Asia through the lens

Macau’s biennial View Finder to Asian Film returns this year with 12 fascinating and inspiring films from around the region.  Organised by the Macau Cultural Center, this year’s films present unique and personal insights into a wide variety of human experiences, from a number of award-winning directors

 

 

 

 

Dwelling on his past glory as a prize-winning author, Ryota wastes his money on gambling and can barely pay child support. Renewing contact with his family, he struggles to find a lasting place in the life of his young son – until a stormy summer night offers them a chance to truly bond again. Multi-award winning and critically lauded director Kore-eda Hirokazu returns with a sensitive and powerful story of family ties remade. Nominated for the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2016.

 

Oct 21, Fri 

Japan  2016 

In Japanese with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Kore-eda Hirokazu

 

 

 

 

Sentaro lives a mundane life making mediocre dorayaki – cake with sweet red bean paste – in a small suburban bakery. One day, a kind old woman named Tokue applies as the store assistant, bringing with her a delicious homemade recipe for red bean paste. The two lonely souls eventually find a new purpose in life as their unlikely partnership leads to newfound success. A sweet, humanistic drama that will surely make anyone with a sweet tooth salivate. Nominated for the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes Film Festival 2015.

 

Oct 23, Sun

Japan 2015 

 In Japanese with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Kawase Naomi

 

 

 

 

In Sri Lanka, the Civil War is reaching its end, and defeat is near. Dheepan, a former soldier decides to flee, taking with him two strangers – a woman and a little girl – hoping that they will make it easier for him to claim asylum in Europe. Working to build a new life and a real home for his ‘wife’ and ‘daughter’ in Paris, the daily violence he faces quickly reopens war wounds, forcing him to reconnect with his warrior’s instincts to protect the ones he hopes will become his true family. Directed by Jacques Audiard, Dheepan was honored with the Palm d’Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

 

Oct 28, Fri

France 2015 

In Tamil, French, English with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：‧Jacques Audiard

 

 

 

 

Early summer in a village in northern Turkey, Lale and her four sisters are walking home from school, playing innocently with some boys. The immorality of their play sets off a scandal that has unexpected consequences and the family home is progressively transformed into a prison, but the five sisters who share a common passion for freedom, find ways of getting around the constraints imposed on them. Nominated Best Foreign Language Film at 2016 Academy Awards and Golden Globes. Winner of Europa Cinemas Label at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

 

Oct 22, Sat

Turkey, France, Germany 2015

In Turkish with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Deniz Gamze Ergüven

 

 

 

 

A young boy in Gaza, Mohammad, dreams of singing in the Cairo Opera House and somehow manages to escape out of Gaza and make it to the Cairo auditions of Arab Idol, the most popular talent show in the region. As he gets to the latter stages of the competition, he must confront his own fears to take control of his destiny and bring hope and happiness to an entire region.  An inspirational drama based on the incredibly true story of Mohammad Assaf. 

 

Oct 22, Sat

Palestine 2015 

In Arabic with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Hany Abu-Assad

 

 

 

 

Immersed in a slow, silent world of mountains and sheep, Tharlo is forced into the chaos of a townscape by that most bureaucratic of modernizations: the photo ID card. In his odyssey, he encounters traffic and karaoke, radios and political doubletalk, and a young, modern Tibetan woman barber who changes his appearance and his life. Winner of Best Adapted Screenplay at Golden Horse Film Festival 2015, it also premiered in the Horizons section at the 2015 Venice Film Festival.

 

Oct 26, Wed

China 2015  

In Tibetan and Mandarin with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Pema Tseden

 

 

 

 

Rat and Shanghe used to look after their mother who is a drunk. One day, to their shock, she dies alone in the house, by accident. Rat and Shanghe have to live with the guilt of this death. Since she passed away, the spirit of Thanatos seems to have entered the house, affecting both brothers. Directed by internationally acclaimed Taiwanese filmmaker Chang Tso-chi, the film received four main awards at the 52nd Golden Horse Awards. 

 

Oct 29, Sat

Taiwan 2015  

In Mandarin with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Chang Tso-Chi

 

 

 

 

Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, renowned as ‘the world’s largest fish market’ is significant not only for its scale but more for the unique role it has played in Japanese food culture.  The best fish around the world, about 3,000 tons worth 16 million dollars, arrive at Tsukiji every morning. Through the lives of its workers, this film portrays the old market at the center of a tradition which helped Japanese food culture to flourish as we know it today. 

 

Oct 27, Thu

Japan 2016 

In Japanese, English and French with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Naotaro Endo

 

 

 

 

After the Taliban regime in Afghanistan fell from power in 2001, a fledgling free press emerged and a photography revolution was born. Now, as foreign troops and media withdraw, Afghanistan is left to stand on its own, and so are its journalists. The film follows four Afghan photojournalists as they navigate an emerging and dangerous media landscape. Through cinema vérité, intimate interviews, powerful photojournalism and never-before-seen archival footage shot in secret during the Taliban regime, the film connects audiences with four humans in the pursuit of the truth.

 

Oct 30, Sun 

Afghanistan 2015 

In Dari and English with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli

 

 

 

 

What if North Korea could make its own Western documentary? Vitaly Mansky agreed to let representatives of Kim Jong-un’s regime choose the theme (the life of a model 8-year old and her model family), stage scenes and review outcomes. Yet, in simply recording the process and concerns of the handler state, the documentary becomes farce and then unsettling negation, revealing the agonies behind the Potemkin society. A fascinating documentary that almost makes us laugh out loud…until it makes us very, very afraid.

 

23 Oct, Sun

Russia, Germany, Czech Republic, Latvia, North Korea

2015

In Korean with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Vitaly Mansky

 

 

 

 

 

In Pakistan, more than 1000 women perceived as having compromised the “honor” of their families are reported to be killed each year. Aggressors are often forgiven and absolved by their victims allowing them to return to the community. Told through the lens of a love story, this Oscar-winning documentary examines the tensions between modernism and tradition in Pakistan. Directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Oscar-winning Saving Face), the film follows Saba, a young Pakistani woman, who has survived her attempted honor killing by her own family. 

 

Oct 29, Sat

Pakistan & US 2015 / 

In Punjabi with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

2 films in one screening (1 long  feature + 1 short)

 

 

 

 

The town of Lahore was a center of musical culture – until music was considered sinful under Sharia law in 1977. Musicians were partly vilified and music was banned except in private homes. After restrictions eased, an amazing recording of “Take Five” goes viral and several Pakistani musicians are invited by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis to perform at Lincoln Center. Andy Schocken and Academy-awarded Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy tell a different kind of story about Pakistan – a story about its people, not its politics and how music has the ability to bring people together across cultural divides.

 

Oct 29, Sat

Pakistan & US 2015 

In English with Chinese and English Subtitles

Dir：Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andy Schocken