Festivals: NYAFF
New York Asian 2021 Review: SINKHOLE, Disaster Comedy Struggles to Dig Itself Out
When a new genre catches on in Korean cinema, it tends to proliferate pretty quickly, but before audiences grow tired of it, filmmakers try to find new ways to freshen things up. Take the disaster film. A perennial favourite at...
New York Asian 2021 Review: TIME Is On The Audience's Side
When Ricky Ko's Hong Kong comedy drama Time played at the International Film Festival Rotterdam earlier this year, it nearly won the audience prize. It's a testament to how easy the film is on the eyes, though its charms never...
New York Asian 2021 Review: In ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU, Ryoo Seung-wan Wants No Korean Left Behind
As violence erupts in the African nation of Somalia, delegates from both North and South Korea scramble to evacuate the capital city of Mogadishu in Ryoo Seung-wan's action-packed political thriller Escape From Mogadishu, which was the opening night film at...
New York Asian Winter Showcase 2020 Review: EXTREME JOB, A Tasty Cops-and-Criminals Farce
Lee Byeong-hun's police action comedy is an entertaining farce that will leave viewers hankering for fried chicken and beer in between laughs.
New York Asian Film Festival Winter Showcase 2020 Offers Tasty Pairings of Cinema and Food
For 18 years now, the New York Asian Film Festival has been an indelible fixture on the summer film calendar, bringing to audiences the endlessly varied pleasures and provocations to be found in contemporary Asian cinemas. To tide fans over between editions, last year the festival instituted...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: Ryu Jun-yeol Talks the Seduction of MONEY
One of the most captivating actors in South Korea, Ryu Jun-yeol grabbed audiences’ attention in supporting roles in films like The King, A Taxi Driver, and Believer; so much so that the New York Asian Film Festival honoured Ryu with...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: Kim Yoon-seok Talks Directing Debut ANOTHER CHILD, Plus Latest Thriller DARK FIGURE OF CRIME
After receiving the New York Asian Film Festival’s Star Asia award last year, actor Kim Yoon-seok returns, this time as the director of his first feature, Another Child, the sensitive tale of two teenagers caught in a web of domestic...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: 5 MILLION DOLLAR LIFE Director Moon Sung-ho and Producer Endo Hiroshi on What a Life is Worth
In his feature debut, director Moon Sung-ho ponders the value of a human life. 5 Million Dollar Life is a unique road trip / coming-of-age story of one Japanese teenager’s bumpy journey toward self-discovery. At the New York Asian...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: Director Park Noo-ri on Taking the Reins and Making MONEY
After years of working in the trenches as the assistant director of blockbusters like The Unjust and The Berlin File, Park Noo-ri visited the New York Asian Film Festival with her directorial debut, Money. Director Park chatted exclusively with LMD...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: WUSHU ORPHAN Director Huang Huang on Mixing Martial Arts and Bullying
A movie a decade in the making, director Huang Huang’s Wushu Orphan, is a darkly comic tale of misfits in a martial arts academy. At the New York Asian Film Festival, director Huang sat exclusively with LMD to talk about...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: HAN DAN Star George Hu on Setting Fire to the Past
The career path of George Hu has been a serendipitous one: The native New Yorker was talent scouted whilst on a family visit to Taiwan, despite being unable to fluently speak Mandarin, or Taiwanese. That didn’t stop Hu from becoming...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: HAN DAN Director Huang Chao-liang On Sparking Rituals and Rivalries
A box office success in his native Taiwan with films like Summer Times, Love Is Sin, and Hanky Panky, director Huang Chao-liang turns his eye to the rituals of his rural hometown. At the New York Asian Film Festival, director...
New York Asian 2019: Komatsu Nana on the East-Meets-West of SAMURAI MARATHON
Debuting at the tender age of 18 in the darkly disturbing The World of Kanako, Komatsu Nana made it clear she was serious about her transition from teen supermodel to actress. An impressive array of films, including director Martin Scorsese’s...
New York Asian 2019 Preview: 10 Films to See
Film at Lincoln Center and the New York Asian Film Foundation present the 18th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), which runs from Friday, June 28 through July 14, 2019. This year's program features another extensive survey...
New York Asian 2019 Interview: Han Ji-min on Challenging Society with MISS BAEK
Starting her show business career while still a teenager, Han Ji-min quickly became a familiar face in South Korean television dramas and films, beloved by audiences for her sweet, wholesome image. Han turns that image on its head with her...
New York Asian Winter Showcase 2019 Review: MISS BAEK, A Tough, Unflinching Depiction of Child Abuse and Its Aftermath
Lee Ji-won's beautifully crafted debut feature is tough and uncompromising, but also a vibrant showcase for her impressive filmmaking and the equally impressive performances by main actresses Han Ji-min and Kim Si-ah.
Crazy Broke Asians: New York Asian Film Festival Winter Showcase Champions the 99%, MISS BAEK to Open
As huge fans of the NYAFF, we are ecstatic to hear that the festival is branching out further, launching its very first Winter Showcase this coming February. Launching off the back of last year’s Crazy Rich Asians fever, the inaugural...
New York Asian 2018 Interview: Director Jeon Go-woon and Actor Ahn Jae-hong Talk Love and Poverty in MICROHABITAT
Closing our New York Asian Film Festival 2018 coverage with the movie that won the Jury prize. Microhabitat tells a singular and excellently acted tale of a young Seoul woman being pushed out of society and off the grid by...
New York Asian 2018 Interview: Director Sunny Chan and Star Jennifer Yu Take the Plunge in MEN ON THE DRAGON
A Hong Kong tradition, dragon boat racing shines in the spotlight of screenwriter Sunny Chan’s directing debut, Men on the Dragon. Director Chan, and rising star, Jennifer Yu, spoke with LMD at the New York Asian Film Festival about bringing...
New York Asian 2018 Interview: Director Jang Joon-hwan on the Risks and Triumphs Behind 1987: WHEN THE DAY COMES
One of South Korea’s most intriguing filmmakers, we don’t hear from Director Jang Joon-hwan too often, but when we do, as in the cases of his films, Save the Green Planet, and Hwayi: A Monster Boy, it’s always worth our...
