| 2001-09-13 | | | New Asian Currents Tokyo Special |
Bringing in guests from Asia, particularly from those countries where acquiring visas is a difficult process, can be an unbelievably troublesome task. As directors who come all the way to Japan for “New Asian Currents” usually scoot directly back to Narita Airport once the festival closes, we are attempting to counter that disappointment a little with the realization of a small-scale special screening and discussion program in Tokyo. After the final curtain comes down on this year’s festival, you’ll have another chance to meet these young Asian filmmakers who are striving dynamically for a new mode of expression through images. This is a great chance to catch films you missed at the festival, and to meet the directors whose talks you weren't able to catch.
<Part I Korean Girls in UPLINK FACTORY>
Right now it’s a boomtime for female directors in South Korea! A contemplation of the future of the relationship between humanity and the wild, told through the story of a baby tiger in a zoo; two sisters born with dwarfism pursue their dream of marriage; three generations of women from the south of Korea; and the double identity of an Australian woman whose parents are immigrants from Korea... Modern Korean society arises out of these diverse themes. Also scheduled are a range of talkshows which will examine such topics as the background of the current success of female directors,the realm of expression of Koreans abroad, and much more.
*All films with English subtitles except for the following:- Princess Plum P-uding
Keeping the Vision Alive
Venue: Uplink Factory (Shibuya, Tokyo)
Dates: October 10th (Wed) to 13th (Sat)
Sponsor: The Japan Foundation, Support Program for Grass-Roots Exchange between Japan and Republic of Korea
(A)
Princess Plum P-udding Director: Terashima Mari (Japan / 35 min)
Pansy and Ivy Director: Kye Un-kyoung (South Korea / 60 min)
(B)
Farewell Director: Hwang Yun (South Korea / 83 min)
(C)
Koryu: Southern Women, South Korea Director: soha (South Korea / 75 min)
- (D)
Keeping the Vision Alive—Women of the South Korean film industry Director: Yim Soon-rye (South Korea / 48 min) - What kind of roles have women traditionally played in the South Korean film industry, which now finds its ranks swelling with female directors? Incorporating interviews with female producers, who with such films as JSA and The Foul King represent the current South Korean film world, the documentary explores the past and present.
=Talk 1: Boomtime for women filmmakers in South Korea
(with Japanese interpreting)
soha (director of Koryu: Southern Women, South Korea)
Kye Un-kyoung (director of Pansy and Ivy)
Saito Ayako (Meiji Gakuin University lecturer)
(E)
Soshin: In Your Dreams Director: Melissa Lee (Australia / 26 min)
A True Story About Love Director: Melissa Lee (Australia / 27 min)
- (F)
Tei-chan’s Roots Director: Tanaka Miwa (Japan / 14 min)
=Talk 2: Overseas Koreans and filmmaking
(with Japanese interpreting)
Melissa Lee (director of In Your Dreams and A True Story About Love)
Matsue Tetsuaki (director of Annyong-Kimchi)
The continuing development of ethnic identity as a theme for expression is not limited to Japan. An investigation of what filmmaking and ethnicity mean to today’s young generation.
<Part II Asian Boys in UPLINK FACTORY>
Asian documentaries with a gay flavor are this tasty! Musclebound wrestlers from India; a Bangladeshi youth who sings pop music (badly); a man driving suspiciously through the Manilan night. This year’s “New Asian Currents” has a certain “sex appeal” like never before... Winner of the 1999 YIDFF Ogawa Shinsuke Prize Swimming on the Highway, the number one most popular film with audiences at our last festival Exotic 101, and other masterpieces will be given an encore screening.
Venue: Uplink Factory (Shibuya, Tokyo)
Dates: October 14th (Sun) to 19th (Fri)
(G)
Exotic 101 Director: Michael Shaowanasai (7 min / Thailand)
Boys for Beauty Director: Mickey Chen (63 min, Taiwan)
(H)
Margin Director: Paolo Villaluna (20 min / Philippines / 16mm)
Performance Director: Rahul Roy (51 min / India)
(I)
Our Boys Director: Manzare Hassin (42 min / Bangladesh)
Swimming on the Highway Director: Wu Yao-tung (51 min / Taiwan)
(J)
King of Dreams Director: Amar Kanwar (30 min / India)
My Friend Su Director: Neeraj Bhasin (55 min / India)
<Part III Documentary in China and Taiwan>
From observational films that expose social justice, to more personal means of expression... From China, where documentaries shot on DV are growing in abundance, we find filmmakers in their twenties with the ability to freely reflect life in our era. Homeless youths living alongside the railroad tracks; young soldiers, of the Chinese police; and even a filmmakers’ own estranged parents become the subject matter. And from Taiwan, a humorous look at the private and public life of a down-on-his-luck Toyota salesman in Sales. Plus, in our two talkshows filmmakers from China and Taiwan discuss the state of production in both countries, facing off with their differing approaches to documentary production.
Venue: Athenee Francais Cultural Center
Dates: October 12th (Fri)–13th (Sat)
(Screening A)
Along the Railway Director: Du Hai-bin (China / 125 min)
(Screening B)
Silent Delta Director: Shen Ko-shang (Taiwan / 20 min)
More than One Is Unhappy Director: Wang Fen (China / 45 min)
(Screening C)
This Winter Director: Zhong Hua (China / 90 min)
(Screening D)
The Paradise Island Tong Sha, An Isle like a Crab Director: MJ Lee (Taiwan / 17 min)
Sales Director: Tseng Chi-hsien (Taiwan / 58 min)
- <Talk Events>
=Talk 1: Making documentaries in today’s China - Du Hai-bin, director of Along the Railroad and Wang Fen, director of More than One Is Unhappy discuss paths toward a theme-building, acquiring permission for filming, equipment and censorship problems, screening techniques and the many other issues currently facing filmmakers in China. In Chinese with Japanese interpreting.
=Talk 2: Documentary in China and Taiwan: Twenty-somethings search for meaning- Zhong Hua (This Winter), Tseng Chi-hsien (Sales) and Japan’s Tsuchiya Yutaka (The New God) trade comments on each other’s work while uncovering their commonalities and difference in Chinese with Japanese interpreting.
- [Contact]
Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival Tokyo Office - phone: 03-5362-0672 fax: 03-5362-0670
e-mail: mail@tokyo.yidff.jp
URL: www.yidff.jp/
[Venues]
UPLINK FACTORY- 5F Yokoyama Bldg, Jinnan 1-8-17, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo-to
phone: 03-5489-0750
URL: www.uplink.co.jp
Athenee Francais Cultural Center- 4F Athenee Francais, Kanda Surugadai 2-11, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo-to
phone: 03-3291-4339(13:00–20:00)
URL: www.athenee.net