In Blades of the Guardians, director Yuen Woo-ping returns to the wuxia tradition with a film that emphasises the physical and moral foundations of the genre. Known internationally for influencing the style of cinematic combat – just look at The Matrix trilogy and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – Yuen treats the film as a way…
Tag: cinema
28th Far East Film Festival: The New Poster is Here!
For a few days each spring, Udine turns into the hub of Asian cinema. The premieres, the talks, the packed schedules, the chance encounters between artists and audiences. These are the visible mechanics of any festival. But what truly gives it meaning is something less tangible: the people. A festival audience is a living, breathing…
The 40th Edition of the BFI Flare Will Run from 18-29 March 2026 at BFI Southbank
Now in its 40th year, the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival returns to BFI Southbank with one of its most expansive and internationally minded editions to date. Long considered a key fixture of the global queer film calendar, the festival continues to balance discovery with legacy, pairing brave new voices with restorations, talks and…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “Iván & Hadoum” Review
Hadoum, a Moroccan woman, and Iván, a Spanish trans man, are colleagues in a greenhouse in southern Spain, where they fall in love. However, this love is tough. It has to face problems such as class and race, and, most practically, it interferes with Iván’s promotion. Behind it all lies the expectation of his entire…
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,…
Singapore International Film Festival: “10s Across the Borders” Review
10s Across the Borders is a pan-Asian documentary feature directed by Chan Sze-Wei, spotlighting the ballroom scene culture in Southeast Asia. Starring three pioneers Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi, Teddy Oricci, and Aurora Sun Labeija from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand, it uncovers this fascinating subculture derived from African and Latinx communities in New York in a…
62nd Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival: “The Long Departure” Review
One of the greatest pleasures, or perhaps essential rituals, at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (TGHFF) is exploring its consistently strong shorts program, particularly the documentary section. They usually struggle to reach wider audiences outside of the festival circuit, making this showcase a rare opportunity. This year, among a blossom of Taiwanese short films,…
Kenshi Yonezu: The Sonic Alchemist Bringing Anime to Life with “JANE DOE”
Kenshi Yonezu, a Japanese shape-shifting creative force, seems to treat genre and medium as gentle suggestions rather than fixed rules. From his early days as a Vocaloid producer, HACHI, to becoming one of Japan’s most influential singer-songwriters, Yonezu has built a reputation for transforming emotions and sound into cinema. And now, he has done it…
20th London Korean Film Festival: “Frosted Window” Review
Kim Jong-kwan is surely one of a kind as a filmmaker. His work reveals a keen sensitivity to the human condition. His cinema has always been a dialogue between isolation and empathy, often exploring how people drift in and out of each other’s lives, guided by memory and the delicate tremour of feeling. From Worst…
20th London Korean Film Festival: In Conversation with Park Ri-woong, Director of “The Land of Morning Calm”
The Land of Morning Calm, directed by Park Ri-woong, is a powerful portrait of a fading Korean fishing village and the emotional dislocation of its residents. Supported by moving performances from Yoon Joo-sang, Yang Hee-kyung, and Khazsak Kramer, the film explores generational divides, economic decline, and the complex, often unspoken tensions surrounding immigration and arranged…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 