Udine Far East Film 4 (19-27 April 2002)

[Stephen Cremin]

Excuse the plug.  Udine FEF is an audience-friendly festival held in NE 
Italy, about an hour from Venice.  I programmed this year's event.  List 
member Roland Domenig curated our pink film programme and Mark Schilling 
was my Japan consultant.  (Jonathan Clements curated the Chinese 
animation retrospective; other consultants included Darcy Paquet in 
Korea, Noel Vera in Philippines and Tim Youngs in Hong Kong.)  Many 
Kinejapan members are attending so find below the complete list of 64 
features and an excerpt from the catalogue introduction to contextualise 
the programme.

Confirmed guests include Patrick Leung, Miriam Yeung, Chung Woo-sung, 
Sasaki Yumeka, Pan Yueming, Motohiro Katsuyuki, Kim Sung-soo, Huo 
Jianqi, Soi Cheang, Yuthlert Sippapak, Mori Junichi, Joe Ma, Meng Qi, Jo 
Min-hwan, Zeze Takahisa, Thomas Chow, Zhang Yibai, Jang Jin, Teng Huatao 
and Sato Toshiki.

For those thinking of attending, contact hospitality for help in 
tracking down available hotel rooms in the small town 
(francesco at cecudine.org).  All films play just once in a 1200-seat opera 
house.  This year I think there's a handling fee of E10 (US$9) for a 
festival pass which gives free access to all screenings.  Anyone can buy 
this pass, it's not restricted to press or industry.

Stephen Cremin



 >>INTRODUCTION

....
Our themed retrospectives introduce two little-known but important 
sectors of Asian film production - Chinese animation and Japanese pink 
cinema - both going through periods of transition after decades of 
development.  We're particulary honored to host the first P-1 Grand Prix 
competition for pink cinema outside Japan focusing on the generation who 
apprenticed under our guests Sato Toshiki and Zeze Takahisa, both 
presenting their latest work in our main programme.  They're accompanied 
by Sasaki Yumeka, pink film's leading actress of the moment, who has 
three films in our programme.

We're indebted to the Shanghai Film Group, the Beijing Film Archive, the 
Hong Kong Film Archive and Marie-Claire Quiquemelle in Paris for helping 
us realise a world first focus on pan-Chinese animation, covering a 
period of six decades from the revolutionary feature in 1941 responsible 
for kick-starting the Asian animation industry to the international 
premiere of a small tale about a little pig modestly called McDull which 
in its cross between Hello Kitty and The Simpsons, subversive 
off-the-wall storytelling and jaw-dropping mix of animation styles 
points to a new direction for the future of Chinese animation.

We also host a comprehensive retrospective of Hong Kong director Patrick 
Leung as he returns to the film world with two new features.  While 
Leung insists that every film he makes is a change in direction, there 
are consistent themes in his work that we invite you to explore.  The 
past year has also been a standout year for director, scriptwriter and 
producer Joe Ma and we cover the breadth of his work in 2001 from 
refined melodrama through screwball comedy to all-out horror, creating a 
new star in the process, Miriam Yeung, in town as our main diva with her 
latest comedy.

Hong Kong cinema has always had a special place in the heart of Far East 
Film.  This year we bring attention to the three most exciting talents 
to emerge behind the camera: Soi Cheang, Edmond Pang and GC Goo-bi.  
While the line between reality and fantasy is central to horror films, 
Cheang - whose films bookend our horror day - pushed the boundaries in 
2001, revolutionising the local ghost movie in the scariest film from 
Asia since Sadako crawled through a television screen.  Johnnie To's 
adaptation of Pang's hitman novel blurs the line between fiction and 
reality to a degree completely unexpected in commercial cinema while GC 
Goo-bi brings a completely fresh spin to youth romance.

While Hong Kong cinema moved away from action for the financial rewards 
of comedy romance, Korean cinema saw its own small revolution in the 
genre.  Action directors brought a uniquely Korean style of fighting to 
the big screen from 14th century historical epics to action comedies 
that often saw women delivering the punches and kicks.  Among our guests 
is Chung Woo-sung, Korea's leading heartthrob and the director most 
responsible for moulding his image, Kim Sung-soo.  We're particuarly 
proud of our closing gala, the international premiere of the highest 
grossing local film of 2002 to date, which points to a new direction for 
commercial Korean cinema.

Rather than focus on the better known Japanese films that have received 
high-profile screenings at other European festivals, we bring our 
attention to master craftsmen Motohiro Katsuyuki, Takita Yojiro and 
Mitani Koki as well as exciting new talents Mori Junichi and Otani 
Kentaro with a nod to that most prolific of Asian directors, Miike 
Takeshi, whose bloody gangster tale is guaranteed to clear the theatre 
on closing night.  Our guests include Udine regular Motohiro and 
newcomer Mori, working with Japan's leading young actors in everyman 
tales of idiot-savants and the importance of love.

In a year widely considered substandard by mainland critics, we host the 
international premieres of the three most exciting Chinese debuts of 
2001 with directors and producers in attendance.  Among our lineup is 
the first independent film approved by the government censor, at a time 
when the most independent of Chinese directors have entered the studio 
system.  This new generation demonstrate that even when making "main 
line" films - supporting the current government line on a social issue - 
they can dazzle cinematically and as storytellers in tales about 
corruption, community and social responsibility.

We contrast these with the more conservative - if accomplished - films 
produced out of the Shanghai Film Studio, a focus of a special 
retrospective last year, who plan fifteen new "main line" films in 
2002.  In recent years the Beijing Film Studio has revolutionised the 
film noir and we continue our exploration of this trend with a gala 
screening of Huo Jianqi's new film, winner of the Best Film prize at 
China's official Golden Rooster Awards.  Huo is accompanied by his 
leading actor, Pan Yueming, a key figure in this trend who Udine 
audiences will recognise from last year's noir offerings as the victim 
of another mysterious femme.

Last and unfortunately least is our programme from South-East Asia with 
a tick of "must do better" on the report card.  Among the highlights are 
a noir from the Philippines which proves that great acting and 
innovative scripts can bring this powerhouse of popular cinema closer to 
the forefront of Asian filmmaking.  Our guest from Thailand, Yuthlert 
Sippapak, presents his post-IMF hitman comedy on opening night which 
alongside our football flick from the Kingdom demonstrating that Thai 
filmmakers have nothing to learn and everything to teach when it comes 
to cinematic post-production cool.

Stephen Cremin


===
 >>FULL PROGRAMME LINEUP (Guests marked *)

 >CHINA
Escort (Qi Xing, 2000)
A Love of Blueness (Huo Jianqi, 2000) *
The Marriage Certificate (Huang Jianxin, 2001)
One Hundred... (Teng Huatao, 2001) *
Purple Sunset (Feng Xiaoning, 2001)
Spring Subway (Zhang Yibai, 2001) *
Touched by Love (Jiang Ping & Liu Xin, 2001) *
What a Snowy Day (Meng Qi, 2001) *

 >HONG KONG
Dance of a Dream, (Andrew Lau, 2001)
Diamond Hill (Soi Cheang, 2000) *
Dummy Mommy, Without a Baby (Joe Ma & Mak Kai-kwong, 2001) *
Fat Choi Spirit (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, 2002)
Fulltime Killer (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, 2001)
Funeral March, (Joe Ma, 2001) *
Heroes in Love (Various, 2001)
Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster (Soi Cheang, 2001) *
Love on a Diet (Johnnie To & Wai Ka-fai, 2001)
Love Undercover (Joe Ma, 2002) *
Merry-Go-Round (Thomas Chow, 2001) *
Visible Secret (Ann Hui, 2001)
You Shoot, I Shoot (Edmond Pang, 2001)

 >JAPAN
All About Our House (Mitani Koki, 2001)
Ichi the Killer (Miike Takashi, 2001)
Laundry (Mori Junichi, 2001) *
Moans from Next Door (Sato Toshiki, 2001) *
Tokyo Erotica (Zeze Takahisa, 2001) *
Transparent (Motohiro Katsuyuki, 2001) *
A Woman's Work (Otani Kentaro, 2001)
The Yin-Yang Master (Takita Yojiro, 2001)

 >KOREA
Bad Guy (Kim Ki-duk, 2001)
Failan (Song Hae-sung, 2001)
Friend (Kwak Kyung-taek, 2001)
Guns & Talks (Jang Jin, 2001) *
Hi, Dharma! (Park Chul-kwan, 2001)
Kick the Moon (Kim Sang-jin, 2001)
Last Witness (Bae Chang-ho, 2001)
Musa (Kim Sung-soo, 2001) *
My Sassy Girl (Kwak Jae-yong, 2001)
Public Enemy (Kang Woo-suk, 2002)
Sorum (Yoon Jong-chan, 2001)

 >PHILIPPINES
La Vida Rosa (Chito S Rono, 2001)

 >SINGAPORE
One Leg Kicking (Eric Khoo & Wei Koh, 2001)

 >THAILAND
Goal Club (Kittikorn Laiwsirikun, 2000)
Killer Tattoo (Yuthlert Sippapak, 2001) *


 >>RETROSPECTIVE PROGRAMME

 >UDINE P-1 GRAND PRIX
Despite All That (Imaoka Shinji, 1999)
Glitter (Enomoto Toshiro, 1997)
No Woman, No Cry (Kamata Yoshitaka, 1998)
One Week (Kobayashi Masahiro, 2000)
Rustling in Bed (Tajiri Yuji, 1999)
A Sky-Blue Crayon (Ueno Toshiya, 1998)
Snow, Woman (Meike Mitsuru, 2000)
A 3-1 Count (Sakamoto Rei, 1999)

 >CHINESE ANIMATION 1941-2001
Princess Iron Fan (Wan Laiming & Wan Guchan, 1941)
Princess Hibiscus (Huang Yu, 1957)
Uproar in Heaven (Wan Laiming & Tang Cheng, 1961-65)
Nezha Conquers the Dragon King (Various, 1979)
A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation (Andrew Chan, 1997)
Grandma and her Ghosts (Wang Shaudi, 1998)
My Life as McDull (Toe Yuen, 2001) *

 >PATRICK LEUNG
Somebody Up There Likes Me (Patrick Leung, 1995) *
Beyond Hypothermia (Patrick Leung, 1996) *
Task Force (Patrick Leung, 1997) *
Born Wild (Patrick Leung, 2001) *
La Brassiere (Patrick Leung & Chan Hing-kai, 2001) *

===
 >>FESTIVAL CONSULTANTS
Hong Kong: Tim Youngs
Japan: Mark Schilling
Korea: Darcy Paquet
Philippines: Noel Vera

 >>GUEST CURATORS
Animation: Jonathan Clements
Pink Film: Roland Domenig