New York Asian Film Festival 2020

[Chris Knipp]

They Say Nothing Stays the Same

CENTERPIECE FILM
They Say Nothing Stays the Same ある船頭の話
If you expected something fashionably modern from actor Odagiri Joe’s feature debut, you’ll be surprised to find it feels more like the measured work of a classic auteur. Set in Meiji era Japan but timeless in its concerns —the sacrifices made in the name of progress, the loss of cherished traditions — it follows a lonely old ferryman (Emoto Akira), whose life is transformed when he rescues a mysterious young woman from drowning.

Co-Presented with the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art
Filter by Section:

Beasts Clawing at Straws
지푸라기라도 잡고 싶은 짐승들
“No Country for Old Men meets Pulp Fiction” (THR) might be the best summary of this meteoric debut about the fateful, slow-mo collision of colorful lowlifes who clash over a bag full of cash left in a locker room.
The Gangs, The Oscars, and The Walking Dead 江湖無難事
Movie genres madly mix and mash up in this no-holds-barred, no-brow comedy about two young aspiring directors, BS (Roy Chiu, of Dear Ex fame) and Wenxi (Huang Di-yang). Sick of indulging in the stuff and fluff of pipe dreams, they decide to turn fantasy into reality and make a real zombie flick.


U.S. Premiere
IWeirDo
怪胎
Available: Aug. 28 - Sept. 12, All USA except California and Hawaii

Eerily timely in its focus on formalized paranoia as a lifestyle, the film follows the prudent footsteps of Po-Ching and Chen Ching, two young oddballs cursed with germaphobia and OCD, as they walk through life clad in personal protective equipment.


North American Premiere
Lucky Chan-sil
찬실이는 복도 많지
Available: Aug. 28 - Sept. 12, All USA

Limited seating

A spunky female sendup of the Hong Sangsoo genre of filmmaking, minus the male chauvinism, and with the additional bonus of poignancy and profundity: Lee Chan-sil is a down-on-her-luck film producer.


New York Premiere
Secret Zoo
해치지않아
Available: Sept. 5 at 8pm EST & Sept. 8 at 5pm EST ONLY, All USA

Limited seating

Deceptively kicking off as a deadpan corporate drama about the frustrations of legal trainee Tae-soo (rising star Ahn Jae-hong), a bottom feeder at his law film, Secret Zoo is actually a laugh-out-loud comedy that treats matters like friendship and resilience very seriously.


New York Premiere
Wild Sparrow 野雀之詩

Gritty, erotic, poetic, this is the tale of Li, a beautiful broken girl, suddenly tasked to raise her estranged son, Han.
Abracadabra
Others | Drama | 96 mins
In an audacious alternate universe a magician makes a boy disappear. When he can’t bring the child back it sets off a Rube Goldberg chain of misadventures. Much like Orson Wells and Fellini, cinematographer turned director Faozan Rizal equates cinematic storytelling with sleight of hand. This maverick auteur also empowers women in his refreshing take on the hero’s journey, which includes, among many other delights, an homage to Frida Kahlo. It’s a mutant mix of Jodorowsky and Wes Anderson with a dash of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure showcasing exotic locales and dazzling haute couture fashions.
A Beloved Wife 喜劇 愛妻物語 (Shin Adachi 2019 )
Japan | Drama/Family | 117 mins
From the award-winning author of the indie hit 100 Yen Love comes this supremely cringey semi-autobiographical tale of marital disaster, sure to delight fans of Sideways and Larry David, et al. A diminutive loser screenwriter awaits his big break but is mired by perennial writer’s block and the fact that he isn’t getting any. When a golden job opportunity is just a road trip away, he takes his disgruntled wife and kid along for the ride to what turns out to be… hell and back. An acidic comedy that unfolds like a horror movie yet is perversely empowering for its put-upon matriarch.
A Witness out of the Blue
China/Hong Kong | Suspense/Thriller/Crime | 104 mins
The irrepressible Louis Koo stars as a dastardly robber and prime suspect in a murder where the only witness is a talking parrot. A stoic and surprisingly principled criminal badass, he can control any situation. His maneuvers of distraction and escape leave the cops dizzy and befuddled. Louis Cheng plays the detective protagonist as refreshingly humanized: brave yet vulnerable; an everyman instead of a supercop. A finely crafted pulp crime thriller that boils over into a suspenseful tête-à-tête, the film harkens back 1990s HK cinema with a new realism and an added edge of humanity in crisis.
Baseball Girl
South Korea | Drama/Sport | 104 mins
Indie film star Lee Joo-young gives a tour-de-force performance as the eponymous baseball girl. A tenacious high schooler, she is a talented and passionate athlete determined to get signed by a professional team no matter how high the male chauvinist odds are stacked against her. Despite the overt sexism the protagonist must face, it’s refreshing and liberating how her male coaches and peers treat her as an equal instead of a girl in a guy’s sport. This is the kind of cathartic, root-for-the-underdog story that truly deserves to be heard, breaking new ground on an old playing field.
Beasts Clawing at Straws
South Korea | Thriller/Crime | 108 mins
“No Country for Old Men meets Pulp Fiction” (THR) might be the best summary of this meteoric debut about the fateful, slow-mo collision of colorful lowlifes who clash over a bag full of cash left in a locker room. The first one to find the bag, Jung-man, has sleepwalked through life working at a sauna. This could very well be a turning point for the part time worker. Or it could be a lifesaver for customs officer Tae-Young (Jung Woo-sung), who borrowed a considerable sum from a loan shark. The cash inconveniently vanished, along with enigmatic girlfriend Yeon-Hee (Jeon Do-yeon). It’s game on!