52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival opens call for entries for ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival’!

The 52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival is accepting entries for the ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival,’ a program designed to discover new actors for independent films. Applications will be accepted from Sept. 14 (Monday) through 6 p.m. on Sept. 22 (Tuesday). Launched in 2018 at the suggestion of actors Kwon Hae-hyo and Jo Yoon-hee, the ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival’ was created to discover emerging independent-film actors and expand exchanges between creators and actors. The number of applicants grew from 1,432 in its first year to 7,757 last year, an increase of more than fivefold, bringing the cumulative total over eight years to 23,490.

Now in its ninth year, the ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival’ accepts applications through the Seoul Independent Film Festival website, including an application form and an easy-to-play video file of a free-form performance lasting no more than one minute and no larger than 500MB. After preliminary judging, 24 finalists will be selected. The final judging will take place during the 52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival (Nov. 25-Dec. 4). The final winners will be chosen through public free-form performances, and six winners will receive prize money and plaques. More information about the call for entries is available on the official Seoul Independent Film Festival website.

Actors who have taken part in the ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival’ include Hong Kyung, who appeared in the films 〈Concrete Market〉, 〈Good News〉, 〈Hear Me: Our Summer〉 and 〈Troll Factory〉 and the series 〈Weak Hero Class 1〉; Noh Jae-won, who appeared in the film 〈Tazza: The Song of Belzebub〉 and the Netflix series 〈Giri-go〉, 〈Squid Game 2&3〉, 〈Daily Dose of Sunshine〉 and 〈A Killer Paradox〉; Oh Kyung-hwa, who appeared in the film 〈Colony〉 and 〈Secret: Untold Melody〉 and the series 〈Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born〉; and Yoon Ga-yi, who appeared in the Netflix series 〈Lady Doa〉 and the film 〈Next Sohee〉. At the eighth ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival,’ five actors, including Grand Prize winner Kwon Da-rim, drew attention as fresh new faces; one of them won awards in two categories. The event signaled the emergence of actors poised to lead the next generation.

Last year’s final judging panel included supervising actors Kwon Hae-hyo and Jo Yoon-hee; director Byun Young-joo, who directed the film 〈Helpless〉 and the series 〈Snow White Must Die—Black Out〉 and 〈The Mantis: The Killer’s Getaway〉 and served as a judge for the fourth consecutive year; actor Jang Hye-jin, who appeared in 〈Parasite〉, 〈The Owner of the World〉 and 〈When Life Gives You Tangerines〉; actor Jo Jae-yoon, who appeared in 〈The Murky Stream〉, 〈Snow White Must Die—Black Out〉 and 〈Alchemy of Souls〉; and director Lee Ran-hee, who directed 〈Third Grade, Second Semester〉 and 〈A Leave〉. Directors of films screening at the Seoul Independent Film Festival also took part in the judging and awarded the Director's Choice prizes to two actors through a vote.

The 52nd Seoul Independent Film Festival, which will host the ninth ‘Actor Project – 60-Second Monologue Festival,’ will be held for 10 days from Nov. 25 (Wednesday) through Dec. 4 (Friday). A record 1,917 films were submitted this year, and the festival will meet audiences with a diverse lineup.