The 51st issue of the Asian Cinema Digest highlights film events, exhibitions, essays, podcasts that ignite further conversations, both personal and cultural, through images and art. These subjective exchanges of discourse not only carry cinephilic wonder into our own lives, but also make valuable commentary on our latent realities.
TO SEE
Various: Southeast Asian Film Festivals
November and December herald the end of the festival year, but also a belt of exciting film events for Southeast Asia, namely the Jogja-Netpac International Film Festival in Indonesia, QCinema International Film Festival in the Philippines and the Singapore International Film Festival. Each has rounded up and announced their picks for the year’s best, premiering titles from all over the world, championing our own regional cinema and introducing them to their home cities for the first time.
Asian Film Archive: Edward Yang Retrospective
From now till 29 December, visit Taiwanese New Wave filmmaker Edward Yang’s legacy at the Oldham Theatre in Singapore, with a free exhibition featuring artefacts, props and ephemera. This comes alongside ticketed screenings of his iconic oeuvre and four of the auteur’s favourite classic films: Nostalghia (1983), My American Uncle (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972).
Image still from Layla (2024, Amrou Al-Kadhi)28th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Dedicated to showcasing Asian cinema, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival returns this year with a robust lineup of genre hits, spunky shorts and exciting sidebar programmes. Anticipated features include Nelicia Low’s Pierce (2024), Mukaddas Mijit, Bastien Ehouzan’s Nikah (2024), Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Layla (2024) and Yusron Fuadi’s The Draft! (2024). 49 short films ranging from drama and animation to documentary and experimental will also be presented. A selection of the lineup will be available on VOD.
Image still from Cheewajit Terror (2024, Saranpat Kongsuk)Thai Film Archive: 28th Online Short Film Marathon
All short films submitted to the 27th Thai Short Film and Video Festival, a total of 63 sprawling programmes organised in alphabetical order, are being screened on zoom till 4 December 2024. Two programmes of approximately 3 hours each will take place virtually everyday in a short film marathon leading up to the finalist’s announcement in December 2024. The total pool of over 600 titles features works of various genres, styles and by filmmakers of all ages. Interested audiences can register at the link here.
TO READ
Image still from Small Hours of the Night (2024, Daniel Hui)Mekong Review: “I is another”
Through an interview and profile with Daniel Hui, film critic Sasha Han unpacks the Singaporean writer-director’s itinerant history, his penchant for horror movies and the threads of his practice. Hui’s films, such as Small Hours of the Night (2024), Snakeskin (2014) and Demons (2018) are known for their ephemeral weavings of micro and macrohistories, as well as their surreal, humanist effect. In response to his filmography and sharings, Han reflects upon remnants of spiritual collectivity that can be conjured through filmmaking, fleeting moments of belonging – connections felt between fact and fiction, history and contemporary, filmmaker and subject, film and audience.
Image still from Black Ox (2024, Tsuta Tetsuichiro)Filmmaker Magazine: Tokyo International Film Festival 2024: Tsuta Tetsuichiro on Black Ox
Vadim Rizov reviews and speaks to Tsuta Tetsuichiro on his third feature Black Ox (2024). The slowburn drama depicts a farmer’s tumultuous weathering and cultivating of nature during Japan’s rapid modernization in the 19th century and stars Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-Sheng. Tetsuichiro recounts his use of 70mm, a highly rare format for contemporary Japanese productions, working with Lee and navigating the natural terrain where the film was shot.
Image still from Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958–1989 (2024, Göran Hugo Olsson)Documentary Magazine: “We’re Not Naive Enough to Think This Is the Only Truth”: Göran Hugo Olsson on ‘Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958–1989’
Constructed with Swedish archival materials of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Göran Hugo Olsson’s latest documentary confronts modicums of truth, investigating the prescient, yet ever evolving biases in a third party perspective of the conflict. In a conversation with Öykü Sofuoğlu, Olsson expounds on the process of scouring through thousands of hours of material, shaping a chronicle that “doesn’t necessarily tell us what really happened, but says a lot about how it was told”.
Image still from Mingalaba: A Journey Through the Myanmar Photo ArchiveMekong Review: Ekphrasis
In reaction to the Myanmar Photo Archive (MPA) project by Lukas Birk, that called for reinterpretations of Myanmar’s history through collected images, Michelle Aung Thin and Khin present an anonymous conversation between two participants. They discuss their own and other creative reinterpretations of selected photographs, the value of their personal contributions to a subjective collective memory and the state of archival preservation in Myanmar.
Mingalaba: A Journey Through the Myanmar Photo Archive is available for viewing in Singapore at Peninsula Plaza, Excelsior Shopping Centre between 18 Oct 2024 — 24 Nov 2024.
TO LISTEN
Deep Cut: Edward Yang: Yi Yi
The hosts of Deep Cut: A Film Podcast each unravel their own impressions and nostalgia for Edward Yang’s final film and magnum opus, Yi Yi (2000), a deeply complex family chronicle and an enduring list topper after more than two decades. They draw insights from Yang’s director’s commentary, matching them to their personal interpretations and the film’s timeless subject matter.
MUBI Podcast: HOUSE – The Japanese psychedelic masterpiece
Film programmer and author Anna Bogutskaya guest-hosts season 6 of the MUBI Podcast, covering the iconic story behind Nobuhiko Obayashi’s debut feature House (1977). The fun-loving, spooky film is known for having been written in part by the director’s then pre-teen daughter Chigumi Obayashi, who contributed ideas from her own childhood nightmares and fears. Bogutskaya brings us through some of these spirited anecdotes – loathsome piano teachers, watermelons in wells, nearly being asphyxiated by a futon, alongside the tumultuous production process faced by Toho that led to the creation of this bizarre, beloved classic.
TO SUBMIT
Call for Submissions: Jeonju International Film Festival
The Jeonju International Film Festival 2025 is accepting submissions of first or second feature-length films (above 40 minutes) completed after January 2024. Submission is free and will close on 2 January 2025.
Call for Submissions: Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles is accepting short film submissions from India, the greater South Asian subcontinent and its diasporas, that have been completed in 2023 or later. Students are eligible for a submission fee discount. The early bird deadline is 17 November 2024, and the final deadline is 15 December 2024.
Call for Submissions: 2nd Cinema at Sea, Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival
Hosted on the Okinawa Islands, the 2nd edition of the Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival is accepting submissions of films set against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. The films must be completed after 1 September 2023. Submissions will close on 23 November 2024.
Call for Submissions: 8th Nepal International Film Festival
Nepal International Film Festival has extended their deadline to submit narrative features between 60 and 120 minutes, narrative shorts under 30 minutes and documentaries under 90 minutes. The films must be completed after 1 Jan 2023. Submissions will close on 15 December 2024.
Call for Submissions: 23rd Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) – Work-in-Progress
The Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Industry Project Market is accepting submissions of film projects in later stages of production. The initiative aims to aid projects in securing post-production funding, meeting distributors and festival programmers. Submissions will close on 16 December 2024. The full list of rules and regulations can be found here.
This edition of the Asian Cinema Digest was compiled by Renee Ng. The Asian Cinema Digest is a monthly compilation of content taking place internationally involving Asian cinema and the moving image. Featured programmes are not representative of AFA’s views and are unaffiliated to the AFA unless otherwise stated.
