What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 30th April 2026

This years 27th annual Jeonju International Film Festival is based in the city of Jeonju, South Korea and runs from Wednesday 29th April to and including Saturday 8th May. It was launched in 2000 as a non-competitive film festival seeking to introduce independent and experimental films to the general public and focusing on the art of contemporary cinematography. This year 237 films are being showcased from fifty-four countries, with ninety-seven Korean films and 140 international films being showcased, of which seventy-eight are World Premiere screenings. 

This years Opening Night film presentation is 'Late Fame' from the USA and Directed by Kent Jones. The film explores the impact of newfound fame on Ed Saxberger (Willem Dafoe), the author of a poetry collection that received little notice upon release but gained appreciation years later among a group of artists including Gloria (Greta Lee), an Actress eager to gain his attention. The Closing Night film is 'The Longest Night : Namtaeryeong' from Korea and this documentary is Directed by Kim Hyunji. This documentary spotlights farmers and women who participated in the tractor march protests from 21st to 22nd December 2024, at Namtaeryeong Pass in Seoul after martial law was declared.

In the International Competition, there are ten titles selected for this section, and they must be Directed by filmmakers who have made less than three feature films and are able to offer the Asian Premiere to the festival. This year, 421 films from seventy countries were submitted. Europe ranked first by continent, followed by Asia and North America in second and third respectively. The US ranked first as a single country with a total of forty-four submissions. Three prizes are up for grabs - the Grand Prize, carrying an award of almost US$14K, and the Best Film Prize and the Special Jury Prize each carrying an award of about US$7K. Those ten titles are as outlined briefly below :-

* 'The Calf Doll' - from India and this drama film is Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Edited by Ankur Hooda. In a smog-choked village, a retired professor turns to an outlawed ritual, crafting a calf doll from a stillborn's body, to save his cow from the creeping urbanisation slowly erasing his rural world.

* 'Chronovisor' - from the USA and this experimental mystery Sci-Fi film is Written, Directed and Edited by Jack Auen and Kevin Walker, and tells the story in which the life of a reclusive academic collides with the story of a clandestine technology that can photograph the past.

* 'Dream of Another Summer' - from Spain and Lebanon, this documentary film is Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Irene Bartolome. A woman's collapse amid urban ruins sparks an exploration of humanity's connection to physical spaces and a city's resilience in the face of mortality.

* 'Fantasy' - from France, and this psychological coming of age film is Co-Written, photographed and Directed by Isabel Pagliai. Lost in her fears and fantasies, a young woman writes in a notebook. A young man finds this notebook on a train. Suddenly, they find themselves in the heart of a forest, in a nocturnal reality where dreams come to life.

* 'If I Go They Will Miss Me' - from the USA this coming of age adventure film is Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Walter Thompson-Hernandez. Twelve-year-old Lil Ant transforms his working-class neighbourhood beneath the LAX flight path into a living mythology, where family members become gods and the sky is crowded with endless departures. As he searches for connection with his god-like yet conflicted father, he finds support in his close-knit community that helps him reconcile myth and reality.

* 'Michiyuki : Voices of Time' - from Japan and this docufiction film is Written, Directed and Edited by Nakao Hiromichi. Komai moves into an old house in Nara and listens to the stories of the former owner, Umemoto. He talks about the histories of time, the town, and the house. While renovating the house on his own, Komai's mind meanders as if on a journey.

* 'The Night is Fading Away' - from Argentina, this drama film is Written, photographed, Directed and Edited by Ezequiel Salinas and Ramiro Sonzini. A projectionist who secretly moves into a decaying municipal cinema brings together an unexpected nocturnal community and must fight to keep his new home when the building's closure threatens to destroy everything he has built.

* 'Six Weeks On' - from Germany, this psychological drama film is Written, Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Jacqueline Jansen. The film tells the story of Lore, who, after the death of her mother, refuses to let anyone dictate how she should say goodbye. Yet, she keeps asking herself the same question - How does one grieve properly?

* 'Stone and Feather' - from Turkiye, this drama film is Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ragip Turk. Nazire, in order to take back her child who was sent to an orphanage, puts up a tough fight against both the bureaucratic system that offers her child conditions she cannot overcome, and the rich foster family who wants to adopt her child.

* 'The Visitor' - from Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, this drama film is Co-Written, photographed and Directed by Vytautas Katkus. 30-year-old Danielius returns to his hometown to sell his parents' flat, but the visit lasts longer than expected. With nowhere to rush, he tries to reconnect with the people and the town that no longer feels like his.

For the details of the other competitive sections, the other film strands being showcased, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.eng.jeonjufest.kr

Turning the focus then back to this weeks five new release movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to your home, we kick start with a sequel to a hugely popular and influential film from 2006 that has the head of a New York fashion magazine nearing retirement, as she reunites with her former second assistant to face off against her former first assistant turned rival of a competitor fashion house. This is followed by a supernatural horror film about a loyal dog who moves to a rural family home with his owner, only to discover supernatural forces lurking in the shadows, and as dark forces threaten his human companion, the brave dog must fight to protect the one he loves most. Then we turn to another supernatural horror offering in which a horror novelist visits an Inn in rural Ireland to spread his parents' ashes, without knowing the place is rumoured to be haunted. Next up we have an Australian Western drama set in the 1930's, that follows three children who escape their white masters and journey across the central Australian desert seeking safety; and closing out the week there is an American doco profiling the life and career of a talented musician whose life was cut way too short in 1997 in a tragic drowning accident.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2' (Rated M) - this eagerly awaited and much hyped American comedy drama film is Directed by David Frankel, who made his feature film debut with 'Miami Rhapsody' in 1995, and would follow this up with the likes of 'The Devil Wears Prada' in 2006, 'Marley & Me' in 2008, 'Hope Springs' in 2012, 'Collateral Beauty' in 2016, and 'Jerry & Marge Go Large' in 2022. This film is a direct sequel to the 2006 film 'The Devil Wears Prada' and saw its World Premiere screening in New York City on 20th April, and is released in all major territories from this week onward. 

Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) returns to New York City's Runway magazine as Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) navigates a new media landscape, declining print formats, very competitive advertising revenue  and Runway's position within it, as well as nearing retirement herself. They reconnect with another former assistant, Emily Charlton (Emily Blunt), who is now a senior executive at luxury brand Dior, that possesses funding which could ensure Runway's survival. Stanley Tucci also reprises his role as Nigel Kipling, Miranda's longtime right hand, and are joined this time round by Kenneth Branagh, Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu and Patrick Brammall. 

'GOOD BOY' (Rated M) - is an American supernatural horror film that is Co-Written, Co-Produced, Directed, photographed and Edited by Ben Leonberg in his Directorial debut. Here, Indy (a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever - a medium-sized gun dog bred primarily for hunting), finds himself on a new adventure with his human owner, and best friend, Todd (Shane Jensen), leaving city life for a long-vacant family home in the country. From the start, two things are abundantly clear - Indy is wary of the creepy old house, and his affection for Todd is unwavering. After moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant’s grim death. When Todd, who also suffers from chronic lung disease, begins succumbing to the dark forces swirling around the house, Indy must battle a malevolence intent on dragging his beloved Todd into the afterlife. The film saw its Premiere screening at SXSW Film & TV Festival in early March 2025, was released in the USA in early October last year and only now does it arrive at Australian Odeon's this week, having garnered generally favourable critical reviews and so far grossing US$8.7M from a production budget of just US$70K. 

'HOKUM' (Rated M) - this Irish, UAE and US Co-produced supernatural horror film is Written and Directed  by Damian McCarthy, in his third feature film making outing following 'Caveat' in 2020 and 'Oddity' in 2024. When novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past. The film Premiered at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in mid-March this year, is released Stateside this week too, and has received generally positive critical reviews. The film also stars Peter Coonan, David Wilmot and Austin Amelio

'WOLFRAM' (Rated M) - is an Australian Western drama film that is lensed and Directed by Warwick Thornton, whose previous feature film credits take in 'Samson & Delilah' in 2009, 'The Darkside' in 2013, 'Sweet Country' in 2017, and 'The New Boy' in 2023. This film is a sequel to 'Sweet Country' and is set four years later and is based on a real story set in 1932, in which a mother, Pansy (Deborah Mailman) longs for the return of her stolen children. It looks at the exploitation of Indigenous Australian child labour at the Hatches Creek wolfram field, where young Aboriginal children were exploited for their labour digging tungsten out of the ground  in the Northern Territory of Australia. The film also stars Thomas M. Wright, John Howard and Matt Nable. It saw its World Premiere screening at the Adelaide Film Festival in late October last year, and also screened in competition at this Berlin International Film Festival in mid-February. It has generated largely favourable critical reviews.

'I'TS NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY (Rated M) - this American documentary film is Co-Produced and Directed by Amy Berg whose prior documentary films include 'Deliver Us from Evil' in 2006, 'West of Memphis' in 2012, 'An Open Secret' in 2014, 'Janis : Little Girl Blue' in 2015, and 'Phoenix Rising' in 2022. This film explores the life and career of American musician Jeff Buckley (who died tragically by drowning in late May 1997 aged just thirty), incorporating voice messages and previously unseen footage. It also features interviews with Buckley's mother Mary Guibert, as well as friends, ex-girlfriends and musicians such as Rebecca Moore, Joan Wasser, Ben Harper, Susan Silver, Michele Anthony, Aimee Mann and Chris Cornell. Buckley released just one studio album 'Grace' and was working on his second album, with the working title 'My Sweetheart the Drunk' at the time of his passing. It had its World Premiere showcasing at the Sundance Film Festival in late January 2025, and was released in the US in early August last year and only now does it get an airing here in Australia, having so far grossed US$1.7M at the Box Office and generating largely positive critical reviews.

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-