KIXFF is focused on cross-cultural themes and seriously low-budget filmmaking. 1st feature? We're your fest. Our No-Budget feature/shorts categories have budget caps of $25,000 for a first feature, $50,000 for subsequent features, and a $15,000 budget cap for shorts.

KIXFF is back for 2018 with plenty of events in the line up: Filmmaker workshops, a screening series, KIX48 Film Challenge, and even our annual Oscar Party!

This fest is for everyone who's made a home away from home and the stories of the migrant experience.

2 million foreigners live in South Korea. That's nearly 4% of the population. Chinese, Vietnamese and Americans make up the top 3 representative home countries. While "expat" may be a loaded word, it's meaning is fluid here... why not give it to all of us? That said, it is easier to relate to than "Waygukin" which just means foreigner. Our experiences may be different, but in many ways they're the same (ask anyone who's dealt with changing their address at immigration).

Who we are:
KIXFF is run by a small group of expat filmmakers and Seoul Players, a non-profit theatre company producing shows in Korea since 2001. Expat film making in Seoul has made inroads to the Korean market, working in local and international television and film productions as well as producing music videos and commercials.

Our festival’s objectives:

For Filmmakers: Our focus is nomads and no-budget shooters. Dslr's, duct tape and elbow grease. Filmmakers wary of festivals' back door dealings. Transparency and feedback.
Shelling out $30 (on average) for a film entry deserves transparency. At a minimum, you should know when a film is accepted or not. A quick note of what programmers think would be pretty awesome as well. That's why at KIXFF, everyone gets feedback. Period.

For the Audience: Programming and defining the migrant/expat/diaspora experience. In this case “expat” would be defined as someone who has left their country of origin and have made their home elsewhere. Examples might include films whose heroes are not native to the culture, i.e. Mexican immigrants laboring illegally in the USA, a Bolivian family who move to China when they discover a grandfather was Chinese. This could also be the designation of the filmmaker. Someone with residency away from their home country.

For the community: A great freaking party. The expat film scene is a thriving connected network. Our goal is to connect Expats and Koreans and the audience in parties and performances and concerts and workshops in the hopes of building long lasting networks.

영화제 개요
한국에서는 흔히 외국에서 온 사람들을 이야기할 때에 “Foreigner”라는 단어를 사용합니다. 하지만 우리는 “Expat”이라는 단어를 선호한다는 것을 먼저 말하고자 합니다. 이는 단순히 다른 나라에서 온 사람을 이르는 말 뿐만이 아니라, 자신의 출신국가가 아닌 곳에서 일을하고 살아가는 사람들을 말합니다.
대한민국에는 150만명의 외국인들이 살고 있으며 이중 절반가량이 중국인이며, 9.3%의 사람들은 미국인입니다. 그 다음으로는 일본, 태국 그리고 베트남에서 온 사람들이 있으며 이들은 모두 대한민국을 현재는 “집”이라고 부르고 있습니다. 뭐 어찌됬든, 우리는 이곳에서 살고 있습니다. 그리고 가끔은 지루하기도 하고 그래서 술을 마시기도합니다. 그러니 제대로 페스티벌을 여는 것은 어떨까요?

우리는 누구인가:
KIXFF는 외국인 영화제작자들로 이루어진 작은 모임과 2001년부터 한국에서 활동하고 있는 비영리 극단, “Seoul Players (서울플레이어)”가 만들어가는 페스티벌입니다. 외국인들의 영화 제작활동은 한국 시장에 서서히 진출해왔습니다. 현지뿐만 아니라, 국제적인 프로덕션에 걸쳐, 방송, 영화, 뮤직비디오 그리고 광고까지 모든 분야에서 알 수 있는 점입니다.

페스티벌의 목적:
영화를 만드는 이들: 우리는 떠돌이 생활을 하는 사람들과 저예산영화 제작자들에게 중점을 두고 있습니다. 디지털사진기, 덕테이프 그리고 상당한 노동력 같은 항목들이 떠오르는데요. 또한, 페스티벌에서 일어나는 은밀한 뒷거래들을 경계하는 영화제작자분들을 위해, 투명성과 피드백을 보장합니다.
평균 30달러의 출품료를 요하는 이 페스티벌에서, 투명성은 꼭 보장되야하는 점입니다. 최소한, 당신의 영화가 접수되었는지는 알아야 하니까요. 프로그래머들의 간단한 의견들도 상당한 도움이 될 것입니다. 즉, KIXFF에서는 누구나 의견을 들을 수 있습니다.

관객: 관객들에게 “익스팻 (Expat)”으로서의 경험을 하고 그것이 무엇인지 생각해 볼 기회를 제공합니다. “Expat”은 자신이 뿌리를 둔 나라를 떠나서 다른 나라에 살아온 사람들로 정의할 수 있습니다. 그 영화의 배경이 되는 나라 바깥의 출신인 영웅이 나오는 영화들 같은 것을 볼 수 있습니다. 미국에서 불법체류를 하고 있는 멕시코 이민자의 이야기도 한 가지 예라고 할 수 있습니다. 이것은 영화를 제작하는 사람이 고려해야 할 부분이 될 수도 있겠죠. 물론 자기자신이 외국인인 관객을 위한 영화제이기도 합니다.

지역사회: “정말 멋진 모임”를 만들어나가고자 합니다. 외국인들이 주가되는 영화현장은 서로서로가 이어져 있는 사회라고 해도 과언이 아닙니다. 우리의 목표는 외국인, 한국인 그리고 이를 아우르는 관객들이 모두 하나가 되어 모임, 공연 및 워크샵을 통해 오랜시간동안 함께 네트워크를 형성하는 것입니다.

Last year prizes included free rentals and prizes donated from local businesses. We’re still cultivating partnerships and sponsors, so stay tuned. See more at KIXFF.com

Competition awards (Jury prize along with Audience selections) will be given for our main programming blocks (no-budget indie, expat film, Korean) as well as genre and niche blocks as developed with our sponsors. The prizes announced currently:

Expat and No-budget Competitions:
Expat Narrative Feature and Short Jury Prizes
No-Budget Narrative Feature and Short Jury Prizes
Narrative Short Audience Award
Documentary Feature and Short Jury Prizes
Documentary Short Audience Award

Korean Competition:
Narrative/Documentary Feature and Short Jury Prizes
Narrative/Documentary Short Audience Award

Music Video:
Jury Prize / Audience Award

We accept films with no requirements for: online screening, premiere status, age of film... just that their no-budget, expat-related or Korean.

In short, be kind. Be honest. If you think you have a film that may not meet our requirements, contact us. If the film is great, maybe we can work something out. Don’t lie about your budget or your expat status. This fest is for low-budget indies and nomad filmmakers. If we find out, we’ll make a penis-shaped puppet of you and mock you mercilessly in the confines of our office.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By entering your film for consideration for the 2018 Korea Indie and Expat Film Festival (henceforth KIXFF), you authorize that your work is cleared for festival exhibition and accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. Entry into the festival constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the 2018 KIXFF. KIXFF is also hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted or accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless KIXFF from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered. KIXFF may opt to withdraw your work from the festival at any time for any reason. We’re serious about the penis puppets. Ask us to pay to screen your film and see what happens.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Christopher Beaulieu

    Screened here twice and attended once — a great experience all around!

    October 2018
  • Richard E Haywood

    Great festival happy to be apart of it.

    October 2018
  • I wanst lucky to be able to go there, but I follow the festival by Instagram and it was really cool! A lot of love of cinema and really nice and dedicated people working really good!

    Hope to attend it someday!

    October 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks nacho! Congrats on the prize!

  • A fantastic festival with very good communication, thanks for the selection of 'self-portrait' and congratulations for your good work!.

    October 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Nacho! Proud to be a part of your journey!

  • Sébastien SIMON

    A fine and welcoming festival organized in a very nice and cosy venue in Seoul. Great feedback from the interested audience. Thanks!

    October 2018
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    Response from festival:

    Glad to have you Sebastien!