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April is when all different kinds of film festivals in Korea start the film festival circuit. Around 100 small and large film festivals including the 25 festivals between April to June offer their programs to the public. Actually it’s been a while since film festivals have been established as key cultural events supported by local governments. And with a variety of private organizations opening their own film festivals one after the other, the race has become more competitive. That is why it is important to develop the right concept that suits the local character of the area hosting the film festival. 

 

The recent emergence of new film festivals with striking character has been noticeable. The Muju Film Festival (MJFF) stands out as it embraces its 5th edition. Annually held in June since its first year in 2013, the festival declares itself as “a film festival of ‘Excitement’, ‘Sympathy’ and ‘Harmony’”. Accordingly, its sections are divided into ‘Window’, ‘Forum’, ‘Entertainment’, ‘Forest’ and ‘Path’ to emphasize its festival identity as one where you can enjoy surrounded by nature. Its strategic decision to showcase classical films and the latest releases has attracted great reception. 

The Ulju Mountain Film Festival (UMFF) hosted by Ulju-gun (the District of Ulju) and supported by the Local Council of Ulju-gun, has been generating great responses for its collaboration between film festival and nature. Defining itself as ‘the first international mountain film festival in Korea’ UMFF, as it awaits its upcoming 2nd year, has announced its concept to enjoy the film festival along with the autumn mood of the Yeongnam Alps located in Ulju-gun. During its first edition held last September, a total of 78 short, medium and feature-length films attracted 54,000 moviegoers and a theater attendance rate of 88%, proving its potential as a major attraction. 

 

There are film festivals emphasizing the spirit of sharing and solidarity. The 5th Diaspora Film Festival scheduled to open on May 26th is one to name as it aspires to embrace immigrants and their culture with enthusiasm. Located in the largest-scaled Chinatown in Korea, Incheon, the festival is hosted by the Incheon Film Commission and the Incheon Foundation For Arts & Culture. 

This year, the Diaspora Film Festival will increase its period from 3 days to 5 whereby 50-some local and foreign films along with a variety of programs such as lectures, open talks, performances and flea markets will be offered to the public. The festival, in collaboration with interest groups, has been actively working together to help marginalized female immigrants living in Korea. 

The Catholic Film Festival (CAFF) is another film festival that intends to share films with the disadvantaged. Launched with the objective to “show and share good films based on the Catholic spirit”, the CAFF has been offering film education programs for minority groups or financial support for short films with Catholic subject matter through a public competition program. In addition, the festival has been offering free-of-charge-voluntary-contribution screenings under their claim as a ‘poor film festival’. 

The Seoul Barrier Free Film Festival (SeBaFF) which is welcoming its 7th edition operates under their slogan, “A film festival that everyone can enjoy together regardless of disability”. With the goal to qualitatively develop film culture and enjoyment for people with visual and hearing impairments, the elderly and multicultural families, the non-profit Korean Barrier Free Films Committee selects films which are reproduced into a barrier free films for screening. Last year, a total of 27 medium and short-length animated films and 12 feature films such as Green Days (2011) and DONGJU; The Portrait of A Poet (2016) were showcased. 

 

There are some veteran film festivals that are still running strong. The Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (MSFF) organized by film directors including LEE Hyeon-seung and PARK Chan-wook has served as a significant gateway for numerous upcoming filmmakers during its 16 editions. The Green Film Festival in Seoul (GFFIS) has held its ground for the past 14 years as the only existing environmental film festival in Korea. The SEOUL International Women’s Film Festival (SIWFF) which is gearing up for its 19th edition has become the core of the Korean female filmmakers’ network as well as the active forum for social issues affecting Korean women. 

Other festivals include the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (JIMFF), the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ DOCS), the Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF) and the Asiana International Short Film Festival (AISFF) which all share more than a decade of celebration. 

However not all film festivals can enjoy a strong foundation and thrive. Among the rising number of film festivals, certain festivals are short-lived while others have programs that overlap. Regarding short film festivals, there are many such as the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival, the Busan International Short Film Festival, the Europe Short Film Festival and the Seoul International Extreme-Short Image&Film Festival. And this number continues to increase with film festivals celebrating themes of peace, human rights and cultural diversity. 

Some are concerned of the poor management of such small-scaled film festivals. Experts point out unstable staff management due to the lack of sufficient treatment of staff members as the major downside of medium to small-scaled film festivals. 

The Seoul International Women’s Film Festival’s programmer CHO Hye-young claims, “A film festival aims for public values rather than commercial ones. This explains why many film festivals are receiving state subsidy. The problem though is that this amount changes each year so that it makes it difficult for film festivals to continue growing with any long-term plans. Especially, since film festivals aren’t just an one-time event, it is necessary to guarantee a 5-year support, and give film festivals the time to develop their own vision.” 

Film festivals are also working on various schemes to survive. Recently, the Busan International Short Film Festival expanded its spectrum to ‘transmedia’ by joining forces with the Busan International Transmedia Forum. The Ulju Mountain Film Festival is offering its regular screening, ‘UMFFday' and its media education program for local residents, the ‘UMFF Media Class’. These are examples of various efforts to establish a film festival as an annual event and not an one-shot one. 

The Seoul International Women’s Film Festival and other long-running film festivals are also offering programs other than regular screenings and educational programs such as copyright archiving and ways to reach out and create partnerships with other local film festivals.