The New York Asian Film Festival, affectionatly known around these parts as NYAFF, returns this summer for their 15th edition, and par for the course, they are packing their program full of fresh exports from all across Asia, as well as featuring some old favorite flicks, with honorees and atendees ranging from old guard stars and upstarts alike.
NYAFF is where quite a number of past and present ScreenAnarchyers (myself included) got their start writing for the site, so while getting then sharing festival lineup announcments can often feel like rote work, that's not so much the case with NYAFF: That's more akin to unwrapping a birthday present.
Taking place at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the SVA theater, June 22 - July 9th, the 15th anniversary is proving to be an honest-to-goodness celebration of why Subway Cinema puts on one of the best summer film programs NYC has evee seen.
Opening night sees the world premiere of Shiraishi Kazuya's (The Devil's Path) yakuza epic Twisted Justice, while special screenings include Hong Kong Awards winner 10 Years and festival founder faves Love In The Buff and Tetsuo: The Iron Man. I am particurally keen on the Taiwan Cinema Now! section which features debut works from a wide range of genres. Meanwhile, this year's Lifetime Achievement Award is going to Shunji Iwai, the man behind such effervescent works as All About Lily Chou-Chou and Swallowtail, both of which will screen, along with his new film A Bride For Rip Van Winkle. Also important to note for ScreenAnarchy readers: Sammo Hung's The Bodyguard (pictured above)
Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The full lineup, with info on guests attending is below:
FULL LINEUP (51):
*Guests in attendance; see next section for complete list
CHINA (4):
- The Bodyguard (dir. Yue Song, 2016)*
- Mr. Six (dir. Guan Hu, 2015)
- Saving Mr. Wu (dir. Ding Sheng, 2015)
- What’s in the Darkness (dir. Wang Yichun, 2016)*
HONG KONG PANORAMA (9):
Presented with the support of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York
- The Bodyguard (dir. Sammo Hung, 2016)
- Keeper of Darkness (dir. Nick Cheung, 2015)
- Lazy Hazy Crazy (dir. Luk Yee-sum, 2015)
- Love in the Buff (dir. Pang Ho-cheung, 2012)
- The Mermaid (dir. Stephen Chow, 2016)*
- The Mobfathers (dir. Herman Yau, 2016) w/short Killer and Undercover (dir. Lau Ho-Leung, 2016)
- She Remembers, He Forgets (dir. Adam Wong, 2015)*
- Triviṣa (dirs. Frank Hui, Jevons Au & Vicky Wong, 2016) *
- Weeds on Fire (dir. Chan Chi-fat, 2016)
HONG KONG SPECIAL SCREENING (1):
- 10 Years (dirs. Kwok Zune, Chow Kwun-wai, Jevons Au, Ng Ka-leung & Wong Fei-pang, 2015)*
JAPAN (13):
- All About Lily Chou-Chou (dir. Iwai Shunji, 2001)*
- A Bride for Rip Van Winkle (dir. Iwai Shunji, 2016)*
- Creepy (dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2016)
- Hentai Kamen 2: The Abnormal Crisis (dir. Yuichi Fukuda, 2016)
- Kiyamachi Daruma (dir. Hideo Sakaki, 2015)
- Miss Hokusai (dir. Keiichi Hara, 2015)
- Swallowtail Butterfly (dir. Iwai Shunji, 1996)*
- Tekkonkinkreet (dir. Michael Arias, 2006)*
- Tetsuo: The Iron Man (dir. Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)
- Twisted Justice (dir. Kazuya Shiraishi, 2016)
- What a Wonderful Family! (Yoji Yamada, 2016)
Plus, an additional two titles to be announced at a later date
SOUTH KOREA (11):
Presented with the support of Korean Cultural Center New York
- Alone (dir. Park Hong-min, 2015)
- The Bacchus Lady (dir. E J-yong, 2016)
- The Boys Who Cried Wolf (dir. Kim Jin-hwang, 2015)*
- Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet (dir. Lee Joon-ik, 2016)*
- Fourth Place (dir. Jung Ji-woo, 2015)
- Inside Men (dir. Woo Min-ho, 2015)*
- The Priests (dir. Jang Jae-hyun, 2015)
- Seoul Station (dir. Yeon Sang-ho, 2015)
- The Sound of a Flower (dir. Lee Jong-pil, 2015)
- The Throne (dir. Lee Joon-ik, 2015)*
- A Violent Prosecutor (dir. Lee Il-hyeong, 2016)
SOUTHEAST ASIA (7)
- Apocalypse Child (dir. Mario Cornejo, 2015)*
- Grace (dirs. Ornusa Donsawai & Pun Homchuen, 2016)*
- Hamog (Haze) (dir. Ralston Jover, 2015)*
- Heart Attack (dir. Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, 2015)
- Honor Thy Father (dir. Erik Matti, 2015)*
- Jagat (Brutal) (dir. Shanjhey Kumar Perumal, 2015)*
- Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass (dir. Victor Vu, 2015)
TAIWAN (5):
Presented with the support of the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York
- The Laundryman (dir. Lee Chung, 2015)
- Maverick (dir. Cheng Wen-tang, 2015)
- The Tag-Along (dir. Cheng Wei-hao, 2015)
- The Tenants Downstairs (dir. Adam Tsuei, 2016)*
- Zinnia Flower (dir. Tom Lin, 2015)
LIST OF GUESTS ATTENDING:
CHINA (3):
- Jelly Lin (actress); The Mermaid
- Wang Yichun (director); What’s in the Darkness
- Yue Song (actor/director); The Bodyguard
HONG KONG (8):
- Jevons Au (director); Triviṣa & 10 Years
- Andrew Choi (producer); 10 Years
- Chow Kwun-wai (director); 10 Years
- Kwok Zune (director); 10 Years
- Ng Ka-leung (director/producer); 10 Years
- Adam Wong (director); She Remembers, He Forgets
- Wong Fei-pang (director); 10 Years
- Miriam Yeung (actress); She Remember, He Forgets & Love in the Buff
JAPAN (6)
- Michael Arias (director); Tekkonkinkreet
- Go Ayano (actor); Twisted Justice & A Bride for Rip Van Winkle
- Yoshinori Chiba (producer); Twisted Justice
- Hideo Sakaki (director); Kiyamachi Daruma
- Iwai Shunji (director); All About Lily Chou-Chou, A Bride for Rip Van Winkle & Swallowtail Butterfly
- Kazuya Shiraishi (director); Twisted Justice
SOUTH KOREA (4)
- Kim Jin-hwang (director); The Boys Who Cried Wolf
- Lee Byung-hun (actor); Inside Men
- Lee Joon-ik (director); Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet & The Throne
- Shin Yeon-shick (producer/screenwriter); Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet
SOUTHEAST ASIA (9)
- Annicka Dolonius (actress); Apocalypse Child
- John Lloyd Cruz (actor/producer); Honor Thy Father
- Monster Jimenez (producer); Apocalypse Child
- Sid Lucero (actor); Apocalypse Child
- Teri Malvar (actress); Hamog (Haze)
- Dondon Monteverde (producer); Honor Thy Father
- Shanjhey Kumar Perumal (director); Jagat (Brutal)
- Apinya Sakuljaroensuk (actress); Grace
- Gwen Zamora (actress); Apocalypse Child
TAIWAN (3)
- Adam Tsuei (director); The Tenants Downstairs
- Ivy Shao (actress); The Tenants Downstairs
- Li Xing (actress); The Tenants Downstairs