The Endless
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson have made quite an impact on the indie genre scene in the past few years, and their latest feature The Endless is no exception. Both a continuation of their exploration of the fantastical and metaphysical, as well as their most personal film to date, The Endless asks why do we believe what we believe, and how does it change (or not change) our character. As I wrote in my review, it is “a meta-commentary of the nature of storytelling and a self-examination of the creative mind”, with terrific acting, cinematography and score, and not to be missed. - Shelagh
Dearest Sister
Mattie Do’s sophomore feature Dearest Sister works as both social commentary and ghost story, delving into the particulars of Laotian family life and hierarchy, the lure of money and the slow degradation of independence, while at the same time slow-burning its horror to a terrifying climax. Working with an Asian strand of magical realism, Do’s film makes great commentary on the role of women in her country, at the same time as providing a creepy story for genre fans. - Shelagh
Tiger Girl
I missed Tiger Girl at Berlinale, so am excited to be able to watch it at BiFan. Two punk rock girls in the criminal underbelly of Berlin, starring Maria Drugas (Graduation) and Ella Rumpf (Raw) as the titular character. I look forward to some kick-ass women in action against the backdrop of the coolest city in Europe. - Shelagh
Rey
Normally, I wouldn’t have much interest in yet another story of a shite man’s hubris and attempt to become king of a land and people he viewed as inferior. But Niles Atallah’s Rey has caught my attention, with its inclusion of pseudo-archival footage, use of puppetry, and general experimental style in telling the story of a man who aimed to be King of Patagonia. - Shelagh
Álex De La Iglesia: El Maestro Cineasta Fantastico
Alex de la Iglesia is a filmmaker I have referred to as the ‘father of a generation’, in this case a generation of Spanish filmmakers who, in the 1990s and 2000s, brought Spanish fantastic genre cinema to the world. De la Iglesia’s films have ranged from sci fi to horror to westerns to social realism, all the while injected with his particular fatalistic black humour. The retrospective of his works includes gems such as The Day of the Beast ,Common Wealth, and The Last Circus, and the masterclass on Friday July 17th will no doubt give great insight into the mind and work of this singular filmmaker. - Shelagh
Okja
Not everyone will have the chance to see Bong Joon-ho's madcap and gorgeous new film in theaters but BiFan is making sure at least some people will see it the way it should be seen, and with none other than Mr. Bong himself in attendance. - Pierce
Raw
The electric and savage Raw finally makes its way to Korea after tearing up the festival circuit for over a year, and for very good reason. Julia Ducournau's deeply unsettling debut gives horror a very exciting new voice. - Pierce
Room No. 7
The first local film to open BiFan in five years, Room No. 7 features fan favorite Shin Ha-kyun (of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Save the Green Planet fame) as a down-on-his-luck DVD room business owner with a dead body on his hands. The film marks the commercial debut of Lee Yong-seung, who impressed with indie 10 Minutes a few years ago. - Pierce
Mon Mon Mon Monsters
Taiwan's Giddens Ko did wonders with the high school romcom in his 2011 debut You Are the Apple of My Eye. Let's hope he performs the same trick with his first genre effort, the high school comedy-horror Mon Mon Mon Monsters. - Pierce
Contact, Jeon Do-yeon
Korea's most celebrated actress, screen doyen Jeon Do-yeon, will be the subject of a full retrospective this year at BiFan. All her films will screen, from her early melodramas to Ryoo Seung-wan's breakout No Blood, No Tears and her Cannes-invited films Secret Sunshine and The Housemaid. - Pierce
Bitch
Marianna Palka’s oddball comedy is as brave as it is barking mad. Palka, who writes and directs, also stars as a long-suffering wife and mother who finally snaps, retreating into the mental guise of a dog. A subversive takedown of traditional gender roles in the modern family, Bitch is one of the year’s true originals. - James
Angel
Released in some countries under its French title Mon Ange, Angel could be described as “Portrait of the Invisible Man as a Young Man”. Seen through the eyes of a boy known only to his mother, and referred to only as “Mon Ange”, this is a story of first love, discovering one’s identity and finding a role in a world where you could so easily disappear. - James
78/52
One of the most iconic sequences in all horror cinema, the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho is a masterclass in editing, composition and sleight of hand. Now documentarian Alex Philippe (Paul the Psychic Octopus, The People vs George Lucas) pulls back the curtain for a thorough examination of the scene, its creation and the cultural impact of its 78 set-ups and 52 cuts. - James
68 Kill
Sleazy, sweaty and sexy, the new film from Trent Haaga, the writer of Cheap Thrills, is a white trash neo-noir that sees a greedy small-town hooker and her boyfriend set out to rob her sugar daddy client of $68,000. Needless to say, it all goes pear-shaped and the body count quickly escalates. Word was strong from SXSW, so I’m all in. - James
Terrible Women: Monsters and Villainess
In a year when Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is leading the charge for positive female role models in contemporary cinema, BiFan celebrates some of moviedom’s most formidable female foes. From classics of Asian cinema like Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion starring Meiko Kaji and Kim Ki-young’s Ieoh Island, to kitchy cult favourites like Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and John Waters' Serial Mom, the series gives audiences a rare opportunity to celebrate these mischievous maidens on the big screen. - James
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