DMZ Docs returns with focus on peace, human rights

Chang Hae-rang, center, festival director of DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, speaks during a press conference at a theater in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, also known as DMZ Docs, a platform that explores global issues like peace, climate change and human rights near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas, is set to return this September.

Chang Hae-rang, the festival director, said that this year's edition contemplates its role amid the unresolved violence and hatred in the world.

"Through this film festival, we deliberated on how to overcome the issues of violence and hatred that the global society has yet to solve," Chang said during a press conference in Seoul Tuesday.

"We prepared this festival with a resolve to take one more step forward and confront these problems."

Since its start in 2009, DMZ Docs has become a major event that uses the divided border as a backdrop to discuss global issues like war, climate change, migration, refugees, gender and human rights.

A poster for DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, which will be held in Paju and Goyang, Gyeonggi Province from Sept. 11 to 17. Courtesy of organizer

This year's event will be held from Sept. 11 to 17 in the DMZ-adjacent cities of Paju and Goyang in Gyeonggi Province.

Chang said the festival's theme this year is "A Day We Wish to Live” (tentative English translation). Under this slogan, 143 carefully selected films from 50 countries will be screened to solidify its status as a leading international documentary film festival in Asia.

The 17th edition will also feature diverse programs, including a retrospective on the works of acclaimed American documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman, which are expected to delight documentary film enthusiasts.

The director also mentioned that the GTX-A high-speed train, which opened last December, will make the festival much more accessible to visitors this year.

"One of the biggest changes for this year's festival is the arrival of the GTX era," the director explained. "The opening ceremony will be held at Imjingak Observatory in Paju, which takes 22 minutes by GTX-A from Seoul Station to Unjeong Central Station, followed by a 25-minute shuttle bus ride. Kintex in Goyang, where the main screenings will take place, is just 17 minutes from Seoul Station by GTX-A.

"Before, it felt too far and was a burden, but we expect the GTX-A high-speed train to make the festival much more accessible for visitors."

The opening film for this year's festival is "Mr. Nobody Against Putin," co-directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin and premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Talankin, who was a teacher in a small Russian town, faced an ethical dilemma when he was assigned to indoctrinate students after Russia invaded Ukraine. He worked with Borenstein to create a documentary film about his experience.

This year, DMZ Docs will pit films against each other in three competitive sections. The International Competition will judge 10 documentaries from around the world, while the Frontier Competition will select from eight films that challenge traditional filmmaking. Finally, the Korean Competition will narrow down the best film from a pool of 21 works by local filmmakers.