Cinephile JEONJU is a gathering place for film lovers who aren't afraid of cinematic adventures. This program brings together classic films, film history and genres, and documentaries on creators. We've invited various works that offer viewers glimpses into different chapters of film history—from an essay film examining the portrayal of video rental stores in American films from the 1980s and 1990s to films by directors whose careers were cut short for various reasons.

This year features unique curations through collaborations with various institutions and experts. First, screenings of 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, offers rare insights into forgotten Brazilian cinema. Continuing a three-year partnership of 35mm screenings with JEONJU IFF Harvard Film Archive director Haden Guest has selected films exploring portrayals of animals in cinema. Last but not least, celebrated critic Adrian Martin will visit JEONJU IFF to unveil the hidden history of cinema in his homeland of Australia. All three guests will lead post-screening discussions, taking audiences on a ‘journey to cinema.'

Many filmmakers are cinephiles themselves, including Alex Ross Perry. In his new documentary Videoheaven, he traces the rise and fall of video rental stores, transformation of media, and the portrayal of video rental stores in film history through American films from the 1980s to the 2010s.

One Is Few, Two Would Fill (1970), newly restored in 4K by Cinemateca Capitólio, is a landmark film by Odilon Lopez, one of the first generation of black directors in Brazilian cinema. The film portrays 1970s Brazilian society through parallel stories of two people who dreamed of a better life—a bus driver awaiting his child's birth and a black man finding love amid hardship.

Onda Nova (1983) captures the hunger and will for social transformation that exploded in early 1980s Brazil. While ostensibly about a women's soccer team, the film becomes a rebellion against established systems, discipline, customs, and sexual identity. The brief appearance by jazz master Caetano Veloso, who openly opposed Brazil's dictatorship, adds another layer of symbolic significance to the film.

In memory of British filmmaker Robina Rose, who passed away in January 2025, Cinephile JEONJU will screen a 4K restoration of Nightshift (1981)—the 32nd Berlinale selection now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The film follows a hotel night clerk through a surreal evening of strange encounters with the hotel's guests.

The emergence of Iranian filmmaker Marva Nabili in the late 1970s, following in the footsteps of the pioneering Forough Farrokhzad from the early 1960s, highlights the untapped potential of female directors constrained by Iran's patriarchal structures. Her film The Sealed Soil (1977) is a poetic film that transforms unseen yet present societal violence into powerful silence.

While Niki de Saint Phalle is celebrated worldwide for her visual art, with her paintings, sculptures, and installations displayed around the world, her film work remains largely unexplored. This year's JEONJU IFF presents a restored version of her only feature film, A Dream Longer Than the Night (1976). Not only is it a distinctive and enigmatic work that holds a special place in film history, but also it showcases the creator's artistic range.

The Declic Years (1984) offers an autobiographical look at documentary director Raymond Depardon's career as a photographer while reflecting not just on his personal journey through life but also on the use and importance of images, and ultimately the passage of time.

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, 566 minutes), 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 that “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it." (Sung Moon)