Taking place within one of Japan's most colorful and vibrant cities, Osaka Asian Film Festival acts as a showcase for the best new cinema from across the region. Now in its 12th year, a wide variety of Asian films will once again be shown in a programme comprised of a Competition, Special Screenings, an Indie Forum and more.
Opening the festival on March 3rd is the Japanese Premiere of Malaysia-Hong Kong co-production Mrs K. Director Yuhang Ho reunites with At The End of Daybreak's Kara Wai for an action thriller, co-starring Simon Yam and Taiwanese rock star Wu Bai.
Mrs K is a housewife who lives in a quiet suburban neighborhood with her husband Mr K and their daughter Lil’ K. One day, a stranger shows up to blackmail Mrs K. He's an ex-cop who knows about her unseemly past. He doesn't seem to pose much of a threat and she punishes him, hoping that he will back off, but it's only a prelude to imminent terror. Soon, Lil' K is kidnapped and Mrs K is forced out of her sheltered life to face an old enemy.
As usual, the festival will close with the World Premiere of a home-grown feature. This year's entry is Osaka-born Seta Natsuki's latest work, Parks. Hashimoto Ai (Confessions, Parasyte) stars alongside Mei Nagano (Voice Love) and Sometani Shota (Himizu, Bakuman) for this teen music drama.
University student Jun, living near Inokashira Park, has a visit from a high school girl, Haru. They search for Haru’s late father’s ex-girlfriend, who sent a letter to the father. However, they find the ex-girlfriend's grandson Tokio and he says the woman has passed away. Tokio finds a roll of reel-to-reel tape in his grandmother’s belongings, a recording of a love song that Haru’s father made. Due to tape damage, they can’t listen to the full song, so the three try to recreate the missing parts to complete the song.
Osaka Asian Film Festival takes place March 3rd-12th.