12th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival Opens… Live-Streamed Ceremony

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] The 12th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival opens on the 17th at 7 p.m. at Megabox Paju Publishing City. From now through the 24th, over eight days, 122 documentaries from 33 countries will be screened at Megabox Baekseok, with some programs also available on YouTube and the film festival's official website.

The opening ceremony will be held with limited invited guests to prevent the spread of COVID-19, hosted by actor Sung-hun and announcer Lim Hyun-ju. The opening ceremony will be live-streamed via Naver TV for those unable to attend in person.

The opening ceremony will be attended by director Kim Jung-in of the opening film <The Way to School> and other invited directors, as well as jury members including Cho Dong-hee, Kim Kyung-mook, Ko Hee-young, Kim Ji-ha, Park Kwang-soo, and Kim Young-duk. Notable guests include Oh Seok-geun, chairman of the Korean Film Council, Kim Dong-ho, organizing committee chairman of the Gangneung International Film Festival, and heads of major international film festivals along with film industry figures, as well as Choi Man-sik, chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Council's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, and council members Chae Shin-duk, Kim Kyung-hee, and Sohn Hee-jung.

The congratulatory performance marking the start of the opening ceremony will be a vibrant video production featuring modern interpretations of pansori by the band Inaeda and dance by Ambiguous Dance Company.

Following this, a video message from Lee Jae-myung, Gyeonggi Province governor and organizing committee chairman, will be unveiled. Governor Lee states, "Gyeonggi Province, which borders the North, is the region that feels the value of peace first and most keenly," and conveys the message: "I hope efforts continue through the film festival to transform the DMZ, a symbol of confrontation and conflict, into a space of peace, communication, and life." Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Park Yang-woo, Paju Mayor Choi Jong-hwan, vice chairman of the organizing committee, and Goyang Mayor Lee Jae-jun also send greetings via video.

This year's opening film is director Kim Jung-in's <The Way to School>. <The Way to School>, which depicts the conflict between parents of children with disabilities and local residents in the process of establishing a special school in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, is a work that poses profound questions about a society where people live together.

The 12th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival runs through the 24th over eight days. Including International Competition, Asian Competition, and Korean Competition sections, as well as the Global Vision section showcasing acclaimed documentaries from around the world and the DMZ Open Cinema section, a total of 122 works from 33 countries will be screened at Megabox Baekseok in Goyang. Participation is limited to jury members and film-related personnel under strict quarantine measures.

Additionally, a no-audience forum exploring the current state of documentaries in the COVID era, the DMZ online cinema 'Dahlak (Docu&樂)', and the documentary education program 'Doc School' will be made available through the YouTube channel 'DMZ Film Festival' and the festival's official website (dmzdocs.com). 'DMZ Industry,' an event supporting documentary industry professionals with production and market entry assistance, will be held online from September 21-24. On the festival's final day, the 24th, a scaled-down closing ceremony will be held, with an awards ceremony at 7 p.m. at Megabox Baekseok in Goyang announcing 16 awards across seven categories.