‘Yeongnam Alps Theater’ Succeeded... 5th Ulju World Mountain Film Festival Closes

Ten-Day On-Off Film Festival in Mountains and Nature Overcomes COVID-19 Challenges
'Outdoor Drive-In Theater' a Masterstroke... Overcoming Failure Fears with a Total of 17,000 Viewings

Drive-in theater scene at the Ulsan Ulju-gun Deungok-ri World Mountain Film Festival.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] In a word, the conditions were unfavorable. From the start, there were only voices predicting failure. However, it was a ‘success.’ The ‘divine move’ drive-in theater emerged to overcome COVID-19, and the non-face-to-face online viewing also caught the pandemic off guard.

The 5th Ulju World Mountain Film Festival concluded its ten-day journey on the 1st.

Originally scheduled for spring but postponed to autumn due to COVID-19, this event recorded a total of 17,744 viewings from October 23 to November 1. This figure combines 15,394 online viewings and 2,350 drive-in theater attendees.

The drive-in theater, introduced for the first time this year, achieved a high occupancy rate of 93.2% and is regarded as the key factor in the event’s success.

Comments such as “The children really loved it. The experience feels unique. (Instagram woowoo_ang)” and “Overall satisfaction with speaker sound quality and volume, lighting management, ticketing, and vehicle entry management. (Film festival homepage)” were left on personal SNS and comments, continuing the positive reviews for the drive-in theater.

The satisfaction of filmmakers and mountaineers with the online screening venue was also high.

Film director Yoon Sung-ho said on his personal SNS, “Being able to screen on the homepage (not on other platforms) and the convenience of using the online subscription ticket are very good.” Mountaineer Kwak Jeong-hye evaluated, “Among mountaineers, some say it’s better to watch all the films at home through online screening. In terms of the system, it seems to already be world-class.”

A special exhibition to soothe the regrets of the 5th Ulju World Mountain Film Festival, which was held non-face-to-face, is scheduled for three days from November 27 to 29 at the Complex Welcome Center Alps Cinema Theaters 1 and 2.

This special exhibition beckons fans who want to ease their regrets with various programs, including the New Wave of Korean Independent Films section, award-winning works from the 5th Ulju World Mountain Film Festival, retrospectives of masters, and meetings between audiences and filmmakers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.