Social realism is the name of the game in Mongolian filmmaker Zoljargal Purevdash’s debut feature If Only I Could Hibernate. Over the past few weeks, the Un Certain Regard title has been widely celebrated as the country’s first film ever in the Cannes official selection. To be accurate, however, Hibernate is the first Mongolian feature-length…
Category: Film events and festivals
76th Cannes Film Festival: “Omen” Review
Taken at surface level, you’d be forgiven for initially thinking rapper Baloji’s directorial debut was going to transform into a straightforwardly satirical examination of cultural tensions. Arriving in the Democratic Republic of Congo from his adopted homeland of Belgium to introduce his wider family to fiancée Alice (Lucie Debay), Koffi (Marc Zinga) is initially greeted…
76th Cannes Film Festival: “Inshallah a Boy” Review
The power of cinema in Jordan holds significant cultural, artistic, and societal importance. Jordan has a rich cinematic history, and the country has produced a number of acclaimed filmmakers and notable films that have made an impact both domestically and internationally. Cinema in Jordan has been instrumental in reflecting and exploring various aspects of Jordanian…
76th Cannes Film Festival: “Tiger Stripes” Review
You don’t need a gross visual metaphor to articulate the horrifying transformation we all undergo during puberty – but it certainly can help. The history of genre cinema is rife with adolescent allegories, from the straightforward telekinesis metaphor of Stephen King’s Carrie, to the superpowered changes that Peter Parker goes through to become a “man”…
Keishi Otomo on Capturing the Samurai Spirit in “The Legend & Butterfly”
Keishi Otomo is no stranger to making Jidaigeki, Japanese period dramas. He has directed many in his prolific career, though he is probably best known for the “Rurouni Kenshin” live-action films. The franchise adapts Nobuhiro Watsuki’s classic manga of the same name across five films: “Rurouni Kenshin”, “Kyoto Inferno”, “The Legend Ends”, “The Final” and…
Lee Jeong-eun on Producing “Ditto”: From Script to Screen
Being a female film producer today means that you are part of a growing movement in the film industry to increase diversity and representation behind the camera. Historically, the film industry has been male-dominated, and women have faced significant barriers to enter and advance in this field. However, in recent years, there has been a…
Behind the Scenes of “Phantom”: An Exclusive Interview with Director Lee Hae-young
Lee Hae-young is a South Korean director and screenwriter, known for his 2015 film “The Silenced”, a mystery thriller set in 1938 during the Japanese colonial era in Korea. His new work, “Phantom”, is a spy drama set in 1933 that tells the thrilling story of a group of Korean independence fighters who band together…
“Return to Seoul” Review
Now playing in UK cinemas, Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou’s award-winning adoption drama, Return to Seoul, is a cathartic exploration of identity and one’s sense of place in the world. Beginning in medias res, the story introduces Freddie, a 25-year-old Korean-French woman who has ended up in Seoul after a logistical mishap. Given that she does…
25th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Kai Ko & Kent Tsai of “Bad Education”
Welcome to this exclusive interview with Kent Tsai and Kai Ko, two of the talented individuals behind “Bad Education”, a Taiwanese film that was shown at the 25th Far East Film Festival. Kent Tsai stars in the film as the lead character, Wang, a high school student who falls victim to intense peer pressure and…
25th Far East Film Festival: “The Legend & Butterfly” Review
Oda Nobunaga, Japan’s first “great unifier”, has been depicted on screen countless times. Depending on the angle of the narrative the daimyo can either be seen as a hero or villain; romantic lead or malevolent foe; the Fool of Owari or the Demon King. Often his part in unifying the country during the Sengoku period…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 