Independent and art-house film directors around the world have let cameras rolling during the coronavirus pandemic. The 22nd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Director LEE Joon-dong) received 398 films from 68 countries for the International Competition submission which ran from November 30, 2020 to January 18, 2021.
This number was 137 titles fewer than the 21st edition's 535 entries of the International Competition in 2020, a 25.6% decrease from the previous figure. However, it is encouraging results considering that the film industry has been hit hard by coronavirus when the world is going through the pandemic. It means independent and art films have been made constantly amid the COVID-19 rise. Also, the number of entries increased by 13.4% compared to the 20th International Competition's 359 titles in 2019, which indicated a steady uptrend.
It is noteworthy that continental and national diversity expanded with a wider spectrum of genres. By continent, Europe has the largest number of entries, followed by Asia, and Latin America in the 22nd JEONJU IFF's International Competition. By country, the largest number of 34 entries is from India with Japan and Italy following, 30 projects each. 25 titles came from German and Russia respectively, followed by U.S, France, and China. In Latin America, Argentina revealed a strong presence, submiting 19 projects, while 17 Iranian projects were received from Central Asia.
Genre diversity is also remarkable. The 20th JEONJU IFF's International Competition had 45% other genres except for fictional films while that of the 21st edition accounted for more than half. This year, the proportion grew and genre diversity increased. There were 195 fictional films (48.99%), 158 documentary films (39.70%), 30 experimental films (7.54%), and 2 animated films (0.50%) in the 22nd JEONJU IFF's International Competition. Documentary and experimental genres showed strength compared to the 20th and 21st editions. 13 films (3.27%) were hybrid genres grouped under others, including docufiction or anidoc, which reflected the flow in the age of media.
Programmer CHUN Jin-su said, “Thank you all filmmakers and production companies of 68 different countries for submitting their projects of diverse genres to JEONJU IFF. I promise there will be constant efforts to select the finalists through deliberate evaluations for the 22nd edition.
The number of entries for the JEONJU IFF's International Competition showed a slow but steady increase so far. Last year, the section recorded 535 entries with a sudden increase, 180 titles more than that of previous year. This year's 398 films for International Competition was less than that of last year, but the growing movement seems to be back on track. Besides, considering the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year, it is a meaningful number as much as the previous explosive increase.
Thank you all filmmakers and production companies of 68 different countries for submitting their projects of diverse genres to JEONJU IFF. I promise there will be constant efforts to select the finalists through deliberate evaluations for the 22nd edition.”
