From April 12 to 15, the mighty Prince Charles Cinema (off Leicester Square in London) will once again play host to the Terracotta Film Festival, bringing 10 UK, two European and two International premieres of the very best new cinema from the Far East.
The festival opens with My Way, a big-budget, big-screen blast of Second World War epic told from an unusual Korean perspective by director Kang Je-kyu (Taegukgi); and it closes with Himizu, the latest film from cult Japanese director Sion Sono (Love Exposure, Cold Fish), in which a teenager's troubled coming-of-age is set against the state of the post-tsunami nation.
In between, there is Arirang, the long-awaited 'home movie' comeback from Korean master Kim Ki-duk. There is also comedy from Japan (Shuichi Okita's The Woodsman And The Rain), China (Dayyan Eng's Inseparable; Guo Xiaolu's UFO In Her Eyes) and Korea (Jeong Yong-ji's Couples; Lee Seok-hoon's Dancing Queen).
Other screenings include the category-defying social horror of Monsters Club from Toshiaki Toyoda (Blue Spring, The Blood of Rebirth), plus a FrightFest-supported late-night 'Terror Cotta' horror triple-bill of Takayuki Hirao's animated mutant fish apocalypse Gyo, Takashi Shimizu's disorienting J-horror The Grudge, and Joe Chien's Taiwanese take on the undead Zombie 108. Also from Taiwan comes Midi Z's ground- and border-breaking drama Return To Burma and Wei Te-sheng's aboriginal action epic Seediq Bale (produced by John Woo). Last but not least come Du Jiayi's Chinese cycling drama One Mile Above, and a special preview of Studio Ghibli's latest anime From Up On Poppy Hill, directed by Goro (son of Hayao) Miyazaki.
Directors Toshiaki Toyoda (Monsters Club) and Guo Xiaolu (UFO In Her eyes), and actors Denden (Himizu) and Da Ching (Seediq Bale), will all be on hand for Q&As and morning masterclasses – and with a desk for DVD and book sales, reduced-rate meals at participating Chinatown restaurants, and the legendary Saturday-night festival Party, Terracotta promises to be an all-round orgy of Asian excellence.
For further details and ticketing information, visit www.TerracottaFestival.com.
