The Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, identified the Sino-Italian co-production “The Italian Recipe” as the opening title of a largely personal event that was revived.
The film, directed by Hu Zhuxin, sees an unexpected chain of events that brings together a Chinese reality TV show contestant and a woman already residing in Italy. Festival organizers suggest that the clash of characters, connections and chemistry between Liu Xun and Yao Huang resembles a “Roman feast.” The film has its world premiere on Friday next week, kicking off a nine-day event that runs through April 22-30.
The 2022 selection extends to 72 titles, chosen from more than 400 shows, a number that organizers say is proof that the Asian film industry has not been halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The fear, which is not irrational, given all of the stalled productions, the disjointed dates, the announced release dates and then postponed for months, that there won’t be many films to choose from, engulfed the torrent of films received by FEFF,” she said. “Far Eastern filmmakers felt the need to tell stories and above all to reach the audience more urgently than ever before,”
The selected titles, coming from ten Asian countries, are organized into a competition of 42 titles and a non-competitive section that includes restored classics, documentaries and the best of the best sections. This gives space to Asian films that managed to get releases during the pandemic, but may not have been widely seen outside of their home lands, including the Korean film “Escape from Mogadishu”, the cartoon “Inu-oh” and the political thriller “On the Job: The Missing 8” and “The Terrorists” by Ho Wi-ding.
Organizers say the coronavirus pandemic has had a transformative effect on the festival, such as the inclusion of a 28-title online section that works with different layers of geo-blocking and a handful only available on specific times and dates.
The festival also returns to its 1,200-seat theater as the hub for physical screenings, with the Visionario Cinema as an outpost for special sections and parades. Udine is also reviving industry support activities, including FEFF Campus (a journalism school for young Asian and Western talent), Focus Asia seminar series and Ties That Bind, a dedicated Asia-Europe co-production workshop.
Major events include the previously announced Lifetime Achievement Award for Kitano Takeshi (completed by the screening of “Sonatine” and “Battle Royale”, a tribute to Hong Kong singer Stevie Tang, and five titles for “Visions of Manila in Philippines Films” segment.
Among the highlights in the sprawling competition: from mainland China “Hello Mom,” “Too Cool to Kill,” and “Back to the Dust”; “Stuck in Time” and “Schemes in Antiques” from Hong Kong; “Popran” from Japan; “Confession,” “Kingmaker,” “Hostage: Missing Celebrity,” “Miracle: Letters to the President,” and “Special Delivery” from Korea South; and from Taiwan, “Incantation” and the world premiere of “Mama Boy” by Arvin Chen.
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