2010 edition will begin on 23 April and will present around sixty titles and two major retrospectives: one on the glorious Shin-Toho - which is to Japanese cinema what Roger Corman's Factory is to American film - and the other on Patrick Lung Kong, who inspired John Woo's masterpiece A Better Tomorrow  (Golden Lion, 2010).

UDINE - 9 days of programming, from 23 April to 1 May, and over 60 films on their way from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan. Yes, it's back: Far East Film, the great festival (or rather, the great party) which sees Udine's Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche investigating the visuals and styles of the Far East.

Eleven editions successfully placed in the archives, the moniker of the best Asian outpost in Europe deservedly earned in the field and, as we were saying, Chapter 12 which is getting itself ready to enthuse an adoring public. A huge public, as the 50,000 spectators of the 2009 edition confirm. A varied one, too, as witnessed by the usual suspects in the shape of numerous guests, journalists and industry representatives. Just consider how Asian producers and distributors count on the Udine showcase to place their titles on the western markets, partly on the strength of the planetary success of Departures (previewed at Far East Film 11, immediately after the Oscar victory for Best Foreign Film, and, from 9 April, in Italian cinemas thanks to Tucker Film, an offshoot of Udine's Centro Espressioni Cinematografiche and Pordenone's Cinemazero).

Any sneak previews on 2010? The organisers have put together an articulated and rich event, another perfect blend between the present and the past, which alternates previews, cult movies, rediscoveries, encounters with guest stars (actors, directors), without forgetting the return of major retrospectives.

The first will be dedicated to one of the most celebrated Japanese production companies, Shin-Toho, which we can only compare to Roger Corman's illustrious Factory. Specialised in genre movies, producing noir crime thrillers, so crucial to the syntax of popular Japanese cinema, Shin-Toho will be put under the microscope in Udine, thanks to 15 titles never before seen outside of Japan, produced in the 50s and 60s.

The second retrospective will continue along the path of exploration and in-depth research into the recent history of the Hong Kong film industry: a focus on the cinema of Patrick Lung Kong, an auteur who is politically non-aligned. A key figure and forefather in the ex-British colony of the New Wave of the 1980s, he has become an compulsory reference point for directors and actors of the new generation. A Better Tomorrow, the urban noir masterpiece by John Woo (Golden Lion for Lifetime's Achievement at the upcoming Venice Film Festival), is the remake of his hyper-realistic picture from 1967, Story Of The Discharged Prisoner.