Aims to discover promising new filmmakers from Korea, China, and Japan
The 24th Jeonju International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF), which is set to begin on Thursday, April 27, presents Focus: East Asian Films Now, which introduces new films from Korea, China, and Japan.
The Focus: East Asian Films Now is held in conjunction with Jeonju City's Culture City of East Asia 2023 project. The Culture City of East Asia project is an annual international event where each of the three East Asian countries selects a city that represents the country’s cultural tradition and promotes cultural and artistic cooperation and exchange throughout the year.
Through the Focus: East Asian Films Now, the 24th JEONJU IFF presents new films by emerging filmmakers or cineaste who are creative and initiatives from Korea, China, and Japan. It will shed light on the latest trends in the distinct visual aesthetics of East Asia. The selections for Focus: East Asian Films Now will be screened three times each from Friday, April 28 to Saturday, May 6, and program events will feature each film.
Alone Together by the Japanese director Mishima Yukiko is an artistic attempt to show people’s thoughts and emotions in the era of Covid-19. Chinese female director Violet Du Feng’s Hidden Letters is a documentary that sheds light on women throughout Chinese history. A documentary film directed by Korean Japanese director Kim Sungwoong, My Anniversaries examines the life of Sakurai Shoji, who spent 29 years in prison after being falsely accused of committing murder and robbery in 1967.
Stonewalling is a film that critically examines the legacy of the one-child policy that still remains in Chinese society and questions the myth of motherhood itself. It was directed by an international filmmaker couple—the Chinese wife, Huang Ji and her Japanese husband, Otsuka Ryuji.
White River, the debut film by Chinese director Ma Xue, is a unique, erotic film with a plot that is unraveled from a female director’s perspective. Japanese director Matsumoto Yusaku's Winny is based on the real story surrounding the software Winny, which created a stir in Japanese society in the early 2000s. Yangzi's Confusion is a family drama directed by the female Chinese director Li Jue, and it looks at the issues of divorced families from the child's and a mother's points of view.
In addition, the 2023 Culture City of East Asia Forum will be held in conjunction with the Focus: East Asian Films Now. The forum will be a platform for discussions and presentations made by filmmakers, producers, and administrative experts from the East Asian countries under the theme of Current Status and Development Plan on Film Production Support from Local Governments in East Asian Countries.
Filmmakers from East Asian countries will present the film production support that they have received for their film projects, and officials from local film committees or departments in charge of providing support for local culture and art projects will introduce film production support programs and their characteristics. The panels are formed with the officials in charge of the Culture City of East Asia project, film producers, and insiders from organizations providing production support. The 2023 Culture City of East Asia Forum will be held on Thursday, April 27 at 14:00 (KST) at the Vision Hall on the 5th floor of the Jeonju Jungbu Vision Center.
As part of Culture City of East Asia 2023 Jeonju, the Focus: East Asian Films Now is expected to help the JEONJU IFF strengthen its partnership with filmmakers going forward. Furthermore, the diversified screening programs will support the expansion of JEONJU IFF’s identity and enhance its expertise within the film industry. The 24th JEONJU IFF will be held in the Jeonju Film Street area from Thursday, April 27 to Saturday, May 6.