Hong Sang-soo’s “The Woman Who Ran” Review

While her husband is out of town on a business trip, florist Gam-hee (Kim Min-hee) decides to embark on a venture of her own to reconnect with three different old friends living across Seoul. Although reciting a script, Gam-hee routinely mentions to every friend how her and her husband haven’t spent a day apart since…

25th Busan International Film Festival Introduces Open Cinema Selections

The 25th Busan International Film Festival introduced 6 Open Cinema selections, which to be screened at the BIFF Theater located in Busan Cinema Center from October 21st to 30th. Open Cinema is a section that features a collection of new and internationally acclaimed films that offer both its cinematic quality and popularity. This year’s Open Cinema selections…

1st Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh Announces Its Ambitious Programme

The producers of Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh are pleased to announce their plans for the first ever, free to access edition of the Festival, taking place digitally between 18 and 27 of September. Originally planned as a physical event, the Festival was repivoted to a purely digital form in light of the global pandemic of…

The Last Ferry from Grass Island Review

Amongst the 263 islands that make up Hong Kong, nestled near the Shenzhen border, sits Grass Island. Hiding away in a small fishing village on Grass Island is ex–hitman Ah Hoi (Tai-Bo). Retired from his life of crime, Ah Hoi now spends his days keeping a low profile and looking after his elderly mother, Ah…

22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: The House of Us Review

Wise upon her years, 12-year-old Lee Hana (Kim Na-yeon) is the backbone of her family; acting as a peacekeeper as she tries to calm raging arguments between her parents who are going through a divorce. Constantly cooking dinners in an attempt to bring her family back together – Hana’s gastronomic displays of affection aren’t appreciated…

22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: Ashfall Review

Recently, filmmakers have been attracted to making disaster films more than ever. Whether they show that we would be swallowed by a tsunami, a whirlwind or fires, blown away by a comet, burnt by an erupting volcano or perished by inhaling poisonous gases, the productions have become bold, filled with endless CGI, harrowing action, but…

22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: Dance with Me Review

Shizuka Suzuki (Ayaka Miyoshi) hates musicals, or at least that’s what she claims after a traumatic incident from her childhood leads her to despise the stage. So, when she decides to take her niece to visit a fair in the park and magician Machin Ueda (Akira Takarada) hypnotises her into turning all life situations into…

22nd Udine Far East Film Festival: Vertigo Review

Life can often throw you curveballs, but a person can only endure so much while also trying to reach deeper into oneself to find what gives them a reason to live. Vertigo, written and directed by Jeon Gye-soo, depicts one of these emotional and complex life stories. Seo-young (Chun Woo-hee: The Wailing, Han Gong-ju) struggles with her existence;…

A Syrian Woman: Human Stories from Jordan Review

When Syria plunged into a civil war in 2011, no one could have predicted that the conflict between its own people would turn into a multi-sided battle, in which mostly civilians had suffered. Brutal slaughter, acts of terror, political and social consequences of military operations led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis: almost half a million…

Time to Hunt Review

South Korean cinema is well-known for its perturbing thrillers such as Oldboy, Lady Vengeance, I Saw the Devil, Memories of Murder as well as the latest hit, Parasite. Although those films broke into the mainstream film market, South Korean productions are still not ‘in fashion’ like French, Scandinavian or American cinema. However, with the new…

Hanxiong Bo’s Drifting Review

Since the late ‘70s, China has implemented a strict policy enforcing that each family is only allowed to have one child in order to control China’s growing population.  Although this policy was reformed in 2016, the controversial ‘one-child’ policy has had devastating and traumatic effects on families for generations. Growing up during the height of…

Gets Good Light Review

Coming out of the growing ‘Abolish ICE’ movement – Gets Good Light is a compassionate and powerful protest against the growing powers of the Immigrant and Customs Enforcement Agency in the United States. Since the start of Trump’s administration, the number of individuals apprehended by ICE has only grown – approximately 4,143 undocumented immigrants without…