[Notice] OBIFF to be held at Dongguk...Free buddhist film festival

 The 2024 OBIFF(World Ilhwa International Buddhist Film Festival) will be held at the Main Auditorium of Dongguk University. The opening ceremony will take place on September 9th, with the festival running for three days from September 10th to 12th. All screenings are free to attend, and advance reservations can be made through the festival website (oibff.com) starting from August 26th.

 The opening film is <Buddha in Africa>, a documentary by director Nicole Schafer that tells the story of a Chinese Buddhist orphanage in Malawi, Africa. Nicole Schafer, a South African director and producer, won the Best South African Documentary Film Award at the Durban International Film Festival for her first feature-length film, .

 A notable feature of this year’s festival is the “Talk with Audience” sessions, considered a new viewing culture. These Guest Visit (GV) sessions will involve film-related personnel such as directors or actors engaging in direct communication with the audience. The festival will hold stage greetings for the comedy film <Mokspark> (directed by Go Hoon) at 6 P.M. on September 10th, and <I’ll Lie Flatter> (directed by Kim Eun-young) at 6 P.M. on September 11th.

 A festival official stated, “A total of 1,730 short films from 110 countries were submitted,” adding, “Of these, 23 have been selected to be screened as a short film collection.”Executive Committee Chairman Choi Jin-soo said, “While Buddhist films are central, we also advocate for a pan-Buddhist film festival,” and “For this festival, we focused on films featuring Buddhist directors and protagonists.”

 Meanwhile, film director and broadcaster Lee Kyung-kyu, an alumnus of Dongguk University, has been appointed as a publicity ambassador. Ambassador Lee expressed his determination, saying, "As a Buddhist and a member of Dongguk University, I will do my best to ensure the 2024 World Ilhwa International Buddhist Film Festival concludes successfully and develops to the level of the Cannes Film Festival."