Goings-On in Asian Film: Nippon Connection, Tsai Ming-Liang and Shinsedai!

Hello all. I just wanted to gather together a few of the exciting things I've been involved with recently in the Asian film community. First of all, Chris MaGee of the J-Film Pow-Wow and I recently returned from our annual trip out to Frankfurt, Germany, for the Nippon Connection Japanese film festival. While Chris had his hands full as one of the jurors for the Nippon Visions program, I took up press coverage duties. My report on my festival experience is now posted over at the Pow-Wow, along with links to individual film reviews for some of the works that were shown.

Shortly before I left for that trip, I took some time to once again pop up as a guest host on the VCinema Show. Concluding the three-part mini-series of podcasts focusing on Taiwanese filmmakers, I spoke with Jon Jung (AKA Coffin Jon), Josh Samford and Dr. Stan Glick about the divisive and (in my eyes) mesmerizing Tsai Ming-Liang film Goodbye, Dragon Inn. Click on the picture below to access the episode, or get it through VCinema's subscription channel on iTunes.

Finally, things are really gearing up here in Toronto for the 4th annual Shinsedai Cinema Festival, which will be happening from July 12th-15th at the Revue Cinema. The full lineup of independent Japanese films has been revealed; click here to check it out and follow the above link for further details on the festival. There is a lot of fascinating stuff lined up for that week that should amount to a great time for Toronto film-goers and fans of Asian cinema.

Have a look at the festival trailer below, edited together by Pow-Wow writer Matthew Hardstaff, for a peek at the films that will be shown in July:

Edmund Yeo's "Last Fragments of Winter" - VCinema Review

Hello all! A few days ago, I popped up once more at VCinema, that great online/podcasting hotspot for Asian cinema lovers everywhere. I wrote up something very special for them: a review of the latest short film from accomplished Malaysian filmmaker Edmund Yeo. The film, Last Fragments of Winter, is a beautifully crafted piece of work that was shot in Japan and Malaysia and recently had its world premiere at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival. Check out my review for it here, and if you ever have the chance, make sure to catch this fantastic gem!