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Welsh born director Gareth Evans, will bring his hit Indonesian action film The Raid, back to Wales for a special event premiere involving 11 simultaneous screenings across the country on Wednesday 16th May.

Already touted as 2012′s best action film and receiving rave reviews from the press, The Raid has wowed audiences across the globe and introduced legions of action fans to the newest martial arts superstar, Iko Uwais.

The Raid is the winner of the 2011 Midnight Madness People’s Choice Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival, the Audience and Critics’ Choice Awards at the 2012 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and was a sold out hit at the 2012 Sundance and SXSW Festivals. The Raid also features an original score by Linkin Parks’ Mike Shinoda and Joe Trapanese (Tron: Legacy).

The film will receive its red carpet Welsh premiere at the Cardiff, Cineworld on the evening of Wednesday 16th May and simultaneous preview screenings will be held across Wales at these venues: Bridgend, Odeon; Cardiff, Odeon; Cardiff, Showcase; Cardiff, Vue; Carmarthen, Apollo; Cwmbran, Vue; Llandudno, Cineworld; Merthyr Tydfil, Vue; Newport Gwent, Cineworld; Swansea, Odeon. Contact cinemas for exact start times.

The Korean Cultural Centre celebrated the 100th Korean Film Night in style on Thursday evening, 26 April, at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly Circus, London. Tying in with the latest director to be lauded in their Year of the 12 Directors series, this time celebrating the work of Song Il-gon.

They could hardly have hoped for a more appreciative director, as Song was totally engaged in the evening and the events round it. Warm, charismatic and genuinely friendly, he was completely happy to talk about his career so far and very open and candid in his replies. In fact even when the group interview ended (as attended by the usual reprobates , see above!) he continued the discussion in English as we were all meant to be making our way to the screening. For a man who described himself as serious in younger days, he definitely seemed to have left that behind him.

There were interesting parallels with last months director Park Kwang-su, as both directors presented recent / latest films that showed them step into the mainstream. Interestingly, while Park seemed so reluctant to discuss the film and his relationship with the investors, Song was more than happy to talk (and talk!) about the experience. The highs of his first, majorly successful film to the lows of investors insisting on cuts and edits.

While Always plays into the same melodrama that was so much a part of Meet Mr. Daddy, with major script contrivances, I found it easily more watchable, mainly down to two great lead performances and some astoundingly beautiful cinematography. Does it compare to earlier work like Flower Island or Spider Forest? Well, you know the answer to that, but at least Song is completely honest in his motives for making it.

He obviously enjoyed the evening, with a former colleague of the Polish Film School he attended also in the audience. He’s even thinking of moving one of his next projects from being based in Korea to setting it in London.

And then there was that cake… Congratulations to all at the KCCUK!

The group interview with Song Il-gon has been transcripted by Paul Quinn (you star!) on hangulcelluloid.com.

The Picturehouse Podcast is two years old, and to celebrate they’re screening two great films in our late-night slot, a preview of Gareth Evans The Raid followed by John Woo’s classic Hard Boiled, at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton.

A great chance to see one of the best action films ever, and one that might possibly succeed it in years to come! (That long? )

You can find out more and book tickets from Ritzy’s website.

The final line-up for the Cannes Film Festival has been released, with several differences from the previously leaked list of 24 films that were widely reported at the beginning of the month. Though many of the films are the same, it’s particularly noticeable that some of the Asian filmmakers listed then are missing from the official line-up.

This year see’s two major Korean directors go head-to-head in competition with Hong Sang-soo’s In Another Country, whose Hahaha won the Prix Un Certain Regard in 2010 ; and Im Sang-Soo’s The Taste of Money, whose The Housemaid competed for the Palme d’Or the same year and was widely acclaimed (though it still remains unreleased in the UK after being ’shelved’ by Axiom earlier this year).

Directors competing for Un Certain Regard this year include Lou Ye (Suzhou River, Purple Butterfly) with Mystery and Koji Wakamatsu (United Red Army, Caterpillar) with 11.25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate, and there’s a midnight screening of Takashi Miike’s latest, The Legend of Love & Sincerity (Ai to makoto) making a return to Cannes with – what – another remake?!

There’ll also be a special screening of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mekong Hotel, whose ghost tragedy Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives took the top prize in 2010.

The Guardian have a feature on the Cannes full programme.

Rounding off another month devoted to the work of one director, the focus of this months Korean Cultural Centre UK’s Year Of The 12 Directors is Song Il-Gon, best known for Flower Island, Spider Forest, Feathers In The Wind and Dance Of Time.

Not particularly well-known in the UK, he was the first Korean filmmaker to win an award at Cannes, the Grand Prize of the Jury Best Short Film, Picnic, in 1999, and has also proved popular at Festivals in Venice, Busan, Tokyo and Melbourne to name but a few. Indeed initially his work was often much more widely appreciated outside of Korea.

The screening of his latest film Always, which opened the Busan International Film Festival in 2011, screens next Thursday, 26 April at the Apollo Cinema, London, followed by a Q&A hosted by Roger Clarke.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Terracotta Festival is proud to hold the European premiere of the Chinese movie Inseparable directed by Dayyan Eng, featuring Daniel Wu and Kevin Spacey.

Inseparable tells the story of hopeless 30 year old Li (Wu), who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a strange American ex-pat, Chuck (Kevin Spacey in excellent comic form). They first meet when Chuck foils Li’s attempt at suicide, claiming to be his neighbour. He takes Li under his wing, gradually helping with his troubles at work, with life in general and his relationship woes with his wife, Pang (Gong), an investigative reporter who suffers from extreme mood swings. But is Chuck really who he says he is? And why do Li and Chuck “patrol the streets” like superheros late in to the night…?

The films official release in China is due on May 2012.

Find out more about the full Terracotta Festival programme.

The full programme for the 4th annual has been released and once again it’s shaping up to be an outstanding festival with plenty of UK premieres, Q&As, masterclasses, and – of course – those parties… (more…)

The Korean Cultural Centre UK continue their Year Of The 12 Directors with a special screening of Meet Mr. Daddy, which will be followed by a Q&A with the director Park Kwang-su.

Park Kwang-su is a lesser known director internationally, but of great importance to Korean cinema. In the 1980’s he founded the Seoul Film Group which had links to the student protests that came to define the era before helping to establish the Busan International Film Festival as well as leading the Busan Film Commission. In between all of which Park Kwang-su created a body of cinematic work that made him a role model for the many young Korean film directors who have followed along the path that he forged for them.

The screening and Q&A will take place at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly Circus, and tickets can be purchased directly from Apollo Cinemas.

There’s still a chance to attend the screening of Park Kwang-su’s 1995 film A Single Spark at the Korean Cultural Centre UK by Trafalgar Square. The screening is free but places must be booked in advance on the KCCUK’s website.

On March 11th, 2012, exactly a year after the earthquake which caused so much damage to Japan, Third Window Films will be hosting a charity screening of Yûya Ishii’s Mitsuko Delivers at the ICA, London, to raise awareness for the people of Fukushima.

Adam Torel, managing director of Third Window Films, said in the press release for the event: “A year on and Japan still lies in a state of destruction and confusion. In Fukushima, with the ‘unseen’ damage of the nuclear situation, the emotional scars of the people still living there are unimaginable. There is a certain stigma arising about both Fukushima and its people with the topic itself becoming ‘off-limits’. People are feeling isolated and this can’t be made to happen. Japan is one nation and to recover from this awful tragedy we need to help give voice to the people of Fukushima and keep them strong.”

“It is my personal feeling, that staying strong mentally will keep the body strong, and a state of happiness and good spirits can overcome almost anything. Despite the heavy occasion, I want to show a light-hearted film so that people can be cheerful and that these spirits can be passed along to the people of Fukushima who in turn can be happy in the face of adversity.”

Third Window films, together with Pictures Dept., Bitters End, Dongyu, Rapid Eye Films and Joint Entertainment, produced celebrated directors Sion Sono’s Land of Hope, a film modelled on the situation in Fukushima, at the end of last year.

100% of Third Window Films’ profits of the screening of Mitsuko Delivers will go to a Fukushima-based charity. Third Window Films will also be selling DVDs at the event, with 100% of their sales also going to charity.

» Buy tickets from the ICA’s site.

Alongside the Fukushima charity, Third Window Films are also giving away 100% of ticket sales of all Japanese films playing in their East Winds Film Festival to the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund.

Continuing the North and South themes that divide the country, Secret Reunion director Jang Hoon returns with a drama set during the end of the Korean War itself… (more…)

New logo, new dates, same great festival!… (more…)

Returning for a fourth year, the Asia House Pan-Asia Film Festival is dedicated to celebrating and promoting the best in new Asian cinema, from the Persian Gulf to the Pacific, covering the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia and East Asia.

Once again there’s a solid line-up of films being screened from 8 to 18 March, including: 11 Flowers, from Beijing Bicycle director Wang Xiao-Shuai; Lee Yoon-Ki’s Berlinale 2011 Golden Bear Nominated Come Rain, Come Shine; Tom Lin’s Starry, Starry Night; a world premiere for Shivajee Chandrabhushan’s One More, followed by a Q&A; and Naomi Kawase’s project 3.11 A Sense of Home, a response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami which hit the Tohoku region of Japan on 11 March 2011.

What really caught my eye was another chance to see Sonthar Gyal’s impressive The Sun-beaten Path again, last screened as part of the London Film Festival.

» Screenings will take place at Asia House, Prince Charles Cinema and Ciné Lumiere. Find out more about Pan Asia Film Festival 2012 and book tickets.

Video artist David Blandy unravels his obsession with Chinese and Japanese pop culture in conversation with Japanese manga artist Inko on Thursday evening at Asia House, London, at 6:45pm.

From philosophical conversations concerning Bruce Lee to the quandary caused by loving Anime and being the grandson of a veteran of the Japanese concentration camps, Blandy will discuss the misrecognitions, mistranslations and revelations in Kung-Fu flicks, Manga and computer games. Asia House will be screening the London premiere Anjin 1600 (2012), ‘Japanese Space Opera’ and Child of the Atom (2010).

Blandy uses video, performance and comics to address how identity is constructed, investigating our relationship to the mass media and cultural heritage. Blandy won the Times/South Bank Show Breakthrough Award in 2010.

Inko was born in Kyoto, Japan, and has been working as a Manga artist, and as a culture and language ambassador with SOAS.

» Book tickets from Asia House.

For those that can make it, there’s some very interesting films coming up in the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, which starts today…

Out of Competition, there’s big guns like Tsui Hark’s (2nd?) reboot of King Hu’s Dragon Gate Inn, Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate, which stars Jet Li, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun in 3D (already out in much of Asia Pacfic), and Zhang Yimou’s Jin líng Shi San Chai (The Flowers Of War) starring the dark knight himself, Christian Bale, and the big 3D restoration of the classic 1964 animation, Da Nao Tian Gong 3D (The Monkey King – Uproar in Heaven 3D) (which surely is going to put a dent in Donnie Yen’s live-action, and also 3D, version of everyone’s favourite mischievous monkey also called The Monkey King).

In competition there’s Wang Quan’an’s three-hour epic Bai lu yuan (White Deer Plain) starring Zhang Fengyi, Zhang Yuqi and Wu Gang.

There’s plenty of films from Korea too, including Kim Joong-hyun’s Kashi (Choked), Han Lee’s Wandeukyi (Punch), Jeon Kyu-hwan’s From Seoul To Varanasi and Kim Souk-young’s short Mah-Chui (Anesthesia). (Let’s not for get Park Chan-wook and his brother Park Chan-kyong won big last year with their Night Fishing aka Paranmanjang, shot on an iPhone.)

Yang Yonghi’s Kazoku no kuni (Our Homeland), about one of the 90,000 Korean’s resident in Japan between the 50s and 90s who emigrated to North Korea, will also be on show.

There are also great masterclass events on with filmmakers themselves, including Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, best known for his work on The Last Emperor, Babel and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (not to mention being a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra).

» Find out more from the official Berlinale site here.

From 10 February to 28 March 2012, the Japan Foundation will be touring major cities around the UK with a programme of contemporary Japanese films. This year the focus will be on auteurs such as Masayuki Suo (I Just Didn’t Do It) and Miwa Nishikawa (Dear Doctor).

Other films will include Takatsugu Naito’s The Dark Harbour, Katsumi Sakaguchi’s Sleep, Kenji Uchida’s A Stranger of Mine and Yoji Yamada’s About Her Brother. Venues will include ICA in London from 10 February, Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast from 2 March and Watershed in Bristol from 14 March.

» You can find out more from Japan Foundation’s official touring programme site.

It’s a secret, but… well, Adam Torel, MD of Third Window Films, regularly holds a special meet up to present some of his favourite films, which often have not been seen in the UK whether on screen or DVD.

The next meet up, will feature just such a movie, though the title will be a secret till it starts. It takes place on the evening of 13 February at Roxy Bar & Screen, Borough High Street, London, where they also have a great selection of delicious pub food.

Find out more and sign up to the group here.