Designed to place audiences at the heart of the festival, ‘Request Cinema’ invites audiences to become festival programmers, offering hands-on experience in selecting films, as well as planning and running related events.
‘Request Cinema’ has served as a platform for audiences to present original and creative programming, attracting growing participation with each edition over the years. Last year, 87 teams applied for audience programmers, while 5,268 audience members took part in the voting process, resulting in the selection of 13 films. The selected teams brought their ideas to life through a wide range of events, including online guest visits, live drawing sessions, live performances, and poetry readings. Blurring the boundaries between cinema and other art forms, these audience-led programs offered festivalgoers unique and enriching cultural experiences.
Last year’s edition featured a series of special guest visits that drew enthusiastic responses from audiences. In the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Duelist (2005), director Lee Myung-sae and actors Gang Dong-won and Ha Ji-won reunited for a special guest visit, while director Oh Seung-uk and actor Kim Nam-gil took the stage to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Shameless (2015). Director Seo Eunyoung and actor Kim Junghyun also joined audiences to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Overman (2015), sharing memorable conversations with festivalgoers. Moreover, audiences had the opportunity to meet renowned Japanese filmmakers Shunji Iwai of All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) and Hirokazu Kore-eda of Our Little Sister (2015) through special online guest sessions.
Audience programmers further expanded the festival experience through a variety of specially designed merchandise, including drawing kits, poetry sets, original tickets, and other customized items. These creative projects were met with an overwhelming buzz from audiences, demonstrating the power of audience-driven programming.
Owen Cho, Artistic Director of Community BIFF, stated: “Over the years, audience programmers have reached a remarkable level of expertise in both program curation and event planning. This year, we will introduce a series of learning sessions on film curation and program development to further support participants throughout the process. We hope these opportunities will help audience programmers refine their ideas and create even more engaging and rewarding festival programs.”
Applications for ‘Request Cinema: Made by Audience’ are open through June 21 (Sun) followed by the stages of application review, audience voting, final selection, and program screening. |
