The World Cinema section offers viewers a selection of films from various genres that were produced in different countries around the world. The selection consists of works that boast a high level of quality as well as distinctive perspectives by directors, experiments with new forms, and meaningful messages. This year, a total of 30 films await viewers, including 13 that are being shown in Asia for the first time and a number that have already won the seal of approval from some of the world’s most eminent film festivals.
The selection of Asian films was more diverse than in past years, with a total of ten selected for presentation. The Breaking Ice, a new work by director Anthony CHEN, is a story of love, affection, and youthful rebellion that unfolds as the protagonist, a visitor to China’s northeast, forms a close relationship with a travel guide and her boyfriend. The subtle emotions and tension among the three are presented against a wintry backdrop. Sonata of Wave by director MA Xue goes in a different direction, telling the story of three people at a seaside surfing club in southern China. Viewers may find it interesting to view and compare these two similar yet different films. The Cats of Gokogu Shrine, a film by the Japanese observational documentary master SODA Kazuhiro, focuses on the stray cats that live around a shrine in the seaside village of Ushimado. With his insistence on long takes and close, detailed explorations of small spaces, SODA fascinatingly captures images of both the cats and the village’s residents. Arirang Rhapsody is a film by Zainichi Korean director KIM Sungwoong, who also came to Jeonju last year. It is the result of two decades of efforts to document the now-elderly first-generation Zainichi Korean women living in the Sakuramoto quarter of Kawasaki. They belong to the last generation capable of sharing experiences of World War II, and the work shows how they came to settle in this area and how Koreans in Japan have fought back against hate speech. Gap Father, the debut of director HONAKA Ryousuke, dramatizes the “rental culture” that has become a trend in Japan. Through a story about the different people who need a father figure and a protagonist who makes a living by playing that role, it shows aspects of contemporary Japanese society.
Also being presented are three fascinating documentaries that focus on women’s football. The First Women looks at the stories of the first national women’s football team in Brazil—a country that is considered a football superpower, yet ironically one where women were banned from playing the sport in the past. …ned, tassot, yossot… focuses on the lives of four major players from the North Korean women’s football team in the 20 years since their victory at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, as well as the impacts that the event has had on them. Copa 71 examines the first-ever international women’s football tournament held in Mexico in 1971.
The section further includes new work by directors who already have connections with Jeonju. They include The Island, a new work by director Damien MANIVEL—whose Isadora’s Children (2019) was presented through the JEONJU Cinema Project—and Undefined Things by director María APARICIO, whose About the Clouds (2022) won the Best Picture Prize last year. Michel Gondry: Do it Yourself is a documentary about Michel Gondry, who started out making underground videos in France and ended up becoming a generational icon as a successful Hollywood film director. BlackBerry dramatizes the rise and fall of the Blackberry brand, a name that rings few bells for people these days. Sultana’s Dream is a profound work of animation that adapts a story by Indian feminist pioneer Rokeya Hossain from the perspective of a Spanish female filmmaker. These works and more will be featured in the World Cinema section.
Programmer CHUN Jinsu
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