The Film Verdict May 11, 2023

Jeonju Film Festival

Weekly Critics’ Choice

Jeonju Co-director Min Sungwook Talks to TFV

THERE IS A STONE

VERDICT: Tatsunari Ota's second feature, the winner of Jeonju IFF’s international competition, teases ravishing visuals and taut emotions out of two strangers’ uneventful walkabout in a small town in Japan. Clarence Tsui, May 9, 2023

VERDICT: From "crisis is opportunity" to the joy of discovering impressive new titles, Jeonju veteran Min Sungwook takes us behind the scenes of a beloved South Korean festival.

One of South Korea’s most beloved film events, the Jeonju International Film Festival (Jeonju IFF), took place under the leadership of two new festival codirectors this year, veteran actor Jung Joonho and Mr. Min Sungwook, a professor at Paekche Institute of the Arts. In this interview with The Film Verdict, Min Sungwook – whose

wealth of experience with the festival includes previously serving as Jeonju’s secretary general and deputy festival director – talks to TFV about the selection of the opening film, Korean independent cinema, and the festival’s role as a film producer.

The Film Verdict: You have worked in different roles at Jeonju (Continues page 4)

Girl meets boy, girl skims stones with boy, girl and boy part ways –that’s There Is A Stone in a nutshell. But never has less turned out to be so much more. Tatsunari Ota’s second feature is one beautiful, slow-burning fire of a film, with the young Japanese filmmaker allowing plentiful of space and time for his sensitive yet socially awkward characters to breathe in a ravishing setting drawn out of a small, nondescript town in provincial Japan.

Revolving around the brief encounter and sad separation between two nameless, newly acquainted strangers over two days and one night, Full Review

Min Sungwook (Le�) and Jung Joonho (right) courtesy of Jeonju IFF

The Oldenburg International Film Festival Enters the Metaverse In partnership with MILC Platform and The Film Verdict

In a groundbreaking collaboration that aims to set a new standard for the convergence of technology and the arts, we are thrilled to announce that the renowned Oldenburg International Film Festival has partnered with the innovative teams at MILC Platform and The Film Verdict to become one of the first International Film Festivals to put feet on the ground in a new world known as the Metaverse. Together, we are poised to pioneer the path forward for the world of film festivals into the immersive universe of the Metaverse.

The Oldenburg International Film Festival has become a cornerstone of the international movie scene since its inauguration in 1994. Known for its commitment to independent filmmaking and its open-minded approach, Oldenburg has been hailed as ‘the European Sundance,’ a testament to its standing within the global film community.

“Ever since the world had to move into digital isolation back in 2020, we decided to embrace new and innovative formats for the Festival as welcome opportunities,” said Torsten Neumann, Founder and Director of the Oldenburg International

Film Festival. “And the sheer idea that entering the MILC Metaverse like a virtual territory that claims its own status with regard to digital film premieres could open new perspectives and support especially for Indie Films, seems like an exciting path to explore.”

MILC Platform and The Film Verdict, both esteemed for their successful launch of the

first-ever Metaverse Film Festival, the Alpha Film Festival, solidifies the shared commitment to revolutionizing the film festival landscape. This partnership will see the Oldenburg Film Festival make its entrance into the Metaverse, a move that aligns seamlessly with its tradition of championing innovation and contrarian ideas.

“We are very excited about bringing Oldenburg Film Festival into the digital world. Our common goal is to establish a new digital platform for independent filmmakers around the world to premiere their work and break free from the limitations of traditional digital distribution channels. The MILC Metaverse provides the perfect platform to bring the global film community together through a shared

immersive and emotive experience,” said Neumann.

Eric Mika and Hendrik Hey said in a joint statement, “And it can of course bring a sense of the magic of Oldenburg into this virtual world, making it possible to enter the stunning State Theater for a screening in your own living room.” Mika added, “MILC is the entry way into the Metaverse for all film festivals to bring in new audiences, but we are very proud that such an esteemed festival such as Oldenburg is leading the way with us.”

Hendrik Hey MILC

MIN SUNGWOOK INTERVIEW

JEONJU INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Grand Prize

There Is A Stone

Dir. Ota Tatsunari

Best Picture Prize About The Clouds

International Film Festival (Jeonju IFF) since it began. This year marks the first time you have been the festival’s co-director. Can you tell us how it changed the way you experience the festival?

MIN SUNGWOOK: I am aware that the festival carries high expectations, which makes this position both an honor and a responsibility. But I believe the festival can only be successfully held when the people behind it enjoy their work, which is precisely what I am trying to achieve.

TFV: What was your prime focus in preparing for this edition?

MS: Jeonju Dome, once a festival center and a gathering place, is currently undergoing construction that will turn it into the House of Independent Cinema, a longcherished business initiative for the city of Jeonju, which temporarily leaves us without a central venue. Full Interview

Dir. Maria Aparicio

Special Jury Prize

Orlando, My Political Biography Dir. Paul B. Preciado.

KOREAN COMPETITION

Grand Prize From You

Dir. Shin Dongmin

Best Actor Lee Sul, A Tour Guide / Kim Howon, Small Fry

CGV Award

Flowers Of Mold

Dir. Shim Hye-jung

Watcha’s Pick No Heaven, But Love

Dir. Han Jay / Flowers Of Mold

Dir. Shim Hye-jung

Jury’s Special Mention Regardless Of Us

Dir. Yoo Heong-jun

SPECIAL AWARD WINNERS

Documentary Award

Night Walk

Dir. Sohn Koo-yong

J Vision Award

Computer

Dir. Kim Eun-seong

Netpac Award

Stonewalling

Dirs. Huang Jim Otsuka Ryuji

Cineteca Nacional México Award

Small Fry

Dir. Park Joongha

THERE IS A STONE, photo courtesy of Berlinale

ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY, photo courtesy of Les Films du Poisson

BREATH

VERDICT: Korean filmmaker Jéro Yun reflects on death and its visceral (dis)contents by tracking the demanding routines and discerning perspectives of an undertaker and a trauma cleaner.

Clarence Tsui, May 7, 2023

“Everyone dies one day – and nobody knows how to prepare for death,” says an undertaker in Breath. Well, here’s how: with its relentlessly visceral depictions of the deceased and thoughtful ruminations on mortality and its discontents, Jéro Yun’s latest documentary is bound to raise questions aplenty about how we should confront our very own mortality. Through unnerving glimpses of the dying, the dead and their detritus, Yun invites viewers to consider embracing death as a predestined juncture in a finite human existence, rather than struggle against the dying light by all available means.

Inspired by Yun’s mother’s painful passing in 2016, Breath is seemingly a product of an emboldened and enlightened artist seeking some answers – for his traumatised self, and also for others – to questions about death and bereavement. While by no means gory, Breath remains a tough watch. By showing his mother’s final moments – an act which might be open to some

Cooper) and sentient treecreature moral debate — as well as unflinching depictions of corpse-cleansing, cremations and a worker scrubbing a floor clean of liquefied human remains, Yun is forcing the viewer to stare death in the face and challenge their own prejudices about the subject. Funded by the Jeonju International Film Festival as part of its annual Jeonju Cinema Project initiative – in which the Korean festival provides a maximum grant of around 100 million Korean won (US$75,500) to each of three domestic and international feature-length projects selected by a specialist panel – Breath is sufficiently thought-provoking and taboobashing to attract further bookings after its world premiere at its benefactor festival in Korea. In fact, Breath would make an interesting double-bill with Song Hae 1927, Yun’s 2020 documentary in which a Korean TV host in his 90’s looks back on his evergreen career and his feelings about his longevity.

Full Review

THIS IS THE PRESIDENT

VERDICT: Lee Chang-jae's documentary about former South Korean president Moon Jae-in mixes footage of his current incarnation as a gardening retiree with glowing testimonials from his aides, but lacks context for non-domestic audiences.

Clarence Tsui, May 8, 2023

In 2017, South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-jae became a household name when his documentary Our President, about

the late South Korean leader Roh Moo-hyun, tallied 1.85 million admissions during its theatrical run. A portrait of the popular

attorney-turned-politician who killed himself in the face of bribery allegations brought by his hostile successor, Lee’s documentary was one of the most successful nonfiction releases in the history of South Korean cinema, and generated debates aplenty between Roh’s liberal-leaning supporters and his right-wing detractors.

Despite its success at home and its backing by the renowned Jeonju International Film Festival, which provided Lee with both financial support (as one of its Jeonju Cinema Projects) and a high-profile world premiere, the film barely raised a ripple outside South Korea. While local viewers of different political persuasions managed to clock Roh’s significance, filling in the narrative blanks with their on-the-ground political knowledge, Full Review

LOVE AGAIN

VERDICT: The two romantic leads have better chemistry with Céline Dion, playing herself, than with each other. Alonso Duralde, May 5, 2023

The lazy takedown on Love

Again is that it’s like a Hallmark Channel movie, but that’s not a fair comparison; I’ve seen Hallmark movies where the romantic leads have better chemistry, where the

screenwriters have crafted better banter (and more skillfully summoned the ghost of The Shop Around the Corner), and where the fake snow looks more realistic.

(Hallmark has, in fact, told this exact same story — sad woman sends texts to her dead love, and doesn’t know that the messages are going to a stranger’s phone — on multiple occasions, most recently in 2021 with The Christmas Promise.)

Major-studio backing, two attractive stars, and periodic appearances by Céline Dion aren’t enough to make Love Again into anything more special than another lock-step rom-dramedy. Hearing Dion’s music throughout provides a bit of a boost, but as Love Again plods stolidly through its paces with all expected boxes checked, the juxtaposition of the Quebecois heroine merely serves to highlight how Valérie Lemercier’s cuckoo Dion sort-ofbiopic, the César-winning Aline, with comparatively winning wackiness, Full Review

BOOK CLUB: THE NEXT CHAPTER

VERDICT: The talent outshines the writing, but these travel companions make for a breezy Italian trip.

Alonso Duralde, May 9, 2023

Almost nothing happens in Book Club: The Next Chapter, but in a movie like this, that’s somewhat by design. We don’t want to see Candice Bergen, Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen

travel to Italy and get caught up in international espionage or a jewel heist; we want to see them try on dresses, knock back prosecco, and crack wise in front of postcard-perfect vistas.

The wisecracks could be wiser, admittedly, but there’s nothing terribly wrong with this airy, utterly innocuous, still charming Mother’s Day treat.

The Next Chapter opens in a way that’s all too rare for contemporary pop culture — it acknowledges the COVID-19 pandemic, as the quartet of pals continue their regular book-club meetings via Zoom. Over the course of the lockdown, federal judge Sharon (Bergen) retires from the court, chef Carol (Steenburgen) closes her restaurant (and nurses husband Bruce, played by Craig T. Nelson, through a heart attack), while Diane (Keaton) and Vivian (Fonda) get to spend time canoodling with the boyfriends they picked up in the previous film, Mitchell (Andy Garcia) and Arthur (Don Johnson), respectively. Full Review

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO?

VERDICT: Kim Hee-jung’s modestly scaled but emotionally potent South Korean-Polish coproduction assesses the emotional fallout of a highschool drowning accident, with nods aplenty to late Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Clarence Tsui, May 6, 2023

A tip for international distributors after a catchier title for Where Would You Like To Go?: it could well be renamed “A Feature Film About Love”. The reference to Krzysztof Kieslowski’s A Short Film About Love is very much intentional, as the late Polish filmmaker’s shadow looms large over Kim Hee-jung’s fifth feature. A graduate of the renowned Lódz Film School, which counts auteurs like Kieslowski and Andrzej Wajda among its alumni, the South Korean director Kim freely adapts her idol’s iconography and themes. A character in her film even namechecks him and muses over his philosophy of human mortality and the visual symbolism in his work.

Admirers of films such as Decalogue, The Double Life of Veronique, Three Colours: Blue and Blind Chance will recall Kieslowski in a deadly drowning accident, a young widow grieving over the loss of her husband, a boy wooing an older and worldier woman, and a discussion about sliding-door moments in people’s lives. Incorporating such influences into her film in the most seamless and graceful manner possible, Kim and her cinematographers Park Jung-hoon and Artur Zulawski also appropriate Kieslowski’s trademark greenish hues and chiaroscuro lighting as a visual signal for the characters’ spiritual turmoil and awakening. Still, Where Would You Like To Go? is anything but merely derivative in its delicately humane and poignant relationship drama. Full Review

EL CASO PADILLA

CINE VERDICT: El premiado documental de Pavel Giroud desentierra imágenes ocultas durante cincuenta años en una crónica lacerante y definitiva del suicidio político del poeta cubano Heberto Padilla.

Patricia Boer, May 8, 2023

“Ni traidor ni mártir”, una frase que llegó a definir al poeta cubano Heberto Padilla, podría aplicarse también a El caso Padilla, un documental escrito, dirigido y editado por el cineasta cubano Pavel Giroud. Fue en la primavera de 1971 cuando el poeta Padilla, recién salido de la cárcel tras ser acusado de atentar contra la seguridad del Estado cubano en su obra poética, pronunció un infame mea culpa en cascadas de febriles palabras que conmocionaron y dividieron al mundo literario y marcaron un punto de inflexión en la historia de la revolución cubana.

La película se ha proyectado en festivales de todo el mundo desde su estreno en Telluride y San Sebastián. Ganó el premio al mejor documental en el Festival de Cine de Miami y, más recientemente, el premio al mejor documental en los Premios Platino de Cine Iberoamericano 2023. Merece un público aún más amplio.

El cineasta Pavel Giroud (El Acompañante, 2015) vive ahora en Madrid, uniéndose al flujo constante de exiliados cubanos en todo el mundo. Su película capta una época en la que un solo poema podía amenazar una revolución y despertar a la opinión pública. Centrado en la “confesión” de tres horas de Padilla ante sus compañeros escritores en la sede de la Union de Escritores de Cuba, el documental destila los momentos más dramáticos y los contextualiza para los espectadores contemporáneos. La película finaliza con imágenes recientes de artistas protestando en las calles de La Habana.

Al ver las imágenes redescubiertas, la autodenuncia de Padilla parece tan feroz e implacable que uno sospecha que fue una actuación Revision Completa

THE PADILLA AFFAIR

VERDICT: Pavel Giroud’s award-winning documentary unearths footage hidden for fifty years in a searing, definitive chronicle of Cuban poet Heberto Padilla’s political suicide.

Patricia Boero, May 7, 2023

“Neither a traitor nor a martyr,” a phrase that came to define the Cuban poet Heberto Padilla, could also be applied to The Padilla Affair, a timely documentary written and directed by Cuban filmmaker Pavel Giroud. It was in the spring of 1971 that the poet, recently released from jail after being charged with attacking the security of the Cuban state in his poetic work, delivered an infamous mea culpa in feverish, cascading words that shocked and divided the literary world and marked a turning point in the Cuban revolution’s history.

The film has been enjoying festival screenings around the world since its bows in Telluride and San Sebastian, including a win at the Miami Film Festival where it picked up the best documentary award, and most recently the best documentary nod at the 2023 Platino Ibero-American Film Awards. It deserves a wider audience.

Filmmaker Pavel Giroud (El Acompañante/The Companion, 2015) now lives in Madrid, joining the steady flow of Cuban exiles around the world. His film captures an era where a single poem could threaten a revolution and awaken public opinion. Centered around Padilla’s three-hour “confession” in front of his fellow writers at the guild’s headquarters, the documentary distills the most dramatic moments and contextualizes them for present-day viewers, ending the film with recent images of artists protesting in the streets of Havana.

Watching the rediscovered footage of Padilla’s selfdenouncement, it appears so fierce and unforgiving that one suspects it was a smart performance delivered in that sardonic way to… Full Review

AWARDS clips

Irish Film & Television Award Winners

The 20th Anniversary of the IFTAs was a starstudded affair with host Deirdre O’Kane at the helm. The evening featured appearances by high-profile Irish and international guest presenters representing the very best in world-class filmmaking.

Best Film

The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Television Drama

Bad Sisters

Best International Film

All Quiet on the Western Front

George Morrison Feature Documentary

Nothing Compares

Actor in a Lead Role – Film

Paul Mescal – Aftersun

Actress in a Lead Role – Film

Bríd Ní Neachtain – Róise & Frank

Actress in a Supporting Role – Film

Kerry Condon – The Banshees of Inisherin

Actor in a Supporting Role – Film

Brendan Gleeson – The Banshees of Inisherin

Full Winners List, click here

Switzerland (37), Poland (36), Italy (33), Spain (24), UK (28) and Ukraine (26), but also numerous members have joined from the Netherlands (19), Sweden (13), Serbia (11), Austria (10), Norway (9), Bulgaria, Finland, Iceland, Turkey (all 8), Belgium and Denmark (both 7). A fifth of the new members joining are young members under 36 years old.

EFA Welcomes 462 New Members

The European Film Academy welcomes 462 film professionals as new members, who will all be eligible to vote. A record of invited European filmmakers has accepted membership this year, strengthening the voice of European cinema all over the continent.

Among the new members, 50% are women, 49% are men and 1% defines as non-binary. Most new members stem from Germany (68), France (38),

This strengthens the representation of a younger yet notable generation of European filmmakers within the European Film Academy. Overall, an increasing number of members representing the arts and crafts of cinema have been invited. In the upcoming years, the European Film Academy is keen to further increase the number of members working as editors, production designers, sound designers, composers, hair and make-up artists or costume designers.

Among the new members of the European Film Academy are also 8 Romani filmmakers, stemming from the Roma populations in Hungary, UK, Germany, Austria, Kosovo and Sweden.

For New Members List, click here

FROM YOU

VERDICT: Shin Dong-min’s monochrome and monotonous three-part drama about a young fashion designer, a rookie actor and a filmmaker came tops at Jeonju International Film Festival’s Korean competition.

Clarence Tsui, May 8, 2023

Divided into three chapters, From You is a film that keeps its viewers in a perennial state of suspense. Who’s the fashion design student in the first episode, and why does she have to travel to her distant hometown just to use a sewing machine? What’s the

relationship between her and the actor at the centre of the second segment, as they seem to share a bed but also have relatives in common? How do the filmmaker and his thespian mother, the protagonists of the final part, come into play? And what exactly are all those black balls of smoke which punctuate each chapter?

There’s nothing wrong with shaping enigmatic multilinear narratives which require viewers to join some far-flung dots and do some heavy logical lifting. The problem with Shin Dong-min’s second feature is that the guessing is all there is. Beyond the morsels of information the viewer gets to tease out from the characters’ monotonous conversations – a frayed marriage here, an unpaid loan there, and a gag about lottery tickets which runs across the different episodes – we never get around to understand more about the characters and their struggles to establish their artistic credentials.

Still, Shin’s monochrome palette and stylised framing – it’s all about static medium shots of people talking or thinking about something – has somehow found favour at the Jeonju International Film Festival, Full Review

Michael Douglas, named Honorary Palme d’or

Cannestips

Included in the Festival Hub activities, on Wednesday, May 24, CIFF will hold a workshop titled Prioritizing Wellbeing at Work: Sparking the Conversation amongst Festivals, in cooperation with WorkPlace Options and Sane Cinema.

During the festival the directors will get the opportunity to pitch their first or second feature films to buyers, sales agents, broadcasters and distributors.

Michael Douglas has been named Honorary Palme d’or of the 76th Festival de Cannes. The Festival will pay tribute to him during the Opening Ceremony on May 16, broadcast live on France 2 and internationally on Brut.

CIFF in Cannes

Also in association with the Festival Hub, on Wednesday, May 24, CIFF is supporting this years Festival Mixer where filmmakers, producers and distributors will gather to network about other festivals and markets.

Directors Factory is Back

After working with countries as varied as Taiwan, Denmark, Finland, Chili, South Africa, Lebanon, Tunisia, South-East Europe, and a pandemic intermezzo, Directors’ Fortnight, Bando a Parte and DW have joined Directors Factory to continue the adventure in North Portugal.

Within the framework of La Quinzaine des Cineastes, Directors Factory will screen four short films cowritten and codirected by four tandems of young directors from Northern Portugal, Israel, Spain and Iran on the opening day of Directors fortnight, Wednesday, May 17, at Theatre Croisette.

Watch the trailer for Marche du Film 2023

Cairo International Film Festival president Hussein Fahmy and CIFF director Amir Ramses will be in Cannes to represent the festival at Marché du Film.

On Sunday, May 21, as part of the Cannes Film Market’s Fantastic 7 iniative, CIFF is presenting and endorsing Talal Selhami’s nder-production film The Shelter.

In order to experience cowriting and codirecting in a foreign language with a local crew, Directors Factory supports young local filmmakers to make a short film while developing their first feature film.

International directors will work with local directors in development and production of these 15 minute films.

CIFF president Hussein Fahmy

FEST clips

Russell Crowe to Perform at 57th KVIFF

Taipei Opening and Closing Films

Opening film, Miss Shampoo

Oscar and Golden Globe winner Russell Crowe will receive the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The award-winning actor will also show off his musical talents with his band Indoor Garden Party, which will perform at the festival’s opening night concert.

KVIFF takes place June 30 - July 8

Locarno 76 To Honor Harmony Korine

public on August 12 in a panel conversation at Forum @Spazio Cinema.

Locarno takes place Aug 2 - 12

Mediterrane Film Festival

Launches June 2023

Harmony Korine in Spring Breakers

The Pardo d’onore Manor award for outstanding achievement in cinema, will go to U.S. filmmaker and artist

Harmony Korine on the evening of Friday August 11.The 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will feature screenings of two titles picked from his filmography by the director himself: Gummo (1997) and Spring Breakers (2012). Korine will also meet with the Festival

The Malta film Commission announced the launch of the Medi- terrane Film Festival. The inaugural event will take place in Valetta, Malta.

Together, the MED9 nations (Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) participating in the festival will host conferences, key-note talks, workshops and visits to current and historic film sets. MED9 nations.

Mediterrane takes place June 25 – 30

Taipei Film Festival announces the opening film to be Miss Shampoo, Giddens Ko’s latest work, starring Daniel Hong of the band Nine One One and Vivian Sung. The closing film is After School, director Blue Lan’s second feature and is a tribute to Lan’s former teacher, Mickey Chen who was a documentary director.

Taipei takes place June 22 to July 8

Hot Doc Winners

The Mountains

The Mountains wins Best International Feature Documentary Award & Emerging International Filmmaker Award.

Someone Lives Here wins the Bill Nemtin Award for Best Social Impact Documentary.

Silvicola wins the John Kastner Award

Last Respects wins the Betty Youson Award for Best Canadian Short Documentary

For Complete list, click here