Director Hur Jinho Visits the 25th JEONJU International Film Festival as Programmer of the Year

- Director Hur Jinho selected as the 4th 'J Special: Programmer of the Year'

- Hur to screen three films that inspired him and two of his own directorial films

- He will also meet with audiences through the J Special Class

The 25th JEONJU International Film Festival, opening on May 1 (Wed), has selected and announced director Hur Jinho as the J Special: Programmer of the Year.

Launched at the 22nd JEONJU IFF, J Special: Programmer of the Year is a section that announces filmmakers who are active in their respective fields as programmers to select films that suit their cinematic perspectives and tastes and present them to the audience. Starting with the first programmer, actor Ryu Hyunkyung, director Yeon Sang-ho, and actor Bek Hyunjin, the J Special: Programmer of the Year has established itself as a special section of the JEONJU IFF that audiences anticipate.

Now in its fourth year, J Special: Programmer of the Year section, this year's programmer is director Hur Jinho, who is born in Jeonju and a perfect fit for the JEONJU IFF. After making a splash with his first feature film, Christmas in August (1998), which was successful both in terms of box office and critical evaluation, Hur has been active in directing films such as One Fine Spring Day (2001), April Snow (2005), The Last Princess (2016), and Forbidden Dream (2018). This year, he will be releasing A Normal Family (2022), which has been invited to major international film festivals, and will meet audiences as the Programmer of the Year at the 25th JEONJU IFF.

The March of Fools (1975), Paris, Texas (1984), Tokyo Story (1953) From the left

One Fine Spring Day (2001), April Snow (2005)

J Special: Programmer of the Year screening will feature five films, three selected by Hur Jinho as a programmer and two directed by him. The three films he selected as a programmer were films that deeply influenced him as a young boy to become one of Korea's leading filmmakers today: The March of the Fools (HA Gil-jong, 1975), which was the first film he saw in the theater; Paris, Texas (Wim WENDERS, 1984), which was the trigger for his fascination with cinema; and Tokyo Story (OZU Yasujiro, 1953), which made him realize the relationship between image and narrative. In addition to these three films, Hur Jinho’s directorial films, One Fine Spring Day (2001) and April Snow (2005), on the screen will raise the audience's expectations.

Meanwhile, the Programmer of the Year Hur Jinho will also present the J Special Class, where Hur will meet the audience after the screening. There will be a total of five J Special Classes, and the duration will be 60 minutes after the screening. In his foreword to the J Special: Programmer of the Year, Hur said “I am thrilled to be able to bring together in 2024 a selection of movies from my personal history. I hope that the audiences who sit at same cinemas as me and watch these movies in Jeonju this spring, will shout out inwardly, ‘The movie’s coming! The movie’s coming!’ in the brief silence before the lights go down and the shows start.”

The 25th JEONJU IFF, with director Hur Jinho as a Programmer of the Year, will be held from May 1 (Wed) to May 10 (Fri), with 232 films from 43 countries in 10 days around Jeonju Film Street.