small village in Latvia, where the villagers are not quite nice to him. The film features his struggles in the middle of a rift between family and friends and interplay between the self and the community.
The paw-friendly title is an Argentine documentary, COMPANIONS, which recounts a touching story about companion dogs and their families. Cinema Fest hopes to create a charming and inviting environment for film lovers, whether they are humans or animals.
(CHUN Jinsu)
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