The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Director LEE Joondong) received a total of 1,330 Korean films during its call for submissions which took place for 72 days from November 24, 2021 to February 3, 2022. This is an all-time record number of submissions.
JEONJU IFF accepted submissions to 3 sections. They include Korean Competition which spotlights a director's first or second film, the Korean Competition for Shorts which introduces short domestic films of various genres, and Local Cinema geared towards productions from North Jeolla Province. This year, the festival received 124 Korean Competition submissions, 1,169 Korean Competition for Shorts submissions, and 37 Local Cinema submissions.
The number of Korean submissions in 2022 hit 1,330, which is an increase of 201 titles from 2021 which received 1,129 titles. It is a record amount compared to the number of submissions received over the last few years. The 21st edition saw the highest number of submissions, but this record was broken with 100 more titles received this year. This can be seen as a meaningful result created by the filmmakers who thought about diverse alternative ways to shoot despite the social distancing regulations set in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 22nd edition, Korean Competition and Korean Competition for Shorts received 108 and 993 submissions respectively, while the 23rd edition received 16 more for Korean Competition and 176 more for Korean Competition for Shorts, reaching 124 and 1,169 titles at the time of closing. Regional submissions also saw 9 more titles than the 28 titles received last year, ending with a total of 37 submissions.
In terms of genres, there were 86 narrative films (69.35%), 26 documentaries (20.97%), 1 animation (0.81%), 9 experimental films (7.26%), and 2 others (1.61%) submitted to Korean Competition, with narrative films taking up more than half of the total entries for the section. For Korean Competition for Shorts, 934 narrative films (79.90%), 37 documentaries (3.17%), 120 animations (10.27%), 67 experimental films (5.73%), and 11 others (0.94%) were received. Narrative films took up majority of the Korean Competition for Shorts submissions as well, but various attempts filmmakers were making in animation and experimental shorts were also noticeable.
JEONJU IFF's Programmer MOON Seok said, “It is really encouraging that the number of Korean submissions reached a record high. Film production is in a difficult place due to the prolonged pandemic, but Korean filmmakers have continued to create in various ways while searching for breakthroughs. I really respect them and want to thank them. Since they poured all of their energy into the films they submitted, we will humbly screen the submissions with all our hearts.”
Meanwhile, the 23rd JEONJU IFF closed its call for submissions with a total of 1,821 films, including 491 international films (International Competition) and 1,330 Korean films (Korean Competition, Korean Competition for Shorts, Local Cinema submissions, etc.). This figure is 294 more than 1,527 titles received last year. JEONJU IFF will prescreen all the submitted films, and once the final selections have been made, the festival will announce the titles in order.
The 23rd JEONJU IFF will be held from April 28th (Thursday) to May 7th (Saturday) in and around Jeonju Film Streets in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province.
