Squid Game star Heo Sung-tae wiped tears from his eyes on the opening night of the 24th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), visibly moved by a rapturous reception to his latest feature, Informant.
The Korean action-comedy, directed by Kim Seok, received its world premiere at New York’s Film at Lincoln Center on Friday (July 11) and delivered the madcap energy and laughs that are expected and embraced by NYAFF audiences.
“We seek out the unusual, the bizarre, the weird and the wild,” says NYAFF executive director Samuel Jamier. “This year is our most ambitious programme to date and we continue to strive to support bold artists.”
From July 11-27, more than 100 titles – its biggest ever selection – will screen at four venues across Manhattan: Film at Lincoln Center, the SVA Theatre, LOOK Cinemas W57 and the Korean Cultural Center NY.
The commitment to show eye-catching films from across Asia will run though to the closing film, Flower Girl by Filipino director Fatrick Tabada. “It’s about a vapid, transphobic, pretty girl who rants against a trans woman and later wakes up without her vagina,” explains Jamier. “I’m not sure who else would open or close a festival with a film like this. It’s very NYAFF – a bit vulgar, a bit irreverent and yet has something to say,. I feel films like this are important, especially in a moment where minorities are being attacked in America.”
Taking a more serious tone, Jamier adds: “It’s important for us to show that so-called developing countries can have narratives that are more progressive, intellectually more advanced, and funnier than what we show here in the US or even in Europe.”
The line-up is typically diverse with around 10 titles apiece from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. But there are also films set to screen from Vietnam, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malaysia and even NYAFF’s first ever selection from Bhutan – Dechen Roder’s I, The Song.
“People cannot necessarily travel to Asia so I feel it’s essential to show films that bring to life stories from the likes of Vietnam and Myanmar,” says Jamier. “We always represent massive industries like Japan, China and Korea but it’s interesting to see films coming out of countries that are not typically associated with the film industry.”
Guests of honour
NYAFF is again hosting a large amount of Asian talent, who fly in to present their films and take part in Q&As that accompany almost every feature in the line-up. Among them are guests who will be honoured during the festival, from iconic figures of Asian cinema to the next generation of talent.
At the festival’s first ever opening gala on Saturday (July 12), legendary Chinese actress Lisa Lu was presented with both the AANHPI Vanguard Award and the Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award – the first time NYAFF has given two awards simultaneously.
Now 98, Lu is known for her roles in The Last Emperor, The Joy Luck Club and Crazy Rich Asians but has a rich and storied screen career spanning the US, China and Hong Kong, winning three coveted Golden Horse Awards along the way.
After being presented the awards by US actor BD Wong, Lu said: “The truth about being in movies for the last 80 years is that the creativity keeps you active and sharp. Your colleagues will challenge you to go beyond what you think is possible. Cherish your creative family. Keep inspiring each other to create, rejoice in bringing your projects to life and you will live as long as I have… and possibly beyond me.”
From Hong Kong, acclaimed actor and singer Ekin Cheng and fast-rising actress Natalie Hsu are set to receive the Star Asia Award and Screen International Rising Star Award respectively. Both most recently starred in Jill Leung’s romantic fantasy drama Last Song For You, which received seven nominations at the Hong Kong Film Awards including a best actress nod for Hsu and will receive its North America premiere at NYAFF.
Further guests are set to include Japan’s Tadanobu Asano, who won a Golden Globe for his performance in FX series Shogun, who will attend with Mark Gill-directed biopic Ravens; and Taiwanese actress Vivian Sung, known for romantic comedy Our Times, whose Korea-Taiwan co-production The Secret House will play at the festival.
Additional highlights include a Vietnam cinema night featuring the North American premiere of Skin Of Youth and panels covering Vietnam on screen, a discussion on Southeast Asian film and another about Asian American women in cinema. There is also the festival’s Uncaged Competition, comprising eight films from across Asia.
Further spotlights include Queer Unbound, comprising seven films that revolve around LGBTQ+ themes; a Shanghai Animation Studio retrospective, featuring 4K restorations of seminal Chinese animated films; and North Korean Cool, looking at how characters from the country have evolved in popular storytelling.
“Our theme this year is ‘Cinema as Disruption’,” adds Jamier. “In a time when culture is under siege, we have an important role to play that is not just artistic. It is both social and political.”
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