7th New York Asian Film Festival

June 20 – July 6, 2008 at the IFC Center and Japan Society
co-presented with Japan Society/JAPAN CUTS

In case you didn’t notice, there’s a recession going on. Times are hard, gas is expensive, families are selling their extra children to the circus because they can’t afford to feed them and everyone, everywhere is cutting back, slimming down and closing up. It’s a cold, depressing world out there and so, when all around is dark, the seventh annual New York Asian Film Festival explodes like a supernova, showering the barren landscape with molten movie madness.

Last year we presented 29 films, but this year we’ve grown to 43 feature films and two short film programs. It’s the biggest New York Asian Film Festival in human history and there’s no good reason for it except that we figured, “Why not?” It’s either the start of something big or we’re going out with a bang.

Playwright and theater director, Ryo Iwamatsu, will be presenting the world premiere of his return to filmmaking after a fifteen-year-absence, THEN SUMMER CAME, on opening night of the fest. We’re screening our first Indonesian movie, KALA, a slick, conspiracy thriller oozing smoky film noir style and sporting dozens of demonic decapitations. Vietnam represents for the first time with action blow-out, THE REBEL, and we’re screening our first two documentaries: ACTION BOYS is a Korean discovery that chronicles the thankless, skull-cracking, knee-shattering lives of movie stuntmen. And then there’s the most controversial Japanese movie of the year, YASUKUNI, which was greeted with bomb threats and protests when it opened in Japan. And on that political note we’re also screening Koji Wakamatsu’s masterpiece, UNITED RED ARMY, and, even though Wakamatsu is still shamefully barred from entering the United States due to his political affiliations, screenwriter Masayuki Kakegawa we’ll be speaking before the screening and we’ll be hosting a live, satellite Q&A with Director Wakamatsu after the movie.

And we have our very first jury, made up of some of the people who loved us when we were young and ugly: New York Post critic Vincent Musetto, acclaimed author Maitland McDonagh, Time Out New York critic Dave Fear, the exhibitions coordinator and head honcho of the legendary Anthology Film Archives, John Mhiripiri and last but not least, the director of award-winning breakdance documentary, PLANET B-BOY, Benson Lee.

But even though we’re giving out a fancy jury award, don’t forget to vote in the Audience Award poll. At the end of the day this festival is all about you.  While other festivals are just giant billboards for their corporate sponsors, we’re here to show you movies, and the year you stop coming is the year we’ll stay home. In the meantime, we’ll keep on bringing you the biggest, brightest and best Asian blockbusters. With the economy this bad, it’s the least we can do.

FILMS
ACCURACY OF DEATH (2007)
ACTION BOYS (2008)
ADRIFT IN TOKYO (2007)
ALWAYS: SUNSET ON THIRD STREET (2005)
ALWAYS: SUNSET ON THIRD STREET 2 (2007)
ASSEMBLY (2007)
ARCHANGELS (2006)
THE BODYGUARD (2004)
THE BODYGUARD 2 (2007)
THE BUTCHER (2007)
DAINIPPONJIN (2007)
DOG IN A SIDECAR (2007)
DORORO (2007)
FINE, TOTALLY FINE (2007)
HAPPINESS (2007)
KALA (2007)
KING NARESUAN (2007)
KING NARESUAN 2 (2007)
L: CHANGE THE WORLD (2007)
LIKE A DRAGON (2007)
LOVE ON SUNDAY (2006)
LOVE ON SUNDAY 2: LAST WORDS (2007)
M (2007)
MAD DETECTIVE (2007)
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL NIGHT IN THE WORLD (2008)
ONE CHANBARA (2008)
PUBLIC ENEMY RETURNS (2008)
THE REBEL (2007)
RETRO GAME MASTER: GHOSTS & GOBLINS (2003)
RETRO GAME MASTER: MYSTERY OF ATLANTIS (2003)
SAD VACATION (2007)
SASORI (2008)
THE SHADOW SPIRIT (2007)
SHADOWS IN THE PALACE (2007)
SHAMO (2009)
SPARROW (2008)
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES (2006)
SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO (2007)
TAMAMI: THE BABY’S CURSE (2008)
THEN SUMMER CAME (2008)
THIS WORLD OF HOURS (2007)
TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008)
UNITED RED ARMY (2007)
X-CROSS (2007)
YASUKUNI (2008) 

Selection of short films from the 6th Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival (Seoul):
SON’S (2006)
ART OF WAR (2006)
SAM PECKINPAH: A RETROSPECTIVE (2007)
HOW TO MAKE A MOTION PICTURE (2007)
EVERYONE, SHUT UP! (2007)
THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WIFE (2007)
WATERMELLON CHICKEN (2007)
A PUPPY, OUR FAMILY (2007)

Guests
Lee Myung-se (M)
Ryo Iwamatsu (THEN SUMMER CAME)
Masayuki Kakegawa (UNITED RED ARMY)
Koji Wakamatsu (UNITED RED ARMY) – via satellite!
Yoshihiro Nishimura (TOKYO GORE POLICE)
Jung Byung-gil (ACTION BOYS)
Lee Ji-youn (ACTION BOYS)
Kwak Jin-seock (ACTION BOYS)
Park Jae-young (A PUPPY, OUR FAMILY)