Gwangju International Film Festival

Gwangju International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place in Gwangju, South Korea. The festival was first held from 12/7/2001 to 12/14/2001 at Gwangju Cinema, Mudeung Theater, Jaeil Cinema, and Cine City. The festival was held annually in various venues within the city until it was indefinitely postponed in 2016. It was originally a non-competitive film festival and it was partially converted into a competitive film festival in 2002. The main focus of the festival is to introduce movies that are critically acclaimed but have not been introduced to South Korea and to lay a cultural groundwork by grafting the cultural heritage of Jeollanam-Do together with movie as a new cultural code. It also intends to bring awareness to important historical events such as Gwangju Uprising through films.

From 2001 to 2015, the festival has experienced multiple issues including lack of audiences, technological issues regarding the sound system, and movies being cancelled. The festival was eventually indefinitely postponed in 2016 when an internal conflict within the organizing committee occurred between the chairman and the executive director. The conflict occurred in regards to the settlement of revenue from previous year's film festival and this has threatened the funding of the festival, which caused the festival to be indefinitely postponed 2 months prior to the opening. 500 films from 25 countries in Europe and Asia were received by the organizing committee before it was postponed. Currently, as of 2023, the festival remains postponed.

History

 * 1st Gwangju International Film Festival, 2001.12.7 ~ 2001.12.14


 * Films screened: 140 films from 26 countries
 * Opening Film: L'Emploi du temps, Laurent Cantet, France
 * Closing Film: This is Law, Byeongjin Min, South Korea


 * 2nd Gwangju International Film Festival, 2002.10.25 ~ 2002.10.31


 * Films screened: 203 films from 30 countries
 * Opening Film: Unborn but Forgotten, Im Chang-jae, South Korea
 * Closing Film: Welcome to Collinwood, Anthony and Joe Russo, US


 * 3rd Gwangju International Film Festival, 2003.8.22 ~ 2003.8.31


 * Films screened: 212 films from 31 countries
 * Opening Film: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring
 * Closing Film: That Day


 * 4th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2004.9.2 ~ 2004.9.11


 * Films screened: 120 films from 23 countries
 * Opening Film: Loved Gun
 * Closing Film: Road


 * 5th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2005.08.26 ~ 2005.09.04


 * Films screened: 180 films from 33 countries
 * Opening Film: Hands In The Hair
 * Closing Film: A Stranger Of Mine


 * 6th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2006.12.14 ~ 2006.12.18


 * Films screened: 49 films from 13 countries
 * Opening Film: A Long Walk
 * Closing Film: Junebug


 * 7th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2007.11.28 ~ 2007.12.3


 * Films screened: 40 films
 * Opening Film: Western Trunk Line
 * Closing Film: Los Borgia


 * 8th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2008.12.4 ~ 2008.12.8


 * Films screened: 40 films
 * Opening Film: Thick As Thieves
 * Closing Film: Vitus


 * 9th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2009.09.16 ~ 2009.09.20


 * Films screened: 50 films from 10 countries
 * Opening Film: Penguins In The Sky - Asahiyama Zoo
 * Closing Film: The Piano Forest


 * 10th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2010.12.09 ~ 2010.12.12


 * Films screened: 40 films
 * Opening Film: O' Horten
 * Closing Film: Chef's Special


 * 11th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2011.10.27 ~ 2011.10.31


 * Films screened: 60 films
 * Opening Film: People Mountain People Sea
 * Closing Film: Offside


 * 12th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2012.11.08 ~ 2012.11.12


 * Films screened: 60 films
 * Opening Film: Leona Calderon
 * Closing Film: Aung San Suu Kyi, lady of no fear


 * 13th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2013.08.29 ~ 2013.09.02


 * Films screened: 91 films from 24 countries
 * Opening Film: Sweet Heart Chocolate
 * Closing Film: Stable Life


 * 14th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2014.08.28 ~ 2014.09.01


 * Films screened: 92 films from 25 countries
 * Opening Film: Late Spring
 * Closing Film: WEST


 * 15th Gwangju International Film Festival, 2015.05.14 ~ 2015.05.18


 * Films screened: 103 films from 31 countries
 * Opening Film: Test
 * Closing Film: Flying Home

Awards
 Kim Daejung Nobel Peace Film Award   Excellent Asia-Pacific Young Director Award   Audience Award