Perhaps it is through artists that we come to see stories we might never have known otherwise, stories that exist beyond the margins. Body of Our Own is one such film. Centered on the lives of three women from the Hijra community, offering a perspective rarely seen on screen. The film is brought to life…
Category: Documentary
76th Berlin International Film Festival: In Conversation with Patric Chiha, Director of “A Russian Winter”
In September 2022, images of young men crossing the border in the Georgian mountains struck Patric Chiha, the director of A Russian Winter. They were fleeing the Russian regime, some on foot, others by bike or car. “While these men were experiencing a situation unimaginable to me,” he recalls, “their faces seemed to say a…
Tibet Film Festival London 2025 Explores Compassion and Identity Through Cinema
The Tibet Film Festival London returns this year with a rich program of premieres, workshops, and special screenings, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience Tibetan stories on the big screen and engage directly with filmmakers, scholars, and cultural leaders. Celebrating the Year of Compassion in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday,…
ALULA Film Festival: In Conversation with JI Qiuyu, Director of “The Homeless”
Chinese filmmaker Ji Qiuyu approaches the world with gentleness. Her documentary The Homeless captures the lives of those existing on the margins of society, people who have drifted between belonging and isolation, freedom and invisibility. Rather than portraying homelessness as a tragedy, Ji observes it as a complex human condition. Shot with a compassionate eye,…
ALULA Film Festival: “Obedience” Review
Based in the heart of Hong Kong, the district of Hung Hom feels like a city within a city, a place where the living and the dead coexist almost side by side. Coffins glide through narrow streets toward nearby funeral homes, while a few steps away, commuters and street vendours fight for space among the…
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF) 2025, the largest biennial festival focusing on documentary in Asia, gathers outstanding works from 2023 to 2025 to navigate the observance from intimate family matters to the turbulence of our living world. This year, the witness of diverse ‘home(land)’ in chaos enshrines the perseverance within people, from Palestine to…
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025: “SPI” Review
SPI (烤火房で見るいくつかの夢) directed by Sayun Simung, reveals a touching Tayal family story centring around ‘gaga’, certain routines and rituals that sustain solidarity and peace among Tayal people. After the death of Grandpa Wilang, Grandma Yabay can hardly break away from the sadness, followed by the pregnancy of the underage granddaughter, the camera unfolds how Sayun’s…
69th BFI London Film Festival: In Conversation with Hsu Ya-Ting, Director of “Island of the Winds”
Born in Taiwan shortly before the end of martial law, Hsu Ya-Ting has become an important voice in Taiwanese documentary cinema. Her films weave together the personal and the political, exploring how memory and place shape people’s lives. With Island of the Winds, she tells an intimate story of the elderly residents of Losheng Sanatorium,…
27th Far East Film Festival Announces Its Lineup – A True Celebration of Asian Cinema
The 27th edition of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) in Udine continues its long-standing mission of showing contemporary Asian cinema. With a lineup of 75 films from 11 countries – including 7 world premieres, 15 international premieres, 20 European premieres, and 19 Italian premieres – the festival presents a diverse mix of popular, auteur,…
39th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: “After the Snowmelt” Review
Taiwanese-born director Yi-Shan Lo’s latest documentary, After the Snowmelt (2024), which premiered at the 2024 Visions du Réel festival in the Burning Lights Competition, and was also shown at this year’s BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, is an emotional and visually striking exploration of grief, survival, and identity. After the Snowmelt challenges traditional storytelling…
