Documentary films are like the nameless fighters who fell in the independence struggle in Manchuria under Japanese colonial rule. Without them, our history could never have been properly recorded.

The DMZ International Documentary Film Festival serves as a kind of "Shinheung Military Academy"—the school that trained Korea's independence fighters in Manchuria—for documentary filmmakers: those who struggle to record our times and work toward a more just world. It is a festival that seeks to speak for those left devastated by war and ecological destruction, and to gather once more the power for change through works that might yet save the world.

This year, we have again prepared a rich selection: 144 films from 52 countries. These are works that reflect on the problems of our era and search for ways to confront them.

Moving beyond ideological divides, each film invites us to look squarely at how war and ecological crisis, human rights, discrimination against sexual minorities, and issues of race and ethnicity are interwoven like the warp and weft of a single fabric.

The power of cinema—the power of documentary—is truly great. I firmly believe that, like a single spark capable of setting a vast plain ablaze, a single documentary can shake the world. And yet it is also true that the path by which documentaries reach you grows ever narrower. They are being turned away from theaters, and broadcasters grow reluctant to schedule them. I would venture to say that it is precisely at such a moment that the importance of the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival must grow greater than ever.

Our festival will be a reservoir for documentary filmmakers in Korea and around the world. We will stand as their steadfast supporters. This requires budgets, organization, and systems. Yet something matters more still: people, and spirit. The first element of everything is the presence of all of you who gather here.

The truest force sustaining a festival is the power of its audience: watching the films, loving and cherishing the festival, and taking pride in it. I ask you to look closely at the 140-odd films we have prepared.

The heat waves and torrential rains continue, but do not be deterred—I earnestly ask you to flock to the theaters. Stand by this 18th edition, and help us carry the festival on to its 19th, its 20th, and far beyond.

Thank you.