▲ Clockwise from top left: Divine Comedy, The Education of Jane Cumming, Flies,
Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream, Mektoub My Love : Canto Due, Peter Hujar's Day,
and Body and Mind
The 22nd Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF), led by Executive Committee Chair CHANG Hangjun, has announced seven films selected for the International Competition section. Moving beyond films centered on music, the competition presents cinematically accomplished features that offer fresh perspectives on the world. The selected films explore a range of contemporary issues, including freedom of expression and censorship, taboos and prejudice, war and loss, and the possibilities of new family structures. Each film approaches its subject with a distinctive cinematic voice.
First unveiled at the Venice International Film Festival, Ali ASGARI’s Divine Comedy turns the realities of artistic freedom and censorship into a lively comedy of errors. Based on a true story that shook 19th-century Scotland, Sophie HELDMAN’s The Education of Jane Cumming sensitively portrays women confronting social taboos and prejudice. The film was officially selected for the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
A Competition selection at the Berlin International Film Festival, Fernando EIMBCKE’s Flies uses a minor disruption in a perfectly controlled life to explore new communities and alternative families beyond conventional family structures. First unveiled at the Locarno Film Festival, Mohamed AL-DARADJI’s Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream draws on Iraqi mythology to portray the lives of children who endure loss in wartime yet hold fast to hope.
Abdellatif KECHICHE made a lasting impression on Korean audiences with Blue Is the Warmest Color, winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He will attend JIMFF in person to introduce his new film Mektoub My Love: Canto Due to Korean audiences in person. Since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, Ira SACHS’s Peter Hujar's Day has been eagerly awaited in Korea and is anchored by compelling performances from Ben WHISHAW and Rebecca HALL.
Body and Mind, the only Korean film selected for International Competition, will have its world premiere at JIMFF. Director JEON Chanwoo brings a distinctive cinematic aesthetic to his in-depth exploration of loss, mourning, and the process of rebuilding oneself, delivering a deeply affecting work.
“The biggest change in this year’s program is the new format for International Competition,” said JIMFF programmer Jin. CHO. “The section was created to take JIMFF to the next level as an international film festival. Through the International Music Film Competition, JIMFF will maintain its identity as a music film festival while using International Competition to present new currents in world cinema.”
JIMFF will hold its official press conference on Aug 6 at Community House Masil (14 Myeongdong 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul). The festival will unveil its full lineup, including the opening film, along with its performance and industry programs and invited guests. JIMFF representatives, actor and festival ambassador AHN Jaehong, and director KIM Chohee, who helmed this year’s trailer, will attend. The 22nd Jecheon International Music & Film Festival will run for six days, from Sep 3(Thu) to Sep 8(Tue), at venues throughout Jecheon.
