The Osaka Asian Film Festival has unveiled its lineup
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The Osaka Asian Film Festival returns for its 18th edition in March with a lineup of current Asian features and short films and a spotlight on work from Hong Kong.
The competition section, which selects from films currently unreleased in Japan, has 13 titles These include: Kai Ko’s “Bad Education,” Japan-based Indian director Anshul Chauhan’s “December,” and two Indian films, Rima Das’s “Torah Swami” and Padmakumar Narasimamurthy’s “Max, Min and Meowzaki.”
The indie category includes a mix of Japanese features and short films from challenging or emerging talent, with a winning set receiving a separate Japan Cut award.
A spotlight section of other independent films by up-and-coming directors includes: Martica Ramirez Escobar’s “Leonor Will Never Die,” Mejbaur Rahman Sumon’s Bangladesh-France production “Hawa,” Thitipong Kerdtongtau’s “OMG! Oh My Girl” and the documentary “Jisok.”
The Hong Kong Spotlight, consisting of five titles, is cut into multiple categories and includes Ying Chi-wen’s “Life Must Go On,” and Ka Sing-fung’s “Lost Love,” as well as three main competing films: Eric Tsang’s “Hong Kong Family ,” “The Narrow Road” by Lam Sum and “Sunny Side of the Road” by Lau Kok-rui.
Two more films – the show’s opening and closing titles – will be announced by programming director Teruoka Sojo in early February. The festival will run from March 10 – 19, 2023 at various venues, including ABC Hall, Cine Libre Umeda, Umeda Berg 7, Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka, and Osaka’s National Museum of Art.
The festival aims to “facilitate human resource development and exchange, boost Osaka’s economy, and increase the appeal of the city, provide opportunities to see excellent Asian films, support film production in Osaka, and attract filmmakers from Asian countries and regions to Osaka,” organizers said in a statement. He said this information. “Promoting Osaka to the world as the gateway city for Asian film and engaging with many people from the fields of culture, art, education, tourism and business from Osaka and across Asia, OAFF serves as an open platform to contribute to the development of Osaka and cinema.”
