by Filippo Recaneschi
Festivals are a must-have for every cinephile. That is more than true if you love Asian cinema, since almost only major titles get to be seen outside Asia. In the last 25 years, Far East Film Festival (FEFF), held in Udine, Italy, has provided a catering of such movies for western audiences. In its 25th edition, held from 21st to 29th of April, FEFF provided a unique selection of Asian movies and a variety of Asian-related events. The selection varied from works from first-feature directors as well as well-navigated ones, ranging from genre movies to arthouse independent movies.
It is impossible to talk about this year's festival without mentioning Hirobumi Watanabe, which participated as both director and actor. One of his films is “Techno Brothers” (2023) a quirky road movie about two brothers making techno music and their cynical agent Himuro (Asuna Yanagi). The plot revolves around their trying to make a name for themselves wandering across Japan for gigs. The title is an obvious nod to John Landis' “The Blues Brothers” (1980). This film shows Watanabe's extreme sense of humour and taste for expressiveness through simplicity, that results in a pantheon of outcasts wandering a world governed by randomness. On the same stage of FEFF, director Lim Kah Wai presented a movie that sees Watanabe interpreting a parodized-self.
Nonetheless, one of the major merits of FEFF surely is that of showing to the audience films not only from places such as Japan or Hong Kong, but from all Asia. One example can be seen in Janchivdorj Sengedorj's “The Sales Girl” (2021), a Mongolian film taking place in modern days. Through the funny misadventures of a young woman becoming clerk in a sexy shop, Sengedorj depicts the contemporary reality of Mongolia and its inhabitants.
A particular mention has to be made about its lead Bayartsetseg Bayangerel, at her first experience on camera. Her confident acting tune the spectator to the feelings of a young Mongolian.
FEFF has a bite for every taste, allowing cinephiles to experience Asian cinema as a whole. Hidden beneath that “1-inch tall barrier of subtitles” this festival surely provides a fresh view on what Asian cinema actually is today.
