"The future of cinema lies in the past," said Jean-Luc Godard. This year’s newly launched section, "Cinephile JEONJU," will be filled with films that recognize the truth contained in that citation. That is, the history of cinema as "a living thing." It aims to revisit past films worth discussing from the present point of view to save them from oblivion, and to establish a new context for film history through new films dealing with the past. However, this section does not focus solely on the nostalgia of the past. It urges the active action of "thinking about cinema." It is intended to create a movement that encourages moviegoers to think about cinema through films and the human life and history covered by those films. Ironically, while there are many books, papers, and articles about classic films and directors, but it has become very difficult to see said films they are dealing with in theaters. The JEONJU IFF aims to provide the opportunity to watch these films so that viewers may ruminate over them as they deserve.
"What is cinema?" This section also recalls the mythical question posed by André Bazin, which still stands today. It reminds us that even in the present era where new rules for the technology, production, and screening of films seem to be established, we are still trying to understand films and at the same time trying to figure out those constantly changing rules. In other words, what this section represents is resistance and thought. As written in the beginning of this article, if the future of cinema lies in the past, it means that cinema will never die no matter what threat it faces. We hope this section can serve as proof of that.
A special part in this section, under the theme of "The Destiny of Film," introduces a total of four films by pairing two works that connect the past and the present. In the first one, Andrzej Żuławski´s sci-fi masterpiece On the Silver Globe, which was supposed to depict a historical moment in Polish cinema, but remained unfinished, and Escape to the Silver Globe, a documentary about the sad fate of Żuławski´s film, are screened as a pair. In the second, The Isle of Love, filmed in Japan by Paulo Rocha, the representative director of Portuguese modern cinema, will be presented along with Around Rocha´s Table, a documentary about Rocha´s portrait told by those who worked with him.
In addition, Jean-Luc Godard´s King Lear, which is considered one of the most ingenious films based on Shakespeare´s plays, will be screened, and Pier Paolo Pasolini´s Mamma Roma will be presented to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth. Alexandre O. Philippe´s The Taking shows Monument Valley and its majestic geographical features that have appeared in numerous westerns. Come with me to the cinema – THE GREGORS is the story of Kino Arsenal, a theater representing Berlin, and the love story of the Gregors couple who founded it. In Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, Nina Menkes analyses, on a technical level, that the cinematic grammar familiar to us is constructed by the male gaze. Last but not least, One Way or Another is the only feature film directed by Sara Gómez, a pioneer of Cuban cinema, which remains a myth due to the lack of opportunities to see it. The film depicts the life of society and individuals after the Cuban Revolution.
Written by Programmer Sung MOON
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