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<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal">As you can see from the announcement below, two Japanese
films got the audience awards at Udine
this year.</p>
<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">Takano Tofu, written and directed by Mihara Mitsuhiro, won top prize.
Mark Schilling, in the film’s <a href="https://www.fareastfilm.com/eng/film/takano-tofu/?IDLYT=7505" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">festival
blurb</a>, said “Not that the film is in any way an Ozu homage.” That is, apart
from it being set in Onomichi; the plot revolving around a widowed father
getting his daughter married, with mutual non-disclosures; Fuji Tatsuya, acting
the father, donning a Ryū Chishū accent in some scenes; and he makes tofu.
There are also numerous punctuation shots, only some of which depict moving
trains.</p>
<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none">For all that, I concede that it’s not made in Ozu’s style but in the
familiar style of a Japanese heart-warming comedy. I wouldn’t condemn it as a
sit-com. In too many sit-coms, the characters have to forget, for each gag,
their previous experiences. This was the opposite: there were straight scenes
and hammed-up scenes, but all the characters brought forward their experience
in both kinds of scene. And, yes, the film did win me over.</p>
<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt;layout-grid-mode:char;mso-layout-grid-align:none"><i>Confetti</i> also succeeded, through its script by Suzuyuki Kaneko, in
transforming several familiar elements of a teen drama into something more interesting.
As Mark Schilling’s intelligent <a href="https://www.fareastfilm.com/eng/film/confetti/?IDLYT=7505" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">review</a>
says, “its focus is less on challenging heteronormative prejudice than showing
the transformative power of theater”.</p>
<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt">I found other interesting Japanese
films at Udine in a necessarily
short stay. <i>missing</i>, by Yoshida Keisuke, entirely lacks any feel-good
factor for an audience award. It brought me back to one of the bleakest
documentaries I have seen – <i>Barzakh</i>, lit.: Limbo, 2011, by Manta Kvedavari<span>č</span>ius, a documentary on the same
subject, albeit set in Chechnya.
After a screening at the Dochouse in London,<span> </span><span>Sarah
Whittaker, a clinical psychologist – spoke that, of the obstacles to coping
with a disappearance, the greatest of these is hope. She did not directly allude
to <i>1 Corinthians</i>, but the inversion of Paul left her point in my ears. Sen’ya,
ichiya, 2022, (not at this festival) directed by </span>Kubota Nao, script <span>Aoki Kenji,
touched on the same subject, but Yoshida’s target was the exploitation of hope,
particularly through social media.</span></p>
<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt">The good news is that all of these
films are also slated at <i>Nippon Connection</i> this year.</p>
<p class="ydpb03c2203MsoNormal" style="margin-top:6.0pt">Roger<i></i></p>
</div><br></div><div><br></div>
</div><div id="ydpe1a23e86yahoo_quoted_6914366054" class="ydpe1a23e86yahoo_quoted">
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;color:#26282a;">
<div>----- Forwarded message -----</div>
<div><b>From:</b> Feff Press <feff@cecudine.org></div><div><b>To:</b> Feff Press <feff@cecudine.org></div><div><b>Sent:</b> Friday, 3 May 2024 at 13:43:23 GMT+4</div><div><b>Subject:</b> Japan triumphs at FEFF 26: Mihara Mitsuhiro's "Takano Tofu" takes home the Golden Mulberry!</div><div><br></div>
<div><div id="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494"><div><div class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WordSection1"><p class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></b></p><p class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><img id="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494Immagine_x0020_1" src="cid:f13a08a1-5587-5ba8-b3b7-d948458f1daf@yahoo.com" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true" style="width: 151px; max-width: 151px;"></b><b><span lang="EN-GB"></span></b></p><p class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB">24 April/2 May 2024 - Udine, Italy, Teatro Nuovo and Visionario</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;"></span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:27.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;">Japan triumphs at FEFF 26:<i></i></span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:27.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;">Takano Tofu</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:27.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;"> takes home the Golden Mulberry and<i></i></span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:27.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;">Confetti</span></i></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:27.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;"> wins the Silver Mulberry!</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;"></span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;">On the third step of the podium, </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;">Hong Kong's <i>Time Still Turns the Pages</i>. </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;color:red;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:17.5pt;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;">The 2024 edition concludes with three new records: 65,000 spectators, 3,000 guests and 1,700 pass holders.</span></b></p><p align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-size: auto;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-size: auto;"> </span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Press release for the 3<sup>rd</sup> of May, 2024 </span></p><p class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">For immediate publication/release</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"></span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">UDINE – "It's the first time I've been to the <b>Far East Film Festival</b>, which is a very big and very important event for us Asian filmmakers. You know: it's rare today to find 1,200 people attending a film screening. It's rare anywhere in the world. And I am deeply moved to see such a full cinema, without empty seats, and to see how much you love our work! I will be coming back here to the <b>Teatro Nuovo in Udine</b>, which is a beautiful city, because you have really moved me..."<b></b></span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Zhang Yimou</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">'s words contain more than just happiness at an enthusiastic welcome for an art form – cinema – which is once again starting to soar: they contain the very meaning of the<b> Far East Film Festival</b>. A freewheeling, exuberant journey through Asia's pop-culture soul. A long love affair which <b>since 1999</b> has never stopped<b> forging bonds between East and West</b>.</span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">In confirmation of the fact that cinema is once again starting to fly, <b>FEFF 26</b> brought <b>to Udine 79 films</b> (<b>12 world premieres</b>, <b>22 international premieres</b>, <b>23 European premieres</b> and <b>19 Italian premieres</b>), <b>228 guests of honour</b> (including, of course, the legendary <b>Zhang Yimou</b>, winner of the <b>Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement</b> and protagonist of a<b> memorable masterclass</b>) and <b>65,000 spectators</b>. And, in line with a tradition dating back to <b>FEFF 01</b>, it was the <b>votes </b>of the <b>public</b> itself that decided this year's winners.<b></b></span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Japan</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> dominated the <b>2024 Audience Awards</b>, triumphing with <b>Mihara Mitsuhiro</b>'s moving <b><i>Takano Tofu</i></b> (<b>Golden Mulberry</b>) and also coming second with <b>Fujita Naoya</b>'s deeply touching <b><i>Confetti</i></b> (<b>Silver Mulberry</b>). Third place went to one of the cinematic highlights of the season: <b><i>Time Still Turns the Pages</i></b> by <b>Hong Kong </b>director<b> Nick Cheuk</b> (<b>Crystal Mulberry</b>). <b>Japan</b> also made sparks with <b>Black Dragon</b> pass holders (who voted for <b>Shiraishi Kazuya</b>'s samurai movie <b><i>Bushido</i></b>) and the <b>MYmovies</b> community (who chose <b><i>Takano Tofu</i></b>).<b></b></span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">The jurors of the <b>first feature section</b> (Anthony Chen, Edouard Waintrop and Matsuzaki Kaoru) awarded the <b>White Mulberry</b> to <b>South Korean</b> romance <b><i>Mimang</i></b> by <b>Kim Tae-yang</b> while the <b>Mulberry for Best Screenplay</b> went to action comedy<b><i> Citizen of a Kind</i></b> by <b>South Korean</b> director <b>Park Young-ju</b> (selected by some of the jurors of <b>Gorizia's</b> <b>"Sergio Amidei" International Best Screenplay Award</b>: Massimo Gaudioso, Marco Risi, Doriana Leondeff and Francesco Munzi).<b></b></span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">A record number of more than 3,000 guests</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> were lodged in accommodation around the city by <b>FEFF 26</b>, and the number of pass holders also reached a <b>record high</b>: <b>1,700</b> - an<b> increase of 25%</b> over 2023 - made up of enthusiasts, journalists, experts, professionals, and the FEFF-curious, it's worth underlining, <b>130 university cinema students</b> (from Italy, United Kingdom, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Singapore), showing just how much interest there was even among <b>younger Fareasters</b>.<b></b></span></p><p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">Over 200 professionals</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> arrived from <b>all over Europe</b> for the<b> Focus Asia</b> industry sessions and around <b>15,000 people</b> took part in the <b>FEFF Events</b> taking place across the centre of <b>Udine</b>. And last but not least, the <b>online FEFF</b>, streaming on the <b>MYmovies ONE</b> platform, recorded <b>8,775 attendees</b> from <b>200 Italian municipalities</b>. The top city for online users was <b>Milan</b>, followed by <b>Rome</b> and <b>Turin</b>, and the most streamed films were the <b><i>Alienoid</i></b> saga (with <b>1,500 hours of viewing</b>) and <b><i>Takano Tofu</i></b> (with <b>624 hours of viewing</b>).</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;">So all that remains to do is make a note in your diary of the dates of the next edition, when the <b>Far East Film Festival</b> will be turning <b>twenty-seven</b>: see you <b>in Udine from 24 April to 2 May 2025</b>!</span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="text-align:justify;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p><p style="text-align:justify;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNoSpacing"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:red;"> </span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:red;">Press Office / Far East Film Festival 26</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color:windowtext;"></span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default"><b><span style="color:windowtext;">Gianmatteo Pellizzari & Ippolita Nigris Cosattini</span></b></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494WW-Default">+39 0432 299545<span lang="X-NONE"></span></p><p align="center" style="text-align:center;" class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:feff@cecudine.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;">feff@cecudine.org</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;"> - </span><a href="mailto:stampafareastfilm@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;">stampafareastfilm@gmail.com</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;"></span></p><p class="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494MsoNormal"> </p></div><div id="ydpe1a23e86yiv1878607494DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"><br><table style="border-top:1px solid #D3D4DE;" class="yahoo-compose-table-card"><tbody><tr><td style="width:55px;padding-top:13px;"><a href="https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://s-install.avcdn.net/ipm/preview/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif" alt="" width="46" height="29" style="width:46px;min-height:29px;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></td><td style="width:470px;padding-top:12px;color:#41424e;font-size:13px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;line-height:18px;">Privo di virus.<a href="https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campaign=sig-email&utm_content=emailclient" style="color:#4453ea;" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.avast.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table><a href="#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> </a></div></div></div></div>
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