The Far East Film Festival is back and it’s bigger than ever for its 26th edition, which boasts 79 films from 12 countries, all celebrating Asian cinema.
Taking place in Udine, Italy, from 24 April to 2 May, the esteemed film festival will host a number of exciting stars to present their movies to cinephiles. Films from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, The Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand will be shown at the festival, which ranges from big-budget blockbusters, to unique indie films, and several restored classics.
12 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 23 European premieres and 19 Italian premieres will be presented at the festival, meaning there will be quite literally something for everyone at the event. So, let’s dig into what film fans can expect from the event.
The Far East Film Festival will open with the Chinese box office smash YOLO, an adaptation of Japanese boxing flick 100 Yen Love. The film tells the story of a young woman who turns her life around when she puts on a pair of boxing gloves, but the opening night won’t end there because Park Young-ju’s Citizen of a Kind will also be screened.
Citizen of a Kind follows an unemployed single mother who becomes the target of an internet scam, and who enlists her friends to catch who did it. The film is described as an irresistible action comedy, and is certain to have viewers laughing in their seats.
The big event of the festival, though, will be the welcoming of prolific director Zhang Yimou, who will be receiving the Golden Mulberry award for Lifetime Achievement alongside producer Chiu Fu-sheng. Zhang is known for his incredible martial arts films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The House of Flying Daggers. As well as receiving the prestigious award, Zhang’s work will be celebrated by having a number of his films screened at the festival including Raise the Red Lantern and To Live.
At the festival there will be 8 films shown from China, a stand-out is Zhang Yudi’s coming-of-age film The Midsummer’s Voice which is a celebration of Chinese opera. Other highlights include two films from auteur Herman Yau, Moscow Mission and Raid on the Lethal Zone, Ning Hao’s satire The Movie Emperor, and the superhero family drama Wonder Family.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, has 9 films screening at the festival, including the hotly anticipated reunion between Infernal Affairs co-stars Tony Leung and Andy Lau — The pair will be reuniting for the crime thriller The Goldfinger. Another highlight includes The Lyricist Wannabe, you’ve heard of K-Pop and J-Pop well this film will introduce you to Cantopop.
Speaking of Japan, the country will be presenting 10 titles in Udine. Kazuya Shiraishi returns to the festival with a gripping samurai drama titled Bushido, while those into the weird and wonderful can catch Kishi Yoshiyuki’s tale of sexual exploration in Ab(Normal) Desire, or Sato Shimako’s fantasy period drama The Yin Yang Master 0. Kaneko Shusuke will be channelling Alfred Hitchcock with the noir thriller Gold Boy, while those looking for something more light-hearted can enjoy foodie drama Takano Tofu.
South Korea has the most films screening at the festival, with 11 in total. Ma Dong-seok’s hit action thriller The Roundup is returning for its latest instalment, Punishment, while Ryoo Seung-wan will also be reuniting with the Far East Film Festival with the release of his crime drama Smugglers. Kim Sung-soo’s 12.12: The Day will also premiere at the festival, the political thriller stars Jung Woo-sung —who will be in attendance at the festival— and tells the story of the country’s 1979 military coup. Another highlight is Choi Dong-hoon’s sci-fi films Alienoid and Alienoid: Return to the Future, and the horror film Exhuma which stars Oldboy legend Choi Min-sik.
Taiwan has 4 films at the festival, including romantic drama 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days which stars Marry My Dead Body’s Hsu Kuang Han. Indonesia boasts 3 films at the festival including the horror film The Train of Death, while Malaysia and Thailand have one film apiece: time travel drama Reversi and horror film Death Whisperer. While two films are being shown from The Philippines, the highlight of which is the LGBTQ+ drama Becky and Badette.
All in all, it promises to be another great year at the Far East Film Festival!
Written by Roxy Simons
View of the Arts is an online publication that chiefly deals with films, music, and art, with an emphasis on the Asian entertainment industry. We are hoping our audience will grow with us as we begin to explore new platforms such as K-pop / K-music, and Asian music in general, and continue to dive into the talented and ever-growing scene of film, music, and arts, worldwide.