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| Actors Jin Goo, left, and Gong Seung-yeon host the opening ceremony of the 24th Jeonju International Film Festival held at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, Thursday. Yonhap |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
JEONJU ― The 24th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), an annual celebration of indie films, kicked off on Thursday night with the Dardenne brother's immigration thriller, "Tori and Lokita." The festival will run through May 6.
Under the slogan "Beyond the Frame," the festival will screen 247 films from 42 countries. The opening ceremony was hosted by actors Jin Goo and Gong Seung-yeon.
"This year, events will be held in various streets and places to cater to the cinephiles of the city with a delightful cinematic experience. As the slogan says, step beyond the frame and don't be afraid to challenge yourselves. New experiments in cinema will bring a new world," Jeonju Mayor Woo Beom-ki, who also serves as the chairman of the JIFF's organizing committee, said during the opening event held at the Sori Arts Center, Thursday.
Some judges of this year's festival, including Korean directors Boo Ji-young and Cho Eun-ji, as well as foreign filmmakers Mariano Llinas and Jessica Sarah Rinland, attended the opening ceremony.
Special sections include "Focus: KAFA40," celebrating the Korean Academy of Film Arts' 40th anniversary, and "J Special: Programmer of the Year" movie talk hosted by actor Bek Hyun-jin.
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| Cannes-winning filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre, left, and Luc Dardenne, right, speak during a press conference for their film, "Tori and Lokita," held at the Jeonju Cine Complex, Thursday. Yonhap |
After the ceremony, "Tori and Lokita," by Belgian filmmaking duo Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, was screened as the opening film. It premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival last year and won the festival's special 75th anniversary prize.
Set in Belgium, the film follows two young African migrants ― 11-year-old Tori (Pablo Schils) and 16-year-old Lokita (Joely Mbundu) posing as brother and sister. Lokita is unable to obtain residency papers because she fails to prove she is Tori's sister. As Lokita faces the threat of deportation, the two are exploited by drug dealers.
The Dardennes are known for their documentary-like style with strong sociopolitical themes, such as immigration struggles and child exploitation. The filmmaking duo won two Palme d'Ors and other awards at Cannes.
"'Tori and Lokita' was inspired by a newspaper article that wrote about hundreds of migrant children who go missing each year and they fall prey to traffickers and drug dealers. That influenced us to make this film. We wanted to focus on the friendship between two migrant children and how far their friendship can go despite the hardships," Jean-Pierre Dardenne said during a post-screening press conference on Thursday.
The director talked about working with first-time actors ― Schils and Mbundu.
"It was stressful at first so we practiced all the scenes for five weeks, going over all the scenes together with the cinematographer as well. This not only helped them, but also gave us a chance to figure out how to film what scenes," he said.
Luc Dardenne said he hopes the Korean audience connects with Tori and Lokita emotionally and perceives them as friends.
"As unaccompanied migrant children, Tori and Lokita face numerous obstacles. We hope the audience sees how their friendship survives all the challenges that come along," Luc Dardenne said.
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