Asia Africa programme to showcase nine movies

The feature films and one anime film have been selected from locations as diverse as China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan in the Far East to Rwanda and South Africa. Of the selection, eight are showing for the first time in the Middle East and one for the first time in the Gulf.

From Hong Kong, award-winning director and former DIFF juror Johnnie To’s suspense drama Life Without Principle follows three unrelated individuals driven by the need for money.

Set in contemporary Tibet, Pema Tseden’s award-winning film Old Dog explores the loss of culture and tradition, and follows the life of an old man who refuses to part with his Tibetan mastiff, a pet much in demand in urban China.

From the Philippines, Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr’s Fable of the Fish interweaves natural and magical realism elements with folk tales, urban myths and traditional faith. The film, which stars Bembel Roco and Cherry Pie Picache, has been described as a clear example of ‘one of the most adventurous national cinemas of the last decade.’

Respected South Korean filmmaker Lee Yoon-Ki’s Come Rain, Come Shine, the only Asian film to compete in the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, centres on a soon-to-be-separated couple who have to spend one last day together when a storm strikes their city.

From Taiwan, the action-packed Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale tells the true story of Taiwan’s aboriginal people who were almost wiped out by Japanese colonisers in the 1930s. The film’s authenticity, spectacular rainforest-set action and combat scenes have drawn wide acclaim for director Wei Te-Sheng.

Seven years in the making, the exquisite A Letter to Momo is the highly anticipated second feature from world-renowned anime director Hiroyuki Okiura. The sensitive and charming film about loss and imagination is sure to appeal to children and adults alike.

Also from Japan is veteran Iranian director Amir Naderi’s “Cut”, making its GCC premiere. The film centres on a struggling young filmmaker named Shuji who is dedicated to changing the state of cinema, until his brother is killed for his failure to repay loans taken to finance Shuji’s films. From South Africa comes Sara Becher’s award-winning Otelo Burning, a Zulu language surf movie set in Durban against the backdrop of the political violence at the end of apartheid in the late 1980s.

Last but not least, Kivu Ruhorahoza’s Grey Matter is the first feature film by a Rwandan filmmaker. A penetrating look into the country’s shattered psyche, the film-within-a-film depicts the story of Balthazar, a young filmmaker who is in the midst of completing his first fictional film surrounding a woman who survives war crimes, and a man who commits them.

Nashen Moodley, Director of the Asia Africa Programme for DIFF, said: “Cinema from Asia and Africa are witnessing a remarkable transformation now, with the filmmakers experimenting with themes, approaches and styles. The boundaries between reality and fantasy are often blurred in these films, and the impact left on the viewer is powerful.” —news@khaleejtimes.com