Independent Filmmakers are Celebrating the Festival with the 9-day Journey

The Seoul Independent Film Festival (SIFF) 2022 kicked off at CGV Art House Apgujeong in Seoul on November 1 (Thursday). The opening ceremony, hosted by Actor Kwon Haehyo, who has been with SIFF for 22 years, opened with a trailer based on the slogan ‘The Art of Love,’ which means the symbol that movies consistently send for a better future.

Following the opening declaration, 127 films were introduced that would be shown to the audience for 9 days. This year, the festival marked the highest number of entries in its history. A total of 1,574 films were submitted and 127 films were carefully selected to meet the audience directly, including 28 films for the Short Competition Section and 13 for the Feature Competition Section. Also, the list continues with 20 films for the New Choice Section, 40 for the Festival Choice Section, 9 for Independent Film Archive, 8 for International Invitation, 8 for the Local Cinema Section, and the opener, Again the Wind Blows. 

SIFF this year introduced various programs through the opening ceremony, expressing its ambition to support new actors and directors and introduce independent films to the audience through various channels. The festival also resumed the iconic ‘Actors Project: 60-Second Live Monologue Performance’, which marks its 5th anniversary, and the ‘Independent Movie Matching Project: Next Link,’ which marks its 3rd anniversary, and ‘Midnight Screening: Night Owl,’ which couldn’t be held for 3 years due to COVID-19. 

For the opening ceremony of the Seoul Independent Film Festival 2022, Director Park Donghoon, Director Lee Dongeun, Director Lee Ranhee, and Director Lim Sunae attended as jury members of the festival. In addition, many fellow filmmakers and film festival officials attended the opening ceremony, including Chairperson Park Kiyong of the Korean Film Council, the co-host of the film festival, the Association of Korean Independent Film & Video, and the Korea Film Archives, as well as the Busan International Film Festival, the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, the London East Asia Film Festival, the Jeonju International Film Festival, the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival, and the Seoul International Women's Film Festival, to celebrate the opening ceremony more grandeur. 

The Seoul Independent Film Festival 2022 is held at CGV Art House Apgujeong for 9 days from December 1 (Thursday), the opening day of the festival, to December 9 (Friday).