Jeonju Int'l Film Festival kicks off today

The 11th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) officially kicks off this evening, opening with South Korean film "Should've Kissed" by critically acclaimed director Park Jin-oh.

The film fest set a new record this year by showing a total of 209 films (131 features and 78 short films) from 49 countries that have been categorized into the following sections; Competition, JIFF Project, Cinemascape, Stranger Than Cinema, Cinemafest and Focus On.

Park Jin-oh, who has won awards at numerous international events for his unique short films, is receiving heaps of publicity for his first-ever feature that will open the fest today.

He is the younger brother of filmmaker Park Jin-pyo who directed notable hits such as "You Are My Sunshine" and "Closer To Heaven."

Korean actress Ku Hye-sun of "Boys Over Flowers" fame will be premiering her directorial debut pic titled "Magic" in a special screening at the film fest prior to its theatrical release in June.

Three short films by non-Asian directors will be introduced in the "Jeonju Ditial Project 2010" section; "Rosalind" by Matias Pineiro (Argentina), "Pig Iron" by James Benning (U.S.) and "The Enemy Lines" by Denis Cote (Canada). The production for the aforementioned films were sponsored by JIFF.

The opening ceremony, to be held 6:30 p.m. today at Sori Arts Center of Jeollabuk-do, will be hosted by Korean actors Yu Jun-sang and Hong Eun-hee and attended by numerous Korean actors including Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Young-ha, Moon Sung-keun, Park Joong-hoon and Kang Soo-yeon.

JIFF will end its nine-day run on May 7, closing with Mexican film "To The Sea" by director Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio.

Reporter : Ko Kyoung-seok kave@
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@