The Terracotta Festival

OPENING FILM MY WAY

In recent years, cross-border productions have been flourishing and Terracotta are thrilled to be opening the festival on Thursday 12th April 2012 with one of the most high-profile and ambitious examples to date, the Korean war epic MY WAY.

From Korean cinema's box office champion Kang Je-Kyu who also directed ‘Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War' and ‘Shiri', MY WAY tells the story of two marathon runners, one Korean and one Japanese, during Japan's colonisation of Korea. The two men are drafted into the Japanese army, and develop a close friendship through battles in Russia and Germany.

MY WAY is a pan-Asian Korean, Chinese and Japanese production which brings together an impressive cast - Jang Dong-gun, Joe Odagiri and Fan Bingbing - from all three territories and spans the battlefield action of WWII from Japan to the Battle of Normandy.

The film had its European Premiere at the 62nd annual Berlin Film Festival for the Panorama section and Terracotta Festival is proud to host the UK Premiere.

CLOSING FILM HIMIZU

Terracotta Festival will also be closing on Sunday 15th April with a world-renowned name in Japanese cinema: HIMIZU by Sono Sion which had its World Premiere at the 2011 Venice Film Festival where it played In Competition.

HIMIZU is based on the famous manga of the same name and relates the story of two teenagers living a dystopian existence in post-tsunami Japan and embark on a campaign of violence against evil wrong doers.

HIMIZU will be the third film from Sono Sion to be released by Third Window Films, after the success of 'Love Exposure' and ‘Cold Fish' and marks the return of a long term creative collaboration between the label and Terracotta Festival.

Adam Torel, Third Window Films managing Director, comments: "Sono Sion is one of the most talked about new directors in Asia with his recent wave of critical and box office success. Himizu, his latest, was in Official Selection in Venice and won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best new actor and actress. We are pleased to have Himizu close the Terracotta Film Festival, one of the UK's leading Asian film festivals."

The annual Terracotta Festival at the Prince Charles Cinema, London, will once again show the latest films from Asia and further announcements on the full line-up will be made shortly.