The Asian Shorts Competition, a key competition section for the Seoul International Women¡¯s Film Festival, has been a platform for showcasing the talents of Asian female filmmakers. This year 594 short films were submitted, the highest number in SIWFF¡¯s history, with the selected entries exemplifying the immense potential of Asian female films. As the preliminary committee explained, the films in competition this year are, ¡°dramas which depict social issues such as poor working conditions, hierarchical violence, sexual harassment, and the community of solidarity among Asian women all have a strong presence this year. The broad spectrum of narrative forms is also noteworthy. Main characters range from children, teenage girls, women in their 20s to middle-aged and elderly women. In addition some films have made diverse attempts to realize visual ambitions rather than focusing on issues, employing cinematic measures appropriate to express their intentions.¡± The sixteen films in competition provide a variety of perspectives and cinematic experiences from comedy to experimental films by touching upon issues of migration, settlement, labor, division, friendship, independence, and growth through people from children to the elderly and social minorities. The finalists will compete for the Best Film and Best Director awards and Audience award.
BAE Juyeon / Programmer