What began in the spring of 1998 as a bold and somewhat puzzling experiment has grown into one of Europe’s most important showcases of Asian cinema. When the Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche (CEC) in Udine shifted its focus from Italian retrospectives to a programme dedicated to Hong Kong films, few could have predicted the outcome. Yet…
Category: Short films
Jonny Durgan’s “G.S.W” – Short Film Review
Driven by a compelling narrative, Jonny Durgan’s G.S.W. slowly tightens its grip on the viewer, refusing to let go until the final moments. Built around a single emergency, the film examines moral fracture and the collision of professional duty with personal fear. The film follows Beth (Genevieve O’Reilly: Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, Ahsoka,…
Tibet Film Festival London 2025: “State of Statelessness” Review
What does it mean to be stateless in a world that measures existence through borders and documents? For most, nationality is an assurance – a birthright so inherent that it goes unnoticed. But for millions across the globe, including Tibetans living in exile, statelessness is not an abstract concept; it’s a wound that never closes….
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival 2025: “When the Trees Sway, the Heart Stirs” and “Rokkoku Kitchen” Review
Directed by Lee Jiyoon, When the Trees Sway, the Heart Stirs centres on the story of residents in Seoul’s Jeongneung Valley, who have begun relocating amid plans for regional redevelopment. The director turns her lens to the mundane, everyday moments of life, walking alongside both current and former residents to capture their experiences. The film lays bare…
“LARGO” Short Film Review
“There are 11 million child refugees in the world. 1.3 million in Europe. 127,000 in the UK.” And each one has a name. In LARGO, we meet just one: Musa, a young Syrian boy living in the UK, who, against all odds and all the impossible rules of the adult world, sets out to build…
Freddie Fox Returns Behind the Camera with “The Painting & The Statue” – Exclusive Interview
Freddie Fox has been a compelling figure in theatre, TV, and film for years. He’s well-known for roles in White House Farm, The Crown, Slow Horses, Year of the Rabbit, Pride, and The Great, and was recently seen as Loki in Netflix’s The Sandman. While many may know him for his chameleonic performances, Fox is…
“The Painting & The Statue” – A Sublime, Time-Spanning Meditation on Love, Art, and the Silent Lives In Between
Timeless love is often relegated to mythology, fiction, or short-lived daydreams – the kind of feeling that evades language and logic. But what if that love, impossible and pure, was patiently waiting – not in a grand romance, but in the stillness of a room? Freddie Fox’s The Painting & The Statue dares to ask…
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,…
Lindsay McIntyre on Cultural Preservation and Storytelling Through “NIGIQTUQ (The South Wind)”
Native cinema, whether from the Americas, Australia, the Pacific Islands, or any other region, plays a vital role in today’s film industry by serving as a powerful medium for storytelling, cultural preservation, and social advocacy. For far too long, Indigenous communities have been underrepresented or misrepresented in mainstream media. Native filmmakers are now reclaiming their…
“NIGIQTUQ ᓂᒋᖅᑐᖅ (The South Wind)” Review
Lindsay McIntyre’s NIGIQTUQ ᓂᒋᖅᑐᖅ (The South Wind) is a heartfelt exploration of identity, cultural displacement, and survival. Based on the director’s grandmother’s story, this moving short film brings viewers to 1938, where young Marguerite and her mother Kumaa’naaq (koo-MAT-na) leave their Inuit homeland in Nunavut to build a new life in the South. This transition…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 