Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF, ) is an Asian film festival based in South Korea. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival seeking to introduce independent and experimental films to the general public and focusing on the art of contemporary cinematography.
In the first edition of JIFF, the debut films of Darren Aronofsky were introduced to South Korea. For the first time in Asia, JIFF highlighted the early works of Béla Tarr as well. The winners of Jeonju IFF's International Competition Section include Ying Liang, John Akomfrah, and Miike Takashi.
Jeonju has also invested in films that were later produced by the festival. Directors who attended Jeonju IFF were invited again to join Jeonju Digital Project (JDP), with a set of three digital shorts. JDP granted financial support to masters for their short films and world-premiered those pieces in Jeonju.
Celebrating its 15th edition, JDP has expanded to feature-length films along with György Pálfi (Hungary) and Park Jung bum/Shin Yeon-shick (Republic of Korea).
JIFF also features an experimental category called Expanded Cinema (formerly called Stranger than Cinema).
History 1st Jeonju International Film Festival (2000) Apr 28 – May 4, 2000 Number of Films: 292 films from 21 countries Opening Film: Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (HONG Sang-soo, Korea) Closing Film: M/OTHER (SUWA Nobuhiro, Japan) Woosuk Award (Asian Indie-Cine Forum): M/OTHER (SUWA Nobuhiro, Japan) Daring Digital Award (N-Vision): Riot (John AKOMFRAH, England) Chonju People’s Award (Cinemascape): Audition (MIIKE Takashi, Japan)
2nd Jeonju International Film Festival (2001) Apr 27 – May 3, 2001 Number of Films: 202 films from 28 countries Opening Film: Waikiki Brothers (YIM Soon-rye, Korea) Closing Film: This is My Moon (ASOKA Handagama, Sri Lanke) Woosuk Award (Asia Indi Forum): Mysterious Object at Noon (Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, Thailand) Daring Digital Award (N-Vision): About Pleasure and Hysteria-The Sexual Life of the Belgians, Part (Jan BUCQUOY, Belgium) Jeonju Korean Shorts Award (Korean Short Films): Noonday (JANG Myung-sook, Korea) Jeonju People’s Award (Cinemascape): Beijing Bicycle (WANG Xiao-Shuai, China, Taiwan)
3rd Jeonju International Film Festival (2002) Apr 26 – May 2, 2002 Number of Films: 266 films from 32 countries Woosuk Award (Asian Newcomers): Brother (YAN Yan Mak, Hong Kong, China) Daring Digital Award (Digital Spectrum): Angel Exit (Vladimír MICHALÉK, Czech) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape): Spirited Away (MIYAZAKI Hayao, Japan)
4th Jeonju International Film Festival (2003) Apr 25 – May 4, 2003 Number of Films: 184 films from 30 countries Opening Film: If You Were Me (PARK Kwang-su, PARK Jin-pyo, YEO Kyung-dong, JEONG Jae-eun, PARK Chan-wook, YIM Soon-rye, Korea) Closing Film: Far from Heaven (Todd Haynes, USA) Woosuk Award (Asian Newcomers): Exam (Nasser REFAIE, Iran) Daring Digital Award (Digital Spectrum): (Marc OTTIKER, Germany) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape): Spider (David Cronenberg, Canada)
5th Jeonju International Film Festival (2004) Apr 23 – May 2, 2004 Number of Films: 284 films from 30 countries Opening Films: Possible Changes (MIN Byoung-kook, Korea) Closing Films: November (Achero MAÑAS, Spain) Woosuk Award (Indie Vision): Silence between two thoughts (Babak PAYAMI, Iran) Special Mention (Woosuk Award): Min (HO Yu-hang, Malaysia) Daring Digital Award (Digital Spectrum): Suite Havana (Fernando PÉREZ, Cuba) Special Mention (Daring Digital Award): Sexual Dependency (Rodrigo BELLOTT, Bolivia, USA) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape): Coffee and Cigaret (Jim JAMUSH, USA)
6th Jeonju International Film Festival (2005) Apr 28 – May 6, 2005 Number of Films: 176 films from 31 countries Opening Film: Jeonju Digital Project 2005 (SONG Il-gon, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL, TSUKAMOTO Shinya) Closing Film: Antarctic Journal (YIM Pil-sung, Korea) Woosuk Award (Indie Vision): Harvest Time (Marina RAZBEZKHINA, Russia) Special Mention (Woosuk Award): I, Claudia (Chris Abraham, Canada) JJ-Star Award (Digital Spectrum): Oxhide (LIU Jia-yin, China) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Cinema on the Move): The Gate of Truth (KIM Hee-chul, Korea) Special Mention (Audience Critics’ Award): Five is Too Many (AHN Seong-ki, Korea) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape, Cinema Palace): The Butterfly (Philippe MUYL, France)
7th Jeonju International Film Festival (2006) Apr 27 – May 5, 2006 Number of Films: 194 films from 42 countries Opening Film: Offside (Jafar, PANAJI, Iran) Closing Film: Don’t Look Back (KIM Young-nam, Korea) Woosuk Award (Indie Vision): Drifting States (Denis Côté, Canada) Special Mention (Woosuk Award): Smiling in a War Zone – The Art of Flying to Kabul (Simone Aaberg KAERN, Denmark) JJ-Star Award (Digital Spectrum): Stories from the North (Urupong RAKSASAD, Thailand) Special mention (JJ-Star Award): White She-Camel, the (Xavier CHRISTIAENS, Belgium) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Cinema on the Move): Shocking Family (Kyungsoon, Korea) CGV Korean Independent Feature Distribution (Korean Independent Feature Films): Between (LEE Chang-jae, Korea) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape, Cinema Palace): Veer-Zaara (Yash CHOPRA, India)
8th Jeonju International Film Festival (2007) Apr 26 – May 4, 2007 Number of Films: 185 films from 37 countries Opening Film: Off Road (HAN Seung-ryong, Korea) Closing Film: Exiled (Johnie TO, Hong Kong) Woosuk Award (Indie Vision): The Other Half (YING Liang, China) Special Mention (Woosuk Award): Salty Air (Alessandro ANGELINI, Italy) JJ-Star Award (Korean Cinema on the Move): HERs (KIM Jeong-jung, Korea) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Cinema on the Move): Who’s That Knocking at My Door? (YANG Hea-hoon, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Best Short Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): Seongbuk Port (SHIN Min-jae, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Best Director Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): Seung-a (KIM Na-young, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Special Jury Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): Blood Simple (KIM Seung-hyun, Korea) Special Mention (KT&G Sangsangmadang Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): The Ten-minute Break (LEE Seong-tae, Korea) / The Whale in the West Sea (KIM Jae-won, Korea) CGV Korean Independent Feature Distribution (Korean Independent Feature Films): Who’s That Knocking at My door? (YANG Hea-hoon, Korea) NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) (Asian Feature Films): Summer Heat (Brillante MENDOZA, The Philippines) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape, Cinema Palace): When the Road Bends… Tales of a Gypsy Caravan (Jasmine DELLAL, USA)
9th Jeonju International Film Festival (2008) May 1–9, 2008 Number of Films: 195 films from 40 countries Opening Film: The Kiss (MANDA Kunitoshi, Japan) Closing Film: If You Were Me 4 (BANG Eun-jin, JEON Kye-soo, LEE Hyeon-seung, Kim Tae-yong, Korea) Woosuk Award (Grand Prize) (International Competition): The Stolen Man (Matias PIÑEIRO, Argentina) JJ-Star Award (Korean Cinema on the Move): Daytime Drinking (NOH Young-seok, Korea) Special Mention (JJ-Star Award) (Korean Cinema on the Move): My Heart Is Not Broken Yet (Ahn Hae-ryong, Japan, Korea) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Cinema on the Move): Daytime Drinking (NOH Young-seok, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Best Short Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): Please, Stop the Train (HAN Ji-hye, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Best Director Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): Senbei Selling Girl (KIM Dong-myung, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Special Jury Award) (Korean Short: Critics’ Week): Boys (YOON Sung-hyun, Korea) Special Mention (KT&G Sangsangmadang Award): The Oxherding Pictures #4 “Catching the ox-Two Chinese quinces” (Lee Ji-sang, Korea) CGV Korean Independent Feature Distribution (Korean Independent Feature Films): Action Boys (Jung Byung-gil, Korea) NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) (Asian Feature Films): Children of God (YI Seung-jun, Korea) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape, Cinema Palace): Action Boys (Jung Byung-gil, Korea)
10th Jeonju International Film Festival (2009) Apr 30 – May 8, 2009 Number of Films: 200 films from 42 countries Opening Film: Short! Short! Short! 2009 (KIM Sung-ho, Chegy, YANG Hea-hoon, YOON Seong-ho, LEE Song Hee-il, KIM Young-nam, KIM Eun-kyung, NAM Da-Jeung, CHOE Equan, KWON Jong-kwan, Korea) Closing Film: Macahn (Uberto PASOLINI, UK) Woosuk Award (Grand Prize) (International Competition): Imburnal (Sherad Anthony SANCHEZ, The Philippines) DAUM Special Jury Prize (International Competition): Inland (Tariq TEQUIA, Algeria, France) JJ-Star Award (Korean Feature Films Competition): Missing Person (LEE Seo, Korea) Special Mention (JJ-Star Award) (Korean Feature Films Competition): Where is Ronny… (SIM Sang-kook, Korea) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Feature Films Competition): Bandhobi (Shin Dong-Il, Korea) Eastar Jet Award (Grand Prize) (Korean Short Films Competition): Don’t Step Out of the House (JO Sung-hee, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Best Director Award) (Korean Short Films Competition): The Death of a Newspaperman (KIM Eun-kyung, Korea) KT&G Sangsangmadang Award (Special Jury Award) (Korean Short Films Competition): The Strange Voyage (KIM Bo-ra, Korea) CGV Korean Independent Feature Distribution (Korean Independent Feature Films): Bandhobi (Shin Dong-Il, Korea) NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) (Asian Feature Films): Imburnal (Sherad Anthony SANCHEZ, The Philippines) JIFF Favorites Award (Cinemascape, Cinema Palace): School Days with a Pig (MAEDA Tetsu, JAPAN)
11th Jeonju International Film Festival (2010) Apr 29 – May 7, 2010 Number of Films: 208 films from 48 countries Opening Film: Should’ve kissed (PARK Jin-oh, Korea) Closing Film: To the Sea (Pedro González-RUBIO, Mexico) Woosuk Award (Grand Prize) (International Competition): Susa (Rusudan PIRVELI, Georgia) JB Bank Award (Special Jury Prize) (International Competition): Red Dragonflies (LIAO Jiekai, Singapore) JJ-Star Award (Korean Feature Films Competition): Passerby #3 (SHIN Su-won, Korea) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Feature Films Competition): The Boy from Ipanema (Kim Kih-hoon, Korea) Eastar Jet Award (Grand Prize) (Korean Short Films Competition): Frozen Land (KIM Tae-yong, Korea) Best Director Award (Korean Short Films Competition): Hard-boiled Jesus (JUNG Young-heon, Korea) Special Jury Award (Korean Short Films Competition): A Brand New Journey (KIM Hee-jin, Korea) CGV Movie Collage Award (Korean Independent Feature Films): The Boy from Ipanema (Kim Kih-hoon, Korea) NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) (Asian Feature Films): Clash (Pepe DIOKNO, The Philippines) JIFF Audience Award (Cinemascape, Cinema Palace): Before the Full Moon (SEO She-chin, Korea)
12th Jeonju International Film Festival (2011) Apr 28 – May 6, 2011 Number of Films: 190 films from 38 countries Opening Film: Nadar and Simin, A Separation (Asghar FARHADI, Iran) Closing Film: Anyang, Paradise City (PARK Chan-kyong, Korea) Woosuk Award (Grand Prize) (International Competition): Jean Gentil (Laura Amelia GUZMAN, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Germany) JB Bank Award (Special Jury Prize) (International Competition): The Dream of Eleuteria (Remton Siega ZUASOLA, The Philippines) JIFF Audience Award (International Competition): An Escalator in World Order (KIM Kyung-man, Korea) JJ-Star Award (Grand Prize) (Korean Feature Films Competition): Anyang, Paradise City (PARK Chang-kyong, Korea) Audience Critics’ Award (Korean Feature Films Competition): The Color of Pain (LEE Kang-hyun, Kore) JIFF Audience Award (Korean Feature Films Competition): The True-taste Show (KIM Jae-hwan, Korea) ZIP& Award (Grand Prize) (Korean Short Films Competition): Double Clutch (Ahn Gooc-jin, Korea) Best Director Award (Korean Short Films Competition): Confession (YU Ji-young, Korea)