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| A scene from "Animal," the opening film of the 2022 Seoul International Eco Film Festival / Courtesy of Seoul International Eco Film Festival |
By Ko Dong-hwan
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| Zae-in, a member of virtual K-pop girl group Eternity and one of the Eco Friends promoting this year's Seoul International Eco Film Festival / Courtesy of Seoul International Eco Film Festival |
The 19th annual event's opening ceremony was held at Seoul Forest in Seongdong District. However, no seating was arranged for audiences in order to minimize its carbon footprint, according to the festival's organizer. Instead, the ceremony was streamed live on the festival's YouTube channel.
This year, the festival runs until June 8. Its slogan is "Ecoverse," which originates from the words "eco" and "universe" as well as "metaverse." The slogan is aimed at promoting a futuristic and ecologically-friendly worldview and a harmonized coexistence with all living species on earth, according to the festival organizer.
This year's edition of the festival has invited 73 films from 25 countries, the largest collection in the festival's history, which began in 2004. Forty-one films are premiering during Asia's biggest environmental film festival.
Following the 17th and 18th festivals, this year's event also screens the films on- and offline simultaneously to reduce the carbon footprint. Moviegoers can watch the films at Megabox Seongsu theater near Seoul Forest. The festival organizer has prepared special outdoor screenings for visitors with pets. The films are also screened at "digital theaters" linked to the festival's homepage as well as TV channels on EBS and BTV operated by SK Broadband, one of the country's largest telecommunication service providers.
Side events involving audience members are also available, including a discussion session with environmental experts about living without plastic, an international climate forum among global youth, and a film screening and lecture on the metaverse in "Ecoverse Day!" which takes place on June 5, World Environment Day.
"Alongside World Environment Day, I would like to encourage people to deeply ponder about nature, the environment and life through this festival," said Lee Myung-se, a film director and the director of this year's festival, at a press conference on May 12 ahead of the festival's opening. Lee was the festival's director last year as well.
Choi Yul, the chairman of the festival's organizing committee and the president of the Korea Green Foundation, also reminded people to "watch the movies in the festival and make sure to take actions in practice" during the press conference.
The opening film is France's "Animal," a 2021 documentary film that premieres in Korea and was directed by Cyril Dion, who is also a writer, poet and an environmental activist.
The festival's promoters, also called "Eco Friends," include actor Jang Hyun-sung as well as Zae-in, who is an AI-based virtual human character and a member of the world's first K-pop virtual idol group Eternity.
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