Robbery

  • 2015 Hawaii International Film Festival Lineup, Opens with Lee Joo-ick’s THE THRONE

    Lee Joo-ick’s THE THRONE Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF), celebrating its 35th anniversary, will take place from November 12 through November 22, primarily all on the island of Oahu.  HIFF kicks off with South Korea’s official entry to the Oscar Foreign Language category with award winning director Lee Joo-ick’s THE THRONE. The story at the center of this lush historical drama is the struggle between the long-ruling King Yeongjo (Song Kang-ho from SNOWPIERCER) and his son, Sado (Yoo Ah-in) and the real life incident of the king’s decision to lock up his son in a wooden barrel — in which the royal heir died after eight days. CAROL Starring Cate Blanchett Set in 1950s New York, two women from very different backgrounds (Rooney Mara as a young shop clerk and Cate Blanchett as a sophisticated, but unhappy housewife) find themselves in the throes of love in CAROL, the Festival’s Centerpiece Film. World premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, where Mara won Best Actress, the Todd Haynes drama will assuredly generate awards buzz this season. Mabel Cheung’s A TALE OF THREE CITIES The 2015 Hawaii International Film Festival closes with a romantic drama based on real events, the U.S. premiere of Mabel Cheung’s A TALE OF THREE CITIES, an epic period drama about individuals overwhelmed by the times, their trajectories shaped by rapidly changing circumstances beyond their control. Lau Ching-wan and Tang Wei (LUST, CAUTION) play ill-fated lovebirds who meet during the backdrop of the final days leading into WWII. The film is based on the epic love story of Jackie Chan’s parents. NARRATIVE FEATURE NOMINEES: HONOR THY FATHER (Philippines) Director: Erik Matti Kaye and Edgar is a pair of married white-collar swindlers, who have cashed in on promoting an investment scheme to their friends and fellow Pentecostal parishioners. But when they run afoul of their latest victims, their devout investors turn on them. When the tension erupts into violence, Edgar decides to seek the aid of his criminally inclined family. THE KIDS (Taiwan) Director: Sunny Yu Bao-Li has just started 8th grade when he comes to the rescue of Jia-Jia, an older girl he immediately falls in love with, and soon enough they are in a relationship. When Jia-Jia becomes pregnant, Bao-Li drops out of school to support his new family and become the breadwinner, sometimes by any means necessary. But when he discovers that his mother has gambled away all of their savings, the young family heads toward a path of self-destruction. MADONNA (South Korea) Director: Shin Su-won Nurse’s aide Hae-rim and Doctor Hyuk-gyu are ordered to keep hospital CEO Chul-ho on life support and wait for a donor match. On one of her daily rounds, Hae-rim discovers a comatose patient named Mi-Na who, miraculously, is a match. The CEO’s cold-blooded son makes a deal with Hae-rim to go find Mi-Na’s family and bribe them to sign the consent form. Through her search, Hae-rim unravels Mi-Na’s tragic life and a dark secret that reflects her own past. MIDORI IN HAWAII (USA) Director: John Hill Midori is a struggling wedding photographer living in Hawaii. When Seiko and Kyo-chan, Midori’s judgmental sister and brother in-law visit from Japan, Midori’s small world is thrown off balance. As the sisters travel the Big Island together, old grudges and long forgotten psychological scars begin to resurface. The tension builds until the true reason for Seiko’s visit is finally revealed, forcing Midori to choose between family responsibilities or continuing to pursue her dream. PALI ROAD (USA) Director: Jonathan Lim PALI ROAD directed by Jonathan Lim A young doctor wakes up from a car accident and discovers she is married to another man and living a life she can’t remember. Her search for the truth to her past life will lead her to question everyone around her and her entire existence. Shot entirely in Hawaii and starring Chinese superstar Michelle Chen, TWILIGHT’s Jackson Rathbone and Sung Kang (FAST FIVE), PALI ROAD is a story for the search for true love between two worlds. A US-China co-production shot entirely on location in Hawaii. ROBBERY (Hong Kong) Director: Fire Lee A twenty-something punk fancies himself a total player, but the best job he can find is overnight clerk at a convenience store. The other clerk is a cute chick and you’re thinking “rom com,” but then there’s a robbery, a gangster, a shoot-out and a night they won’t forget, if they survive it! An anarcho-absurdist blood-soaked grand guignol indie flick with attitude to burn, this is the perfect high paced youth movie from Hong Kong. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE NOMINEES: AMERICAN EPIC (USA) Director: Bernard MacMahon AMERICAN EPIC is the extraordinary story of 1920s record companies that toured America with a recording machine, to capture the emerging and diverse music known as American roots. The filmmakers retrace this journey today, to rediscover the families whose music was recorded long ago; music that would lead to the development of Hopi, Hawaiian slack key, Tejano, Cajun and Delta Blues. These seminal musicians are revealed through previously unseen film footage, unpublished photographs, and exclusive interviews. CROCODILE GENNADIY (USA) Director: Steve Hoover Gennadiy calls himself ‘Pastor Crocodile.’ He’s known throughout Ukraine for his years working to rehabilitate drug-addicted kids. But he’s also a vigilante who uses any force necessary to carry out his moral vision. Gennadiy believes he has made Mariupol a better place, but now, the violence in Ukraine threatens everything. HEBEI TAIPEI (Taiwan) Director: Li Nien Hsiu Born in China, drifting from place to place since childhood, Li Chung-Hsiao has survived war and poverty. War robbed him of him returning to his hometown and his dreams are filled with only scenes of violence in the streets of his youth. With these memories as a guide, his daughter sets out to retrace his tumultuous life. This is the dramatic memoir of a foul-mouthed, insolent, yet somehow lovable man. IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST (USA) Director(s): Tony Vainuku, Erika Cohn A contemporary American story, IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST transports viewers deep inside the tightly-knit and complex Polynesian community in Salt Lake City, Utah, one of the chief sources for the modern influx of Pacific Islander NFLers. With unprecedented access and shot over a four-year time period, the film intimately portrays four young Polynesian men striving to overcome gang violence and near poverty through the promise of American football. REMAKE REMIX RIP-OFF (Turkey) Director: Cem Kaya Turkey in the 1960s and 70s was one of the world’s biggest film producers even though its industry was vastly unknown internationally. In order to keep up with demand, screenwriters and directors were copying scripts and remaking movies from across the globe. Name any Western hit film; there is a Turkish version to it, from THE WIZARD OF OZ to STAR TREK. What they lacked in equipment and budget they compensated for with sheer zeal and excessive use of manpower. THE SEVENTH FIRE (USA) Director: Jack Pettibone Riccobono When Rob Brown, a Native American gang leader on a remote Minnesota reservation, is sentenced to prison for a fifth time, he must confront his role in bringing violent drug culture into his beloved Ojibwe community. As Rob reckons with his past, his seventeen-year-old protégé, Kevin, dreams of the future – becoming the biggest drug dealer on the reservation. Terrence Malick presents this haunting and visually arresting nonfiction film about the gang crisis in Indian Country. “There’s a wealth of award winning and critically acclaimed films that we are honored to present across a broad cross-section of our festival program, especially in our European Spotlight, Awards Buzz, and Gala Presentations.” says Anna Page, HIFF’s Associate Director of Programming. “As a film festival close to the end of the calendar year, we are fortunate to present the very best films from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Toronto.” Awards favorites and the most acclaimed films from the film festival circuit include the following: 45 YEARS (UK) Director: Andrew Haigh Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay turn in award winning performances as a couple in trouble. There is just one week until Kate Mercer’s forty-fifth wedding anniversary and planning for the party is going well, until a letter arrives for her husband. The body of his first love has been discovered, frozen and preserved in the icy glaciers of the Swiss Alps. Jealousy and what ifs plague the couple. By the time the party is upon them, there may not be a marriage left to celebrate. DHEEPAN (UK) Director: Jacques Audiard Dheepan Dheepan is a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France, along with a young woman and little girl, as they pose as a family (this allows easier asylum). Soon, the makeshift family is sent to live in a housing block outside Paris, where Dheepan earns a job as the local caretaker. But violence continues to follow him when he realizes the block is territory for a drug gang. Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes. JAFAR PANAHI’S TAXI (Iran) Director: Jafar Panahi Taxi passengers express their views and opinions as filmmaker Jafar Panahi (currently under house arrest and charged for conspiring to create anti-Islamic propaganda) drives through the streets of Tehran. Thus the stage is set for a series of deft seriocomic episodes that bring Panahi (who exudes a warm presence) into contact with a diverse cross-section of Tehran society, all captured from the fixed p.o.v. of the taxi’s dash-cam. KRISHA (USA) Director: Trey Edward Schultz After years of absence, Krisha (played to the hilt by former Hawaii resident Krisha Fairchild) reunites with her family for a holiday gathering. She sees it as an opportunity to fix her past mistakes, cook the family turkey, and prove to her loved ones that she has changed for the better. Only Krisha’s delirium takes her family on a dizzying holiday that no one will forget. The film won both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at SXSW this year. MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART (China) Director: Jia Zhang-ke Jia Zhang-ke’s latest is an epic tale about Tao and the men who come in and out of her life. We begin in 1999, where Tao finds herself pursued by two young men. We jump to 2014, where Tao is a divorcee and trying to come to make peace with the fact that her young son may be better off with his rich father, who intends to immigrate to Australia. We end in 2025, centering on Tao’s now college-age son. MUSTANG (France, Germany, Turkey) Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven Early summer. In a village in northern Turkey, Lale and her four sisters are walking home from school, playing innocently with some boys. The immorality of their play sets off a scandal that has unexpected consequences. The family home is progressively transformed into a prison; instruction in homemaking replaces school and marriages start being arranged. The five sisters who share a common passion for freedom, find ways of getting around the constraints imposed on them. RIGHT NOW WRONG THEN (South Korea) Director: Hong Sang-soo The delightful new film from Festival favorite Hong Sang-soo (IN ANOTHER COUNTRY) presents two variations on a potentially fateful romantic encounter between a filmmaker and a painter, tracing each to its own very distinct outcome. The film won the Golden Leopard at this year’s Locarno Film Festival. SON OF SAUL (Hungary) Director: László Nemes Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes, and one of the most talked about films of the year, SON OF SAUL is an excoriating look at evil in Auschwitz. During World War II, a Jewish worker (Géza Röhrig) at the Auschwitz concentration camp tries to find a rabbi to give a child a proper burial. Grim and unyielding, this explosive film is also Hungary’s official entry to the Academy Awards. YELLOW FLOWERS ON THE GREEN GRASS (Vietnam) Director: Victor Vu A coming of age story set in the Vietnamese countryside during the late 1980s — Thieu and Tuong are brothers that share a strong bond. Unbeknownst to Tuong, Thieu is constantly jealous of his younger brother’s personal and academic achievements. This leads to an act of violence, which leaves Tuong paralyzed and bedridden. In coming to terms with his own conscience, Thieu attempts to redeem himself and discovers the true meaning of brotherhood. YOUTH (Italy, France, Switzerland, UK) Director: Paulo Sorrentino Oscar winning actor Michael Caine plays Fred, an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker on holiday. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life. The Festival is celebrating the life and legacy of one of the greatest directors of all time and the maestro of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. The HITCHCOCK SPOTLIGHT presented by the Vilcek Foundation will encompass a 70th anniversary presentation of SPELLBOUND starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman. After the screening, there will be an extended Q&A session with the late director’s granddaughters, Tere Carubba and Mary Stone, who will discuss their grandfather’s familial legacy and a personal and intimate perspective on one of the most famous film directors of the 20th century, who defined cinema. In addition, HIFF will present the Hawaii premiere of Kent Jones’ documentaryHITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. “In honor of the contributions that so many immigrants have made to American cinema over the years, HIFF 2015 will spotlight one of the most influential immigrant filmmakers, Alfred Hitchcock,” says Robert Lambeth, HIFF’s Executive Director. This spotlight is a special sidebar of the New American Filmmakers program presented by the Vilcek Foundation, which highlights the contributions of gifted immigrant filmmakers to contemporary American cinema. HIFF is proud to once again partner with the Vilcek Foundation to present the 9th annual New American Filmmakers program. SPELLBOUND (1945) w/ Tere Carubba and Mary Stone (Hitchcock’s granddaughters) Director: Alfred Hitchcock In this special 70th anniversary screening, SPELLBOUND tells the story of a psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory. HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT (2015) Director: Kent Jones Hitchcock/Truffaut Kent Jones In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut locked themselves away in Hollywood for a week to excavate the secrets behind the mise-en-scène in cinema. Based on the original recordings of this meeting—used to produce the mythical book “Hitchcock/Truffaut”—this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time. Director Kent Jones also interviews the top filmmakers working today as they discuss how this seminal book influences their work.

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  • 2015 New York Asian Film Festival Unveils Lineup, Opens With PORT OF CALL

    Port of Call, Philip Yung The 2015 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), which will take place from June 26 to July 8 at the Film Society and July 9 to 11 at SVA Theatre (333 W. 23rd Street) unveiled the film lineup, which will showcase 52 feature films, including 1 World Premiere, 3 International Premieres, 13 North American Premieres, 5 U.S. Premieres, and 14 films making their New York City debuts. The festival will be attended by 18 international filmmakers and celebrity guests traveling from Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.S.  The New York Asian Film Festival is presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema. NYAFF’s Opening Night presentation will be the North American Premiere of Philip Yung’s Port of Call (pictured above). The film centers on the brutal murder of a 16-year-old Hunan girl who moves to Hong Kong with her family and falls into prostitution. Winding through time and grounded by Christopher Doyle’s gauzy cinematography, the film follows both the story of the young girl’s descent into sex work and the grizzled detective (Aaron Kwok) who obsessively works to solve the murder. Kwok is astonishing here in a career-best performance, with all the tics and haggard body language of a man beaten down by the violence that threatens to drown him at every turn. The Centerpiece Presentation will be the North American premiere of Sabu’s Chasuke’s Journey, which was in Competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. According to Variety, the film finds “Sabu in his most fun-loving element, stirring Okinawa’s magical folk art into a Capraesque yarn that flirts with ideas of fate and self-determination, but really just revels in a rich tapestry of human experience. [The film is also] full of whimsical twists and high-octane action.” The lineup also includes the World Premiere of Fire Lee’s black comedy Robbery; the International Premiere of Anh Sang-hoon’s erotic period actioner Empire of Lust; the North American Premieres of Chen Jiabin’s directorial debut A Fool, Daihachi Yoshida’s fantasy-drama Pale Moon, Lau Ho-leung’s action-comedy Two Thumbs Up, and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s slacker/rock drama La La La at Rock Bottom (previously announced); and the U.S. premiere of Yee Chih-yen’s high-school noirMeeting Dr. Sun. Other exciting highlights include Kulikar Sotho’s gorgeous meditation on Cambodia’s tragic Khmer Rouge past and its impact on the present, The Last Reel; Ryuichi Hiroki’s ensemble love-and-sex drama Kabukicho Love Hotel; Boo Ji-young’s superb labor-rights underdog drama Cart; and Sion Sono’s berserk rap musical Tokyo Tribe. The 14th edition of the NYAFF will feature five focus programs: “Hong Kong Panorama”; “New Cinema from Japan”; “Taiwan Cinema Now!”;  “Myung Films: Pioneers and Women Behind the Camera in Korean Film”; and “The Last Men in Japanese Film,” a joint tribute to Ken Takakura and Bunta Sugawara, both of whom passed away last November. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v3Ghk52i4o The 2015 New York Asian Film Festival lineup OPENING NIGHT FILM NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE PORT OF CALL | 踏血尋梅 PHILIP YUNG, 2015 | CAST: AARON KWOK, MICHAEL NING, JESSIE LI HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 121 MINUTES A police detective (Aaron Kwok, in a career-defining role) tracks down the murderer of a young prostitute in this brutal thriller directed by Philip Yung and shot by master cinematographer Christopher Doyle. CENTERPIECE PRESENTATION NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE CHASUKE’S JOURNEY | 天の茶助 SABU, 2015 | CAST: KENICHI MATSUYAMA, ITO OHNO, REN OHSUGI, YUSUKE ISEYA JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 105 MINUTES A celestial tea server descends to Okinawa in order to save a young girl, falls in with a gang of losers, enjoys ramen, finds unwarranted celebrity, and fights against predestination written by heavenly hacks who copy Hollywood blockbusters. CLOSING NIGHT FILM To be announced ABASHIRI PRISON | 網走番外地 TERUO ISHII, 1965 | CAST: KEN TAKAKURA, KOJI NANBARA, TETSURO TAMBA, TORU ABE JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH LIVE ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 92 MINUTES The first entry in Toei’s hugely successful Abashiri Prison yakuza film series, directed by Teruo Ishii, established Ken Takakura’s superstar status. If you want to understand Ken’s enormous popularity, this is the film that started it all. In many ways, this is the invention of the Japanese man. INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE BANGLASIA 孟加拉殺手 NAMEWEE, 2015 | CAST: NIRAB HOSSAIN, SAIFUL APEK, NAMEWEE, ATIKAH SUHAIME MALAYSIA | MALAY, ENGLISH, MANDARIN, AND HOKKIEN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 91 MINUTES From the director of festival fave foodie flick Nasi Lemak 2.0 comes this wild and crazy Western full of musical numbers and humor so slaphappy it’ll leave your head spinning. It was banned in Malaysia for being too political, so we’re proud to screen it. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE OF THE NEW DIGITAL REMASTER BATTLES WITHOUT HONOR AND HUMANITY | 仁義なき戦い KINJI FUKASAKU, 1973 | CAST: BUNTA SUGAWARA, HIROKI MATSUKATA, NOBUO KANEKO, KUNIE TANAKA, GORO IBUKI JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH LIVE ENGLISH SUBTITLES | DCP | 99 MINUTES Quite possibly the ultimate yakuza movie, Kinji Fukasaku’s dark, gritty classic stars Bunta Sugawara (in the role that made his career) as a former soldier who turns to organized crime and claws his way up the yakuza underworld in postwar Hiroshima.     . BROTHERHOOD OF BLADES | 繡春刀 LU YANG, 2014 | CAST: CHANG CHEN, CECILIA LIU, WANG QIANYUAN, ETHAN LI, NIE YUAN CHINA | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DIGITAL PROJECTION | 106 MINUTES One of the best Chinese period action films in recent memory, this overlooked blood-red gem is packed with superbly choreographed fight scenes, riveting drama, and performances to match. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE CAFÉ. WAITING. LOVE | 等一個人咖啡 CHIANG CHIN-LIN, 2014 | CAST: VIVIAN SUNG, BRUCE, MEGAN LAI, MARCUS CHANG TAIWAN | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 120 MINUTES Three years after his record-breaking debut, You Are the Apple of My Eye, writer-director Giddens Ko penned this irresistibly zany romantic comedy, based on his book of the same name—but this time with Chiang Chin-lin in the director’s seat. NEW YORK PREMIERE CART | 카트 BOO JI-YOUNG, 2014 | CAST: YUM JUNG-AH, MOON JUNG-HEE, KIM YOUNG-AE, KIM KANG-WOO, HWANG JEONG-MIN, CHUN WOO-HEE SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 103 MINUTES In this pro-union flick, the 99% rise up after a bunch of female employees at a chain retail giant (think Wal-Mart) get laid off via text message. When they decide to go on strike, management calls in the thugs… CITY ON FIRE | 龍虎風雲 RINGO LAM, 1987 | CAST: CHOW YUN-FAT, DANNY LEE, SUEN YUET, ROY CHEUNG HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35mm | 100 MINUTES Ringo Lam’s classic heist-gone-bad flick is the movie that made Chow Yun-fat (playing an undercover cop) a star and provided Quentin Tarantino with the basis for Reservoir Dogs. The film features heartbreak to spare for the little people trying to eke out a living at the end of a gun. COLD WAR | 寒戰 LONGMAN LEUNG, SUNNY LUK, 2012 | CAST: AARON KWOK, TONY LEUNG KAR-FAI, ANDY LAU HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | DCP | 102 MINUTES Winner of nine Hong Kong Film Awards, including “Best Film,” Best Director,” “Best Screenplay,” “Best Actor,” and “Best New Performer,” COLD WAR was Hong Kong’s 2012 box office sensation. This cop thriller stars Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Kar-Fai as two high-ranking officers whose rivalry leads to an intense power struggle over an explosive rescue operation. COPS VS. THUGS | 県警対組織暴力 KINJI FUKASAKU, 1975 | CAST: BUNTA SUGAWARA, HIROKI MATSUKATA, KEN TAKAKURA, MIKIO NARITA, NOBUO KANEKO JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | 35MM | 100 MINUTES Bunta Sugawara plays a cop so corrupt he’s basically a member of the yakuza—delivering witnesses to his criminal buddies and looking the other way when they murder rivals. But now a war is breaking out and this bad lieutenant is going to have to choose sides. INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE EMPIRE OF LUST | 순수의시대 AHN SANG-HOON, 2015 | CAST: SHIN HA-KYUN, JANG HYUK, KANG HANNA, KANG HA-NEUL SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH LIVE ENGLISH SUBTITLES | DCP | 113 MINUTES A gorgeous period actioner set during the founding days of Joseon Dynasty in the early 14th century, Empire of Lust follows three men who engage in a power struggle within the palace walls, caught in the whirlwind of love, lust, greed, betrayal, and revenge. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE A FOOL | 一個勺子 CHEN JIANBIN, 2014 | CAST: CHEN JIAN BIN, WANG XUEBING, JIN SHIJIA CHINA | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 105 MINUTES Chen Jianbin’s directorial debut is a harsh noir about an honest farmer’s efforts to help a young homeless man that instead set off a chain of disasters, serving as a reminder of man’s inhumanity when faced with greed. FULL ALERT | 高度戒備 RINGO LAM, 1997 | CAST: LAU CHING-WAN, FRANCIS NG, AMANDA LEE, MONICA CHAN, JACK KAO HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 98 MINUTES Ringo Lam’s last great movie before his 12-year retirement is a dark, glittering gem of a police procedural that works both as a heist flick and as a tombstone for both pre-Handover Hong Kong and the action genre. U.S. PREMIERE FULL STRIKE | 全力扣殺 DEREK KWOK & HENRI WONG, 2015 | CAST: JOSIE HO, EKIN CHENG, RONALD CHENG, TSE KWAN-HO, ANDREW LAM, WILFRED LAU HONG KONG/CHINA | CANTONESE, HAKKA, AND ENGLISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 108 MINUTES Racquet sport becomes martial art when a down-and-out gang of has-beens form a badminton team to win back their self-respect in this hyperactive, totally surreal comedy from Derek Kwok, the co-director of Stephen Chow’s Journey to the West. FUNUKE, SHOW SOME LOVE YOU LOSERS! | 腑抜けども、悲しみの愛を見せろ DAIHACHI YOSHIDA, 2007 | CAST: ERIKA SATO, MASATOSHI NAGASE, HIROMI NAGASAKU JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 112 MINUTES Seduction, persecution, prostitution, suicide, and more greet the Wago family’s three siblings who return home for their parent’s funeral after they’re killed while trying to save a kitten. Yoshida’s twisted, smart, and deftly handled first film is as black as a comedy can get, yet wrapped in a lighthearted exterior. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE INSANITY | 暴瘋語 DAVID LEE, 2014 | CAST: LAU CHING-WAN, HUANG XIAOMING, ALEX FONG, FIONA SIT, NINA PAW HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 99 MINUTES In this psychological thriller produced by Derek Yee (The Great Magician,One Night in Mongkok), a psychiatrist (Huang Xiaoming) is lured to the dark side of the mind by his patient and convicted murderer (Lau Ching-Wan). THE ISLE | 섬 KIM KI-DUK, 2000 | CAST: CHO JAE-HYUN, SUH JUNG, PARK SEONG-HEE, JANG HANG-SEON SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 85 MINUTES Kim Ki-duk helped put Korean cinema on the map with this art-house exploitation shocker about a cop on the run who winds up at a floating hotel owned by a woman who might be insane, or just really in love. You are not prepared. NEW YORK PREMIERE IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG EMILY TING, 2014 | CAST: JAMIE CHUNG, BRYAN GREENBERG, RICHARD NG HONG KONG/USA | ENGLISH | FORMAT: DCP | 78 MINUTES This compelling walk-and-talk romance à laRichard Linklater, centered on two Hong Kong expats who randomly cross paths one night, is as much about the attraction between the leads as it is about the love of Hong Kong. NEW YORK PREMIERE KABUKICHO LOVE HOTEL | さよなら歌舞伎町 RYUICHI HIROKI, 2014 | CAST: SHOTA SOMETANI, ATSUKO MAEDA, LEE EUN-WOO, ROY (SON IL-KWON) JAPAN | JAPANESE AND KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 136 MINUTES Taking place over 24 hours in a Tokyo love hotel, this steamy and poignant character-driven ensemble drama from director Ryuichi Hiroki (Vibrator) looks at ordinary people as they experience life-changing events. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE LA LA LA AT ROCK BOTTOM | 味園ユニバース NOBUHIRO YAMASHITA, 2015 | CAST: SUBARU SHIBUTANI, FUMI NIKAIDO, SARINA SUZUKI, KATSUMI KAWAHARA JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 103 MINUTES From Nobuhiro Yamashita (director of Linda Linda Linda and Tamako in Moratorium) comes this romantic comedy about an amnesiac man who, as the memory of his criminal past slowly returns, tries to find redemption and love through rock music. NEW YORK PREMIERE THE LAST REEL |ដុំហ្វីលចុងកាាយ KULIKAR SOTHO, 2014 | CAST: MA RYNET, ROUS MONY, DY SAVETH, HUN SOPHY CAMBODIA | KHMER WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 106 MINUTES This gorgeous and engaging drama about a rebellious Cambodian girl determined to shoot the missing ending of a 40-year-old movie starring her mother is a meditation on Cambodia’s past and present, and the power of art. LITTLE BIG MASTER | 五個小孩的校長 ADRIAN KWAN, 2015 | CAST: MIRIAM YEUNG, LOUIS KOO, WINNIE HO HONG KONG/CHINA | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 112 MINUTES Hong Kong’s runaway box-office hit is a powerful drama based on the true story of a principal assigned to a failing rural kindergarten with only five students: if one of them drops out, the school closes. THE MAN WHO STOLE THE SUN | 太陽を盗んだ男 KAZUHIKO HASEGAWA, 1979 | CAST: BUNTA SUGAWARA, KENJI SAWADA JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 147 MINUTES A ballsy satire about a high-school science teacher (rock-star Kenji Sawada) who builds an atomic bomb at home and uses it to try to get The Rolling Stones to play in Japan, all the while playing cat and mouse with a police detective sporting a buzz cut (Bunta Sugawara). U.S. PREMIERE MEETING DR. SUN | 行動代號孫中山 YEE CHIH-YEN, 2014 | CAST: ZHAN HUAI-TING, MATTHEW WEI, JOSEPH CHANG, BRYAN CHANG TAIWAN | MANDARIN AND TAIWANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 94 MINUTES A deadpan high-school noir about two gangs of impoverished boys competing to steal a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (the founding father of the Republic of China) so they can sell it as scrap metal. Schoolyard slapstick becomes a call for Taiwan’s youth to wake up. NEW YORK PREMIERE MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER | 님아, 그강을건너지마오 JIN MO-YOUNG, 2014 | CAST: JO BYEONG-MAN, KANG KYE-YEOL KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 85 MINUTES In Jin Mo-young’s critically acclaimed documentary—which is also the most successful independent film in Korean history—a couple who have been married for 76 years face death with dignity and the strength of love. NIHON KYOKAKU-DEN (TALES OF CHIVALRY IN JAPAN) | 日本侠客伝 MASAHIRO MAKINO, 1964 | CAST: KEN TAKAKURA, KINNOSUKE NAKAMURA, HIROKI MATSUKATA JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | 35MM | 98 MINUTES The first film in Toei’s immensely popular ninkyo film series chronicles a bitter feud that brews and breaks out between two rival yakuza clans. Honor is stained, blood is shed, hilarity does not ensue. U.S. PREMIERE PALE MOON | 紙の月 DAIHACHI YOSHIDA, 2014 CAST: RIE MIYAZAWA, MITSUYO KAKUTA, SOSUKE IKEMATSU JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 126 MINUTES A housewife turns to a sophisticated embezzlement scheme to support an affair with a college student in NYAFF director-in-focus Daihachi Yoshida’s mesmerizing fantasy-drama. NEW YORK PREMIERE PARTNERS IN CRIME | 共犯 CHANG JUNG-CHI, 2014 | CAST: WU CHIEN-HO, TENG YU-KAI, CHENG KAI-YUAN, YAO AI-NING TAIWAN-HONG KONG | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 88 MINUTES Director Chang Jung-chi’s second feature and follow-up to Touch of the Light (Taiwan’s foreign-language Oscar entry in 2012) is an atmospheric and taut high-school mystery-drama centered on the apparent suicide of a student. NEW YORK PREMIERE PERMANENT NOBARA | パーマネント野ばら DAIHACHI YOSHIDA, 2010 | CAST: MIHO KANNO, EIKO KOIKE, CHIZURU IKEWAKI, YOSUKE EGUCHI JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: HDCAM | 99 MINUTES A happy-go-wacky relationship film about a recently divorced woman (Miho Kanno) who returns with her young daughter to her tiny hometown. There, she reunites with her mother (Mari Natsuki) who runs the only hair salon in town, Permanent Nobara, an extraordinary place that provides a signature perm and a shame-free confessional for the local women to discuss their most personal love and sex issues. THE PRESIDENT’S LAST BANG | 그때그사람들 IM SANG-SOO, 2005 | CAST: HAN SUK-KYU, BAEK YOON-SIK, SONG JAE-HO SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 104 MINUTES One of the most controversial Korean movies of all time, Im Sang-soo’s black comedy tells the tale of the 1979 assassination of military dictator President Park by the head of the Korean CIA. It’s all the more relevant today because Park’s daughter is currently president of Korea. NEW YORK PREMIERE RED AMNESIA |闖入者 WANG XIAOSHUAI, 2014 | CAST: LU ZHONG, SHI LIU, FENG YUANZHENG, QIN HAO, AMANDA QIN CHINA | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 115 MINUTES Beijing Bicycle director Wang Xiaoshuai’s latest film is a blood-curdling mystery about the harassment of an elderly widow, and her haunting by a mysterious young boy who brings back ghosts of past choices, moral compromises, and the long shadows of the Cultural Revolution. NEW YORK PREMIERE REVIVRE | 화장 IM KWON-TAEK, 2014 | CAST: AHN SUNG-KI, KIM QYU-RI, KIM HO-JUNG SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 93 MINUTES Legendary 78-year-old Korean filmmaker Im Kwon-taek (Beyond the Years, Chihwaseon: Painted Fire) delivers a powerful and vital film—his 102nd!—about the indignities of old age and the inferno of suppressed desire, anchored by a commanding performance from veteran actor Ahn Sung-gi (Nowhere to Hide) as a marketing director who finds himself attracted to a younger employee while dutifully tending to his dying wife. U.S. PREMIERE RIVER ROAD | 家在水草丰茂的地方 LI RUIJIN, 2014 | CAST: TANG LONG, GUO SONGTAO CHINA | YUGUR WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 103 MINUTES Bartel and Adikeer, two Yugur ethnic minority brothers, set out with their camel across the deserts of northwestern China in search of their parents in this masterfully lensed nomadic road movie. WORLD PREMIERE ROBBERY | 老笠 FIRE LEE, 2015 | CAST: DEREK TSANG, J. AIRE, LAM SUET, STANLEY FUNG HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 90 MINUTES An absurdist blood-soaked Grand Guignol with attitude to burn, Fire Lee’s indie black comedy about an overnight shift in a convenience store starts with a simple robbery, then moves on to mass murder, terrorist bombings, police shoot-outs, and even the afterlife. NEW YORK PREMIERE (U.S. CONTINENTAL PREMIERE) THE ROYAL TAILOR | 상의원 LEE WON-SUK, 2014 | CAST: HAN SUK-KYU, KO SOO, PARK SHIN-HYE, YOO YEON-SEOK SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 127 MINUTES An eye-popping historical comedy about the king’s tailor (played by Korean icon Han Suk-kyu) encountering a younger rival. It’s a stylish fashion showdown as the queen favors the younger needle-slinger, while the king sticks with his more stately (and stodgy) designer. NEW YORK PREMIERE RUINED HEART: ANOTHER LOVE STORY BETWEEN A CRIMINAL AND A WHORE KHAVN (aka KHAVN DE LA CRUZ), 2014 | CAST: TADANOBU ASANO, NATHALIA ACEVEDO, ELENA KAZAN THE PHILIPPINES/GERMANY | FORMAT: DCP | 73 MINUTES Neon-smeared pop poetry materializes on screen in this (almost) dialogue-free gangland art flick shot in the slums of Manila and starring Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer) and shot by longtime Wong Kar Wai cinematographer Christopher Doyle. EAST COAST PREMIERE SECOND CHANCE | 逆轉勝 KUNG WEN-YEN, 2014 | CAST: WEN SHANG-YI, P.J. HUANG, ANGEL YAO, JASON WANG TAIWAN | MANDARIN AND TAIWANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 105 MINUTES Like Rocky except for billiards instead of boxing, and if Rocky Balboa was a Type-A, overachieving schoolgirl, this flick features a who’s who of billiard champs as it becomes a fist-pumping sports movie. U.S. PREMIERE SOCIALPHOBIA | 소셜포비아 HONG SEOK-JAE, 2014 | CAST: BYUN YO-HAN, LEE JOO-SEUNG SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 100 MINUTES Four friends track down a cyberbully only to find that she’s hung herself. But two of them are convinced it’s murder, and the film becomes a grungy, realistic murder mystery set in the twitchy world of social media. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE SOLOMON’S PERJURY PART 1: SUSPICION | ソロモンの偽証　前編 IZURU NARUSHIMA, 2015 | CAST:RYOKO FUJINO, ANNA ISHII, TOMITA MIU, SHIMIZU HIROYA JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 121 MINUTES In the first of a twisty two-parter, high-school students find the dead body of one of their classmates in the snow. Not convinced by the conclusion that he killed himself, they begin an investigation that eventually leads them to conducting a mock trial at school. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE SOLOMON’S PERJURY PART 2: JUDGEMENT | ソロモンの偽証　後編 IZURU NARUSHIMA, 2015 | CAST: RYOKO FUJINO, ANNA ISHII, MIU TOMITA, HIROYA SHIMIZU JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 149 MINUTES Wrapping up the multitude of mysteries from the first part, the second film focuses on the trial, where both shocking and subtle revelations send irrevocable tremors through the high school and the adults surrounding the case. THE TAKING OF TIGER MOUNTAIN 3D | 智取威虎山 TSUI HARK, 2014 | CAST: ZHANG HANYU, TONY LEUNG KA-FAI, LIN GENGXIN, YU NAN, TONG LIYA, HAN GENG, CHEN XIAO CHINA | MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 141 MINUTES Tsui Hark (Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame) is back doing what he does best: delivering a popcorn thrillride. This adaptation of Qu Bo’s adventure novel, set in the late 1940s, mixes elements of spy movies, Chinese civil war sagas, and Mainland People’s Liberation Army actioners into a 3D blockbuster spectacle that was custom-made for the big screen. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE TAKSU | 欲動 KIKI SUGINO, 2014 | CAST: YOKO MITSUYA, TAKUMI SAITOH, KIKI SUGINO, TOM MES JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 97 MINUTES Two couples find their needs and desires driving them further apart in this intensely erotic and melancholy drama set in Bali. NEW YORK PREMIERE TOKYO TRIBE SION SONO, 2014 | CAST: RYOHEI SUZUKI, DAIS YOUNG, NANA SEINO, SHUNSUKE DAITO, TAKUYA ISHIDA, YUI ICHIKAWA, MIKA KANO, SHOTA SOMETANI, SHOKO NAKAGAWA, RYUTA SATO JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 116 MINUTES Told almost entirely in hip-hop, Sion Sono’s berserk rap musical about warring gangs in Tokyo is full of tanks, B-boy battles, and so many baroque visual flourishes that the entire movie feels like Versailles stabbing you in both eyes. Tokyo Tribe will be released in the U.S. by XLrator Media in the Fall of 2015. NEW YORK PREMIERE (INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL PREMIERE) TWENTY | 스물 LEE BYEONG-HEON, 2015 | CAST: KIM WOO-BIN, LEE JOON-HO, KANG HA-NEUL KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 115 MINUTES Three friends enter their twenties with sex on the mind, easy access to soju, and absolutely no clue how to navigate college, money, or women… or really anything else in the world. A painfully hilarious reminder about how awkward the transition into adulthood can be. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE TWO THUMBS UP | 衝鋒車 LAU HO-LEUNG, 2015 | CAST: FRANCIS NG, SIMON YAM, PATRICK TAM, MARK CHENG HONG KONG | CANTONESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 102 MINUTES Old-school Hong Kong action-comedy at its finest, Two Thumbs Up stars Simon Yam and Francis Ng as ex-cons who disguise themselves as policemen to pull a heist. But it turns out they kind of like being cops… NORTH AMERICAN FESTIVAL PREMIERE VENGEANCE OF AN ASSASSIN | เร็วทะลุเร็ว PANNA RITTIKRAI, 2014 | CAST: CHUPONG CHANGPRUNG, NATHAWUT BOONRUBSU, PING LUMPRAPLOENG, NISACHON TUAMSUNGNOEN THAILAND | THAI WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | DIGITAL PROJECTION | 99 MINUTES The final film from action legend Panna Rittikrai (Ong-Bak films)—the kinetic master of mayhem—pulls out all the stops to deliver a rough-and-ready action flick sporting everything from badass games of soccer to gun fu. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE VIOLATOR DODO DAYAO, 2014 | CAST: VICTOR NERI, ANTHONY FALCON, R.K. BAGATSING THE PHILIPPINES | TAGALOG WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 115 MINUTES The sole horror movie in this year’s lineup, Violator sees five men become trapped at a police station during a typhoon with a young man who claims to be Satan. A barebones indie that achieves a kind of monumental evil majesty as it progresses. WAIKIKI BROTHERS | 와이키키브라더스 YIM SOON-RYE, 2001 | CAST: LEE EOL, PARK WON-SANG, HWANG JUN-MIN SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | 35MM | 109 MINUTES In this modern Korean classic, a failed cover band returns to the lead guitarist’s hometown to try to get a fresh start, but the past, women, booze, and drugs threaten to break them apart. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE THE WHISTLEBLOWER | 제보자 YIM SOON-RYE, 2014 SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: DCP | 113 MINUTES The All The President’s Men of bioresearch, Yim Soon-Rye (one of Korea’s few female directors) turns in a sharply suspenseful powerhouse thriller based on the true story of one of the biggest scientific frauds of the 21st century. WOLVES, PIGS AND MEN | 狼と豚と人間 KINJI FUKASAKU, 1964 | CAST: KEN TAKAKURA, SANAE NAKAHARA, SHINJIRO EBARA, KINYA KITAOJI JAPAN | JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES | FORMAT: 35MM | 95 MINUTES Kinji Fukasaku’s first yakuza masterpiece is an angry tale of three brothers who walk and work the mean streets of a postwar Tokyo slum and buy themselves a world of trouble over a bag of stolen cash.

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