Port of Call, Philip YUNG, Hong Kong 2015, International Premiere
Despite its many unexpected tonal shifts, Philip Yung's 2014 effort May We Chat was arguably one of the darkest, and most intriguing films of the last year's fest. With Port of Call the talented writer-director continues his journey down into the depths of Hong Kong's underground -- and invites viewers along for the thrilling ride. Based on a real murder case that shocked an entire nation in 2008, this sinister and grim Aaron Kwok starrer might cement Yung's position as one of HK's best filmmakers. Bonus: Philip Yung will attend the festival. - Patryk Czekaj
Make Room, MORIKAWA Kei, Japan 2015, International Premiere
A quirky and touching comedy shot entirely within the confines of a make-up room on the set of a porno shoot, Morikawa Kei's Make Room is based on the director's own experiences in the Japanese AV industry. Over a career of more than 20 years, Morikawa reportedly directed more than 1,000 porn films, so he definitely has a lot of interesting stories to tell us. Make Room won the Grand Prix at the 24th Yubari Fantastic Film Festival. Bonus: Morikawa Kei, Kuribayashi Riri (one of the film's main stars), and Adam Torel (the picture's producer) will attend the festival. - Patryk Czekaj
The End of the World and the Cat's Disappearance, TAKEUCHI Michihiro, Japan 2015, International Premiere
Famous mostly for his YouTube videos that focus on live performances by well-beloved Japanese bands, Takeuchi Michihiro made his feature debut in 2012 with Atarashii Sensou wo Hajimeyou (which literally translates as "Let's Begin a New War"), a film that's virtually unknown to western audiences. Now he's more than ready to make a splash on the international scene with this weirdly intriguing sci-fi tale that takes place in 2035 Tokyo and centers on an idol girl who wants to save the world from a future disaster. The properly Murakami-esque title adds an element of intrigue to an already fascinating premise. - Patryk Czekaj
The Wicked, YOO Young-seon, South Korea 2014, International Premiere
From what we've heard Yoo Young-seon's disturbing and atmospheric indie film might be one of the most solid additions to South Korea's horror genre in recents years. Although The Wicked world preemed at the Jeonju International Film Festival in May 2014, it will have its international premiere at Udine almost a year later. A perfect midnight chiller that hints at its dreadful atmosphere and stalker premise, Yoo's debut feature will surely be one to remember. - Patryk Czekaj
Hollow, TRAN Ham, Vietnam 2014, Italian Premiere
Although the premise behind Hollow -- in a remote Vietnamese village a girl gets possessed by demonic spirits -- sound weirdly familiar, what actually makes Tran Ham's ghost-hautning horror especially interesting are the social and cultural overtones that gradually creep into the film's storyline. Besides, due to various reasons, until now it's been really hard to find a horror filmed and produced entirely in Vietnam. - Patryk Czekaj
Helios, Sunny LUK & Longman LEUNG, Hong Kong/China 2015, International Premiere
One of the films I'm the most excited about is Sunny Luk and Longman Leung's Helios. Both filmmakers previously made a hugh impact within the mould of Hong Kong action cinema with their nervous Cold War, which was a well written attempt to reinvigorate the genre. Their follow-up seems to continue on the same path, with a story involving stolen uranium and – from what we can see from the trailer – some good looking action scenes. Its top notch casting notably stars Jacky Cheung, Nick Cheung and Wang Xueqi. - Loïc Valceschini
Meeting Dr. Sun, YEE Chih-yen, Taiwan 2014, European Premiere
With its prestigious festival run and its many awards (it won the Grand Prix at the last edition of Osaka Film Festival as well as the Best Original Screenplay at the 2014 Golden Horse), Meeting Dr. Sun proves to be one of the (many) seductive titles from Udine's line up. Described as a high-school heist comedy, Yee Chih-yen's film tells the story of two opposite groups of teenagers aiming to steal a precious statue. According to James (you can read his review here), the film never lacks humor and shows great skills in its narration. - Loïc Valceschini
Parasyte Part. 1 + Parasyte Part. 2 YAMAZAKI Takashi, Japan 2014/2015, International Premiere
The Eternal Zero director (winner of Udine's 2014 Audience Award) comes back to the festival with his two parts adaptation of Iwaaki Hitoshi's Parasyte. The cult manga, which accordingly to James Cameron himself was a direct influence on the design of the T-1000 shapeshifting abilities, is a favorite of mine and despite mixed reviews (read Chris' views on the film here), I'm curious to discover how Sometani Shôta approached the material. The festival will hold the international premiere of the second installment. - Loïc Valceschini
Rubbers, HAN Yew Kwang, Singapore 2014, International Premiere
To be totally honest, I had never heard of Han Yew Kwang's Rubbers before noticing it in Udine's line up, but how could you possibly not be interested in a ''condom-comedy''? Although the festival has always been inventive in coining new sub-genres to fit their selection, here it perfectly describes Rubbers. Far from Quentin Dupieux's killing tires, Han's comedy narrates the sexual adventures of a woman who sees an imaginative man disguised as a giant condom giving her advices as how to act with men. The director stated that he made this film because he would like Singaporeans to talk more about sex and have more sex – let's see how it goes! - Loïc Valceschini
HK Martial Arts Special Focus
There seems to be a trend among European genre film festivals since several of them (Imagine, BIFFF and now Udine) are throwing tributes to HK glorious days of action cinema. Udine's take on it contains six entries of la crème de la crème. Alternating the genres, the selection covers from pure kung fu (Bruce Lee's The Way of the Dragon) to ghost kung fu comedy (Sammo Hung's Spooky Encounters). The festivalgoers will also have the chance to (re)discover Ching Siu-tung's first film, the lavish wuxia pian Duel to the Death as well as Jackie Chan's cult kung fu comedy The Young Master and Tsui Hark's epic martial arts odyssey Once Upon a Time in China 2, in which Jet Li's Wong Fei-hung fights an evil Donnie Yen. Finally, let's not forget about Corey Yuen's raw and edgy Righting Wrongs, where Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock kick some serious ass. - Loïc Valceschini