The 9th Seoul Guro International Children's Film Festival Opens on Day 1

2130 Entries from 98 Countries... Diverse Works Including International Film Festival Winners and Films by Child Directors... Opening Ceremony with YouTube Declaration and Project Progress... Environmental Documentary 'Greta Thunberg' Selected as Opening Film

Last Year's Event Closing Ceremony

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] The 9th Seoul Guro International Children’s Film Festival will be held for seven days starting from the 1st.

Entering its 9th year, the Seoul Guro International Children’s Film Festival has scaled down its offline events to prevent COVID-19, while offering a variety of global works and programs through online theaters, YouTube, and other platforms to reach audiences.

Since its inception in 2013, the Seoul Guro International Children’s Film Festival has been a festival organized by Guro-gu to communicate with children through films and to discover talents who will lead the future of cinema.

This year, under the slogan “RE-gathering our generation,” the festival will be held at various locations to prevent COVID-19. Movie theaters, the outdoor performance hall of the Opera House, and the indoor small theater (the special screening venue for younger children, “Dodam Dodam Theater”) have prepared quarantine plans according to detailed guidelines for each venue, including limits on the number of viewers.

The festival will begin with an online opening ceremony broadcast on YouTube, featuring pre-recorded videos such as the opening declaration and project progress.

The opening film is the documentary “Greta Thunberg,” which captures moments of environmental activism by Greta Thunberg, the teenage environmental activist from Sweden, who was invited to the Venice International Film Festival last year. It is expected to provide lessons and enjoyment to young viewers by conveying the importance of the environment and the influence of young Thunberg.

During the festival, audiences can watch carefully selected domestic and international competition films through an open call. This year, a total of 2,130 films were submitted from 98 countries. Among the submissions, 187 films (42 feature films and 145 short films) that passed the preliminary screening will be shown at CineQ Sindorim Cinema, MovieBlock (online theater), and other venues. This offers a rare opportunity to enjoy various genres, domestic unreleased films, and award-winning films from overseas festivals.

In the feature film category, “Kim Min-young’s Chart,” which won the Korean Competition Grand Prize at the previous Jeonju International Film Festival, draws attention. It tells the story of two friends who spent their high school years together and later lead different lives as adults.

Additionally, acclaimed films such as “Minari,” which gained attention at the Academy Awards, and “The Last Stop,” officially invited to the Berlin International Film Festival, will be screened in large numbers.

In the short film category, high-quality works that rival those of adult directors will be showcased, including “King of Dodgeball (Wise Elementary Life),” “Conversation with E (Isabella Strickland),” “Zombie Escape (Onggolchan Cine de Daeyeon),” and “Be Free (Hugo Ger).”

Various special exhibitions and events will also take place. At CineQ Sindorim Cinema, films of various genres and expert panel talks will continue. On the 2nd, child executive committee members and reporters will issue a statement under the theme “Children Speak: Stop Hate in Daily Life!” On the 3rd and 4th, through the Gukif Talk Cine Talk program, films addressing child abuse such as “Confession” and the opening film “Greta Thunberg” will be screened, with panels attending to discuss related topics. On the 6th, the Czech film “#WeWatchYou,” which deals with child digital sexual crimes, will be screened, followed by a discussion on child sexual exploitation in Korean society with child-related expert panels. On the same day, “Anna, Learning Film in Pyongyang” (Australia) will be screened, sharing stories related to peace.

At the outdoor performance hall of Sindorim Opera House, the “Gukif Movie Night” will be held at 8 p.m. on the 3rd. Three animations?MAB: Machinegun and Blade, Pizza Girl, and Stress Zero?will be screened consecutively. Applications can be made through the festival website, and admission is free.

During the event period, award-winning works from the film festival poster drawing contest will be exhibited at the Seoul Life Culture Center Sindorim Multipurpose Hall B. At CineQ Sindorim, experiential events such as special makeup experiences and eco-fan making, planned and operated directly by the child executive committee Gukif, will also be held.

The closing ceremony will take place at Sindorim Technomart, concluding with a red carpet, congratulatory performances, awards ceremony, and closing remarks. To prevent COVID-19, only a minimal number of adults, child actors, directors, and film officials will attend, and the event will be streamed live on YouTube.

The closing film selected is “Children Are Happy,” which tells the story of 9-year-old protagonist Dai growing up with the care of friends, family, and surrounding adults as she faces separation from her mother.

Tickets for the films can be reserved through the CineQ website or purchased on-site. MovieBlock (online) tickets can be purchased on the festival website.

A Guro-gu official stated, “We have thoroughly prepared the event while strictly adhering to quarantine rules for the safety of residents,” and added, “We hope for much interest and participation in this seven-day film festival that takes you into a world full of fun and emotion from the perspective of childhood.”

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