Asia House announces its seventh annual Film Festival programme

Still from Vietnamese film NUOC 2030, which will be screened during the Asia House Film Festival 2015

Asia House announces its seventh annual Film Festival programme

04 March 2015

Media Release

Asia House is thrilled to announce the full programme of its seventh annual Asia House Film Festival which will take place from 27 March to 31 March 2015, generously supported once again by Prudential plc. This year’s theme of New Generations reflects on new talents, new styles, new landscapes and new modes of film production from and about the Asia Pacific region – from Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesian, India, Japan and Uzbekistan, with a special focus and retrospective on Mongolia.

The festival includes an exciting selection of features, documentaries and shorts, including three European premieres, eight UK premieres and three London premieres, alongside a showcase of classic films. Asia House is also excited to announce this year’s festival venues: Ham Yard Theatre, Rich Mix, The Horse Hospital and the Cinema Museum.

Opening the festival on Friday 27 March at the Ham Yard Theatre is the European Premiere of Indonesian film In the Absence of the Sun, which frames the modern metropolis of Jakarta as never seen before. Directed, written and edited by Lucky Kuswandi, it is a bittersweet tale of universal appeal, in which personal dramas and nostalgic memories unfold over the course of a single night.

Closing Asia House Film Festival 2015 on Tuesday 31 March at The Horse Hospital is the UK Premiere of Yangon Calling – Punk in Myanmar (Dir. Alexander Dluzak and Carsten Piefke, Germany / Myanmar), an award-winning documentary about Myanmar’s underground punk scene filmed secretly in the former military dictatorship using hidden cameras. It provides a rare portrait of the rebels who really do have a cause, introducing us to their homes, their friends, their families, and their hidden world of rehearsal rooms and illicit concerts.

The UK premiere of The Last Reel from Cambodia and the London premiere of Passion from Mongolia highlight the huge changes that have taken place in the two countries’ film industries. The filmmakers will be in attendance to introduce their films and discuss how individual artistic visions are shaped by economic, political and social realities in a globalised world. Passion, a poignant portrait of a man’s struggle to bridge two very different ages, is a wonderful introduction to Mongolian cinema ahead of a rare event dedicated to films from the country to be held at the Cinema Museum on Sunday 19 April.

The festival will also host the UK Premiere of Flashback Memories 3D, an unorthodox musical documentary from Japan that received the audience award at the 26^th Tokyo International Film Festival. Directed by Japan’s Tetsuaki Matsue, who is one of the most interesting filmmakers on Japan’s independent scene, it focuses on the didgeridoo maestro GOMA, who suffers from an inability to form new memories following a traffic accident at the peak of his career.

This festival’s newly appointed Artistic Director, Jasper Sharp said: “We are excited to be presenting a diverse range of titles in a diverse range of genres, including a vintage Uzbekistani ‘Red Western’ and a Vietnamese sci-fi, as well as documentaries on the Burmese punk scene and a Japanese didgeridoo player. We hope this eclectic selection will thrill and enthrall, while inspiring London audiences with exciting and unique visions of Asia from some of its best filmmaking talents.”

For further details on all the films and to book tickets click here.

Watch the trailer of the Asia House Film Festival 2015 below:-