39th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: Actor Han Gi-chan Discusses “The Wedding Banquet” – Exclusive Interview

Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet revitalises Ang Lee’s 1993 classic, bringing a contemporary lens to themes of love, the weight of tradition, the complexities of identity, and societal expectations. While the original film followed a dutiful Taiwanese son confronting the pressures of tradition, Ahn’s version expands the narrative, introducing new characters and conflicts that reflect…

39th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival – “Việt and Nam” Review

If you’re a Vietnamese filmmaker, presenting a story to the world about two star-crossed lovers nicknamed Viet and Nam is all but asking the audience to interpret the trajectory of their relationship as a metaphor for the nation itself. The third film from writer/director Truong Minh Quy attempts to avoid this straightforward categorization due to…

Cinema and Myth: Riar Rizaldi Discusses “Monisme” and the Enigma of Mount Merapi – Exclusive Interview

Indonesian multimedia artist and filmmaker Riar Rizaldi, known for his blend of documentary fiction and essay films, has recently completed his latest work, Monisme (2024). The film delves into themes of duality—human and non-human, nature and technology—while questioning their interconnectedness. Born from years of extensive research on Mount Merapi, one of Indonesia’s most significant volcanoes,…

Takeuchi Hideki Returns to the Far East Film Festival

Historically, cinema has predominantly engaged with the human body through the lens of science fiction, often depicting miniature characters – reduced to the size of ants – who embark on fantastical journeys within our physical form, confronting its mysteries and the limited special effects technology of bygone eras. Iconic films like Richard Fleischer’s Fantastic Voyage,…