23rd edition of New York Asian Film Festival announced for July! | easternkicks.com (2024)

NYAFF returns in July with a record 90 world, international and North American premieres, celebrated industry guests and 20 feature debuts…

The New York Asian Film Foundation Inc. is America’s leading nonprofit organisation dedicated to the exhibition and appreciation of Asian film culture in all its forms with year-round festivals and screenings and a view to bridge the cultural gap between Asia and America. They have announced the 23rd edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) which will run from 12th–28th in July.The screenings will be held at Lincoln Center (July 12th–22nd) with additional screenings at the SVA Theatre (July 22nd–28th) and LOOK Cinemas W57 (July 13th–15th, 18th–21st, and 23rd–25th), plus a special collaborative presentation of films at the Korean Cultural Center New York. The festival will host the premieres of20 feature debuts, its largest lineup of newcomers ever, and features an amplified number of films focusing on LGBTQ+ characters and themes, including several that represent touchpoints in queer cinema.

Screening on July 12th’s opening night is the world premiere of Park Beom-su’sVictory, a cheerleading epic that centres around two girls wanting to create a cheerleading club to pursue their love of dance. Think of it as Bring It OnmeetsParasite featuringScreen InternationalRising Star Asia honoree Lee Hye-ri alongside her co-starPark Se-wan(of Life Is Beautiful and 6:45).

This year’s Hong Kong Panoroma, co-presented and backed by the support of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York is showcasing a broad array of films that exemplify its unique blend of artistry, innovation, and sheer entertainment value. A star-studded lineup of Hong Kong luminaries will be in attendance, including living legend Tai Bo, who will be honoured with this year’s Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award; directorHo Miu-kiofLove Lies.

The creative trio of director Chow Kam Wing, screenwriterLam Tsz Ki, and actressKuku Sowill appear for the world premiere of For Alice. The multi-hyphenate talent Sasha Chukwill be present for the North American Premiere of Fly Me to the Moon.

The charismatic Angus Yeunghits the ground running as an action star with Inexternal, whose world premiere is proof that the Hong Kong martial arts movie tradition is alive and kicking. Soi Cheang’sTwilight of the Warriors: Walled In, which played at Cannes last month, will make its North American premiere with producerJohn Chongand actorPhilip Ngin attendance for Closing Night.

As part of this panorama, the festival is turning a much-deservedFilmmaker In Focuson Hong Kong auteurRay Yeung, showcasing his era-defining LGBTQ+ films including his 2015 masterwork Front Cover which set in the high-fashion world in New York. The 2024 Berlin Teddy Award winner All Shall Be Well, which Yeung will introduce with the luminous lead, Patra Au, and producers Stanley Guingon and Michael Werner; and his 2019 featureTwilight’s Kiss (Suk Suk).

There will also be a specialSpotlight on 852 Filmswith Hong Kong singer-actor-producerJosie Ho, who returns to NYAFF to introduce and re-introduce some of her most daring projects, most notablyOnpaku, a surreal, V-cinema-style terror extravaganza from horror meister Shugo Fujii, and Janell Shirtcliff’s unclassifiable 2021 debut Habit (International Version), in a cut never before screened in North America.

This year’s enhanced Thai program (Thai Treasures), presented with support from the Thailand Creative Culture Agency is a full-bodied celebration of Thai film culture, boasting six new films and the largest movie delegation ever to attend the festival. Highlights include the effervescent Not Friends, a disarmingly imaginative teen saga from the Thai studio behindBad Genius, and You and Me and Me, with director Atta Hemwadee, producerBaz Poonpiriya(director of Bad Genius and One For the Road), and the film’s young starsAnthony BuisseretandThitiya Jirap*rnsilpin person for its North American premiere.

At the other end of the tonal spectrum isSupposed, the haunting final film from the late Thanakorn Pongsuwan, who’ll be honoured posthumously by his producer Siwap*rn Pongsuwanin attendance.

She’ll be joined by theActor In Focus – Ananda Everingham(also appearing forPattaya Heat), who stars as a fatalistic lady-killer, andChayanit Chansangavej, who makes an unforgettable turn as “that obscure object of desire.” Everingham resurfaces in the eerie folk horrorThe Cursed Land, which mines fertile terrors from Thailand’s ethnic Muslim communities. Its horror auteurPanu Areeand his lead will be on hand to expound on his inspired integration of ethnic representation and supernatural chills.

For more visceral genre highs, the lineup includesPattaya Heat, a pastiche of postmodern crime theatrics set in Thailand’s infamous sin city. It’s what you’d get if Tarantino spent quarantine penning a Bangkok flophouse folly. Kongkiat Komesiri, the genre maestro behind the belovedKhun Panfantasy franchise, will be in attendance with his latest, WWII zombie actionerOperation Undead, which reaffirms Thailand’s cinema as captivatingly shapeshifting. And Thai cinema superstarPutthipong Assaratanakul will take the NYAFF stage for the North American premiere of How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.

TheTaiwan Transcdent section is supported by the Taipei Cultural Center of TECO in New York, leading man Austin Linand acclaimed actressNikki Hsiehare set to attend with their filmSuffocating Love. On the arthouse end of the Taiwan lineup is the masterful debut of Hwarng Wern-ying‘s Be With Me by director Hou Hsiao-Hsien. The turbocharged, star-studded action/comedy Breaking and Re-enteringbrings wunderkind directorLeo Wangand starKent Tsaito the festival in person, and Hsiao Ya-Chuan’sOld Foxis a stark yet lyrical morality tale set against the social upheavals of Taiwan’s economic boom years.

A two-film sampling of Taiwan’s cinematic intoxicant of choice, the Boys Love rom-com renaissance includes The Time of Huan Nan, a coming-of-age tale that perceptively probes the eternal tangles of yearnings and societal repression, andA Balloon’s Landing, director Angel Teng’s metaphysical charmer starring Hong Kong heartthrob Terrance Lau and Taiwan’s Fandy Fan.

Other notable films includeSalli, directed by Chien-Hung Lien, featuring Esther Liu as a sexy, sassy chicken farmer, and the captivating Japan-Taiwan coproduction18×2 Beyond Youthful Days, starring Hsu Kuang-han.

Korean Frontlines is co-presented with Korean Cultural Center New York featuring The Killer, an anthologized hit man odyssey destined for cult fame. This world premiere presentation brings together a group of visionary directors including Chang Hang-jun,Kim Jong-kwan,Lee Myung-Se, andRoh Deok, along with incandescent actressShim Eun-kyung(Miss Granny, Sunny).

Another standout isThe Guest, a film whose deceptively benign title masks a tense, uber-creepy thriller, with directorYeon Je-gwangand lead actorLee Ju-seung in attendance.

Kim Da-minwill attend the North American premiere of her wonderfully off-kilter feature debutFAQ, a whimsical fantasy centring on an exceptionally smart little girl who befriends a bottle of clairvoyant makgeolli (rice wine). The film heralds Kim as a major new voice in Korean cinema. Equally original is Yoon Eun-Kyung’s The Tenants, a monochromatic nightmare about bathroom and attic squatters.

A trio of the year’s most popular Korean films—12:12: The Day,The Roundup: Punishment, andExhuma—will be showcased at the brand-new building of the Korean Cultural Center New York.

The films of this year’sJapanoramasupported by the Japan Foundation, range from the sumptuous nostalgia of period pieces to the neon-soaked, karaoke-fueled underbelly of crooning yakuza, all tied together with a generous helping of VFX sorcery and the odd cross-border romance. Kento Yamazaki, the festival’sBest from the East honoree and the undisputed king of the Japanese screen, delivers the latest chapter of theKingdomfranchise,Kingdom: Return of the Great General. Other highlights include90 Years Old – So What?, a hilarious, life-affirming dramedy based on the irrepressible spirit of award-winning author Aiko Sato;Brush of the Godby 88-year-old legendary stuntman Keizo Murase; andBushido, with NYAFF stalwart Kazuya Shiraishi going full samurai with star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as the ronin protagonist.

A real gem in the lineup is Shimako Sato’sYin Yang Master Zero, the first-ever big-budget fantasy directed by a Japanese woman. Starring Kento Yamazaki and Shota Sometani, and visual effects from Shirogumi (the Oscar-winning team behindGodzilla Minus One). It’s a stunning showcase of what’s possible when you put a woman at the helm of a blockbuster production.

Nobuhiro Yamash*ta’s Let’s Go Karaoke!delivers a little musical madness, while Shusuke Kaneko’s pitch-black mystery-thrillerGold Boyproves that even the darkest of tales can shine brightly.

More to be announced soon!

Why not check out their official website to find out more: https://www.nyaff.org/