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The 2010 Tokyo International Film Festival will commemorate the life and enduring influence of Bruce Lee with a special tribute at the festival’s Winds of Asia Middle-East section, entitled The 70th Anniversary: Bruce LEE to the Future.

Screenings will include the film that finally catapulted him into the mass populace, Enter The Dragon, sadly released just after his death, and a rare chance to see the Japanese version of Game Of Death, distributed in 1978. There will also be exciting new films that pay homage to Lee nearly 30 years after his death, including Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng’s Gallants and Luu Huynh Luu’s The Legend Is Alive.

The 23rd TIFF will be held from October 23-31, 2010 at Roppongi Hills and other venues in Tokyo.

Find out more from their official website »

It’s often easy to forget korean cinema has much more to offer than taught thrillers and action films, and Hong Sang-soo is a great example of a much ‘quieter’ filmmaker whose work is often overlooked, despite his film Hahaha being awarded the Un Certain Regard prize this year at Cannes this year.

From Wednesday 1 to 28 September, the BFI Southbank celebrates his work with a complete overview of his work, including a preview of Hahaha and a personal appearance by Hong Sang-soo himself this Friday. Curated by the ICO, the 10-film retrospective will tour major cities in the UK over the next few months.

For more information on the retrospective and to book, see the BFI’s website »

The full programme for the Venice Film Festival has been announced, including new films by Takashi Miike and Tsui Hark, and the adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood (more…)

Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul has become the first Thai filmmaker to win the coveted Palme d’Or at this years Cannes. The 63rd Cannes Film Festival closed yesterday evening with the announcement of the jury prizes, led by US director Tim Burton.

Weerasethakul’s film Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) concerns a dying man who is visited by his late wife and his missing son, who has become an ape. Uncle Boonmee is played by Thanapat Saisaymar, a roof welder from north-east Thailand whose previous acting experience was limited to TV commercials. The director had previously won the third-place jury prize at Cannes with his 2004 film Tropical Malady.

Lee Chang-Dong won best screenplay for Poetry. And another Korean filmmaker, director Hang Sangsoo, won the Un Certain Regard Prize for Hahaha.

Find out more on the official Cannes website »

The BFI’s biennial Anime celebration returns from today with a weekend of screenings and special guests including director Koji Masunari and producer Tomonori Ochikoshi for Welcome to the Space Show. Other screenings include Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone and Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, a re-imagining of the classic Neon Genesis Evangelion series, and K20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces, a live-action manga-based tale.

Find out more on screenings and how to book from the BFI website »

Just a reminder that the Terracotta Far East Film Festival gets under way from 6pm tonight…

Highlights include: the opening film gala, Jackie Chan’s Little Big Soldier, accompanied by a book signing from Chan friend, author and editor Richard Cooper; a book signing with Jasper Sharp, co-founder of Midnight Eye and author of ‘Midnight Eye’s Guide to New Japanese Cinema’ as well as ‘Behind the Pink Curtain’; a screening of the fab (!) Accident, with a Q&A from soundtrack composer Xavier Jamaux; In the Mood for Doyle about everyone’s favourite cinematographer Christopher Doyle, with a Q&A with director Yves Montmayeur; a screening of Johnnie To’s Vengeance, out next month on DVD from Optimum; and the closing screening of Bodyguards And Assassins, with a reception in honour of director Teddy Chan beforehand.

Find out more about the Terracotta Far East Film Festival »

Still glowing from last years success, the Terracotta Far East Film Festival for a second run with a fantastic lineup of 15 hand-picked films from Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand. (more…)

THE TERRACOTTA FAR EAST FILM FESTIVAL IS BACK IN LONDON, UK TO PRESENT ITS SECOND ROUNDUP OF CHOICE FILMS FROM THE FAR EAST!

From Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th May 2010, there’s fantastic lineup of 15 hand-picked films from Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand – http://terracottafestival.com/

The festival opens with the UK premiere of Little Big Soldier starring Jackie Chan. Set during the tumultuous period when China had yet to be born from the unification of seven warring states, this story follows Big Soldier (Jackie Chan), an ex-farmer and reluctant conscript from the state of Liang.

A brilliant comedy and touching tale reportedly 20 years in the making, Little Big Soldier looks set to be a new favourite for fans of Jackie Chan fans, action flicks and road trip movies and will be released theatrically later in the year, courtesy of Cine Asia.

Phobia (out on DVD from 10th May 2010 courtesy of Icon Home Entertainment) features four chilling tales from modern-day Thailand by four masters of horror. In the last decade, Thai filmmakers have brought a new and refreshing perspective to the face of horror. Black magic, superstition and the scary side of the supernatural abound in this collective of four tales, which are sure to take root in the more terrifying depths of your imagination.

The closing night film is the multi-award winning Bodyguards and Assassins and another UK premiere. Hong Kong, 1905. Revolution instigator Sun Yat Sen is about to visit Hong Kong for five hours only, for a covert meeting with the leaders of a planned coup from all the provinces in China. On hearing this, the Imperial Court dispatches an elite team of assassins to Hong Kong to deal with him. Fervent revolutionary and Sun’s contact in Hong Kong, Chen Shaobai (Tony Leung Ka Fai), is alerted, and out of desperation he assembles a motley crew of inexperienced fighters to escort Sun safely to his meeting and back.

Brilliantly shot with large-scale recreations of Hong Kong during the turn of the 20th century, this film is a fast-paced cat-and-mouse game which will have you on the edge of your seat. Bodyguards and Assassins will be playing at selected UK cinemas and is available to buy on DVD (courtesy of E1 Entertainment) on 31st May 2010.

The line-up for the years Cannes Film Festival has been announced. As always, there’s a strong selection of new Asian cinema including Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Lee Chang-Dong’s Poetry, Hideo Nakata’s new horror Chatroom, Hong Sangsoo’s Ha Ha Ha, Xiaoshuai Wang’s Rizhao Chongqing (Chongqing Blues) and Im Sangsoo’s Housemaid. The festival takes place between 12 and 23 May.

For more information on the Cannes Film Festival »

The line-up for the years Cannes Film Festival has been announced. As always, there’s a strong selection of new Asian cinema including Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage, Lee Chang-Dong’s Poetry, Hideo Nakata’s new horror Chatroom, Hong Sangsoo’s Ha Ha Ha, Xiaoshuai Wang’s Rizhao Chongqing (Chongqing Blues) and Im Sangsoo’s Housemaid. The festival takes place between 12 and 23 May.

For more information on the Cannes Film Festival »

More good news for London-based film fans, as Asia House follows the success of their Pan-Asia Film Festival 2009 with a new monthly series at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly Circus. The series kicks off this Wednesday, 3 February, with Special Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival 2007 winner The Pool, followed by a director Q&A with Chris Smith. Shot in Goa and featuring incisive observations about the class divide and the mysteries of the human heart, this is a tale of a boy’s obsession with a glittering swimming pool and how it changes four lives in India.

23 March features what is described as a pre-release screening of God Man Dog (hey, isn’t that on DVD?) by acclaimed Taiwanese director Singing Chen. God Man Dog follows the emotional and literal journeys of a middle class Taipei couple, an alcoholic Taiwanese aborigine and his estranged daughter, and an amputee who drives on a truck glowing gods dispensing good fortune. Half road movie, half social-realist drama, this three-part narrative is interspersed with moments of beautiful comedy. Starring Jonathan Chang (A One and A Two).

On 27 April Asia House presents a special screening of 24 City, Jia Zhang-ke’s chronicle of the thunderous fall of a state-owned munitions factory and its conversion into a luxury high-rise apartment complex. Jia weaves the stories of three generations of factory workers into a fascinating history of post-revolutionary China. Blending documentary and fiction, interviews with workers are intercut with real and staged vignettes on life before and after 24 City.

Find out more on the screenings and book tickets »

It’s the Chinese New Year on February 14, year of the Tiger, and to celebrate the BFI are showing a short season of Chinese movies starting this Thursday. These include Xie Jin’s Two Stage Sisters from 1964, Chen Kaige’s groundbreaking Yellow Earth, featuring cinematography by Zhang Yimou, and Yimou’s own The Road Home. (Which is free, but only for seniors!)

Find out more and book tickets online from the BFI’s website »

The BFI kicks off the New Year with an exhaustingly comprehensive season celebrating the work of the acclaimed film director Yasujiro Ozu. Promising nearly every surviving work by Ozu (over 30 films!), the season runs throughout January and February – starting with a nationwide UK release for his masterpiece Tokyo Story.

Best known for tales of family tensions and troubles, such as Tokyo Story itself and other films like An Autumn Afternoon, Story of Floating Weeds, Late Autumn and Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, the season also offers the chance to see lesser known comedies (like Days Of Youth) and gangster films (Dragnet Girl). The BFI are also running a special offer, buy tickets for four films, get a fifth free!

The retrospective will be accompanied by a season highlighting Ozu’s influence on filmmakers throughout the world, including Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys.

Read more about the Ozu season at the BFI »

The BFI kicks off the New Year with an exhaustingly comprehensive season celebrating the work of the acclaimed film director Yasujiro Ozu. Promising nearly every surviving work by Ozu (over 30 films!), the season runs throughout January and February – starting with a nationwide UK release for his masterpiece Tokyo Story.

Best known for tales of family tensions and troubles, such as Tokyo Story itself and other films like An Autumn Afternoon, Story of Floating Weeds, Late Autumn and Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family, the season also offers the chance to see lesser known comedies (like Days Of Youth) and gangster films (Dragnet Girl). The BFI are also running a special offer, buy tickets for four films, get a fifth free!

The retrospective will be accompanied by a season highlighting Ozu’s influence on filmmakers throughout the world, including Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, Jim Jarmusch’s Mystery Train and Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Three Monkeys.

Read more about the Ozu season at the BFI »

Arguably it would have been unimaginable 20 years ago, when his crowning glory The Killer was originally released – if only because few filmmakers from Hong Kong were lauded at the time – yet next year John Woo will be presented with a lifetime achievement honour at the Venice Film Festival.

Some may indeed scoff (and some of Woo’s back catalogue, such as Payback, may well be better glossed over) but his influence over cinema in the last 30 years, particularly action films, is undeniable.

Organisers praised him for being “an innovator of the contemporary language of cinema”. Continuing: “Woo is considered a master who has changed the language of contemporary film for generations of filmmakers.”

The award will be presented next September.

Read more on the BBC News website »

Asia House, the UK’s leading pan-Asian cultural organisation, presents a compelling selection of the best new cinema from across Asia. From the latest work by Oscar-nominated director Zhang Yimou (House of the Flying Daggers, Hero), Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, to films by award-winning film-makers and emerging talent from China, Japan, Taiwan, Iran, Bhutan and the Philippines.

Other screenings include Miki Satoshi’s follow-up to Adrift in Tokyo, Instant Swamp starring Kumiko Aso, Yu-Chieh Cheng’s Yang Yang and Filipino screen writer and documentary maker Ralston Jover’s Bakal Boys. The festival runs from 27 November to 11 December. For more details on the line-up, click here.

» Find out more about the events from Asia House