2nd LONDON EAST ASIA FILM FESTIVAL 2017 Line-up Revealed With A Plethora Of Films From South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, China and South East Asia.

A complete line-up of films have been revealed today which will be shown in the London East Asia Film Festival 2017. The festival will start with the South Korean film THE FORTRESS  as part of the Opening Gala. Directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk and starring the South Korean super star Lee Byung-hun, the film is based on a famous novel by author Kim Hoon which tells the story of the attacks on Joseon by the Qing Dynasty in 1636. 2nd LONDON EAST ASIA FILM FESTIVAL 2017 Line-up Revealed

Director Takeshi Kitano‘s  Japanese film OUTRAGE CODA, the final chapter in the trilogy, portraying the Yakuza society in Japan will be part of the Closing Gala. Apart from performing in the movie, Takeshi Kitano has also directed this film in which Ootomo is released from the jail and finds himself in new Yakuza battles.

THE FORTRESS along with OUTRAGE CODA are both part of the Official LEAFF Selection. Other notable films include Director Ryoo Seung-wan’s BATTLESHIP ISLAND (Director’s Cut), Li Ruijin’s empathetic Walking Past the Future, Joel Lamangan’s Filipino Indie Hit Bhoy Intsik, Lee Joon-ik’s Anarchist from Colony and Hoon-jung’s thriller VIP.

This year’s Retrospective will be on contemporary Japanese film makers which include Winner of the Jury Prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard competition, Kiyoshi Kurasawa’s dark family drama Tokyo Sonata, along with his latest work Before We Vanish and Naomi Kawase’s beautiful and thoughtful The Morning Forest.

Female film makers would once again be in focus in the Stories of Women section of the festival. Jane, the directorial debut of Cho Hyun-hoon addresses the gender issues, Kim Jong-kwan’s The Table is a single location indie drama, Small Talk is Huang Hui-chen’s introspective documentary and Jenny Lu’s The Receptionist is a critique of sexual exploitation.

12 films from South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan and Taiwan have been placed in the Competition section. These films will be judged by a panel of industry experts which include Helen De Witt and Giovanna Fulvi. The films are The Mimic, Who Killed Cock Robin, The Way Station, A Special Lady, Soul Mate, Shuttle Life, Dancnig With Jikji, Blank 13, Loser’s Adventure, I’ll Just Live In Bando and The Receptionist.

There will also be a focus on the Japanese Animes in The Centenary of Japanese Animation. The curator of this section Jasper Sharp will bring forward two little known films which will have their premiere in the United Kingdom. THere will also be a panel discussion on these films which are Maasaki Yuasa’s Mind Game, Osamu Tezuka and Eiichi Yamamoto’s provocative Cleopatra: Queen of Sex and Satoshi Kons Millenium Actress.

4 very well known films from Hong Kong will be screened in the festival, celebrating the 20 years of Hong Kong cinema in the Hong Kong: Now and Then section. It will include Andrew Lau’s Infernal Affair’s, which was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed. Johnnie To’s gangster genre film Triad Election. Wang Kar-wai’s The Grandmaster which will have its first ever 3D screening in London and Herman Yau’s Shock Wave.

The London East Asia Film Festival has partnered up with the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), which is known for showing the best thriller and fantasy genre films from Korea and East Asia. Programmer Eunyoung Mo will attend to introduce the “Fantastic Film” Festival Focus section. The features include a complex dark animation I’ll Just Live In Bando and the provocative The End.

October will be filled with exciting films from the Far East Asia, which will entertain the audiences from all backgrounds, ethnicity and race living in London. It is a film festival not to be missed.

Writer: Adnan Kundi

Images provided by London East Asia Film Festival Press