Five Flavours Asian Film Festival, one of the most European important events entirely dedicated to cinematographies of East, South-East and South Asia, has revealed its new visual image that, similarly to previous years, is inspired by the current Lunar Calendar Year of the Pig, a symbol of prosperity, wealth and success. At the same time the Festival has also revealed few bits and pieces of the programme, forming quite an intriguing selection.
The most important section of the festival is the Competition called “New Asian Cinema” showcasing the latest and most daring auteur films from countries such as Singapore, Korea, Vietnam or Thailand, usually accompanied by Q&A sessions with festival guests.
The subject of this year’s national focus will be Japan and independent cinema produced outside of large cities in the section called “Japan: Out of Focus“. It will be an opportunity to discover Japan far from popular imagination.
It is already confirmed a strong representation of Hong Kong cinematography in the program. Firstly with director Fruit Chan‘s retrospective and secondly with the launch of a book dedicated to Hong Kong contemporary cinema, a monograph consisting of 12-15 unpublished essays by international experts, and edited by festival’s main programmer Jagoda Murczyńska. The book publication and Fruit Chan’s retrospective couldn’t be more timely, taking into account recent protests and Hong Kong ongoing struggle to retain its identity.
Among few big titles we can definitely expect to see in the program is “Jinpa” directed by Pema Tseden and produced by none other than Wong Kar-wai. “Jinpa” is another triumph of the Tibetan director whose previous film “Tharlo” won several distinctions at world’s festivals (including the NETPAC Jury award on the 10th Five Flavours). The film won Best Screenplay Award in the Orizzonti section at the Venice Festival, where it had a world premiere. Following screenings at the festival, “Jinpa” will be theatrically distributed by Five Flavours in Polish cinemas.
Another title revealed is an offbeat and full unconventional twists debut of the Korean female director, Yi Ok-seop, “Maggie“. Similarly to “Jinpa”, Five Flavours will release this title in 2020, but festival viewers will have a chance to watch it in November. “Maggie” is a bittersweet tale of honesty, trust and devastating consequences of misunderstandings, full of colours and absurd humour. This little gem conquers the hearts of the audience wherever it appears, winning a number of awards at world festivals.
One more prestigious title already confirmed is “Nina Wu”, which premiered in Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. The Five Flavours have long supported Burma-born Taiwanese film director Midi Z presenting all his films, including documentaries. The director and “Nina Wu”s script writer and main actress, Wu Ke-xi, were guest of the festival in 2013.
Another festival’s favourite, Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit whose “Die Tomorrow” won Grand Prix of the last edition, will appear in program with a documentary “BNK 48”.
The festival is quite famous for its horror nights and as usual it promises a fair share of scares and additionally some zombie madness. It will definitely screen phenomenal Japanese record breaking indie hit “One Cut of the Dead” Shinichiro Ueda.
13th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival will take place from 13 to 20 November. Festival passes will available from August.
Flight to Warsaw and accommodation are relatively cheap and the festival is worth checking out if you still haven’t had a chance be there. Stay tuned for more updates about the film festival and visit the Official Website for more information.
