23rd JEONJU International Film Festival,Press Conference to declare support for Ukraine

· 9 exeutive directors of Korea´s international film festivals, read a statement of support for Ukraine

· Ukrainian actor Olena Sydorchuk and model and illustrator Mariia Chernozhukova were in attendance

The 23rd JEONJU International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF, Festival Director LEE Joondong) held a press conference to voice support for Ukraine.

The exeutive directors of Korea’s international film festivals who agreed to support Ukraine gathered at the 23rd JEONJU IFF on Friday, April 29. JEONJU IFF (LEE Joondong) raised its voice along with Busan International Kids & Youth Film Festival (Kim Sang-hwa), Busan Intl. Film Festival (HUH Moonyung), Bucheon Intl. Fantastic Film Festival (SHIN Chul), DMZ Intl. Documentary Film Festival (JUNG Sang-jin), Seoul Intl. Women´s Film Festival (PARK Kwang-su), Ulju Mountain Film Festival (BAE Chang-ho), Jecheon Intl. Music & Film Festival (CHO Sung-woo), and PyeongChang Intl. Peace Film Festival (BANG Eun-jin) at the press conference that day.

The press conference began with a preview of a video showing the current situation in Ukraine. In addition, Ukrainian actor Olena Sydorchuk and model and illustrator Mariia Chernozhukova specially made the event meaningful with their presence. Olena Sydorchuk appeared in the short film One’s Family Gravesite (2022), which is about to be screened in the “Korean Cinema” section of the 23rd JEONJU IFF and received a warm applause from the audience on the red carpet for the opening ceremony. They read an appeal for peace in Ukraine in Korean and said, “We want peace,” drawing the attention of the audience on the stage.

Then, 9 exeutive directors of Korea’s international film festivals read the ‘Joint Statement of Korean Filmmakers Standing Against Russia-Ukraine War’. “We honor the noble death of Ukrainian filmmakers, and we sincerely wish that such grievous news wouldn’t continue. In celebrating JEONJU IFF where filmmakers around the world interact and communicate together, we strongly stand against Russia’s Ukraine invasion and wish for the immediate peaceful settlement,” they said.

The event was followed by the screening of No Obvious Signs (2018), a film about a Ukrainian women soldier who has suffered from PTSD since returning from the war in 2014. The film’s director, Alina Gorlova, critically addressed the issues of war and violence in her films such as This Rain Will Never Stop as well as No Obvious Signs.

Lastly, festival director Lee Joondong said, “I would like to thank the exeutive directors of Korea’s international film festivals for attending the JEONJU IFF despite their busy schedules. Through this press conference, we are raising our voices in support of Ukraine. We sincerely wish peace for the many filmmakers who are suffering from war in Ukraine and other regions.”

The 23rd JEONJU IFF, which opened on Thursday, April 28, will be held in the Jeonju Film Street area until Saturday, May 7, and will also be screened online through ONFIFN, an online platform dedicated to Korean film festivals. The opening ceremony video can be found on the official YouTube channel of the JEONJU IFF (https://www.youtube.com/c/JEONJUIFF).

Joint Statement of Korean Filmmakers Standing Against Russia-Ukraine War

- Peace in Ukraine is The Peace of The World and Humanity! -

In February 24, 2022, Russia betrayed pleads and wishes of world citizens and committed Ukraine invasion.

Over the last two months, countless numbers of innocent Ukrainians and Russian and Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives.

As the war gets longer, it will result in tragic loss of lives, deepening wounds of victims, and merciless destruction of co-existence that human societies have been building up.

The global security and economic order are seriously threatened at this point and Russian invasion must be stopped to prevent total destruction.

According to foreign news reports, filmmakers who have been recording the tragedy at Ukraine got killed from indiscriminate attacks committed by Russia.

We honor the noble death of filmmakers including Lithuanian film director, Mantas Kvedaravicius, and filmmaker and former New York Times reporter, Brent Renaud who supported Ukrainian citizens and stood against the war. We sincerely wish that such grievous news wouldn’t continue.

In celebrating Jeonju International Film Festival where filmmakers around the world interact and communicate together, we strongly stand against Russia’s Ukraine invasion. For the immediate peaceful settlement, we urge the followings.

■ Russia must stop invasion of Ukraine and withdraw military forces immediately.

■ Russia and western countries must stop military tension leading to destruction and must respond to diplomatic negotiations for peaceful settlement.

■ The international community including UN must expand humanitarian assistance for Ukraine and make every effort to accept refugees.

■ The Korean government must take measures to keep the international peace and must provide possible diplomatic measures and humanitarian assistance to protect the spirit of constitution against war of aggression.

■ The safety and freedom of expression must be guaranteed for Ukrainian filmmakers who are recording the tragedy of war.

We firmly stand with the world citizens wishing for the peace and strongly support all people resisting against the Russia-Ukraine war.

We also sincerely hope for democratization in Russia wishing that Putin dictatorship won’t lead to ruthless damage on the whole world.

April 29, 2022

Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival

BUSAN International Film Festival

Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival

DMZ International Documentary Film Festival

SEOUL International Women´s Film Festival

Ulju Mountain Film Festival

JEONJU International Film Festival

Jecheon International Music&Film Festival

Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival

PyeongChang International Peace Film Festival