20th Jeonju Int’l Film Festival closes with record numbers
South Korea’s largest festival of independent and art films came to a close on Saturday, having set records for attendance and the number of sold-out screenings. The 20th edition of the Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) wrapped up its 10-day run in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, 240 kilometers south of Seoul. Under the slogan “Cinema, Liberated and Expressed,” this year’s festival featured 275 films from 53 countries. The event organizers said 390 of 697 screenings were sold out and there were an estimated 85,900 audience members — both highest-ever figures for the festival, which started in 2000. Away from the big screens, the JIFF organizers held an exhibition titled “100 Films, 100 Posters,” featuring posters inspired by 100 movies that were screened this year. They also ran a program called “Newtro Jeonju,” in which filmmakers shared their visions and talked about their relationship with JIFF to commemorate the festival’s 20th anniversary.
(Yonhap)