Taste Of Asia
This month the fourth Pan Asia Film Festival begins a series of Asian themed film events taking place over the coming months.
This month the fourth
Pan Asia Film Festival begins a series of Asian themed film events taking place
over the coming months.
London’s Asia House, Ciné Lumière and Prince Charles Cinema
will, from the 9th of March through to the 18th, put on a
mix of upcoming Asian talent alongside established filmmakers from India to
Iran. The world premiere of One More
will open the festival with award winning director Shivajee Chandrabhushan in attendance, setting off a week of documentaries,
dramatisations and panels. Also premiering at the festival is A Sense of
Home, a collection of 21 short films in response to the tsunami and
earthquake that hit Japan a year ago. Director Naomi Kawase is leading
the project, which will air to mark the anniversary of the event. Beijing
Bicycle director Wang Xiao-Shuai also shows his new film for the
first time, Flowers, set in the rural Guizhou Province in the latter
days of the Cultural Revolution.
Find the full
programme HERE
The 14th
Annual Asian Film Festival follows in swift succession; the event, hosted
by Tongues of Fire, will be opened this year by patron and Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan on the 16th
of March, with British actress and writer Meera
Syal introducing the opening film Michael.
The programme will also be showing Michael Winterbottom’s Trishna, deemed an Indian Tess of the d’Urbervilles and starring Freida Pinto, and the OSCAR winning
documentary Senna, an account of the
last days of Brazilian motor racer Ayrton
Senna. As well as film, the festival will be holding a free photographic
exhibition illustrating the history of Tongues of Fire as well as photos
submitted by people affected by the festival over its 14 years. The annual
Business of Making Films seminar is back to teach young filmmakers how to
handle the industry from a financial perspective and will include key members
of Asian film distribution. To see the full listings of films and events visit
the festival homepage HERE.
Up in Manchester the Cornerhouse cinema will be showing Feng Xiaogang’s If You Are The One to
celebrate the launch of the Chinese Film Forum UK. The film, which follows a
millionaire inventor who decides to have a bash at online dating, follows a
series of panel papers chaired by Felicia Chan of Manchester University.
Subjects such as the Japanese connection to Taiwan cinema will be addressed
with room to discuss the industry with a series of professionals. Tickets and
further details of the event can be found HERE.
The Korean Film
Festival last year saw great success with queues circling Leicester Square
for the opening night’s screening of War
of Arrows. The festival returns later this year with its 2012 programme but
to tide you over they’re showing season’s of work from some of Korea’s best
known directors, focusing on one director a month. Four films from the chosen
directors will be shown including special Q&A screenings with the directors in attendance. Lee Myung-se started the year off by
introducing his feature The Dualist,
and this month Park Kwang-su’s work
will be showcased with the director presenting Meet Mr Daddy on the 29th. Find out more about the
programme as well as all other events run by the London Korean Film Festival HERE.
Terracotta distribution are holding the fourth Far East Film Festival this April,
bringing the best in Asian cinema to the Prince Charles Cinema in London. War
film My Way will open the festival
on the 12th of April. The highest budget film in Korean history to
date, Je-gyu Kang’s film follows
friends through the Battle of Normandy during World War II. The closing film on
the 15th, Himizu, addresses post tsunami
Japan and a pair of teenagers who invoke their own means of justice. Further
details of the programme are yet to be announced but when they are you’ll find
them HERE.
Asian cinema has influenced some of the biggest names in
Hollywood so it’s definitely an industry worth taking note of. Dealing with the
more contemporary issues of the present day whilst celebrating a traditional
format at the same time, British venues are keen to promote a different
approach to film and the events over the next few months are a great example of
what’s on offer.
Beth Webb - Events Editor
