Actors Kim Eui-sung and Lee Seol are heading to Jeonju as jury members for the Jeonju International Film Festival.
On the morning of the 11th, the Jeonju International Film Festival announced the 14 jury members, composed of prominent filmmakers from around the world.
Out of 662 films from 86 countries, 10 have been selected for the international competition. The jury for this main competition includes three international filmmakers and two from Korea. These five jurors will evaluate the first or second feature films by emerging directors worldwide.
Among the international jurors is Montse Triola, a producer and actor known for award-winning films like "Story of My Death" (Golden Leopard at the 2013 Locarno Film Festival), "Liberte" (Special Jury Prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival), and "Afternoons of Solitude" (Golden Shell at the San Sebastian International Film Festival).
Also on the panel is Michel Ciment, a former selector for the Cannes Directors' Fortnight (2010-2018) and former director of the Melbourne International Film Festival (2011-2018), now a selector for the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Joining them is Ivan Fund, director of "Message," which will be featured in the World Cinema section at this year's Jeonju International Film Festival. Fund has previously won the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
The two Korean jurors include director Kim Cho-hee, known for her work as an independent film producer and director of films like "Lucky Chan-sil" (2020) and "Ura-kai Haruki" (2022). Joining her is actor Kim Eui-sung, recognized for his roles in major Korean films and dramas such as "Architecture 101" (2012), "Assassination" (2015), "Inside Men" (2015), "Train to Busan" (2016), "Extreme Job" (2019), "12.12: THE DAY" (2023), "Mr. Sunshine" (2018), "Taxi Driver" (2021), and "
The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call" (2025).
For the Korean Competition, the jury includes two international filmmakers and one Korean filmmaker. With many high-quality entries this year, the jury's decision on the 10 films in this category is highly anticipated.
The international jurors include Damien Manivel, who co-produced "Isadora's Children" with the Jeonju Cinema Project and won Best Director at the 2019 Locarno International Film Festival. Curtis Wallace, a programming director at the Vancouver International Film Festival, is also on the panel, contributing to the festival's artistic vision through curation and community building. The Korean juror is Kwak Sin-ae, a founding member of the film magazine KINO and producer of the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" (2019).
The Korean Short Film Competition jury includes one international and two Korean filmmakers. The jury will be looking for standout films among the 30 entries that break through fear and obsession with bold creativity.
The international juror is Emilie Poirier, a pre-selection committee member for the Busan International Short Film Festival from 2021 to 2023 and a current selector for the 2025 Cannes Directors' Fortnight. She has been a programmer at the Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema since 2017 and is now the head programmer for both short and feature films.
The two Korean jurors are Byun Seung-min, CEO of Climax Studio, which has produced Netflix hits like "Bargain" (2022), "Concrete Utopia" (2023), "Hellbound" (2021), "D.P." (2021), "Parasyte: The Grey" (2024), "JUNG_E" (2023), "Ballerina" (2023), "Badland Hunters" (2024), and "Officer Black Belt" (2024). Joining him is actress Lee Seol, known for her roles in "Herstory" (2018), "My Punch-Drunk Boxer" (2019), "Days of Green" (2020), "Waiting for Rain" (2021), "The Cursed: Dead Man's Prey" (2021), "Broken" (2025), and "Somebody" (2025), as well as dramas like "After the Rain" (2018), "When the Devil Calls Your Name" (2019), "D.P." (2021), "D.P. Season 2" (2023), and "Between Him and Her" (2023). She won the Best New Actress award at the 2018 MBC Drama Awards for "Less than Evil" and the Best Actress award in the Korean Competition at the 2023 Jeonju International Film Festival for "A Trustworthy Person."
The NETPAC Award, aimed at promoting Asian cinema, will also have a jury of three, including one international and two Korean filmmakers. The international juror is Bobby Sarma Baruah, an acclaimed Indian director who has won the National Film Award twice for films like "Adomya" (2014), "Sonar Baran Pakhi" (2016), "Missing" (2018), "Xikaisal" (2022), and "Morning Sunshine" (2024). The Korean jurors are Kim Young-jo, founder of the independent film production company Monday Morning, known for documentaries like "My Family Portrait" (2007) and "Jiseok" (2022), and Park Kwan-su, CEO of Kirin Productions, who has worked on films and performances that blur the lines between mainstream and art cinema, including "Marianne and Margaret" (2017), "Kokdu: A Story of Guardian Angels" (2018), "An Old Lady" (2019), "Wonderland" (2024), "Ms. Apocalypse" (2024), and the Netflix series "Persona" (2019).
The winners selected by the 14-member jury will be announced at the 26th Jeonju International Film Festival awards ceremony on May 6th. The festival will feature 224 films from 57 countries and will take place from April 30th to May 9th in various locations around Jeonju, including the Jeonju Film Street.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)