International Film Festival Aims at "Alternative Cinema"

Chonju will hold its first film festival from April 28 to May 5. The Chonju International Film Festival (CIFF) recently announced its list of 150 films from 23 countries that will be screened at the festival.

The films scheduled to be presented at CIFF offer a broad range of styles and genres. The original plan for the festival was to introduce experimental and independent films to the nation. However, the list of films chosen includes a number of renowned works--including films that were awarded prizes at the Cannes International Film Festival.

The quality of the films chosen and the size of the festival will challenge the Pusan International Film Festival, currently in its fifth year of existence, as the nation's pre-eminent film festival. The festival will also offer some unique programs such as a retrospective of Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, experimental filmmaker Chantal Akerman, Russian filmmaker Aleksandr Sokurov.

Other films to be featured at the festival are: Jane Campion's 1999 comedy "Holy Smoke," starring Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel. "Romance," directed by Catherine Breillat. " Empire of the Senses" (1976) by Oshima Nagisa. "A Pornographic Affair." "Jonas and Lila, Till Tomorrow" by Alain Tanner and John Berger.

by Lee Yong-ki