Branko Djuric

Born in 1962 in Sarajev, Branko Djuric has been known for his roles in the films of Emir Kusturica, Goran Gajic, and Ademir Kenovic. For the past 15 years, he has been living in Ljubljana where he works as theatre director and TV series writer. He became famous as an actor with < No Man’s Land>(2001) which won the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2002 Academy Awards, and received a nomination for the Best Actor at the European Film Awards. His directorial debut in feature film is < Cheese and Jam>. < Tractor, Love & Rock’n’ Roll> is his second feature.

Igor Heitzmann

Born in Rendsburg in 1971, Igor Heitzmann currently resides in Berlin. He worked on Vassili Silovic’s < Orson Welles: The One-Man Band> as an assistant director. His career ranges from script editor, translator to production assistant. The son of conductor Otmar Suitner, Heitzmann was inspired to work on this film when his father turned 80 in 2002 as a special effort to understand and to bid farewell to him.

Ahmed El Maanouni

Born in 1944 in Casablanca, Morocco, Ahmed El Maanouni studied Theatre Studies at the Int’l Theatre University in Paris, and Cinema Studies at Sorbonne. He also obtained a diploma from the Higher National Institute for Performing Arts and Broadcasting Techniques of Brussels. He is a founding member of the Arab Filmmakers Association in France and the Authors, Directors, Producers Group in Morocco, as well as currently serving as the Moroccan Chamber of Film Producers’ Representative to Europe. His works which has earned him international acclaim for portraying the past and present of Morocco include < Alyam Alyam>(1978), < Trances>(1982), < The Moroccan Goumiers>(1993), < Life and Reign of Mohamed V>(2000), < Morocco-France, A History in Common>(2006), and < Conversations with Driss Chraibi>(2007). Among his films, Trances is an in-depth portrait of the Moroccan musical group, NASS AL GHIWANE, which was the first film chosen to be restored and presented at the Martin Scorsese founded World Cinema Foundation during the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Onodera Shigeyuki

Born in 1954, Onodera Shigeyuki is the President of Shochiku Music Publishing Co. Ltd., and a prominent music producer who has worked on numerous films. Upon his graduation from Meiji University in 1977, he entered a music production company, later moving on to a record company and composer management office until he joined the Shochiku Music Publishing Co. Ltd. in 1992 as music producer. After working in key positions for ten years, he was appointed as President in 2002 and has been running the company since. He has worked as music producer on more than 30 films which include Yamada Yoji’s 2002 film, < Twilight Samurai>, a highly acclaimed film nominated for the Academy Awards, Best Foreign Film. He worked as a music producer for Kimura Takuya starring 2006 film, < Love and Honor>, which received the Best Music Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Hur Jin-ho

Born in 1963, Hur Jin-ho studied philosophy at Yonsei University, and then entered the Korean Academy of Film Arts(KAFA) to study film. After earning critical notice with graduation short at KAFA, < For Gochul>(1993), he went on to work with noted filmmaker, Park Kwang-su as assistant director on < To the Starry Island>(1993) and co-screenwriter on < A Single Spark>(1995). Hur’s debut < Christmas in August> was one of the most highly acclaimed debut films of the 1990s which led to the film’s commercial release in Hong Kong and Japan. His second film, < One Fine Spring Day> starring Lee Young-ae and Yoo Ji-tae, is also remembered by many Koreans as a modern-day classic. His third film < April Snow> starring Korean Wave star Bae Yong-joon, set an all-time box office record for a Korean film released in Japan with over $26million earned. His latest film was < Happiness> made in 2007 and he is now working on his next project.

Pang Ho-cheung

Born in 1973, Pang Ho-cheung displayed many talents as he shifted between the mainstream and the non-mainstream. At the age of 15, he started using the obsolete video camera to direct a short film with his elder brother. He entered the entertainment industry as a comedy scriptwriter at the Hong Kong Asian Television Limited. In the meantime, he made his first debut as a novelist while writing film reviews for a number of newspapers and magazines. He gained public attention with his debut feature film, < You Shoot, I Shoot>(2001) which was applauded by critics not only in Hong Kong but overseas as well. Soon after, he directed < Men Suddenly in Black> in 2003 and < Beyond Our Ken> in 2004 which were screened at many international film festivals including Tokyo Int’l Film Festival. His acclaimed 2006 feature, < Isabella> received the Best Film Music Award (Silver Bear) at the 56th Berlin Film Festival. His other works include, < AV>(2005), < Exodus>(2007) and < Trivial Matters>(2007). He is considered one of the leading new directors in Hong Kong and has been consistently active with at least one film directed per year.

Yoo Ji-tae

Born in 1976, Yoo Ji-tae studied film at Dankook University and received an MA at the Chung-ang University. Since his debut as an actor in 1998, he has worked in diverse genres with numerous leading directors such as Park Chan-wook, Hong Sang-soo and Hur Jin-ho. He is acclaimed as a multi-talented actor with great potential to perform diverse characters and maintain popular appeal as well. Park Chan-wook’s film, < Old Boy> in which he co-starred, won the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival while his other film directed by Hong Sang-soo, < Woman Is the Future of Man> was invited to the Cannes Film Festival, Competition the same year as well. He has also directed three short films: < The Bike Boy, How Does the Blind Dream?> and < Out of My Intention> which earned him both critical and popular acclaim. His portfolio also includes theatre performance. Currently he is starring in a popular Internet comedy-based film, < Sunjeong Manhwa>

Jecheon Film Music Honorary Award

Jeon Jeong-keun

Since 2006, Jecheon Film Music Award has highlighted one individual who has contributed to the progress of film music in Korea. Following the footsteps of music directors Shin Byung-ha in 2006, and Choi Chang-kwon in 2007, this year JIMFF has chosen music director Jeon Jeong-keun as its third honorary recipient of this award. Since his debut with < Kaleidoscope> directed by Lee Man-hee in 1961, he has worked on more than 430films, leaving a truly memorable track record in the history of Korean film music. Especially, his work as the leading film music director during the 60s and 70s, sharing 44 feature collaborations with noted filmmaker, Lee Man-hee including films such as < The Marines Who Didn’t Come Home, Homebound and Late Autumn> proves to an impressive career. The festival will honor the late Mr. Jeon Jeong-keun who unfortunately passed away last December, and showcase three of his leading works. (Chun Jin-su)