The organizing committee of the Jeonju International Film Festival on March 22 announced the 10 films selected for the Korean Competition section of the event's 25th edition. Shown is a still from one of them, "Mimang." (JIFF)

By Yoon Seungjin

This year's Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province, has announced the list of 10 films for its Korean Competition section.

JIFF's organizing committee on March 22 said it selected the 10 for the category from a record-high 134 entries received between November last year and January this year.

The finalists are "A Chronicle in Spirals" by director Kim Yiso, "Blanket Wearer (Park Jeongmi), "Mimang" (Kim Taeyang), "My Missing Aunt" (Yang Juyeon), "Autumn Note" (Kim Sol), "Sister Yujeong" (Chung Haeil), "Mother's Kingdom" (Lee Sanghak), "Silver Apricot" (Jang Man-min), "Deprivation" (Kim Solhae and Lee Dojin), and "Time to Be Strong" (Namkoong Sun).

The jury for the category said on its selection, "The 10 films selected for the Korean Competition are more solid and robust than in previous years."

"Narratives about women were strong again this year," it added on the trend of the works. "Regardless of the director's gender or genre, the majority of Korean Competition entries had women at the center and often presented penetrating glimpses at their inner selves."

In this year's Korean Competition, JIFF's industry venture Jeonju Project proved its worth with the inclusion of three films from last year's private showcase program Work in Progress: "Mimang," "Blanket Wearer," and "My Missing Aunt." All three were entered into the competition, with "Mimang" screened last year at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The 10 finalists will be screened at this year's JIFF, which is slated from May 1-10 at Jeonju Movie Street and other locations around the city.

scf2979@korea.kr