For over two decades, the Udine Far East Film Festival has been presenting a wide range of films from East and Southeast Asia. Often these features are making their European premieres or international festival premieres at Udine – but ever so often, the elegant Teatro Nuovo is graced with a world premiere, and audiences in…
Tag: cinema
27th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Chieh Shuen Bin, Director of “Organ Child” and Actress Moon Lee
Organ trafficking is a global crisis that hides in plain sight. Generating more than $1.7 billion annually, it’s estimated that one in ten organ transplants occurs through illegal means. In Asia, the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor only intensifies the trade’s horrors. These are not just numbers; they are lives torn apart,…
27th Far East 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…
27th Far East Film Festival: “The Land of Morning Calm” Review
Set against the subdued beauty of a Korean fishing village, The Land of Morning Calm, written and directed by Park Ri-woong, is a restrained and moving exploration of displacement and the quiet tensions beneath everyday life. This is not a story about national identity or grand political themes. Instead, it is about people: ordinary, flawed,…
27th Far East Film Festival: “Love in the Big City” Review
If you never thought a plastic uterus model would make a good plant, prepare yourself for some redecorating. The stolen emblem sitting atop glass marbles as the years tick away is the most profound object you’ll see in the whole of E.oni’s Love in the Big City, a film that, despite the assumed subject matter,…
27th Far East Film Festival: “Angry Squad” Review
When tax collector Kumazawa Jino (Seiyo Uchino) is scammed out of his hard-earned bonus by a professional swindler he is, quite rightly, angry. He decides to go after the man, but when he does find Himuro (Masaki Okada) the scam artist does the unexpected, he offers him a deal: immunity in exchange for help taking…
27th Far East Film Festival: “Cells at Work!” Review
If you’ve ever wondered what happens in the human body then Cells at Work! has the answers, well, kind of. Based on the manga of the same name by Akame Shimizu, Takeuchi Hideki has created a colourful, comical movie that is as hilarious as it is heartfelt. The story is set within the bodies of…
27th Far East Film Festival: Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement Goes to Tsui Hark
Few filmmakers have left a mark on Asian cinema as deeply as Tsui Hark. A great storyteller and pioneer of modern Hong Kong film, Tsui has long captured audiences’ imagination with his genre-defying style. This year, the Far East Film Festival honours his incredible legacy with the Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement, to be…
Japanese Star Megumi Joins the 27th Far East Film Festival Jury to Select Best Debut Film of 2025
Who decides the winners of this year’s Far East Film Festival? While the spirit of FEFF remains proudly democratic – with the audience alone determining the winners of the top three prizes – two expert juries will also be selecting special awards. Among the 49 competition titles (from a total lineup of 77), the three…
The World Premiere of “The Square”, the Animated Romantic Masterpiece, to Close the 27th Far East Film Festival in Udine
The curtain will officially close on the 27th edition of the Far East Film Festival with the world premiere of The Square, a beautifully made South Korean animated love story. Described as a poetic and visually enchanting work, The Square makes its global debut in Udine. In contrast, and perfectly complementing the tone of the…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 