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BiFan Makes Contact with JEON Do-yeon Program
17 Film Retrospective for Korean Screen Siren in Bucheon
With just a few weeks to go before its 21st edition, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan, Chairman CHOI Yong-bae) has begun to reveal parts of its lineup. Within the program this year will be a special section dedicated to the films of JEON Do-yeon, one of South Korea’s leading actresses.
Under the heading ‘Contact, JEON Do-yeon’, the program will include 17 of the works JEON has appeared in, including key titles such as RYOO Seung-wan’s No Blood No Tears (2002), PARK Heung-sik’s My Mother, The Mermaid (2004), LEE Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine (2007) and IM Sang-soo’s The Housemaid (2010).
BiFan chose to honor JEON, who “has captivated audiences with her unique presence and has been a part of some of the proudest moments in Korean cinematic history.” In a statement, the festival mentioned the “special relationship between BIFAN and JEON Do-yeon dates back to 1997 when the very first edition of the festival showed The Contact.”
The program is being co-curated by BiFan programmer MO Eun-young and noted film critic and director JUNG Sung-il (Cafe Noir, 2010). Beyond the films, special talks and events with JEON will be held, and there will also be an exhibition as well as a book dedicated to her career.
JEON got her start in the late 1990s with romantic titles such as The Contact, which is referenced to in the section’s name. She has appeared in increasingly daring fare and eventually earned the Best Actress Award from the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, for her starring role in Secret Sunshine. She subsequently was invited back to participate in the main competition jury of Cannes in 2014. JEON’s last film role was in LEE Yoon-ki’s A Man and a Woman alongside TRAIN TO BUSAN star GONG Yoo.
The 21st BiFan will take place from July 13th to July 23rd.
