Feasting (literally) on cinema
IN 2014, the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) reserved a special section celebrating the diversity and development of Asian Cinema. It was called Crosscut Asia, which looked into the cinema of Asia and, more than that, curated films from specific Asian countries.
The section is coming back grandly this year. From January 21 to February 3, the TIFF and the Japan Foundation Asia Center will jointly present the program with a gustatory twist: it will be called Crosscut Asia Delicious! Online Film Festival. In this edition, the films will be culled from the year 2014 to 2019.
Even with the title bearing the word “delicious”, as reference to the food themes of the works selected, the festival will have two programs: Crosscut Asia, an edition featuring films from Asia that have something to do with food or culinary tradition; and Encore! Crosscut Asia, which will stream some other titles for free.
On the table ready to be laid out is the film of Eric Khoo with Wanton Mee. This docufiction by the acclaimed filmmaker follows a middle-aged food critic who, in his effort to define the traditions of this robust city-state of Singapore also reveals the development of a place as context to understand cuisine and culture. The critic gets in touch with a rich variety of street foods.
Indonesia serves Aruna and Her Palate, as concocted by Edwin, the one-name director who won the Golden Leopard in the 2021 Locarno International Film Festival. In this story, Aruna gets assigned to undertake a research trip aimed at investigating the avian flu outbreak. Friends come along with Aruna whose journey brings all of them in touch with the varied dishes in the regions across Indonesia.
Thailand serves My Love is Soup, a film that chronicles the life of Minnie who, notwithstanding her lack of skills in food preparation, lands a job in a tony restaurant. She commits errors that are not good for the restaurant. But Minnie has a secret legacy: her great-grandfather was a royal chef. The film partakes of the charm of Southern Thailand with its Muslim population.
A River Changes Course is a documentary from Cambodia. It depicts the lives of three young Cambodians and presents to us the day-to-day images of people going about their human existence. The documentary shows us the issues that confront the communities, which are the problems of overfishing, deforestation, poverty and debt. This film won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
From the Philippines comes Jay Abello’s Namets! Set in Bacolod City, which known for its elite as well as its impoverished peasants, the film locates the comic conflict in an Italian restaurant deep into debt and is rescued by turning it into an eating place featuring traditional local cuisine.
An exotic attraction from the Philippines is
Balut Country, directed by Paul Sta. Ana. In the film, a young man inherits a duck farm in Candaba, Pampanga. The man comes home with the plan to sell the land. Somewhere, he begins to feel a change of heart. Requiring a cultivated and daring taste, the delicacy “balut” refers to fertilized duck egg boiled immediately after the embryo develops.
Japan’s contribution to the festival is Kampai! Sake Sisters, a documentary. The film explores the vastly unknown taboo with regard to sake-brewing, which is that it has long been off-limits to women. In Kampai!, we view the story of a new generation of women treading where other women dared not to tread—the business and tradition of making sake.
Under the second program, Indonesia has Three Sassy Sisters, a film that pay pays tribute to a 1956 film, Usmar Ismail’s Three Sisters (Tiga Dara), the reruns of which were part of the youth of Nia Dinata, the director who is fresh from her exposure courtesy of Netflix.
Lawrence Fajardo’s Invisible (Imbisibol) comes under the second program. The film tracks the tale of four Filipino migrant workers in Japan. The title mirrors the socioeconomic reality of “unregistered” foreign laborers who become part of the shadow economy. They contribute to the wealth-production of the country, which is Japan in this case, even as they remain “unseen”—invisible.
A suite of short films, labeled Pete Teo Special Short Films, consists of 15 short films made by Malaysian filmmakers, produced and released by Pete Teo. The films are said to have revolutionized the media and political cultures of Malaysia.
Tang Wong is a unique combination of comedy and drama from Thailand. Directed by Kongdej Jaturanrasmee, the film follows four high school boys who pray before the idol at the spirit house. The synopsis says that when their wishes come true, they must repay the debt by performing a traditional Thai dance.
The aftermath of the Super Typhoon Haiyan provides the landscape for this film, called Trap (Taklub). Directed by Brillante Mendoza, the film dramatizes what the survivors go through as they contend with loss of loved ones and faith. The premier actress of the country, Nora Aunor, is a factor contributing greatly to the importance of this film, which received the Gawad Urian for Best Film in 2016.
A Special Menu is part of the festival. This will consist on online talks and interviews.
Viewing will be free of charge. Subtitles are in Japanese, English (some films have subtitles in various Southeast Asian languages). Some of the films will not be available in all designated countries. Registration began on January 18. More information and registration can be found at