The 2006 edition of the Asian Film Festival of Dallas (AFFD) was the first time I ever wrote about film for the public, so it has a special place in my heart. This year marks the 15th anniversay of the film festival and my 11th year attending, and it looks better than ever. AFFD 2016 opens this Thursday with the North American premiere of Samurai Hustle Returns and runs through the 21st of this month.
Check out some of the programming details below, including opening, centerpiece, and closing nght films, along with a few recommendations, and the full line-up and schedule.
AFFD 2016 opens with the world premiere of Samurai Hustle Returns, the sequel to a criminally underrated period comedy from a few years ago. The first Samurai Hustle was a huge favorite of mine when it played the 13th edition of the festival and I'm glad to see them returning with the sequel.
Language/subtitles: Japanese|English
Year: 2016
Director: Katsuhide MOTOK
Country: Japan
Genre: Comedy
Premiere Status: World Premiere
In Edo period Japan, a system called "Sankin-Kotai" required feudal lords to spend every other year in residence in the capital city of Edo. Against all odds, Masaatsu Naito (Kuranosuke Sasaki), the leader of a small, poor clan, travels to Edo in just four days with his staff in order to fulfill this responsibility. But his mission doesn't end there. When some opposing leaders plan another nefarious conspiracy, Naito has to return to his land as soon as possible in order to save his castle.
The centerpiece film of AFFD 2016 is the North American premiere of Larry Yeng's Mountain Cry.
Language/subtitles: Mandarin|Chinese|English
Year: 2015
Running Time: 1h 47min
Director: Larry Yang
Country: China
Genre: Drama
Premiere Status: North‐American Premiere
When La Hong (Yu Ailei) dies in an accident involving an explosive badger trap, naïve Han Chong (Wang Ziyi) obeys village decree and takes the responsibility of caring for La Hong’s mute widow Hong Xia (Lang Yueting), and their children. But as they start to form an emotional bond, suspicions arise concerning La Hong’s death. A melodrama condemning intolerance, this film is also a love story of remarkable credibility and emotional depth. Based on the novel of the same title by Ge Shuiping.
Closing the fest is Ha Nong-jin's Cannes favorite, The Wailing. It is incredible.
Language/subtitles: Korean|English
Year: 2016
Running Time: 2h 36min
Director: Na Hong‐jin
Country: South Korea
Genre: Thriller
Following the arrival of a strange Japanese man to a little village in the mountains of South Korea, a mysterious sickness starts spreading, causing a string of gruesome murders. A mysterious young woman called Moo-Myung shares information with the authorities about the stranger, causing them to suspect him for poisoning. When the investigator's daughter becomes sick, he desperately seeks help from a Shaman, as he digs deeper into the mysterious deaths and the townspeople's paranoia slowly escalates into hysteria.
Time for some other recommendations! First up is Phillip Yung's Port of Call, which we reviewed at Udine 2015:
A decidedly bleak yet surprisingly meditative exploration of the lower depths of contemporary Hong Kong, Philip Yung's Port of Call clearly articulates its genre-bending aspirations and effectively taps into the generational anxieties of youth today. Based on a case that shocked an entire nation back in 2008, Yung's third feature film concentrates not on police work or the brutal murder itself, but rather on the lives of all the people involved, systematically defying generic expectations.
With
Port of Call
Yung, who singlehandedly directed, scripted, and (partly) edited this acutely observed, noirish urban thriller, further proves he's one of the most
talented and bold directors on contemporary Hong Kong film scene.
Next up is the latest from Vietnamese director Ham Tran, Bitcoin Heist. Tran has previous impressed AFFD audiences with Journey from the Fall (also playing as a retrospective feature this year), and other audiences with his horror film, Hollow.
Another film of interest is Herman Yau's Nessun Dorma. Yau has previously thrilled audiences as one of the most notorious Category III directors of the '90s with films like Ebola Syndrome and The Untold Story, but he's been a roll lately with some really great new thrillers.
Language/subtitles: Cantonese|English
Year: 2016
Running Time: 1h 30min
Director: Herman Yau
Country: Hong Kong
Genre: Thriller, Mystery
Premiere Status: International Premiere
The beautiful Tsang (Janice Man) is in an arranged marriage with the most eligible bachelor in town (Lam Ka‐tung), but is secretly in love with another man. One night, she is attacked and kidnapped on her way home. The events surrounding that night have far reaching, and deadly, consequences.
Nakamura Yoshihiro has made many films since his breakout feature, Fish Story, but few (apart from A Boy and his Samurai) have made much noise. His latest feature looks tailor-made for ScreenAnarchy viewers, though, and Prophecy is one of my most anticipated films of AFFD 2016.
Language/subtitles: Japanese|English
Year: 2015,
Running Time: 1h 59min
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Country: Japan
Genre: Mystery
Premiere Status: N/A
Erika Yoshino leads a cyber crime task force within the Metropolitan Police Department investigating an unsettling string of of crimes that seem to be prophesied by a man in a mask on Youtube who claims to be dolling out justice. As the online vigilante gains followers, the prophetic crimes eventually escalate to an alarming level, causing acts of organized terror. However, Yoshino begins to suspect that these are neither acts of terrorism nor crimes of pleasure but instead driven by a completely different purpose...
There are a ton of great looking features in the rest of the schedule. A few of the films I'm really looking forward to are Choi Mik-sik's The Tiger, Mountains May Depart, Rurouni Kenshin parts 2 & 3, and Strayer's Chronicle. Check out the rest of the schedule below, along with the full schedule.
15 th ANNUAL ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF DALLAS
PRESENTED BY WELL GO USA ENTERTAINMENT
ANNOUNCES FULL FILM SCHEDULE & EVENTS
THURSDAY, JULY 14 THROUGH THURSDAY, JULY 21
ANGELIKA FILM CENTER DALLAS in MOCKINGBIRD STATION
5321 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, TX 75206
June 27, 2016 (DALLAS, TX) – The Asian Film Festival of Dallas celebrates its 15th year with returning presenting sponsor Well Go USA Entertainment, from Thursday, July 14 through Thursday, July 21, 2016.
This festival year boasts its first its first Iranian film as part of its repertory program, 2 world premieres and to commemorate its 15th anniversary, they will be showcasing past film festival favorites from its first, fifth and tenth years.
Film fans can also expect films from the U.S., China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Vietnam and from all genres: action, anime, comedy, crime drama, documentary, drama, martial arts, psycho drama, thriller and romantic comedy.
AFFD in numbers
33 feature film screenings. 6 shorts blocks, including local students’ shorts. 7 countries represented.
2 World premieres. 4 International premieres. 4 North American premieres. 10 Southwest premieres.
6 expected filmmakers in attendance.
All screenings will be shown at the Angelika Film Center – Dallas
To mark the 15th anniversary, the following films from their 1st, 5th & 10th years will be shown:
1st year - Fallen Angels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZda7nWftQI
5th year - Journey from the Fall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e84lOfQH0FM
10th year - Bedevilled https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG2bObtGlsI
FULL FILM & EVENT SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, JULY 14
7:00 pm
SAMURAI HUSTLE RETURNS
(Opening Night Film) -
World Premiere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJpJEYCnZ2s
8 pm-11 pm OPENING NIGHT PARTY @ TBA
FRIDAY, JULY 15
Theater 4
2:45 pm FALLEN ANGELS (from 1st year)
4:45 pm THE MAHJONG BOX - World Premiere
6:45 pm STRAYER'S CHRONICLE - Southwest Premiere
9:30 pm ATTACK ON TITAN I: THE CRIMSON BOW AND ARROW - North American Premiere
11:45 pm BEDEVILLED (from 10th year)
Theater 7
2:00 pm DRAMA SHORTS 1
4:00 pm PROPHECY - Southwest Premiere
6:30 pm JOURNEY FROM THE FALL (from 5th year)
9:15 pm NESSUN DORMA - International Premiere
11:00 pm LATE NIGHT SHORTS
SATURDAY, JULY 16
Theater 4
12:30 pm EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS
2:15 pm RUROUNI KENSHIN II: KYOTO INFERNO
5:00 pm YOU CALL IT PASSION - Southwest Premiere
7:30 pm CHONGQING HOT POT - Southwest Premiere
9:30 pm THE INERASABLE - Southwest Premiere
11:30 pm IN THE ROOM - Southwest Premiere
Theater 7
12:00 pm STUDENT SHORTS
2:00 pm SAMURAI AND IDIOTS - THE OLYMPUS AFFAIR - North American Premiere
3:45 pm CINEMA ANGEL - Southwest Premiere
5:45 pm HIKAWA MARU MONOGATARI - International Premiere
7:45 pm MISSING YOU - Southwest Premiere
10:00 pm THE BODYGUARD - Southwest Premiere
SUNDAY, JULY 17
Theater 4
11:30 am THE STORY OF THE LAST CHRYSANTHEMUM
2:15 pm WOLF GIRL & BLACK PRINCE - North American Premiere
4:30 pm BITCOIN HEIST - Southwest Premiere
7:00 pm MOUNTAIN CRY (Centerpiece Film) - North American Premiere
Centerpiece Reception @ Angelika Film Center of Dallas (prior to the film)
9:15 pm ATTACK ON TITAN II: WINGS OF FREEDOM - North American Premiere
Theater 7
1:00 pm DRAMA SHORTS 2
3:00 pm THE BRICK AND THE MIRROR
5:45 pm CLEARER THAN YOU THINK - International Premiere
7:30 pm STRAYER'S CHRONICLE (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
10:00 pm LATE NIGHT SHORTS
MONDAY, JULY 18
Theater 4
1:30 pm DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
3:30 pm THE INERASABLE (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
5:45 pm RUROUNI KENSHIN III: THE LEGEND ENDS
8:15 pm THE TIGER
11:00 pm PROPHECY (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
TUESDAY, JULY 19
Theater 4
1:30 pm THE BODYGUARD (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
3:30 pm THE SKY-BLUE SYMPHONY - International Premiere
6:00 pm BITCOIN HEIST (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
8:15 pm MISSING YOU (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
10:15 pm SPA NIGHT
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20
Theater 4
1:00 pm YOU CALL IT PASSION (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
3:30 pm WOLF GIRL & BLACK PRINCE (2nd screening) - North American Premiere
6:00 pm MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART
8:00 pm PORT OF CALL
11:00 pm IN THE ROOM - Southwest Premiere
THURSDAY, JULY 21
Theater 6
12:00 pm MOUNTAIN CRY (2nd screening) - North American Premiere
2:15 pm SAMURAI HUSTLE RETURNS (2nd screening) - World Premiere
5:00 pm CHONGQING HOT POT (2nd screening) - Southwest Premiere
7:00 pm THE WAILING (Closing Night Film)
9 pm-12 am AFFD Closing Night Party @ TBA
Parties and events
VIP Reception: Invitation-only
Opening Night Party: Thursday, July 14, 8 pm to 11 pm at TBA
Filmmakers Reception/Panel: TBA
Centerpiece Reception: Sunday, July 19, 6:15 pm at the Angelika Film Center of Dallas (prior to the film)
Closing Night Party: Thursday, July 21, 9 pm to 12 am at TBA
More titles and full schedule of Q&As, parties, events and details will follow in the coming weeks. Visit www.asianfilmdallas.com.