Forever a hotbed for global cinema fans, a weekend of new and exciting films from East Asia will be making their way to the Temple Bar screens of the IFI at the end of the month thanks to the East Asia Film Festival’s 9th edition. With films that premiered in big festivals like Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Locarno, it’s a heavy hitting lineup this year.
This writer is paying particular notice to Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke’s Cannes Competition film Caught By The Tides (Feng Liu Yi Dai), an experimental journey through the relationship of artist and muse which incorporates footage from the past 24 years of Zhangke’s life and work, and Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo’s By The Stream (Suyoocheon), the second latest from possibly the world’s most productive filmmaker (he’s already had his new film What Does That Nature Say To You premiere in Berlin the other week), which won Kim Min-hee (known for her earthshaking performance in Park Chan-Wook’s The Handmaiden) a well deserved Best Actress prize at the Locarno Film Festival in August. Fans of the lo-fi master will know what to expect from his quietly devastating comedies of manners (check out Right Now, Wrong Then or The Woman Who Ran for an idea), but By The Stream‘s typically low-key story of a minor cheating scandal in a student theatre course is a great entry point for the uninitiated, and the rare chance to see this kind of quiet and tender human story on the big screen is not to be missed.
This year, the festival will welcome two special guests: Chinese writer-director Jianjie Lin, who will take part in a Q&A following the opening night screening on Thursday 20th of his debut feature, Brief History of a Family (Panorama Section, Berlin International Film Festival 2024), as well as an In Conversation event on Saturday 22nd with Irish born actor, writer and director Kelly Campbell; and Qiuyan Chen, founder and director of Queer China UK, who will take part in a Q&A session following the screening of the documentary Love Bound, also on Saturday 22nd.
Alongside some of the latest filmic treats coming from East Asia, the festival will be helping Irish audiences delve into and discover Vietnamese cinema, presenting 2K digital restorations of three rare, classic films from the Vietnam Film Institute (VFI) – We Will Meet Again by Trần Vũ, The Girl on The River by Đặng Nhật Minh, and In The Lane by Bạch Diệp. Each of these films will be introduced by Ms Khuất Thi Thu Trang, from the Ngoc Khanh Cinema House at the VFI.
Speaking about this year’s East Asia Film Festival Ireland, Festival Director Marie-Pierre Richard commented, “This year’s programme brings together another rich selection of fiction, documentary, and film essays by prominent and emerging writers and directors across East Asian cinema, exploring social realities that are introspective and humanist with themes of memory, identity, family, and love. We are delighted to present three rarely screened Vietnamese films in 2K restoration with the participation of the Vietnam Film Institute and to welcome Ms Khuất Thi Thu Trang who will introduce each screening and take part in a talk on Friday, March 21st. Our other great guests are Chinese writer-director Jianjie Lin who will present his debut feature, Brief History of a Family, our festival opener on Thursday, March 20th followed by a Q&A. Jianjie Lin will also take part in a number of talks and screenings and share an In Conversation with Irish born actress, writer and director, Kelly Campbell on Saturday, March 22nd. Qiuyan Chen (founder and director of Queer China UK) will be here to present the very moving and urgent documentary, Love Bound, and Qiuyan Chen will share a post-screening conversation with Pradeep Mahadeshwar (multidisciplinary Irish artist and founder of Queen Asian Pride Ireland and Queen Spectrum Film Festival).”
Tickets are on sale now from ifi.ie.