The Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF) 2022 announced its program outline on January 31, 2022.
Event Outline
The OAFF aims to facilitate human resources development and exchange, to invigorate the Osaka economy, and to increase the city's appeal, through providing opportunities to watch excellent Asian films, supporting filmmaking in Osaka and attracting filmmakers from Asian countries and regions to Osaka. Promoting Osaka worldwide as a gateway city for Asian films, and engaging with many people from the fields of culture, art, education, tourism and business, from Osaka and all of Asia, OAFF works as an open platform to contribute to the development of Osaka and cinema.
Marking its 17th edition this year and under programming director TERUOKA Sozo, OAFF will again select high-quality Asian films. The Competition section, which receives increased recognition every year, will again select films previously unreleased in Japan. The Indie Forum section, special programs and other sections will also feature a wide variety of excellent Asian films.
Following on from last year, in addition to the regular theatrical screenings, OAFF has selected works that will be screened virtually for “Osaka Asian Film Festival Online“. Many of these titles have been shown at previous editions of OAFF and the time is now ripe for them be rediscovered and re-evaluated. The opening film for the Online Theater is “Torso” (2009/OAFF2010), directed by YAMAZAKI Yutaka. This will be the first ever online screening of this title in the world.
Dates & Venues
March 10 – 20
Umeda Burg 7, Cine Libre Umeda, ABC Hall and the National Museum of Art, Osaka
OAFF Online with a special lineup will be held from March 3 – 21.
Programs
[Competition]
This section will present the latest Asian films, all of which will have their Japan premieres at OAFF. From these films, the jurors will choose the winners of the Grand Prix and Most Promising Talent Award.
[Indie Forum]
The Indie Forum section features innovative and challenging films every year. To support international promotion of Japanese films, Japan Society in New York City bestows the JAPAN CUTS Award for the best film in the section.
[Other sections and special programs]
These sections and special programs feature new movements in cinema from all around Asia. It is here that audiences will be introduced to a diverse and varied array of films, from new releases to old ones, including special features which reveal emerging trends in Asia, and new discoveries from the cinematic landscapes of Hong Kong and Taiwanese film. OAFF 2022 will hold a project
commissioned by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, with programs spotlighting filmmakers in Japan, along with screenings of Japanese films in our regular Indie Forum section, in order to promote further international recognition for Japanese cinema.
* OAFF 2022 line-up will be announced in mid-February.
Osaka Asian Film Festival Online
From March 3 (Thu) to March 21 (Mon), OAFF will go virtual with online screenings. The focus in the main will be on titles that have been screened at OAFF in the past that are perfect to reintroduce to the world at this present time. For many titles, this will be their
online debut (many available to a worldwide audience).
These films will be available to rent for a limited time through VOD (video on demand) services via a streaming platform. The viewing period for these films is from March 3 to March 21 as “Osaka Asian Film Festival Online”.
* OAFF 2022 Online line-up will be announced in mid-February.
Details such as viewing method and viewing area will be announced on the Official Website late-February.
[Online Opening Film]
The Japanese movie “Torso”, starring WATANABE Makiko and ANDO Sakura, who play half-sisters, will be the opening film for OAFF's online selection screenings. This film, which was screened at the 5th OAFF held in 2010, is the directorial debut of YAMAZAKI Yutaka, a veteran cinematographer who has worked on projects for KORE-EDA Hirokazu and KAWASE Naomi.
Introduction of “Torso”
At the age of 69, YAMAZAKI Yutaka made his directorial debut with “Torso” after a long career as cameraman and cinematographer. His credits include KORE-EDA Hirokazu's “After Life”, “Nobody Knows”, “Still Walking”, and “After the Storm”. “Torso” covers themes of love and sexuality and his sensitive and detailed images capture an element of the female mentality.
Playing the film's half-sisters are leading actresses WATANABE Makiko (“Love Exposure”, “Still the Water”) and ANDO Sakura (“100 Yen Love”, “Shoplifters”) who bring delicate performances to the screen. Joining them are AOI Sora, and actors IURA Arata and ISHIBASHI Renji. The film has been screened at the Torino Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and JAPAN CUTS (New York), and has received much acclaim.
Hiroko (WATANABE Makiko) is an “office lady” quite content with her solitary life. With her stubborn aversion to people, the only thing she can love is her “Torso”, a limbless inflatable male doll. Then one day, her half-sister Mina (ANDO Sakura), fed up with her boyfriend's violence and infidelity, comes knocking on her door.
2009/Japan/104 min.
Director, Screenplay, Cinematography: YAMAZAKI Yutaka
Cast: WATANABE Makiko, ANDO Sakura, AOI Sora, IURA Arata, ISHIBASHI Renji, YAMAGUCHI Miyako
