Actor Ryu Hyun-kyung selects 8 movies for special section at Jeonju film fest

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Actor Ryu Hyun-kyung on Friday introduced eight movies -- four features and four short films -- that she selected for “J Special: Programmer of the Year,” a new section at the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival.

“Organizing everything on our own is effective when establishing the festival’s identity. But there could also be different approaches (to movies),” the director of the 22nd Jeonju International Film Festival, Lee Joon-dong, said during a press conference about “J Special: Programmer of the Year” held at Cine Q Jeonju Film Street on Friday. “I hope the special programmer can show a new angle to the Jeonju International Film Festival.”

For this section, a special programmer, who has a deep understanding of movies and the film festival in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, will be selected annually to introduce eight recommended motion pictures, according to the Jeonju IFF organizer.

“Jeonju film fest and I have a long history,” Ryu said. “There were times when my films were invited to be screened, also I had visited the festival simply as an audience member. Three years ago, I was a judge for short films. This time I am here as a programmer and this feels new to me.”

Three of the films the actor chose star Ryu herself.

In feature “I” directed by Kim Hyun-tak, Ryu played single mom Young-chae who faces social obstacles. Short film “Heart Robber” was special to her because she both directed and performed in the film. Ryu also selected the short film “Before Moving” directed by Kim Rae-won, about a married couple that is forced to move due to a financial situation. Ryu played the wife role in the 2014 movie.

Ryu picked three additional features -- “Christmas in August” directed by Hur Jin-ho, “The World of Us” directed by Yoon Ga-eun, “Black Light” directed by Bae Jong-dae -- and two short films -- “Dong-a” directed Kwon Ye-ji and “Refund” directed by Song Ye-jin.

“After selecting the movies, I watched them over again and I realized that there is a common theme among these movies. They all focus on characters and their emotions and start the story from there,” the actor said. “I selected movies that I thought would be nice to watch again on the big screen.”

As a special programmer, she will host a talk about each film with guest speakers after the movies are screened at the Jeonju film fest.

Meanwhile, a total of 194 films -- 120 features and 74 shorts -- from 48 countries are to be screened during this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival, which runs until May 8 at four local theaters in Jeonju as well as on streaming platform Wavve.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)