CinemAsia Film Festival 2023 On Tour to The Hague 12-15 May
Filmhuis Den Haag, Spui 191, 2511 BN Den Haag
CinemAsia 2023 goes ON TOUR to Filmhuis Den Haag from 12-15 May. After the successful 15th edition of its main festival in Amsterdam, CinemAsia will bring a special selection of new contemporary films from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South-Korea and Myanmar to The Hague. A cinematic blend of 5 feature films, 2 documentaries and 4 shorts including award-winning blockbusters, documentaries, arthouse and remarkable short stories. All films are screened in their original language with English subtitles.
FRIDAY 12 MAY
19:00 DEMIGOD: THE LEGEND BEGINS 素還真 (Taiwan 2022) by Chris HUANG Wen-Chang | CinemAsia 2023 Tao Kae Noi Audience Award
Tickets: Vrijdag 12 mei 19:00CinemAsia On Tour in The Hague kicks off with this year’s audience award winning film. Based on a beloved Taiwanese television series, ‘Demigod: The Legend Begins’ is a fantasy blockbuster that fuses the imaginative battles of wuxia with the traditional art of glove puppetry known as ‘budaixi’. This visually striking work is a dashing piece of artistry, replete with maniacal villains, magical landscapes, and mysterious plots.
Producer Alex CHEN Yi-Fang will be present for Q&A after the film.
SATURDAY 13 MAY
13:00 Brave “New” World: CinemAsia x Berlin NewGen Chinese Short Film Program
Tickets: Zaterdag 13 mei 13:00CinemAsia partners with Berlin NewGen Chinese Film Festival in bringing this exciting series of four short films made by rising talents in Chinese-language cinema.
- Hair Tie, Egg, Homework Books 头绳, 鸡蛋, 作业本 (China 2021) by Runxiao LUO
As a model student in her elementary school, 11-year-old Lin Yuqi is assigned to give a speech about her family at the Parents’ Meeting night. Director Runxiao Luo is the youngest Chinese director to enter the Venice Film Festival at the age of 21.
- Anshan Diaries 鞍山日记 (China 2021) by Xiuzhi Dong
Director Xiuzhi Dong casts his grandpa, the revolutionaries of the left wing, as the film’s lead, investigating and retracing his family saga spanning three decades of Chinese post-cultural revolution history.
- Shanghai Reset 二次校准 (China 2022) by Qiao Hu
The system seems to be testing how people think about things. This is a film made during the 2022 Shanghai lockdown period and the whole film is shot with iPhone 13 Pro.
- Normal 正常 (China 2021) by Xingyu Ye
Xiao Qi is a member of the student union’s publicity department and edits a promotional video for the student union’s general election meeting. After the clip was finished, it got in the news very differently.
13:45 AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Indonesia 2022) by Makbul Mubarak | CinemAsia 2023 Jury Special Mention
Tickets: Zaterdag 13 mei 13:45In this haunting debut, a young man’s desperate desire for approval leads him down a dangerous path. Drawing from the director’s own experience, Autobiography addresses the effects of Indonesia’s military dictatorship on the country’s youth and with it exposes the collective trauma of a nation.
Won the FIPRESCI prize at the Venice International Film Festival, Best Asian Film at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Best Asian Feature Film at the Singapore International Film Festival and many more.
16:00 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOLF? (Myanmar 2021) by Na Gyi
Tickets: Zaterdag 13 mei 16:00Two terminally ill women find solace in each other while hospitalised. This courageous and tender romance story is set in present-day Myanmar. This idyllic film portrays a tender romance between two women, a rare narrative in a country where queer people face state persecution. Following the February 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar, director Na Gyi is now in hiding due to his political activities.
Won Best Film Award at Hobnobben International Film Festival and Oldenburg International Film Festival. Actress Eaindra Kyaw Zin received the Seymor Cassel Award for Best Performance at Oldenburg International Film Festival.
SUNDAY 14 MAY
11:15 THE EXILES Eksil (Indonesia 2022) by Lola Amaria
Tickets: Zondag 14 mei 11:15This meticulously researched documentary on former Indonesian Communist Party members (PKI) who fled the Suharto regime and built new lives in Europe captures their displaced sense of belonging and the way they carry their traumas. Shifting between the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, and Indonesia, the film reminds us of the history that is passed from generation to generation and the challenge of narrating the past when home is but a distant memory.
Joss Wibisono has been invited to give an introduction and follow-up discussion in the context of extra in-depth information. The discussion will take place in Studio B. Tatiana Lukman will join this discussion. Daughter of MH Lukman. MH Lukman was the second person in the leadership of the Indonesian communist party the PKI. MH Lukman served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament during Sukarno’s time.
13:45 HONG KONG FAMILY 過時.過節 (Hong Kong 2022) by Eric TSANG Hing Weng
Tickets Zondag 14 mei 13:45A family struggles to reunite and reconnect over a winter solstice dinner exactly eight years after the same gathering caused their son to run away from home. This long-awaited reunion forces everyone to reconsider their relationships with their estranged loved ones. A sensitive portrait of a broken family, based on the director’s own personal experiences.
16:00 HUNT 헌트 (South-Korea 2022) by LEE Jung-jae
Tickets: Zondag 14 mei 16:00Set during the height of Cold War paranoia, following two chiefs in the Korean Central Intelligence Agency tasked with finding a North Korean mole in their midst. Hunt is among the best recent historical espionage thrillers with a firm grounding in Korean politics. In his directorial debut, Lee Jung-jae—who shot to international stardom with his leading role in Netflix’s Squid Game—crafts a puzzle filled with deception, betrayal, and unlikely alliances.
MONDAY 15 MAY
19:00 THE NOVELIST’S FILM 소설가의 영화 (South-Korea) by HONG Sang-soo
Tickets: Maandag 15 mei 19:00In this meditative black-and-white drama that walks a fine line between fiction and reality, the female novelist Junhee (Lee Hyeyoung) embarks on a daytrip to visit a bookstore run by her ex-colleague with whom she has fallen out of touch. Her visit turns into a series of unexpected and awkward encounters with old and new friends, rekindling her passion for filmmaking. Won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize in Berlin.
