CELEBRATING ASIAN FILMS

The 19th Far East Film Festival ( FEFF) kicked off at the Teatro Nuovo theater in Udine, Italy, on Friday, marking the beginning of Europe’s largest annual gathering g dedicated to Asian film.

This year, 83 titles itles from 12 Asian countries and regions including China,China South KoKo rea, Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines will be shown at the festival. Japanese road movie Survival Family and Cambodian action film Jailbreak officially opened the festival, according to a FEFF press release sent to the Global Times on Friday.

Other films set to be screened at the festival include a number of Asian productions that hit cinemas in 2016, including Chinese award-aw d winning films I am not Lady Bovary anda Soulmate directed by Hong Kong directordi Derek Tsang,Ts Philippine thriller Seclusion, Vietnamese fantasy movie Tam Cam: The

Untold StorySto and Indonesian sian comedy filmfi My Stupid Boss.Boss For 25 of the films,film this will be the first time they have been shown in Europe.

This year, FEFF is also presenting the retrospective Creative Visions: Hong Kong Cinema 1997- 2017, which will screen 10 Hong Kong films produced over the past two decades, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China.

A number of Asian filmmakers and celebrities are expected to take part in the festival, including Chinese director FengF Xiaogang,Xi LaotianL directordi t M Matti tti Do and Japanese actor Matsuda Ryuhei.

Additionally, a series of workshops and seminars for industry insiders will be held during the festival to discuss the development of Asian film in recent years.

Starting in 1999, FEFF has worked to introduce Asian films, especially Chinese films from Hong Kong and movies from Southeast Asia, to European countries over the past 18 years.

The film festival is scheduled to run for a week and come to a close on April 29. Audiences attend the 19th Far East Film Festival opening ceremony in Italy on Friday. Inset: Promotional material for Soulmate Photos: Courtesy of the Far East Film Festival