The Asian Film festival will take place from the 4th to the 11th of July in Rome, at the Cinema Farnese, and like every year it will feature a rich programme of projections of Eastern films: a unique chance for all the most refined cinema lovers who will enjoy a travel to Rome and watch films that are not usually distributed in many Italian cinemas.
Although Eastern cinema is achieving success in international festivals and competitions, and with the passing of time it is becoming more popular abroad, we cannot claim that it is well-known by most people: for this reason the Asian Film Festival, its 7th edition being celebrated this year, is meant to intensify the connection between Italy and East, and in particular it is meant to strengthen the visibility of Asian films, providing a rich and high-quality programme, which includes both famous and emerging directors, and which gives space also to films that otherwise are difficult to be found.
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If you book a guest house in Rome you will have the chance to watch films of different genres realised in various Asian countries, from Taiwan to Japan, from China to South Korea, from Singapore to Malaysia, which in some cases will be projected for the first time in Italy (“Pongso No Tao” by Wang Jingui, “The Shaft” by Cht Zhang, and many more) or in Europe (just to make few examples: “Homeless FC” by James Leong and Lynn Lee, “Er Dong” by Yang Jin, “Keeping Watch” by Fen Fen-Cheng).
The films presented at the festival are traditionally divided into 5 categories: the competition section, featuring this year directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda with “Still Walking”, Eric Khoo with “My Magic” and Yeo Joon Han with “Sell out”, includes the films that might win the following prizes: best film, best director, best actor, best actress and most original film, while the out of competition section includes films like "Ashes of time redux" by Wong Kar-Way, "Face" by Tsai Ming Liang and "Tokyo" by Michel Gondry, Leos Carax and Bang Joon-ho; also the other sections of the festival are very interesting: “Newcomers from Taiwan” is meant to give voice to new talents and to strengthen the relationship with Taiwan cinema (do not miss “The Wall” by Lin Chih-ju, “Sincerely Yours” by Rich Lee and “Candy Rain” by Chen Hung-i), while “Focus on Singapore” is meant to promote Singapore films (three films realised in Singapore are to be found also in the competitive section). Like every year, the programme of the festival is enriched by a retrospective dedicated to a master of Eastern cinema: this year’s retrospective will be dedicated to Jia Zhang-ke, one of the main contemporary directors, who is also known for having won a golden lion at the Venice international film festival in 2006 with “Still Life”. Staying in a hotel in Rome the fans of the director will have the possibility to immerse themselves in his films, but they will also have the great chance to meet their favourite director, who is the guest of honour of the festival: Jia Zhang-ke, indeed, will personally present “Going Home”, one of his first films.
Tickets: daily ticket 4 euro, admission to all screenings 30 euro
Date: 4th – 11th July 2009
Location: Cinema Farnese, Rome, Italy
