It’s only on its second year, but the “Asian Next Wave” competition of the annual QCinema Film Festival is becoming an important segment of the event. It highlights up-and-coming Asian filmmakers with less than three features to their name.
Much like its debut last year, only six feature films make up the “Asian Next Wave” segment. Unlike last year, there are no Filipino movies included this year, which is happening from Oct 19-28.
Below are the six movies:
1. Dragonfly Eyes
The debut movie of Chinese artist Xu Bing, Dragonfly Eyes uses actual surveillance-camera recordings to show the story of a woman who encounters a series of turnabouts upon leaving the Buddhist temple where she used to train as a nun. It won the Critics Prize in the 70th Locarno Film Fest in Switzerland.
2. In Between Seasons
This is South Korean director Dong-Eun Lee’s first film, which happens to be an adaptation of a graphic novel he wrote. It stars popular Korean actor Bae Jong-ok.
3. KFC
Premiered at Rotterdam Film Festival this year, Vietnamese director Le Binh Giang trails behind a man seeking vengeance for the death of his girlfriend. He then uncovers evils beyond description, making critics dub this film, a “body horror”.
4. Snow Woman
Premiered in last year’s Tokyo Film Festival, this Japanese film is about a young woodsman marrying a mysterious beauty he meets in the forest. This is director and actress Kiki Sugino’s third feature.
5. Marlina The Murderer in Four Acts
After killing a man to protect herself, Marlina is now being haunted by the restless ghost of this man. Directed by Mouly Surya, Marlina is Indonesia’s first entry to the Cannes’ Directors Fortnight.
6. Pop Aye
The first feature of Kirsten Tan, Pop Aya won the special jury prize in the World Cinema Dramatic section of Sundance.
Apart from the Asian Next Wave competition, other competition sections include “Rainbow QC,” which presents a full spectrum of LGBTQ films around the world, “Circle Competition,” which presents eight QCinema-funded features and “QC Shorts,” which is a collection of QCinema-funded short films. — LA, GMA News