79th Cannes Film Festival Short Film Lineup Announced: Hongik University’s “BIRD RHAPSODY” Scores a Major Breakthrough

79th 'Cannes Film Festival' As the lineup of invited works was announced, 'La Cinef(La Cinef)' In the 'Hongik University' category, the university achieved a historic feat by securing its first-ever entry. 'Wonjung CHOI' 's 'BIRD RHAPSODY' was selected after surmounting fierce competition among 2,750 entries worldwide, perfectly showcasing the overwhelming artistic prowess and creative drive of Korean short films and animation on the global stage. This achievement is expected to become a decisive benchmark that elevates the status of Korean short films to a new level.

Following the short work 〈First Summer〉 by Director Heo Gyoung-young (Korean Film Academy) (KAFA) , who won the top prize in the 'La Cinéf' (La Cinéf) category at the 77th Cannes International Film Festival, the next generation of filmmakers has set a new milestone.

Short Films Competition (THE SHORT FILMS COMPETITION)

This year’s short-film competition saw a fierce race among a total of 3,184 entries submitted from 136 countries, with only 10 ultimately selected. The Palme d'Or, the top award in the short-film category, is set to be presented on Saturday, May 23, at the closing ceremony and awards at the 79th Cannes Film Festival.

[Selected Works for the Short Films Competition]

- FRESH CUT (Hadrien BELS, 15 min)
- THE LAST SPRING (Mathilde BEDOUET, 15 min)
- SISTERS' SWIM (Lola DEGOVE, 15 min)
- THE END (Niki LINDROTH VON BAHR, 15 min)
- PARA LOS CONTRINCANTES (Federico LUIS, 15 min)
- PELOTON TRUENO (Theo MONTOYA, 15 min)
- GIẤC MƠ LÀ ỐC SÊN (Thien AN NGUYEN, 15 min)
- ALGUMAS COISAS QUE ACONTECEM AO LADO DE UM RIO (Daniel SOARES, 14 min)
- SPIRITUS SANCTUS (Michal TOCZEK, 15 min)
- NIKO NIŠTA NIJE REKAO (Tamara TODOROVIĆ, 15 min)

La Cinéf Selection (LA CINEF SELECTION)

Celebrating its 29th edition this year, the La Cinéf selection chose 14 live-action film shorts and 5 animated short films from 2,750 submissions from film schools around the world. A total of 12 female directors and 9 male directors—representing 15 countries across 4 continents—added to the diversity.

Above all, it was an honor for Korea’s Hongik University (Director Wonjung CHOI, BIRD RHAPSODY) and ISAMM of Tunisia to receive an invitation to this division for the first time. The winners in the La Cinéf selection will be announced by the jury at the awards ceremony held at the Buñuel Theater on Thursday, May 21, followed by official screenings.

[Selected Works for the La Cinéf Selection]

- BIRD RHAPSODY (Wonjung CHOI / Hongik University - Korea, 6 min)
- LASER-GATO (Lucas ACHER / NYU - United States, 22 min)
- PHOTOGRAPH OF AN INSANE WOMAN TO SHOW THE CONDITION OF HER HAIR (Arwen AZNAG / LUCA School of Arts Brussels - Belgium, 6 min)
- TÚ, YO Y LA VACA (Aina CALLEJÓN / ESCAC - Spain, 20 min)
- PICKLED (Fanny CAPU / NFTS - United Kingdom, 9 min)
- ALWAYS WANTED TO BE GOD, NEVER WANTED TO BE GOOD (Noa EPARS & Marvin MERKEL / HEAD - Switzerland, 21 min)
- PREKO PRAGA (Tara GAJOVIĆ / FDU - Serbia, 15 min)
- GROWING STONES, FLYING PAPERS (Roozbeh GEZERSEH & Soraya SHAMSI / Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf - Germany, 12 min)
- SUNDAY’S CHILDREN (Reuben HAMLYN / NYU - United States, 19 min)
- SOMEWHERE I BELONG (Youssef HANDOUSE / ISAMM - Tunisia, 21 min)
- SILENT VOICES (Nadine Misong JIN / Columbia University - United States, 17 min)
- TRAKCJE (Jakub KRZYSZPIN / The Polish National Film School in Łódź - Poland, 7 min)
- ALDRIG NOK (Julius LAGOUTTE LARSEN / La Fémis - France, 25 min)
- TIAN TIAN DE MI MI (Lenti LIANG / USC Cinematic Arts - United States, 15 min)
- SHADOWS OF THE MOONLESS NIGHTS (Mehar MALHOTRA / FTII - India, 24 min)
- TJ28 (Yasmin NAJJAR / Aalto University - Finland, 24 min)
- LEFT BEHIND, STILL STANDING (Vida SKERK / NFTS - United Kingdom, 22 min)
- ONDE NASCEM OS PIRILAMPOS (Clara VIEIRA / ESTC - Portugal, 18 min)
- WILL IT RAIN AGAIN TODAY (WONG Chau-Hong / Nihon University College of Art - Japan, 16 min)