In the 11-year history of Five Flavours, there were many authors whose films regularly appeared in the festival program. This year's edition also features new titles by the audiences' favorite filmmakers. We reveal three of the them below.
TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL, dir. Sion Sono, Japan 2017, 142'
The film anarchist, whose retrospective was a part of last year’s festival program, comes back in a completely different style. Spring 2017 marked the premiere of the 9-episode series the director created for Amazon Prime Japan. Its special, festival version, will be screened at Five Flavours. The filmmaker transports us to the world of modern vampires, in the midst of a conflict between powerful clans from Romania and Japan. This daring story was shot in Tokyo and Romanian Transylvania, so apart from the grasping editing, gallons of fake blood, shots, glitter, and kaleidoscopic images, the audiences can also expect a familiar, Eastern-European twist, with the charismatic Megumi Kagurazaki in the role of Elżbieta Batory.
GODSPEED, dir. Chung Mong-hong, Taiwan 2016, 111'
Chung mong-hong, known to our audiences for his "The Fourth Portrait" (2010), and "Soul" (2013), is the master of the subversive use of genres – he can stretch them out, burn them, and condense them like a master of cinematic molecular gastronomy. This time, he returns with a peculiar gangster road movie, in which pitch-black humor balances out the brutal melancholy. A helpless mob courier gets into a taxi and meets its weary driver, which leads to a number of intriguing conversations about life, and a serious blow to the mob’s peace of mind. The director, who was also the cinematographer, shows the journey though Taiwan in hypnotic shots – his sense of aesthetics and the precision in building up suspense are reminiscent of Nicolas Winding Refn's work.
CLOSE-KNIT, dir. Naoko Ogigami, Japan 2017, 127'
Her films "Glasses" and "Rent-A-Cat," screened as part of the Japanese Female Directors retrospective at the 9th Five Flavours, took the hearts of our audiences by storm. Now she comes back with a bitter-sweet family melodrama. A resolute 11-year old girl, Tomo, neglected by her ever-absent mother, finds a shelter with her uncle, who works at a bookstore, and his transgender partner – a nurse, who takes loving care of the girl. Ogigami treats her topic with delicateness and tact, even though it is controversial in the Japanese society, but the film is not a social drama – it is a lovely, touching, fairy-tale story about building a relationship, caring for others, and being persistent in overcoming difficulties.
Festival passes for this year's Five Flavours are already available online.
They come in three different kinds: Five Flavours Pass, Radio Asia Pass, and Master Pass.
We also prepared a special hospitality offer available for the pass and accreditation holders.
11. Five Flavours Asian Film Festival
15-22 November, 2017, Warsaw
Organised by: Arteria Art Foundation
Partners: Warsaw City Council, Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Polish Film Institute, Japan Foundation, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin, Asian Film Awards Academy
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21.09.2017 | Editor's blog
Cat. : FESTIVALS