Thai cinema has always held a special place in Asian filmmaking, even if Western audiences overlooked it for many years. Early Thai films were often built around folklore, ghost stories, romance, and family drama, mixing spirituality with everyday life. During the 1970s and 1980s, Thai films were extremely popular in their domestic market, but internationally…
Tag: reviews
Tibetan Film Festival London Announces New Weekly Film Season with Kagyu Samye Dzong London
Tibet Film Festival London has announced a new Tibetan Film Season in partnership with Kagyu Samye Dzong London, bringing a month-long programme of screenings, discussions, and special guests to Bermondsey this spring. Running weekly from 21 May to 11 June, the series builds on the success of the festival’s 2025 edition, which ended with a…
“Perfect Crown” Review: A Coffee Table Drama
He’s everywhere. Perhaps not on quite as many shop windows and skincare advertisements in Seoul as Park Bo Gum, but pretty-faced actor Byeon Woo Seok is hardly avoidable in the metropolis. But can he live up to the powerhouse beside him in Perfect Crown? Multi-hyphenate and nation’s princess IU displays Seong Hui-ju as a strong-willed…
James An on “We Can Smile” and “Solitaire” – Exclusive Interview
James An is an artist who really understands the contradictions of modern life, especially how we present ourselves. His new release, We Can Smile, came from a moment of meeting fans in Hongdae (Seoul), which made him think about what’s real versus what’s performative. He doesn’t reject social media, but sees it clearly: even if…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Giddens Ko (Director) and Kai Ko (Actor) of “Kung Fu”
The 2026 Far East Film Festival opened with a duo of films by directors who were accompanied by their long-time cinema muses; the first was Singaporean director Anthony Chen, who arrived in Udine with Yeo Yann Yann, the lead actress of the final film of his Growing Up trilogy, a drama, We Are All Strangers….
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Chung Ji-young, Director of “My Name”
Centered on the painful and long-silenced history of the Jeju April 3rd Incident, My Name becomes a way of looking back at what has been forgotten. In our interview with director Chung Ji-young, he talks about the emotional responsibility of dealing with a history that was suppressed for decades, and how he chose to approach…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Herman Yau (Director) and Anson Kong (Actor) of “We’re Are Nothing At All”
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…
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: In Conversation with Fan BingBing – Fearless and Endlessly Versatile
In all honesty, few actresses in Asian cinema have built a career as remarkable as Fan Bingbing. Fearless and endlessly versatile, Fan has spent decades proving herself as one of the most unforgettable actresses of her generation. She is known not only for historical films such as Sacrifice and Lady of the Dynasty, but also…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Lee Sang-il, Director of “Kokuho”
In Kokuho, the lead character Kikuo must fight to prove his worth as an outsider to the world of Kabuki. For the film’s director, Lee Sang-il, it was art imitating life, he tells View of the Arts. “In the case of Kokuho, we are talking about an art that needs to be followed by your lineage, as in you need to…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Kim Tae-yong (Director) and Jang Hye-jin (Actress) of “Number One”
Kim Tae-yong has previously directed intense, serious films, driven by youth, energy, and a desire to change the world. Now in his 30s, his perspective has softened. His latest film, Number One, screened in competition at the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, reflects that shift with a much warmer tone. This fantasy…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Koji Yakusho
In a darkened cinema in Udine, Italy, the audience watches the screen with rapt attention, it is a celebration of the life and career of Japanese actor Koji Yakusho. As they watch in awe, a figure steps out onto the stage, looking up at the medley of film scenes and the audience in front of him,…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Chang Hang-jun (Director) and Yoo Hae-jin (Actor) of “The King’s Warden”
South Korea’s connection with its own historical roots is deeply embedded in popular culture. Period movies and costume melodramas have always held their own space, even during the nation’s gloomy times. From The King and the Clown (2005) and Masquerade (2012) to The Night Owl (2022), and back to the numerous retellings of the popular…
28th Far East Film Festival: In Conversation with Kim Do-young, director of “Once We Were Us”
After her film Kim Ji-young: Born 1982 (2019) sparked loud controversy in South Korea for its social and political criticism, the actress and director Kim Do-young has returned with her second feature, Once We Were Us, part of the competition at the 28th Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. This emotional drama is a…
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