Jeonju film fest unveils full selection under 'beyond the frame' banner
Korea's premier indie film festival returns with 224 films from 57 countries amid global political uncertainty
The Jeonju International Film Festival unveiled its lineup for its 26th edition Tuesday at Seoul's CGV Yongsan, showcasing 224 films from 57 countries under the slogan "Beyond the Frame."
Opening the festival is Romanian director Radu Jude's "Kontinental '25." The Berlin Silver Bear winner follows a woman who starts to question societal norms after witnessing an unexpected death. Shot entirely on smartphones, the film embodies what programmer Moon Sung-kyung called "the pioneering spirit of the festival, which has been breaking away from conventional film formats."
The closing film, "In the Land of Machines," marks Kim Ok-young's directorial debut after 40 years as a documentary writer. It follows three Nepali migrant workers in Korea who contributed to a poetry collection titled "This Is the City of Machines," offering an outsider's gaze into Korea's mechanized labor systems through poetic language.
Among this year's diverse sections, "Again, Towards Democracy" stands out as a particularly timely addition examining recent challenges to democratic institutions across the globe. The program features six documentaries exploring political turmoil worldwide, including "The Last Republican," which follows Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger after he voted to impeach President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, and "At This Moment, in the Nation's Sky," a chronicle of Brazil's contested election and subsequent storming of government buildings.
"Since Dec. 3, 2024, South Korea's democracy has faced a crisis, with ongoing chaos and aftermath," said programmer Chun Jin-soo, referring to President Yoon Seok Yeol's short-lived declaration of martial law. "We assembled this special section to reflect on similar democratic crises around the world that may feel all too familiar to us now."
Actress Lee Jung-hyun, featured as this year's "J Special Programmer," curated a personal selection of films for the festival. The versatile performer, who debuted at 15 in Jang Sun-woo's "A Petal" (1996) before becoming a pop star and later returning to acting, selected six works to screen, including three she appeared in and three from international directors she admired.
Her selections include Park Chan-wook's "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance," which she considers his "best work" despite its commercial failure. "It's aesthetically and visually flawless, a film that expanded my perspective on cinema," Lee said. She also chose the Dardenne brothers' "The Child" and Hirokazu Kore-eda's "Nobody Knows."
Reflecting on revisiting "A Petal" after decades, Lee said, "I couldn't watch it at 15. The filming was incredibly difficult — I got hurt repeatedly during shoots because I couldn't act properly."
She credited Park Chan-wook with helping her to appreciate the film years later, calling it "a poetic, intense expression of Gwangju's pain" — a reference to the film's harrowing depiction of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising and subsequent military massacre.
Lee will also debut her directorial short "Toe-Tapping Tunes" in the festival's Korean Cinema section.
"Since my twenties as a singer, I've always dreamed of directing one day," she said. The film follows a woman raising money for her dying mother's hospital bills while dealing with her own congenital condition.
The festival continues its tradition of embracing challenging films despite budget constraints affecting Korean cinema. Executive Committee co-Director and veteran actor Jung Jun-ho stressed that with support from sponsors and Jeonju City, they've maintained program scale to "showcase the achievements and values of independent cinema."
The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival will take place from April 30 to May 9 across multiple venues in Jeonju's cinema district in North Jeolla Province.
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