[Jeon Chan-il's Cultural Talk] Breathlessly Spending the Season of Film Festivals

Since the opening of the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; October 5?14), I have been continuously involved with the festival. I am currently writing this manuscript in a hotel early in the morning, the day after the closing of the 24th Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF; October 22?25), where I am involved as an organizing committee member. From the 29th, I will participate in the 4th Changwon International Democracy Film Festival (CIDFF; October 28?November 5) for three nights and four days. On November 2, I will visit Jeju Island to attend the entire duration of the 13th Jeju French Film Festival (JEJUFFF; November 3?7). Counting it up, I will spend about 20 days out of a month with film festivals. Truly, I am living in the 'season of film festivals.'

As a film critic, one might think this is natural, but it is not. This is the first time in nearly 30 years of critical activity that I have spent such an intensive period with multiple film festivals. Even if I try to watch one more film whenever possible, I cannot watch as many films as I intend. For example, at BIFF alone, despite staying for the entire period, I only watched 15 films out of 242 official selections from 71 countries, including the opening film Scent of the Wind (directed by Hadi Mohaghegh, Iran) and the closing film A Man (directed by Ishikawa Kei, Japan). This was because I had other commitments such as two special lectures requested by other organizations and a cine-talk concert commemorating the 100th issue of the monthly cultural magazine Cultura, which I hosted alongside directors Lee Jang-ho, Bae Chang-ho, and Kim Han-min. Although 161 films (excluding duplicates) were screened at BIFF’s spin-off festival Community BIFF and its expansion program Neighborhood BIFF, I did not manage to watch a single one.

So why do I go to such lengths and sometimes push myself to be so dedicated to film festivals? Is it because I have nothing else to do? Or because I have too much free time? Of course not. Each festival has its own specific reasons, but as a film and cultural critic who has long identified as a 'glocal culture planner & connector' and a 'public ojilaper,' it is about a certain usefulness. It is a kind of self-awareness or responsibility that, as a seasoned critic who has passed the age of sixty, I must do what I should and can do. Needless to say, this is an extension of my critical activities.

In the case of BIFF, as the editor-in-chief and correspondent of Hallyu History Culture TV, I stayed up late to write and publish nine installments of the 'BIFF Report.' This is an online newspaper published by the corporation Hallyu History Culture TV, which I co-founded several months ago with historian Lee Deok-il, director of the Hangaram History and Culture Research Institute, and life-long friend Jo Cheol-hyun, a record literature writer and expert in publishing and video fields. The report covered hot topics such as the two stars who heated up BIFF the most, Tony Leung and Lee Ji-eun (IU), as well as OTT dramas. However, the main focus of these reports was to raise interest in and review a series of screened films. The core essence of a film festival is none other than the films themselves, yet most domestic media are indifferent to the films and overly focused on celebrity news about stars visiting BIFF, which I found regrettable.

That is why I strongly recommended three films showcased in the Icon section, which introduces new works by masters representing the contemporary era. Leading with director Park Chan-wook’s 2022 Cannes Film Festival Best Director award-winning film Decision to Leave, I highlighted three films from the Asian cinema section. Among this year’s Cannes competition films, Holy Spider (Ali Abbasi), which won Best Actress for Zar Amir Ebrahimi playing a passionate journalist, was almost the only masterpiece comparable to Decision to Leave. Return to Seoul, a Cannes discovery, was co-created by Cambodian-French director David Choi and Korean actors including Park Ji-min, who had no prior acting experience and is an actual immigrant and artist, as well as Oh Kwang-rok and Kim Sun-young. Lastly, Look at Me, Touch Me, Kiss Me was a meaningful collaborative omnibus film born from the cooperation of three directors: Ho Yu-hang from Malaysia, Zenar Maesa Ayu from Indonesia, and Kim Tae-sik from Korea, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

I also reviewed in detail the opening and closing films that provided considerable cinematic satisfaction. I elaborated on five films that captivated me over three installments. These included Alteration (Yolkin Tuychiev), the only Uzbekistani invited film that won the Jiseok Award given to directors who have made three or more films alongside the opening film; The Super 8 Years, an autobiographical family documentary co-directed by Nobel Literature laureate Annie Ernaux and her son David Ernaux-Briot, which was a surprise gift at this year’s BIFF; Nobody’s Hero (Viens je t'emm?ne) by Alain Guiraudie, an iconoclastic figure in French cinema who shattered the limits of my imagination on character and plot levels, delivering a life-changing shock; Siblings of the Cape (Misaki no Kyodai), directed by Katayama Shinzo, a former assistant director of Bong Joon-ho, which convincingly demonstrated the new wave of Japanese cinema in the special program; and Utama, Our Home (UTAMA) by Alejandro Loayza Grisi, which won the Jury Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, showcasing the hidden strength of Bolivian cinema.

Having stayed only two days and watched just two main films, I did not write a separate report on BIAF, although it was quite interesting. Still, I plan to write a summary article later when I get the chance. At CIDFF, where a special exhibition of all feature films by director Min Woo, from the 28-minute short The Day Min Woo Comes (2014) and Ginkgo Bed (1996) to Shiri (1999), Taegukgi (2004), My Way (2011), and Longevity Shop (2015) is held, I will not only attend the director talk concert on the opening night, October 29, but also watch one or two films daily from the 30th for three days and participate in guest visits and audience discussions.

At JEJUFFF, I will perform multiple roles, from attending the opening ceremony, presenting a forum titled 'Jeju’s Potential Seen Through Korean International Film Festivals,' serving as the head judge of the short film competition, conducting one GV (Guest Visit), to participating in the closing awards ceremony. Although not as many as at BIFF, I plan to write several reports during CIDFF and JEJUFFF. These activities are my best choice and means to contribute, albeit modestly, as a film lover before a critic, to the Korean film industry, which has been considerably weakened by the COVID-19 pandemic that has dominated the world for three years and the suspension of a series of festivals such as those in Gangneung and Pyeongchang.

Jeon Chan-il, Film Critic

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