After her film Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 (2019) sparked loud controversy in South Korea for its social and political criticism, the actress and director Kim Do-young has returned with her second feature, Once We Were Us, part of the competition at the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. This emotional drama is a…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Yoo Yeon-seok
Yoo Yeon-seok smiles often when he speaks, and sitting with him during the interview at the Far East Film Festival, there is so much calmness emanating from him. He made his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in Oldboy before returning to the screen in 2008 to fully resume his acting career. Since…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Tam Wai-ching, Director of “Someone Like Me”
Filled with many wonderful films, the Far East Film Festival has always offered a great selection of talent to interview. Through both short and long conversations, we can learn about the creative processes behind films – insights that we wouldn’t usually have the chance to discover, especially given the lack of such opportunities at UK…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation With Yoon Ga-eun (Director) and Jang Hye-jin (Actress) of “The World of Love”
From Guest (2011) and Sprout (2013) to The World of Us and The House of Us, Yoon Ga-eun’s films have consistently returned to childhood as a space of emotional intensity rather than innocence. With The World of Love, her third feature, she continues this exploration, but in a more unsettling form. Explaining the origins of…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Anthony Chen (Director) and Yeo Yann Yann (Actress) of “We Are All Strangers”
Anthony Chen’s Growing Up trilogy has become one of the most interesting coming-of-age projects in contemporary Asian cinema. Beginning with Ilo Ilo and continuing through Wet Season, and now concluding with We Are All Strangers, the series traces not only individual lives but also the shifting emotional landscape of Singapore itself. As the opening film…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Chao Koi-wang (Director) and Kai Ko (Actor) of ” I Blew Out the Candles Before Making a Wish”
I Blew Out the Candles Before Making a Wish is the feature debut of directors Chao Koi-wang and Hu Chin-ye, offering a view of Macau far removed from its usual casino-driven image. The film focuses on everyday lives defined by debt, absence, and survival, following a young girl and a debt collector whose paths unexpectedly…
28th Far East Film Festival: “Road to Vendetta” Review
Hong Kong action cinema gets a heavy dose of adrenaline with Road to Vendetta, a Hong Kong–Japan co-production that serves as the feature directorial debut of Njo Kui-ying. Stepping behind the camera at 50, the former pop idol delivers a film that clearly understands the appeal of the genre: fast, stylish, and driven by energy,…
28th Far East Film Festival: “My Name” Review
On April 3, 1948, Jeju Island became the site of a coordinated armed uprising as communist guerrillas launched pre-planned attacks on police stations, officials, and civilians. In the early hours, hundreds of insurgents struck multiple targets, killing officers, destroying homes, and using fear to deter participation in the May 10 elections that would lead to…
28th Far East Film Festival: “All Green” Review
In All Greens, director Takashi Koyama considers what life is like for underprivileged Japanese youth and their quest to get out of their small town. How might they go about that? By selling those titular greens… aka weed. Set in Ibaraki prefecture, where Koyama grew up, teen Boku Hidemi (Sara Minami) has an abusive father,…
28th Far East Film Festival: “Kokuho” Review
What does it take to become the master of an art form? That’s the question at the heart of Lee Sang-il’s exquisite film Kokuho, which recounts the rise of young prodigy Kikuo Tachibana (played by Ryo Yoshizawa and Soya Kurokawa) in the world of kabuki. Kikuo, the son of a Yakuza boss, has a talent…
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