Tag: fareastfilmfestival
Udine 2024 Review: THEIR LAST LOVE AFFAIR, Lee Myung-se's Daring and Dazzling Tale of Illicit Romance
This year's Far East Film Festival is screening a large number of South Korean classics, including a full program dedicated to the country's fascinating 1950s output, such as Park Nam-ok's progressive drama The Widow, the first Korean film ever directed...
Udine 2024 Review: CITIZEN OF A KIND, A New Kind of Hero Rises in Delightful Female-Centric Vigilante Drama
If its films and dramas are to be believed, South Korea is a land teeming with vigilantes. They are typically brooding, sharply dressed and very attractive characters with dark pasts who mete out justice with brute strength or elaborate schemes,...
Udine 2022 Review: THUNDERBIRD, Money Makes People Do Bad Things in Grim and Gripping Korean Indie
Money can make people do funny things. It compels them to trust the wrong people, drives them to makes risky bets or, when all else fails, forces them to act out of desperation. Yet unlike riding a bike, when it...
Udine 2020: BETTER DAYS Scoops Golden Mulberry at 22nd Far East Film Festival
Derek Tsang’s celebrated youth drama Better Days claimed top honours over the weekend, as the 22nd Far East Film Festival awarded the Chinese film the Golden Mulberry Award, as voted for by their virtual audience. Adapting to accommodate social...
Udine 2019 Review: A FIRST FAREWELL, Tenderly Observed Drama About Uyghur Children In Xinjiang
Awarded the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus section at the 2019 Berlinale, A First Farewell is a tenderly observed and quiet drama about the day-to-day struggles of China’s Uyghur ethnic minority in the Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province. This is...
Udine 2019: STILL HUMAN Big Winner at 21st Far East Film Festival
Just 24 hours after receiving the Golden Mulberry for Outstanding Achievement Award, Hong Kong superstar Anthony Wong Chau Sang was gracing the stage at the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine once again, where his new drama Still Human was awarded...
Udine 2019: 11 Films Not to be Missed at the 21st Far East Film Festival
Tomorrow sees the Far East Film Festival kick off its 21st edition in Udine, Italy, with an unprecedented celebration of Asian cinema the likes of which you won’t find anywhere else in Europe. An intoxicating blend of East and...
Udine 2019: Sewol Ferry Drama BIRTHDAY to Open 21st Far East Film Festival
Birthday, the hugely anticipated South Korean drama reenacting the horrific tragedy of the Sewol ferry disaster, has been announced as the opening film of this year’s Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. Produced by Lee Chang-dong, award-winning director...
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Udine 2019: Anthony Wong to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 21st Far East Film Festival
Hong Kong favourite Anthony Wong Chau Sang is to be honoured with the Golden Mulberry Award for Outstanding Achievement at this year’s Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. The controversial performer has been a ubiquitous presence in the...
Udine 2018 Review: THE NAME, an Odd but Curiously Absorbing Japanese Indie
There is more than meets the eye in Toda Akihiro’s The Name, an odd but curiously absorbing mystery drama that appears deceptively simple from the outset. Within its modest trappings, this Japanese indie raises some thoughtful existential questions about personal...
Udine 2018 Review: THE SCYTHIAN LAMB, A Bizarre Genre Hybrid Infused with Kaiju Folklore
In the sleepy coastal town of Uobuka, the statue of a googly-eyed green sea monster named Nororo towers over a precipice. According to legend, Nororo is an evil presence from the sea and whoever looks into its eyes will be...
Udine 2018: South Korean Drama 1987: WHEN THE DAY COMES Takes Top Honours
Jang Joon-hwan's historical drama 1987: When the Day Comes won the Audience Award at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, as the festival wrapped up its 20th edition in fine style. Shuichiro Ueda's meta zombie comedy One Cut...
Far East Film Festival 20 to Open with STEEL RAIN, CROSSROADS: ONE TWO JAGA
The Far East Film Festival launches its 20th edition on 20 April with Netflix’s South Korean spy thriller Steel Rain, playing for the very first time on the big screen. The world premiere of Namron’s Malaysian drama Crossroads: One Two...
Udine 2016: Far East Film Festival Lineup Roars, Starting With THE TIGER
In a small town in Italy, a very special film festival is preparing to unfold under the sign of the tiger. The 18th edition of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, will open on Friday, April 22 with...
Udine 2015 Review: THE END OF THE WORLD AND THE CAT'S DISAPPEARANCE, A Quirky Little Sci-Fi Film
Takeuchi Michihiro's The End of the World and the Cat's Disappearance, a zany, modestly packaged apocalyptic sci-fi film revolving around Itsuko (Izukoneko aka Mari), a vlogger-cum-J-pop-idol who attempts to singlehandedly save the world from a gigantic meteor, but ends up...
Udine 2015 Review: FORGET ME NOT, A Touching Mixture Of Fantasy, Mystery, And Teen Romance
One of the most affecting and enigmatic teen-targeted Japanese films of the last few years, Horie Kei's Forget Me Not (not to be mistaken with Hirayama Hideyuki's 2010 drama that bears the same English title) defies easy categorization, veering confidently...
Udine 2015 Review: PORT OF CALL Proves Philip Yung's Most Ambitious And Polished Film To Date
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...
Udine 2015 Review: THE WICKED, An Effectively Thrilling Exercise In Low-Budget Filmmaking
Bolstered and braced by a wonderfully sinister performance from the relatively unknown young South Korean actress Park Ju-hui, Yoo Young-sun's The Wicked is a slow-paced but nicely modulated and effectively gripping exercise in low-budget indie filmmaking. Shot in a mere...
Udine 2015 Review: MAKEUP ROOM Makes Perfect Use Of Its Very Limited Location
Genuinely funny, touching, and cleverly realized, Morikawa Kei's Makeup Room (メイクルーム) plays like a modest but deft combination between a chamber-like dramedy and well-observed ensemble piece that derives most of its energy from a wealth of enthusiastic performances and witty...
Udine 2015: ScreenAnarchy's Most Anticipated Picks
We've been waiting for this moment for a whole year now: Thursday, April 23rd marks the grand opening of the 17th Udine Far East Film Festival, without a doubt one of the world's most important cultural events dedicated exclusively to...
