The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival, with the participation of world-renowned filmmakers such as Pedro Costa and Bong Joon-ho

The Jeonju International Film Festival (co-executive directors Min Sung-wook and Jung Joon-ho) has unveiled its major program events and overseas guests. Leading figures in the domestic and international film industry are scheduled to meet audiences in Jeonju, heightening expectations for the festival.

The "Masterclass" program, where audiences can listen to lectures by experts who have achieved outstanding cinematic accomplishments in their respective fields, will feature master filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, known for leading the golden age of Korean cinema, director Christopher Pfeiffer, known for films like "London Orbital" (2002), producer Monse Triolla from the "Special Exhibition: Towards Possible Films" section, and director Pedro Costa, who will make a surprise visit to Jeonju with his film "Casa de Lava."

The Jeonju International Film Festival will showcase Pedro Costa's film "Casa de Lava," produced in 1994, in a restored 4K version. Particularly, at the 26th Jeonju International Film Festival's Masterclass, Pedro Costa is expected to unveil details about his upcoming work, gathering anticipation from film fans.

The "Journey to Film" lecture program, which presents various film interpretations from the perspectives of film scholars and critics to help understand the history of cinema, will feature guest cinephile Adrian Martin, film critic from Cinema Tech Copytory Leonardo Bomping, film critic and scholar Beatrice Loaisa, Hayden Guest, director of the Harvard Film Archive, and critic Jung Sung-il as moderators, awaiting meetings with the audience. The "Journey to Film" program will run for 60 minutes after the film screening.

The "Special Conversations with Films" program, abbreviated as "Special Conversations," will bring together not only international film industry figures such as Jerome Yoo, director of the World Cinema section "Mongrel," Tsuta Deshiro, director of "Black Bull" in the same section, and Goichi Kubodera, screenwriter, but also special figures from various fields such as Sharon Choi, well-known as the interpreter for the Academy Awards-winning film "Parasite" (2019), Kim Eun-ji from SisaIN's political issues team, musician and writer Oh Ji-eun, to provide richer discussions and interpretations about films. The "Special Conversations" will run for 60 minutes after the film screening.

After watching the selected works of this year's programmer, actor Lee Jung-hyun, in the 26th Jeonju International Film Festival, the "J Special Class" will welcome directors Ahn Kook-jin of "Alice in Earnestland," Jang Sun-woo of "Petals," and Park Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyung of "Borame." The J Special Class will run for 60 minutes after the film screening.

The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival has also prepared a "Lee Chang-wook Director's Retrospective," inviting director Lee Chang-wook from Space Cell, who has been working on films in Korea, to screen the director's representative and new works. In particular, one of the films in the director's retrospective, "Gwanghap Part 1," will be presented as a "Live Film Performance: Gwanghap Part 1," allowing the audience to experience a special event with the sound of film cameras alongside the rise of AI beyond online platforms. The "Live Film Performance: Gwanghap Part 1" is scheduled for May 3 (Sat) and May 5 (Mon) with two screenings.

The Jeonju International Film Festival's representative talk program, "Jeonju Talk Talk," will also feature special guests sharing interesting behind-the-scenes stories and experiences with filmmakers in a casual film chat. This edition of Jeonju Talk Talk will welcome diverse guests such as director Lee Il-ha of the Jeonju Cinema Project section screening film "Hallucination," Shin Suk-ok, a Korean-Japanese actress, Keiko, director and actor Ryu Hyun-kyung, and actor and director of "Rectangle, Triangle," Lee Hee-joon from the Korean Cinema section "Gulegule." Jeonju Talk Talk will be held at the Jeonju Guest House One Time Off Showroom from May 3 (Sat) to May 5 (Mon) during the festival period.

Lastly, the outdoor talk program "Cinema, Dam," where audiences can enjoy spring days in Jeonju while meeting filmmakers at the Festival Zone, will feature the production team of the TV drama "Your Taste," officially invited for the first time by the Jeonju International Film Festival. Director Park Dan-hee, creator Han Jun-hee, actors Kang Ha-neul, Go Min-si, Kim Shin-rok, Yoo Soo-bin, Hong Hwa-yeon, and Bae Yu-ram will meet the audience outdoors at the Festival Zone J Stage.

In addition, this year's 26th Jeonju International Film Festival has prepared special program events such as "Book Talk" and "Meeting with the Film Festival." Firstly, the Book Talk is an interview book launch event of directors who maintain absolute independence in making films and have established their own styles as writers, celebrating the publication of the interview book "Towards Possible Films." Park Anyes, the responsible editor, will moderate the event, and directors Park Song-yul and producer Won Hyang-ra from "Sometimes Clouds" and "Hot in the Day, Cold at Night," and director Declan Clark from "Leave Me Alone" will attend the "Towards Possible Films" book launch event. The "Towards Possible Films" book launch event will take place at the Jeonju Guest House One Time Off Showroom on May 5 (Mon).

The "Meeting with the Film Festival" event, where participants can enhance their understanding of the film festival and directly communicate with film-related organizations, is a casual talk event where various representatives of international film festivals introduce their festivals and programs, engaging in conversations with attendees. The "Meeting with the Film Festival" event will be moderated by Son Hyo-jeong, an independent researcher, translator, and screenwriter actively engaged in the field. The event will feature Nicholas Raffin, ICA Film Curator, and Jung Bing-hong, Kaohsiung Film Festival Program Director on May 3 (Sat), and Curtis Woloschuk, Vancouver International Film Festival Programmer, and Emily Puarie, Festival du Nouveau Cinema Programmer on May 5 (Mon). The event will take place at the Jeonju Guest House One Time Off Showroom.