Amérasia rides new wave of interest in Asian films
For a long time, it seemed like AmérAsia was a one-shot deal. The inaugural edition took place in 1999, then the festival disappeared for over a decade, until founder Mi-jeong Lee was inspired to give it another go in 2011.
“Our first edition was really hard,” Lee said. “Afterwards, I was really burnt out, and not able to continue. … But last year I was able to bring it back for a second edition, and I realized things have changed. The way people react to Asian films is much more positive. People showed a lot of enthusiasm and interest.”
Amérasia’s third edition takes place over the next two weeks – Thursday to Sunday and March 9 to 11 – with a mandate to provide a platform for Asian film in Quebec.
Originally from South Korea, Lee came to Montreal in the early 1990s to study film at Concordia and then UQAM. She went on to make short films for the National Film Board, and spent time as a programmer at Montreal’s hugely popular Fantasia International Film Festival before using that experience to launch her own event.
Amérasia offers a wide range of Asian films, from big budget to auteur, international to homegrown features, shorts and animation.
Under the heading Asian Treasures are high-profile offerings including Aftershock, a Sophie’s Choice-style drama from China’s Feng Xiaogang, about a mother who has to choose which of her two children to save in an earthquake; the international premiere of South Korean director Kyung-soon’s Red Maria, about Asian woman who, in various ways, use their bodies to get by; opening film Leafie, a Hen into the Wild, the Korean animated box- office smash based on the children’s novel; and The Day He Arrives, by acclaimed South Korean director Hong Sang-soo.
The self-explanatory Spotlight on Animation features family-oriented films including Yona Yona Penguin, a fully 3-D CGI film from Japan; the North American premiere of Green Days: Dinosaur and I, a Korean hand-drawn animated film about teen angst; the Bollywood send-up Roadside Romeo; and Lost in Tel Aviv, one of the few non-asian films of the bunch.
In the We Distribute category are Canadian-distributed art-house gems including the excellent Poetry, by South Korea’s Lee Chang-dong; the Chinese documentary I Wish I Knew; and Kyrgyzstan’s The Light Thief.
A series called Québécois Special features Asian-québécois films including Yu Xun’s The Vanishing Spring Light, a documentary on the last years of a Chinese grandmother who lives on West Street in Dujiangyan City; and Eisha Marjara’s House for Sale, about a prospective homebuyer whose past catches up with him.
The Amérasia Shorts section is split into documentaries and dramas, among which are many Canadian works. The festival will also hold special events including the Smartphone Film Challenge, the National Video Portrait Competition, the K-pop Dance & Fashion Show and numerous seminars and workshops.
Amérasia takes place Thursday to Sunday and March 9 to 11 at Cinéma du Parc, Cinémathèque québécoise, the NFB’S Cinérobothèque and the SAT. All films are subtitled in English, except Yona Yona Penguin and I Wish, which are subtitled in French. For more information, visit amerasiafestival.com.