The 16th International Women’s Film Festival in Seoul opened on Thursday at Megabox Theater in Sinchon with the overarching theme of “the visions of 99 percent for another world.”

Organizers adopted the motto to highlight the importance of women’s diverse views in interpreting the multiple layers of life around the world.

“The theme focuses on the lives of 99 percent of the world’s population (as opposed to the privileged 1 percent),” said festival director Lee Hye-kyung at a press conference held earlier in April. 

The festival opened with the Bosnian film “For Those Who Can Tell No Tales,” directed by Jasmila Zbanic, Golden Bear Prize winner at the 2006 Berlinale for her feature debut “Grabavica.”

The movie tracks an Australian tourist who visits a seemingly idyllic town on the border of Bosnia and Serbia, where she comes upon the harrowing aftermath of the Bosnian War in 1990s. More than 2,000 Bosnians were massacred and many women were tortured and raped in encampments in so-called “ethnic cleansing” operations.

A total of 99 films from 30 different countries will be screened during the festival. The “New Currents” section will introduce noted female directors’ recent films such as “Hotell” by Swedish director Lisa Langseth, “Night Moves” by U.S. director Kelly Reichardt and “A Woman under the Influence” by Korean actress-turned-director Choo Sang-mee.

There are two other unique sections: “Asian Spectrum: Camera is My Heart!” and “Polemics: To Love Hot or To Live Hard.”

The former will feature three Chinese films that depict the lives of the marginalized who make up most of the Chinese people. The latter is screening six films about women’s experiences in today’s economy after the global depression.

This year’s IWFFS runs from May 29 to June 5. To view the full schedule of the festival, visit www.wffis.or.kr.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)