On November 30th, the Seoul International Youth Film Festival (SIYFF) and the Asia International Youth Film Festival (AIYFF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The agreement was the result of both festivals coming together in order to work towards the development of youth films and media. KIM Jong-hyun, the festival Director of SYIFF, was present while ZHAO Chong-jie from China attended on behalf of AIYFF.

 

SIYFF looks forward to a more active partnership between Korea and China’s youths and hopes that the MOU will form the basis for educating and supporting the two industries’ audio-visual arts. AIYFF stated that it is a memorable day as the two industries are now able to visit each others’ film festivals and they looks forward to looking to SIYFF as a role model.

 

SIYFF’s vision is to become the center of coming-of-age films. Currently, it programs about 140 films a year from 40 different countries. The festival will be facing its 17th year in 2015, and the dates are set from June 11th to 19th. Next year they will incorporate a special section on Chinese youth films, as well as a Korea-China industry forum to provide more channels for an active partnership between the two industries.