“Around the World in 33 Films” at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center– a rare chance to see the Jeonju Digital Project, February 17-27, 2011
Worldly Desires by (2005) Thai director, Apichatpong Weerasethakul (2010 Palm d'Or winner at Cannes), is a fragmented short film based on the filmmaker’s memories of the years he spent shooting his feature film Tropical Malady in the jungle. The film screens at YBCA’s “Around the World in 33 Films” on February 24, 2011. Photo: Jeonju Digital Project.
In 2000, Jeonju, a small town in the North Jeolla Province of South Korea known for traditional crafts, became home to a very forward-thinking film festival. The Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), held each spring, has emerged as a major independent and art-house film festival that not shows only great films but also funds them. Every year, since 2,000, the festival has awarded three international filmmakers with 50 million won (US $44,500) each, to make a 30–minute digital film. The entire series to date of 33 commissioned films by some of the world’s most highly regarded directors will screen at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts from February 17 through 27th, 2011.
The series “Around the World in 33 Films” opens on February 17th with the three films from 2010 and then will be presented in chronological order from 2000 through 2009. Renowned artists represented include: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Pedro Costa, Naomi Kawase, Bong Joon–Ho, James Benning, Tsai Ming-liang, and 27 more!
Joel Shepard, YBCA Film and Video curator calls the series a “Dare” program. “The Jeonju International Film Festival has dared to commission films, which very few organizations are willing or able to do anymore. The Festival does not dictate content, yet all of the filmmakers they select are known for making non–commercial, complex and often demanding work.”
James Benning’s Pig Iron (2010) is a meditative half hour look at the steelmaking process, focusing on ladle cars moving molten pig iron out of the blast furnaces that separate it from the slag. Benning uses HD techniques that stretch time, redefining cinematic space while commenting on America’s industrial base. Photo: Jeonju Digital Project
Around The World In 33 Films: The Jeonju Digital Project – 2010
February 17, 2011, 7:30 pm, YBCA Screening Room
The 2010 Program includes:
Pig Iron by James Benning;
Les lignes enemies by Denis Côté
Hold on Rosalind by Matías Piñeiro
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Around The World In 33 Films: The Jeonju Digital Project – 2000 & 2001
February 19, 2011, 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm, YBCA Screening Room
The 2000 Program screens at 7 pm and includes:
http://www.whitelover.com by Park Kwang-su
Dal Segno by Kim Yun-tae
Jin Xing Files by Zhang Yuan
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The 2001 Progam screens at 9 pm and includes:
In Public by Jia Zhangke
A Conversation with God by Tsai Ming-liang
Digitopia by John Akomfrah
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Around The World In 33 Films: The Jeonju Digital Project – 2002 & 2003
February 20, 2011, 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm, YBCA Screening Room
The 2002 Program screens at 2 pm and includes:
Survival Game by Moon Seung–wook
The New YearA Letter From Hiroshima by Suwa Nobuhiro
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The 2003 Program screens at 4 pm and includes:
Like a Desperado Under the Eaves by Shinji Aoyama
Daf by Bahman Ghobadi
Digital Search by Park Ki–yong
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Around The World In 33 Films: The Jeonju Digital Project – 2004 & 2005
February 24, 2011, 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm, YBCA Screening Room
The 2004 Program screens at 7 pm and includes:
Dance with me to the End of Love by Yu Lik–wai
Influenza by Bong Joon–ho
Mirrored Mind by Ishii Sogo
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The 2005 Program screens at 9 pm and inlcudes:
Haze by Shinya Tsukamoto
Magician(s) by Song Il–gon
Worldly Desires by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
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Around The World In 33 Films: The Jeonju Digital Project – 2006 & 2007
February 26, 2011, 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm, YBCA Screening Room
The 2006 Program screens at 7 pm and includes:
About Love by Darezhan Omirbaev
No Day Off by Eric Khoo
Twelve Twenty by Pen–ek Ratanaruang
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The 2007 Program screens at 9 pm and includes:
Respite by Harun Farocki
The Rabbit Hunters by Pedro Costa
Correspondences by Eugène Green
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Hong sang-soo’s Lost in the Mountains (2009) is filled with the Korean director’s trademark wry humor and honest look at relationships. The film follows writer Misook as she travels to Jeonju to visit her friend Jin-young and her former lover, Sangoak, who have taken up together. Image: Jeonju Digital Project.
Around The World In 33 Films: The Jeonju Digital Project – 2008 & 2009
February 27, 2011, 2:00 pm, 4:00 pm, YBCA Screening Room
The 2008 Program screens at 2 pm and includes:
The Birthday by Idrissa Ouedraogo
Expectations by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
The Alphabet of My Mother by Nacer Khemir
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The 2009 Program screens at 4 pm and includes:
Lost in the Mountains by Hong Sang–soo
Koma by Naomi Kawase
Butterflies Have No Memories by Lav Diaz
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Details: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission Street (across the street from SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA, 94103. Several reasonably-priced parking garages are located within one block of YBCA. (415)978-2700 or http://www.ybca.org/
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