With 137 Films from 53 Countries in Total, It Successfully Brought Back the Festival with the Same Number of Audiences Before the Pandemic

The 14th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival (DMZ Docs, Chairperson Kim Dongyeon, Head of the Committee Jung Sangjin), Korea's leading documentary film festival, kicked off on September 22 and wrapped up its 8-day journey on September 29. The 14th DMZ Docs, which was held as a full face-to-face event 3 years after the COVID-19 Pandemic, screened 137 films submitted from 53 countries. In addition, the number of audiences who participated in the film festival this year recovered to the level before COVID-19.

Keep Stepping (2022) 

“DMZ Docs Aims for Greater Peace Value” 

The opening ceremony of the 14th DMZ Docs, which was held at the Pyeonghwa Nuri Outdoor Stage in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi-do on September 22, was attended by 1,500 key figures from the Korean film industry and citizens to celebrate the festival in 3 years. Hosted by Actor Ye Jiwon and Anchor Woman Im Hyunjoo, 1,500 people attended the opening ceremony, including Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon, Head of the Committee Jung Sangjin, Vice Chairman Jin Moyoung, Gangneung International Film Festival Chairperson Kim Dongho, Director Im Kwontaek, Director Chung Ji-young, Actors Pang Eunjin, Moon Sungkeun, and Lee Kwangki with many citizens.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon greeted the festival by saying, "DMZ Docs is a festival aiming for greater peace value. Through DMZ Docs, we will face social problems and truths that we have not seen before," emphasizing the significance of the documentary film festival.

137 Documentary Films from 53 Countries Were Screened, Expanding the Audience Base with VoDa, a Documentary OTT

This year, DMZ Docs screened 137 domestic and foreign documentaries from 53 countries at a total of 12 theaters, including the opening film Keep Stepping by Luke Cornish, which depicts immigrant women street dancers in Australia. Especially, about 80 films of the entries were available on VoDA, a documentary Internet video service (OTT), focusing on expanding the base of documentary audiences.

In addition, 3 special exhibitions were presented through DMZ-POV, where various program events such as lectures, forums, and special talks were prepared. By strengthening the DMZ Docs Masters section, which was newly established last year, the masterpieces of documentary masters such as Daniel Eisenberg and Rithy Panh were also available through DMZ Docs. Before the festival, the DMZ Docs Industry section played a major role in supporting documentary production by preparing pitching events and business meeting programs that could connect filmmakers and the film industry. 

Disturbed Earth (2021)

Disturbed Earth Won the International Competition Grand Prize, Time of Seeds Won the Korean Competition Grand Prize

On September 29, the closing ceremony held in Megabox Baekseok announced the winners of 14 awards in the 6 sections, with more than 250 guests and audiences attending the festival. This year's Grand Prize in the International Competition section (20 million won in prize money) was won by Kumjana Novakova and Guillermo Carreras-Candi's Disturbed Earth. The film is an interview with Srebrenica Massacre survivors, the largest civilian massacre since World War II, and was praised as "a work that combines formal originality, sophisticated archive footages, poetic sense of history and memory, and the power of words and images." The Jury Special Award at the international competition section went to Rafiki Fariala's We, Students! and at the Asian Competition section went to Hnin Ei Hlaing's Midwives. 

The Grand Prize in the Korean Competition section was won by Director Seol Suan's Time of Seeds. The film was evaluated by the judges as "a masterpiece that delicately captures the energetic rhythm created by the meeting of farmer's time and nature. It expresses poetic courtesy to the preciousness of the disappearing slow life and the sublime of hard labor." 

The Grand Prize in the Short Competition section was won by So Yohen's Dorm. Director Cha Jeamin's Nameless Syndrome won the Judge Special award in the same section. Apart from that, 5 special awards were granted. Kwon Aram’s Home Ground won the New Director Award and the Audience Award, while the Brave Goose Award went to Director Kim Kyungman’s Until the Stones Speak, the Beautiful Goose Award by Director Hong Jinhwon’s Melting Ice Cream, and the Next Award by Midwives again, which won the Asian Competition award.

In the youth section, Youth Docs, a total of six films were awarded in three categories: the Infinite Imagination Award, Beyond Creativity Award, and Young Perspective Award. Do You Know Bechdel?, If This is Love, Super Woman, and Fudge Consumption Bug Life won the Young Perspective Award, while Goodbye, Mugunghwa-Ho won the Infinite Imagination Award, and Bad Father won the Beyond Creativity Award, receiving 1 million won prize money, respectively.

The festival evaluated, "The 14th DMZ Docs screened a total of 240 times of the entry films for 8 days and achieved encouraging results in the first year of the transition to a full face-to-face event, exceeding the pre-COVID-19 audience figure."