22. Short Film Review: All Your Fault, PD (2022) by Kim Sun-yeun
Kim Sun-yeun‘s “All Your Fault, PD” is a brief masterclass in comedic timing in the horror comedy genre. Combined with a strong visual presence, the short exemplifies how ample entertainment can still be found within the zombie genre. Moreover, while the short feels like a scene in a larger production, the desire afterward is to see what Kim Sun-yeun can do instead of wishing “All Your Fault, PD' to be expanded upon. Kim Sun-yeun is a talent to keep an eye on–a true treat for the NYAFF crowd. (Adam Symchuk)
23. Short Animation Review: What We Leave Behind (2022) by Kang Nam-jin
Director, writer and producer Kang Nam-jin has captured all these intrinsic meanings, showing the alternation and replacement of things; photographs of the growing child, on the bookshelves comic books become schoolbooks, then university books etc.. and there is also an electric guitar that never moves from the stand and is never mentioned or heard, just like a simulacrum of the dreams we never want to let go of. Unexpectedly the time slows down at the end of the film, an aching reminder that life is a blink of … a shutter – in this case, – but also that beyond the objects there is something else that give us a sparkle. (Adriana Rosati)
24. Film Review: Redemption with Life (2023) by Zhang Wei
What emerges quite quickly in the film, as the first flashbacks within flashbacks begin to appear, is that the narrative is rather convoluted, with the same applying to the pacing and the comments presented throughout, which seem to go all over the place, as is the case with the plethora of episodes. As such, the movie ends up being intensely confusing, both regarding the when each event took place and how they are connected with each other, with the change in focus, from Jianhua to Hou Peng after a point, also not helping.
25. Film Review: Factory Boss (2014) by Zhang Wei
“Factory Boss” spells a bitter irony on the tip of its characters' tongues: the economy runs, business lands, people get paid – but at what cost? If the system works, then why are we always struggling? And can we, as consumers, turn a blind eye, in return for a cheap product? A brilliantly researched glimpse into China's tumultuous manufacturing industry, director Zhang deftly breaks down its economics through character scenes. Shot in wide scope, without glamor or embellishments, Lutz Reitemeier‘s compositions look head-on at a sweatshop's unflinching rawness. Rough textures of grinding metal, sweat and rust are constant sights. Handheld shots are never spared, with the frame destabilizing further as Dalin's situation sinks further into calamity. Moments of dialogue, a glance or a remark, reminding us that lofty concepts of ‘cash flows' and ‘supply chains' are not just numbers and graphs. The consequences are real, and dire for the people involved. (Renee Ng)
26. Film Review: Empty Nest (2020) by Zhang Wei
Zhang Wei directs a movie that sheds a very thorough light to the lives of the elderly in the Chinese megalopolis, and the reasons their occasional isolation is both a choice and something society has driven them to. One could say that, after a certain age, people need to have their family around them, considering that their care is almost impossible to be completely left on them or to any help the governments can (or cannot provide), with this being one of the central comments of the movie. Zhang, however, uses this concept from the opposite perspective, in order to intensify the drama, and essentially justify how Xiaoding eventually manages to enter Yimei's life. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
27. Interviews: Zhang Wei
28. Film Review: Flaming Cloud (2023) by Liu Siyi
Through all these elements, Liu seems to play with how outdated both fairy tales and the concept of true love appear nowadays, in a way, though, that actually stresses the value of both as two of the most significant driving forces behind storytelling, and essentially scriptwriting. The plethora of characters that appear throughout the movie and the many episodes seem to be there to stress this remark as strongly as possible. In that regard, it is easy to say that the majority of them work quite good, maybe with the exception of the lengthy musical sequences, which seem to aim more at promoting superstar Yao Chen, who plays Xu Yuexia, than actually adding to the economy of the movie. (Panos Kotzathanasis)
29. Film Review: The Effects of Lying (2023) by Isher Sahota
What you see watching “The Effects of Lying” is a gripping dramedy, with a distinct British dark comedic flavor, where the protagonists are – by pure chance – of South Asian origin. As strange as it may sound, this seems to be precisely the intent of the filmmakers; bringing more authentic and non-ethnicity-bound narratives to mainstream audiences with excellent actors of South Asian descent, cast in the leading roles. The film stays away from any kind of stereotype related to the ethnicity. On the contrary, it is particularly refreshing to see a strong and sweet father/daughter bond which is not so commonly portrayed in films, and above all, a great care in fleshing out the female characters, also through a rather empowering portrayal of their sexual desires and experiences; from Sangeeta with her frustrations and her suppressed appetites, to Pryia, a surprisingly modern woman, to the young Simran, a central figure in Naveed's life and played by the excellent young actress Lauren Patel. (Adriana Rosati)
30. Interview: Isher Sahota and Jon Tarcy
31. Documentary Review: A-Town Boyz (2023) by Eunice Lau
As the film progresses and Lau peels back the layers to provide an intimate look at the lives of these rappers through interviews and anecdotes told by their friends and family members, viewers are quick to realize that the story is not so simple. These young men have had a lot happen in their lives, and cannot simply be placed under the label of ‘troubled youth.' Both have been subjected to a series of traumatic events and, more importantly, both have been fed the same narrative of how to make it big in America. It can be assumed that since the version of the American dream that Kim and Long's parents pursued seems hardly realistic now, they have resorted to grinding on the streets in order to make their dreams come true. (Spencer Nafekh-Blanchette)
