The Jeonju International Film Festival has appointed leading art-house producer Lee Joon-dong (“Burning”) as its director.
The festival is usually regarded as the second most significant in South Korea, behind Busan.The appointment was announced on Wednesday by Kim Seung-su, chairman of the festival’s organizing committee.
It follows several months of internal discord and the resignation of three senior programmers last month.Kim Young-jin, Lee Sang-yong and Jang Byeong-won, who had led festival as a programming team since 2015, said their departure was in response to political interference by the local authorities.Lee, who will enjoy a three-year mandate, is CEO of Nowfilm and Pinehouse Film, the company behind many of the films by Lee Chang-dong.
Lee has production credits on “Poetry” and “Oasis” by Lee Chang-dong, as well as on “Hwayi: A Monster Boy,” “A Brand New Life,” and “The Mermaid.” He is also a former vice-chairman of Korean Film Council
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