Herman Yau’s filmmaking in We’re Nothing at All is driven by curiosity about how stories move between truth and structure. Fragments of a real case, a few mentions of a policeman and a gay couple found online, became, in his hands, a loose framework to build the story. Instead of making a film strictly based…
Tag: Far East Film Festival Udine
28th Far East Film Festival: “Ghost in the Cell” Review
In a prison in Indonesia, a mysterious ghost begins brutally killing inmates, arranging their mutilated bodies into elaborate art installations. Who is responsible, and who will be next? As fear spreads through the cell block, prisoners must now band together to stop the murders while trying to keep their heads on their shoulders. Such is…
28th Far East Film Festival: “Kokuho” Review
What does it take to become the master of an art form? That’s the question at the heart of Lee Sang-il’s exquisite film Kokuho, which recounts the rise of young prodigy Kikuo Tachibana (played by Ryo Yoshizawa and Soya Kurokawa) in the world of kabuki. Kikuo, the son of a Yakuza boss, has a talent…
28th Far East Film Festival: “I Blew Out the Candles Before Making a Wish” Review
Macau is often shown as a city of bright lights and easy fortune, where casinos rise like temples of luck and excess. But behind the glamour, there is another reality made up of ordinary people living in the shadow of debt and hope. I Blew Out the Candles Before Making a Wish, directed by Chao…
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…
In Conversation with Khazsak Kramer of “The Land of Morning Calm”
Khazsak Kramer’s debut in The Land of Morning Calm is a remarkably moving entry into the world of cinema. Taking on the role of Young Ran, a Vietnamese woman living in a rural Korean fishing village, Kramer brought to life a character who is strong yet emotional. From the moment she read the script, she…
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…
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…
26th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Samantha Lee, Director of “Rookie” – Exclusive Interview
Volleyball can be a space for romance, at least that’s what director Samantha Lee has imagined in her Filipino coming-of-age sports film Rookie. The movie opens with Pat Tingjuy’s Ace being transferred to a new school, she may be a skilled basketball player but the nuns at her academy think the sport turns girls into…
26th Far East Film Festival: “Exhuma” Review
What do a Feng Shui master, a mortician, and a shaman all have in common? No, this isn’t the setup for a terrible joke; instead, it’s the main plot of the Korean supernatural horror film Exhuma. Although the film starts off slowly, it effectively introduces the main characters and their backgrounds. Additionally, it provides an…
