Jeonju International Film Festival Goes Online This Year

From 2000 to 2019, the spring of Jeonju has climaxed with the Jeonju International Film Festival (Jeonju IFF). For twenty years, the Jeonju IFF has communicated with the world through the films that pursue liberating expression and independence from social norms. This is how the Jeonju IFF, while still identifying itself as a ‘young film festival’, continues to be a world-renowned ‘Outlet for Cinematic Expression’.

This year has been different for the Jeonju IFF too. The opening date of the festival has been moved to May 28^th due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. To minimize the risk of the coronavirus spreading, the festival’s Organization Committee has decided to hold the festival without audiences or even behind the closed-door during the festival period. However, after the festival is over on the June 6^th, the films will be shown in the local cinemas for a prolonged period.

The Jeonju IFF will be held from the May 28^th to the June 6^th. However, this will be followed by the 15-week long screening period, which will be from the June 9^th to September 20^th. This is how the Jeonju IFF responds to the new environment ushered in by the COVID-19. During the festival period, the Jeonju IFF will focus on its original mission of jurying and rewarding the films. Thus, the minimum necessary number of people (including the juries and the movie directors, actors, and staffs) will watch each film for jurying. There are 8 international competition films, 11 Korean competition films, and 25 Korean short-film competition films.

Also, to reach out to public during this time of the coronavirus, if the producer and director agrees, certain films may still be available through online screenings and guest visits. Also, the festival’s main competition titles will be screened to the public during the prolonged screening period (until the September 20^th).

The Jeonju IFF will continue as usual the programs to foster and support new filmmakers, including the Jeonju Project Market. Moreover, the special exhibition on the Quay Brothers, world-renowned masters of animation film, will be held at the Factory of Contemporary Arts in Palbok, until the June 21^st. All off-line events will strictly abide by the safety measures, including hand sanitizing, temperature check, wearing a mask, and keeping distance.

The festival’s opening ceremony, too, will be different this year. Instead of the celebrities marching over the red carpet, the online opening ceremony will be live-streamed at the Jeonju IFF’s Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/jiffmedia) from 20:00 May 28^th.

Although the celebrities, cheerful festival volunteers, and audiences are absent this year, the Jeonju IFF is remains loyal to the goal of developing the Korean film industry. The Organizing Committee recently revealed the official poster of the festival. The image of J for the 2020 JEONJU IFF has been created with torn and pasted paper, representing the free spirit of independent films as they break the rules and challenge all kinds of norms.

Just like any other year, the Jeonju IFF continues to suggest alternative modes of doing contemporary cinematic art and to support the cutting-edge independent and experimental films that dare to present on screen the stories that are unfamiliar and ‘coming in all shapes and sizes’. Despite the COVID-19 has changed the world we live in, the Jeonju IFF is still committed to the original mission of being an ‘Outlet for Cinematic Expression’. Let’s find out how the film festival can fare in the age of ‘untact’.

Jeonju IFF main event: May 28^th ~ June 6^th
Prolonged Screening Period: June 9^th ~ September 20^th
Address: Jeonju Cinema Street (Gosadong District); Factory of Contemporary Arts in Palbok
Direct any queries to: Jeonju IFF Jeonju Office (063-288-5433)