23rd Jeonju International Film Festival – Awards 2022

By Asian Film Festival on May 6, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

We present the winners of the Jeonju International Film Festival, which took place from April 28 until May 7, 2022 in Jeonju, South Korea. Congratulations to the winners!

International Competition

Grand Prize

**Geographies of Solitude** by Jacquelyn Mills – Canada | 2022 – 103 minutes

There are two women on Sable Island, a lonely island off the coast of Nova Scotia. Conservationist Zoe Lucas was an art student when she came there for the first time in the 1970s and has been living on this remote strip of land for decades now, mostly alone. (JIFF 2022)

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Best Picture Prize (Sponsored by NH Nonghyup)

**Unrest** by Cyril Schaublin – Switzerland | 2022 – 93 minutes

As new technologies are transforming a Swiss 19th-century watchmaking town, a Russian traveler and a watch factory worker meet in the local anarchist movement. (JIFF 2022)

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Special Jury Prize

**TOKYO KURDS** by Hyuga Fumiari – Japan | 2021 – 105 minutes

Since the 1990s, Turkish-Kurdish refugees have arrived in Japan and settled in a suburb of Tokyo. Today, the number of their community is about 2,000 and after all these years, they still are illegal immigrants. Here live Ozan (18), Ramazan (19) and Mehmet (38). (JIFF 2022)

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**The Silence of the Mole** by Anaïs Taracena – Guatemala | 2021 – 91 minutes

The search for a journalist who infiltrated one of the most repressive governments in Guatemala immerses us in the memory of a country forced to silence. (JIFF 2022)

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Korean Competition

Grand Prize

**Jeong-sun** by Jeong Ji-hye – Korea | 2021 – 105 minutes

Jeong-sun as her name lives an uncluttered life with modest behavior even though working at a food factory. Young-soo, a factory colleague, approaches her. As they get closer, they enjoy their secret relationship, and he takes candid shots in beds with his mobile camera. One day, she gets inappropriate stares from others. (JIFF 2022)

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Best Actor Prize (Sponsored by ONFIFN)

OH Mine for “**Missing Yoon**” (dir. Kkim Jinhwa) – Korea | 2021 – 108 minutes

Attention seeker YouTuber Jang Ha-Da is trying to get popular again. One day, legendary singer Yoon Si-Nae disappears. So, Jang Ha-Da uses her mother, an imitation singer Yoon Si-Nae, as a live broadcasting material and gets enthusiastic responses from subscribers. Meanwhile, Yoon Si-Nae, who is despairing after losing the dream stage, decides to leave in search of Yoon Si-Nae with fellow imitation singer Un Si-Nae. And Jang Ha-Da secretly set up a live broadcast. (JIFF 2022)

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OK Ja-yeon for “**Archaeology of love**” (dir. Lee Wanmin) – Korea, France | 2022 – 168 minutes

Young-sil and Inseek become lovers eight hours after meeting. Inseek is certain that Young-sil is a free spirit. Anxious Inseek makes Young-sil promise that their love will be forever, whatever happens. Young-sil tries to keep the promise, even after their breakup. 8 years later, Young-sil likes Udo, but is unable to do anything. (JIFF 2022)

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CGV Arthouse Award Upcoming Project Prize

**The Hill of Secrets** by Lee Ji-eun – Korea | 2022 – 122 minutes

A coming-of-age story of Myung-eun, a 12-year-old girl with emotional sensitivity who gains a deeper understanding of herself and her family through the power of writing. (JIFF 2022)

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CGV Arthouse Award Distribution Support Prize

**Mother and daughter** by Kim Jung-eun – Korea | 2022 – 118 minutes

Gyeong-ah works as a caregiver and lives alone. The only one she can rely on is her daughter, Yeon-su, but it’s hard to see her after she moved out on her own. Meanwhile, Yeon-su, who is suffering from her ex-boyfriend, Sang-hyun, argues with him again and visits her mother’s house. After Yeon-su left, Gyeong-ah receives a shocking message from a stranger. (JIFF 2022)

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Watcha´s Pick: Feature

Special Mention

**Archaeology of love** by Lee Wanmin – Korea, France | 2022 – 168 minutes

Korean Competition for Shorts

Grand Prize

**In The Dry Stream** by Kang Ji-hyo – Korea | 2022 – 26 minutes

In the depth of a dry valley, there are two boys named Yu-bin and Geon, who are each other’s one and only friends. The dry stream serves as the best hideout and playground for them, but nobody seems to understand. (JIFF 2022)

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Best Director Prize (Sponsored by Kyobo Life Insurance)

**Transit** by Moon Hyein – Korea | 2022 -28 minutes

Baekho is a child actor in the early days of her career, and Miho is an MTF transgender gaffer who returns to work after a long time. They keep running into each other in the corners of the set. (JIFF 2022)

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Special Jury Prize

**Wunderkammer 10.0** by KI Yelim, PARK Soyun, JUNG Inwoo – Korea, Netherlands | 2021 – 32 minutes

In a virtual city of the future, the operating system Wunderkammer 10.0, designed to provide a more stable and fast autonomous driving service, crawls map data and learns by itself. Faced with the limitation of data accessibility within a specific timeline, Wunderkammer finds a long-expired travel blog on the Internet. (JIFF 2022)

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Watcha´s Pick: Short

**Trade** by Kim Minju – Korea | 2021 – 29 minutes

Do-kyung struggles to get ahead, while Byeong-tae already fell behind a long time ago. A dejected youth, Do-kyung juggles her studies and part-time work at a convenience store. Meanwhile, Byeong-tae is burdened by his mother’s hospital bills. Just when he sees a light at the end of the tunnel, Do-kyung ruins everything. An inevitable showdown between the two begins. (JIFF 2022)

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**Layers of Summer** by Paek Siwon – Korea | 2022 – 34 minutes

One summer day, two ex-lovers run into each other. This chance encounter is connected to three other summer days across the past ten years. (JIFF 2022)

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**Light It Up at 2 AM** by Yoo Jongseok – Korea | 2022- 19 minutes

Seori tells the story of a fire that broke out at an institute for girls in 1995, and a girl named Yurim, who was petrified of fire but was nevertheless determined to start a fire. (JIFF 2022)

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**29th Breath** by Kook Joong-yi – Korea | 2022 – 27 minutes

Ah-ee didn’t set out to play a zombie from the start. All she wanted was a new challenge that would expand her acting spectrum. After a while, she realizes she’s not getting anywhere and vows never to play a zombie again. Yet, she once again finds herself in the same role. Tired and jaded, Ah-ee starts releasing her emotions on set in a whole new way. (JIFF 2022)

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**Framily** by Kim In-hye – Korea | 2022 – 30 minutes

Seon-ji and Jin-hee were friends but become sisters-in-law when Jin-hee marries Seon-ji’s older brother. As they prepare food for ancestral rites together, Seon-ji is bothered by the way Jin-hee treats her mother. (JIFF 2022)

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Special Award

Documentary Award (Sponsored by Jin Motors)

**The 2nd Repatriation** by Kim Dongwon – Korea | 2022 – 156 minutes

In 2000, in the era of inter-Korean reconciliation, 63 unconverted long-term prisoners were being repatriated to the North but converted long-term prisoners were excluded from the list. In 2001, they made a “declaration that the conversion by torture was invalid” and launched a second repatriation movement. This humane drama captures their hope and despair for about 30 years and their nostalgia for their home of North Korea amid intense right and left conflicts in South Korea. (JIFF 2022)

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J Vision Award

**No Problem** by Goh Gainsoo – Korea | 2022 – 15 minutes

Yeji confesses to having indigestion. (JIFF 2022)

NETPAC Award

**Journey to the West** by Kong Dashan – China | 2021 – 111 minutes

Tang Zhijun, a middle-aged man who is left empty-handed, is the editor-in-chief of a science fiction magazine. A question that has puzzled him all his life leads him to embark on another journey to find aliens. (JIFF 2022)

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