Seocho Symphony Orchestra Headlines Opening of Cannes 'AI Film Festival' in France

Seocho District in Seoul announced on April 24 that the Seocho Symphony Orchestra performed at the opening stage of the World AI Film Festival (WAIFF), which took place in Cannes, France, on April 21 and 22 (local time). This marks the first time in the world that an orchestra alone has headlined the opening stage of an international film festival.

The Seocho Symphony Orchestra receives a standing ovation from the audience at the opening invitational performance of the Cannes World AI Film Festival in France. Provided by Seocho-gu.

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The World AI Film Festival is an international event showcasing films, advertisements, and convergent content created with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The inaugural edition was held in Nice, France, last year, while this year’s second festival moved its stage to Cannes. More than 5,500 works from over 80 countries were submitted, and Chinese actress Gong Li served as the head of the jury.

The performance was divided into three parts. In the first part, the orchestra played Ravel's "Bolero," dedicating the stage to master French director Claude Lelouch. After the 16-minute performance, the audience gave a standing ovation, and Director Lelouch himself took the stage to express his gratitude.

The second part, "New Vision," featured Bartok's "Romanian Folk Dances" and music from the film "Il Postino." The third part, "Sounds of Korea," included a Gayageum Sanjo performance by Intangible Cultural Asset Yang Seunghee and a collaborative performance of Noh Hyang's "Arirang Rhapsody." Ten-year-old violinist Lia Kang also took the stage, eliciting enthusiastic applause from the audience. The finale featured a collaboration between AI and the orchestra.

The venue, Palais des Festivals, is the site of the annual Cannes International Film Festival. This was the first time the opening stage was composed solely of an orchestra at this location. Over 1,000 audience members stayed past 11 p.m. local time, responding with a standing ovation. Marco Landi, founder of WAIFF, expressed his gratitude to Artistic Director Bae Jonghoon and Seocho District.

This year marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and France. Seocho District assessed that this performance served as an opportunity to promote its vision of "Seocho, a City of AI Culture and Arts" on the international stage.

Bae Jonghoon, Artistic Director of the Seocho Cultural Foundation, conducted the performance. He is the founder of the Republic of Korea Army Symphony Orchestra and has served as the principal conductor of the Seocho Symphony Orchestra since 2016, leading projects such as the Korean War participating countries’ world tour, the 70th anniversary concert of the Korean War armistice at Carnegie Hall in New York (2023), the Korea-U.S. Friendship Concert at Central Park in New York (2024), and the 80th Liberation Anniversary Concert (2025). His challenge to perform all 107 Haydn symphonies, which began in 2020, will conclude this July. This achievement marks the first time a local government orchestra in Korea has completed the entire Haydn symphony cycle.

A district official stated, "The opening performance at this year’s World AI Film Festival is a meaningful achievement that highlights the artistic capabilities of the Seocho Symphony Orchestra and the competitiveness of Seocho as a city of cultural arts on the global stage. We will continue to enhance Seocho’s cultural stature through high-quality performances and active international cultural exchanges."

An invitational performance at the opening of the World AI Film Festival by the Seocho Symphony Orchestra. Provided by Seocho District.

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