Major S. Korean film festival opens for nine-day run

JEONJU, South Korea, April 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Jeonju International Film
Festival (JIFF) opened in this southwestern city Thursday, aiming to expand its
global reach while maintaining an indie spirit as it marks its 10th anniversary..

Opening with "Short! Short! Short! 2009," a digital omnibus film created by 10
promising South Korean directors, the event will feature 200 films from 42
countries from Thursday through May 8. Tickets for up to 120 films have already
been sold out, the event's organizers said. About 15 percent of the tickets for
each film has been set aside for on the spot purchases.
Held each year in the city of Jeonju, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul, JIFF
is especially noted for highlighting undiscovered films from non-Western regions
and supporting independent filmmakers.
South Korea's Hong Sang-soo, Japan's Naomi Kawase and the Philippines' Lav Diaz
have each contributed a 30-minute short film to this year's "The Jeonju Three
Digital Shorts Project," which has helped discover emerging directors over the
past decade.
The project is considered JIFF's core program, providing 50 million won
(US$37,000) to each of the three directors chosen annually to produce short
digital pieces to be premiered at the event.
In the "Discovery: Sri Lankan Cinema" section, six features by master filmmaker
Dharmasena Pathiraja, and two each by Prasanna Vithanage and Asoka Handagama,
influential contemporary Sri Lankan filmmakers, will be screened. The three will
be attending the event to meet audiences and participate in various seminars,
organizers said.
The winner of the Woosuk Award, JIFF's top prize for international feature films
and documentaries with a running time of more than 60 minutes, will receive
$10,000.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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