27th Seoul International Women's Film Festival Opens with the Slogan 'Imagining F'

The 27th Seoul International Women's Film Festival will be held from the 21st to the 27th of next month at Megabox Sinchon.

The organizing committee of the Seoul International Women's Film Festival announced at a meeting held at the Mapo Central Library in Seoul that this year's festival slogan is 'Imagining F'. This slogan expands the meaning of the festival through various concepts starting with the letter F, such as Film, Festival, Female, and Fellowship.

Chairperson Hwang Hye-rim explained the background of the slogan, saying, "I hope it becomes a joyful gathering and festival that imagines a language of various connections, rather than hostility or conflict."

The opening film of this festival is 'Sunshine' directed by Antoinette Hadahone, which won the Crystal Bear at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival. This work depicts the journey of a gymnast who dreams of participating in the Olympics as she faces unexpected realities and overcomes them.

Programmer Son Si-nae introduced the opening film, saying, "It is a work that shows the reality of Filipino women while capturing the cinematic vitality of overcoming that reality."

This year's festival received a total of 4,129 entries from 131 countries around the world.

In the feature competition section called 'Discovery', 8 films have been invited. Notable works include 'Where on Earth' (USA, directed by Laramie Dennis), 'Anger' (Spain, directed by Gemma Blasco), and 'Toxic' (Lithuania, directed by Saule Bliuvaitė). No domestic films were included in this feature competition section.

On the other hand, the presence of Korean films is prominent in the Asian short film section. A total of 20 films were invited, including 5 domestic works such as 'Mewk' directed by Yoon Eun-kyung, 'One Day, to Summer' directed by Myung So-hee, and 'First Breath' directed by Kim Hyo-jung. Notably, there is a competitive session called 'I-Teens' that showcases short films by young female creators in Korea, with 6 films advancing to demonstrate the creative capabilities of the next generation of female filmmakers.

This festival has also prepared a rich special program. A special screening titled 'Here and Now, Korean Short Film Selection' will feature 8 short films by director Jung Yu-mi, who gained international attention with her short animation 'Glasses', which was invited to the Critics' Week competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.

Actress Choi Sung-eun has been appointed as the festival's ambassador. Choi Sung-eun debuted in the film 'Start' (2019) and starred in 'Ten Months of Future' (2021).