I haven't gussied this press release up at all- but then why would I need to? This is just one of the best Asian Film Festivals this side of Asia. I've seen several of these films and want to see several others. And who wouldn't want to be surrounded by the crowd that makes this such a successful event every year? Flights to New York are cheap folks. Here's the New York Asian Film Fest 2007 lineup.
I haven't gussied this press release up at all- but then why would I need to? This is just one of the best Asian Film Festivals this side of Asia. I've seen several of these films and want to see several others. And who wouldn't want to be surrounded by the crowd that makes this such a successful event every year? Flights to New York are cheap folks. Here's the New York Asian Film Fest 2007 lineup.
Stay tuned to the FEST WEBSITE which is launching soon but until then here ya go:
New York Asian Film Festival 2007
June 22 July 8
June 22 July 5 @ the IFC Center
(323 Sixth Avenue, between 3rd and 4th Streets)
June 5 8 @ Japan Society
(333 East 47th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Director E. J-Yong of DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS will be attending
Director Shusuke Kaneko of DEATH NOTE and DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME will be attending
Director Han Jae-Rim of THE SHOW MUST GO ON will be attending
Don¹t miss ³From Lahore With Gore² a one-night-only Pakistani exploitation extravaganza on July 3rd! Featuring a screening of Pakistan¹s first splatter film, HELL¹S GROUND, with the producer and director in attendance and a magical mystery tour of Pakistani exploitation cinema featuring highlights from some of its most infamous films.
Friday, June 22 there will be a party sponsored by "John Woo Presents Stranglehold" and Kirin Beer after the opening night screening of THE BANQUET at the IFC Center
The NYAFF has partnered with Korea¹s Mise-en-scene¹s Genres Film Festival
(MGFF) to bring over their award-winning horror, comedy, melodrama, sci-fi and action short films, selected by MGFF¹s committee and jury members, including directors Park Chan-Wook (I¹m A Cyborg, But That¹s OK), Ryu Seung-Wan (City of Violence), E. J-Yong (Dasepo Naughty Girls), Kim Dae-Seung (Traces of Love), Bong Joon-Ho (The Host) and Kim Jee-Woon (A Bittersweet Life). Presented with the generous support of the Korean Cultural Service New York. More details to be announced soon.
The Line-Up
AACHI & SSIPAK (Korea, 2006) - 8 years in the making, this sci fi animated action extravaganza about a totalitarian future where the government controls its citizens¹ bowel movements is refreshingly obscene and totally offensive.
AFTER THIS OUR EXILE (Hong Kong, 2006) Wong Kar-wai¹s mentor, Patrick Tam, returns to directing after 17 years and delivers an astounding, award-winning, father and son film that¹s a popcorn muncher for those who love to watch other peoples¹ families fall apart.
THE BANQUET (China, 2006) starring Zhang Ziyi and with the team that made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon behind the camera (Tan Dun on music, Yuen Wo-ping on action, Tim Yip on design) this Chinese adaptation of Hamlet is highbrow brain candy.
BIG BANG LOVE, JUVENILE A (Japan, 2006) Takeshi Miike¹s aggressively experimental tale of two convicts falling in love is as beautiful as Jean Genet and as bloody as you¹d expect from Miike. Oh, and there¹s a rocket ship and an Aztec pyramid, too.
(Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)
THE BODYGUARD 1 & 2 (Thailand, 2004 & 2006) Mum Jokmok, Thailand¹s favorite comedian (and the co-star of Ong Bak and The Protector) directs and stars in these action-loaded spoofs of action movies, with special appearances by Tony Jaa. Like huffing glue: addictive and bad for your brain, but fun while you¹re doing it.
CITY OF VIOLENCE (Korean, 2006) festival fave, Ryu Seung-Wan (Arahan, City of Violence), directed and co-stars in this pulpy, two-fisted noir flick with Korea¹s greatest stuntman and action choreographer, Jeong Du-Hong. It¹s a shout-out to Hong Kong action cinema of the 80¹s and features death by breakdancer.
CRUEL WINTER BLUES (Korean, 2006) a rabid gangster heads to a small town to wait for the man who killed his best friend to show up so he can stab him to death. A three-way acting showcase that is exhilarating in its emotional intensity.
DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS (Korea, 2006) E. J-Yong¹s musical about a high school full of perverted students is a cleansing blast of surreal smut that mixes Bollywood musical conventions with, well, porn.
DEATH NOTE & DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME (Japan, 2006) Japan¹s box office one-two punch of 2006, these goth dramas are twisty cat n¹mouse thrillers that feel like a net-savvy teenager has taken an Agatha Christie novel and forcibly cross-bred it with an Edgar Allan Poe short story.
(Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)
DOG BITE DOG (Hong Kong, 2006) Soi Cheang¹s insanely intense hitman flick is caked with grime and unfolds over the course of one bloody day and night.
Welcome to the action movie as nature documentary.
DYNAMITE WARRIOR (Thailand, 2006) the craziest martial arts flick you¹ll ever see, this unhinged movie stars Tony Jaa¹s teacher, Panna Rittikrai, as a scabby wizard and Dan Chupong from Born to Fight as a rocket-riding, 19th Century Thai bandit in a film that¹s one long, exhilarating action scene.
EXILED (Hong Kong, 2006) Johnnie To¹s latest movie is a magnificent spaghetti western with a cast of Hong Kong¹s best character actors filling the island of Macau with enough hot lead to sink it beneath the waves.
FREESIA: BULLETS OVER TEARS (Japan, 2007) another festival fave returns!
Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Antenna) turns in the ice-cold story of a near future Japan where revenge has become a licensed business, with professional hitmen committing murders that come with forms to fill out in triplicate.
Chilling.
(Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)
GAMERA THE BRAVE (Japan, 2006) this kaiju for kids movie stars the Rocky Balboa of the giant monster world, Gamera, trampling major cities in his battle with an evil dino-lizard.
(Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)
GETTING HOME (China, 2007) the latest movie from Zhang Yang (Shower,
Quitting) is a black comedy about a broke construction worker trying to take the corpse of his friend thousands of miles home so it can be properly buried. His method of transportation? Public bus.
HARD BOILED (Hong Kong, 1992) a 15th Anniversary screening of John Woo¹s action classic celebrates the release of Midway¹s "John Woo Presents Stranglehold" the sequel to the movie in video game form. Travel back in time 15 years to an era when no one shook the camera around, Chow Yun-fat was a god, Tony Leung was a young punk and John Woo was the most amazing action director the world had ever seen.
HELL¹S GROUND (Pakistan, 2006) Pakistan¹s first gore movie is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets the Taliban, featuring a mace-swinging killer.
HULA GIRLS (Japan, 2006) a laser-guided crowd-pleaser that rocked the Japanese box office and swept the Japanese Academy Awards. 1965. Hula dancing. A gang of losers overcoming incredible odds. You know you want to see it.
I¹M A CYBORG, BUT THAT¹S OK (Korea, 2006) the latest from Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, JSA) is a fairy tale love story between a kleptomaniac and a girl who thinks she¹s a cyborg, set in a mental institution.
MEMORIES OF MATSUKO (Japan, 2006) Moulin Rouge meets Citizen Kane in the latest movie from the director of Kamikaze Girls. Check your cynicism at the door and prepare to have your heart jump started.
(Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)
NEVER BELONGS TO ME (Korea, 2006) from the director of Teenage Hooker Becomes Killing Machine in Daehakroh this advanced art object is inscrutable, bizarre and head-scratchingly hilarious. Featuring a mutant offspring of a union between lady and tiger, a penis machine gun, ballet dancer fetishism and a robo-hooker built by Dr. Hell.
NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE (Japan, 2006) the world¹s favorite arthouse provocateur, Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo the Iron Man, Vital), makes a mainstream crowd-pleaser in this flick about a man who can crawl inside dreams and a self-mutilating psychic vampire who¹s addicted to suicide.
(Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)
RETRIBUTION (Japan, 2006) a downbeat horror film that reunites director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse, Doppelganger) and his favorite leading man, Koji Yakusho (Cure, Shall We Dance).
THE SHOW MUST GO ON (Korea, 2007) fresh outta Cannes comes this Korean hit that stars Song Kang-Ho (The Host) in a bravura performance as a low level gangster trying to manage his family and his failing criminal career.
TRACES OF LOVE (Korea, 2006) the opening film from 2006¹s Pusan Film Festival is a beautiful, wrenching melodrama about a man longing for his lover who died in the real-life Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995.
About "John Woo Presents Stranglehold"
Experience the excitement of true next-gen action as you take on the role of Inspector Tequila created by John Woo for his influential action film, Hard Boiled starring Chow Yun-Fat. Ensnared by a crime boss with a gripping secret, Inspector Tequila is forced to cross the line from sworn duty to bloody revenge. Engage your enemies with intense cinematic gun battles and cause massive environmental damage in real-time or revolutionary slow-motion Tequila Time.
About the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) Now in its sixth year, NYAFF is America¹s leading festival of popular Asian cinema. To date, the Festival has featured over 100 films from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand, including 6 International premieres, 17 North American premieres, 23 U.S. premieres, and over 50 New York premieres.
About Subway Cinema
Subway Cinema is New York-based film programming, exhibition and marketing collective, founded in 1999. Subway Cinema is committed to increasing exposure and appreciation for Asia's popular cinema, which has traditionally been overlooked by American film distributors. The annual NYAFF is Subway Cinema¹s flagship event. http://www.subwaycinema.com
About JAPAN CUTS Festival of New Japanese Film To learn more about Japan Society's JAPAN CUTS Festival of New Japanese Film, July 5-July 15, visit http://www.japansociety.org.
About Mise-en-scene¹s Genres Film Festival (MGFF) Now in its sixth year, MGFF is one of the most prestigious short film festivals in Korea, with the exclusive focus on genre short films. The Festival¹s main objective is to promote talented young Korean filmmakers, and to serve as their launching pad for careers in the film industry. For more info, visit http://www.mgff.org/eng/aboutMGFF/mgff.asp