In Kokuho, the lead character Kikuo must fight to prove his worth as an outsider to the world of Kabuki. For the film’s director, Lee Sang-il, it was art imitating life, he tells View of the Arts. “In the case of Kokuho, we are talking about an art that needs to be followed by your lineage, as in you need to…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Kim Tae-yong (Director) and Jang Hye-jin (Actress) of “Number One”
Kim Tae-yong has previously directed intense, serious films, driven by youth, energy, and a desire to change the world. Now in his 30s, his perspective has softened. His latest film, Number One, screened in competition at the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, reflects that shift with a much warmer tone. This fantasy…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Koji Yakusho
In a darkened cinema in Udine, Italy, the audience watches the screen with rapt attention, it is a celebration of the life and career of Japanese actor Koji Yakusho. As they watch in awe, a figure steps out onto the stage, looking up at the medley of film scenes and the audience in front of him,…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Chang Hang-jun (Director) and Yoo Hae-jin (Actor) of “The King’s Warden”
South Korea’s connection with its own historical roots is deeply embedded in popular culture. Period movies and costume melodramas have always held their own space, even during the nation’s gloomy times. From The King and the Clown (2005) and Masquerade (2012) to The Night Owl (2022), and back to the numerous retellings of the popular…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Kim Do-young, director of “Once We Were Us”
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…
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