The year 2025 saw many rapid changes in technology and society. The words “sudden upheaval” seem most fitting to describe the tumultuous wave of countless works in this year’s Independent Walk section. In the era of short-form content, many works immersed us in their strong medium-length form. Some works boldly used AI in keeping with the trends in technological advancements, while other works bucked those trends to show the true value of animation that has been handcrafted with great care. Independent Walk gathers together all of these works in one place. The members of the jury wish to thank all the directors for offering such a diverse range of stories and styles.

After seeing a great animation, we feel complicated emotions when we watch the end credits roll. It’s like a maelstrom of many different feelings mixed together. We leave our seats happy to have seen a deeply meaningful work, but our hearts are also heavy with a sense of awe and even a bit of envy. This year’s preliminary review brought us such feelings once more. The animations offering fresh ideas left us feeling freshly inspired.

Although some of the stories won’t be shared in the theater, all of the submissions that we saw in our preliminary review shined with their own inherent, precious value. The jurors’ selections do not decide the potential and value of these works. The insights and perspectives we gain from living in this world are reexamined and distilled in the form of our creative endeavors. This act of artistic production can’t be judged by anyone. We wish to express our deep admiration for the hard work of all the directors of these works.

We look forward to the 2025 Independent Walk section. In this fast-paced era, the works in this section expressed themselves with their own language, reminding us once more of the strength of animation as an artform. We are eager to join the audience in the theater to enjoy the directors’ works and share our thoughts about them. We will see you at the festival.

Comments written by KO Donghwan on behalf of the Independent Walk Preliminary Selection Jury Members: KO Donghwan, KIM Changsoo, Jinny Hyejin CHOO