The Korea Herald

소아쌤

Coronavirus spread delays film fests

By Choi Ji-won

Published : March 9, 2020 - 15:37

    • Link copied

A quarantine official disinfects a cinema located in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 26. (Yonhap) A quarantine official disinfects a cinema located in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 26. (Yonhap)
The COVID-19 spread continues to cast a pall over the Korean film scene, forcing upcoming film festivals to reschedule.

The organizers of the Chunsa Film Art Awards on Monday announced that the festival, originally scheduled to take place in April, will now be held in June.

The Ulju Mountain Film Fest, which had moved up the event’s date from September to April starting this year, was forced to reschedule the dates back to the fall season. The unique film event taking place in the southeastern county of Ulju in Ulsan will now kick off on Oct. 23.

The Seoul Independent Documentary Film Festival, slated to run March 26-April 1, has also been delayed to May 28-June 3.

The organizers of the Jeonju International Film Festival, a prominent Korean film event, are also considering pushing back the event.

“We will decide on the matter at the meeting of the board of directors Tuesday and the decisions will be announced within a week’s time,” an official from the Jeonju film fest told The Korea Herald.

The 21st edition of the annual film festival is currently scheduled to run from April 30 to May 9.

The Diaspora Film Festival of Incheon, initially planned for May, has also been postponed to September, whereas an official from the Busan International Short Film Fest said they would decide this week on whether to change the dates for the event currently set for April 22-27.

Meanwhile, the Korea Film Directors’ Society also announced the list of nominees for this year’s Chunsa Art Awards on Monday. The list includes 24 Korean films nominated in 10 categories, with action film “Exit” receiving the most nominations with six nods, and “The Man Standing Next,” “Forbidden Dream” and indie film “House of Hummingbird” each nominated in five categories.


(jwc@heraldcorp.com)