Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
'Splinters,' 'Kim Min-young of the Report Card' win big at 22nd Jeonju film festival
A scene from “Splinters,” the grand prize winner of the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival / Courtesy of JIFF
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) has awarded its Grand Prize to Argentinian director Natalia Garayalde's film “Splinters,” which depicts an Argentinian political scandal through the lens of a 12-year-old girl.
The festival held its awards ceremony at Korea Traditional Culture Center, Wednesday, with 50 people in attendance, including festival director Lee Joon-dong, jury members and directors and actors with films in the Korean competition.
Overseas guests were unable to attend the event due to a mandatory two-week quarantine required of all foreign visitors entering the country.
The Best Picture Prize went to Marta Popivoda's “Landscapes of Resistance,” which tells the story of Sonja, one of the first female partisans in Serbia during World War II who helped lead the resistance in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Special Jury Prize went to James Vaughan's “Friends and Strangers,” which revolves around two young men in their 20s stumbling into adulthood.
“The three films showcased the high degree of creativity and originality that match the identity of JIFF,” said actress Bae Jong-ok, a member of the international jury.
Winners pose at the Jeonju International Film Festival's awards ceremony held at Korea Traditional Culture Center, Wednesday. Courtesy of JIFF
In the Korean competition, “Kim Min-young of the Report Card” co-directed by Lee Jae-eun and Lim Ji-sun took home the Grand Prize. It portrays conflicts between three girls who pursue different lives after graduating from high school.
Jeong Jae-kwang in Lee Jung-gon's “Not Out,” which captures the frustration and anger of young Koreans about today's reality, and Gong Seung-yeon in Hong Seung-eun's “Aloners,” linked to the increase of single-person households in Korea, were named best actors. The former will premiere in June while the latter will hit theaters on May 19.
In the Korean competition for shorts, Choi Min-young's “Vacation Event” won the Grand Prize.
The special documentary award was given to “Coming to You” directed by Byun Gyu-ri.
“It's regrettable that we cannot fully enjoy the festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Such an opportunity to watch and discuss films with other people is more precious than ever. I hope discourses about films will serve as the basis for new films,” festival director Lee said.
JIFF is screening 142 of its 194 selections on Korean streaming platform Wavve. Meanwhile, it has been reported that two film festival visitors, including one volunteer, tested positive for COVID-19.
The festival will close on Saturday with French cartoonist Aurel's animated film, “Josep,” portraying Spanish illustrator Josep Bartoli, who fought against Franco's regime after the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.