12 Films you cannot miss at the Kaohsiung Film Festival

By Asian Film Festival on October 16, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )

We present a list of twelve films you cannot miss at the 2018 Kaohsiung Film Festival, which will take place from October 19th – November 4th, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

A Family Tour by Liang Ying – Taiwan, HK, Singapore, Malaysia | 2018 – 109 min.
Section: Closing Film

The Mother of One Recluse is a film which Chinese film director Yang Shu made five years ago. In doing so, she offended the Chinese government and has since been forced into exile in Hong Kong. Her mother, who lives in Sichuan, suffers a relapse of her stomach cancer from years ago, and needs to undergo an operation imminently. (KFF Catalogue)

Schedule:
November 4th | Sunday | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7F | 19:00

Trailer:

BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
Thailand | 2018 – 108 min.
Section: Director in Focus

A documentary about a Thai idol girl group, BNK48, a sister group of Japanese idol girl group AKB48. BNK48 opens up opportunities for ordinary teens to be selected into a controlled and competitive system.

Trailer (No English Subs):

Dear EX by Mag Hsu, Chih-Yen Hsu – Taiwan | 2018 – 100 min.
Section: Trans-Border Taiwan

After Sanlian’s ex-husband passes away, she discovers that the beneficiary of his insurance policy has been changed to a stranger named Jay instead of their son. Outraged, Sanlian decides to confront Jay with her son, but Jay is up to play her game. When her son moves in with Jay unexpectedly, she is forced to reassess her relationship with them both.

Schedule:
October 20th | Saturday | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7F | 18:30

Trailer:

Die Tomorrow by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit – Thailand | 2017 – 108 min.
Section: Director in Focus

Emerging Thai director Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit played with life, mortality and choice in his awardwinning Heart Attack (2015). Here, he breaks taboos and looks death directly in the face. Not with the slow decay of the elderly, or the reign of horror films, but with episodic essays of those who die – happy, young, prepared or otherwise. Drawing on news reports and fiction, twelve vignettes ask what it means to say goodbye – and to grapple with how we have lived. (2018 HKIFF Catalogue)

Schedule:
October 26th | Friday | Cinemark 11 – Hall 11 | 21:50

Trailer:

Dynamite Graffiti by Masanori Tominaga – Japan | 2018 – 138 min.
Section: Director in Focus

A drama based on the life and era of a chief editor who gave birth to the now-legendary erotic magazines.

Trailer:

Heart Attack by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit – Thailand | 2015 – 132 min.
Section: Director in Focus

A hard-working freelancer who falls in love with a doctor. While his health deteriorates every second, he must find the way to lift his life beyond everything.

Trailer:

Looking for Kafka by Jade Y. Chen – Taiwan | 2018 – 93 min.
Section: Gala Premieres

In Taipei, a rehearsal for Kafka’s Metamorphosis is in full swing as the show’s opening night approaches. Lin’s girlfriend, Julie, is visiting him from Paris. After the rehearsal, he picks her up at the airport and they spend the night together. In the morning, Lin is nowhere to be found and leaves Julie waiting at his apartment.

Schedule:
November 4th | Sunday | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7F | 16:10

Trailer:

Mary Is Happy, Mary Is Happy by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit
Thailand | 2013 – 127 min.
Section: Director in Focus

Mary is in her last class at school. She is about to confront sudden changes in her life, relationship and friendship. A film based on the tweets of an anonymous girl.

Trailer:

Respeto by Alberto Treb Montero II – Philippines | 2017 – 100 min.
Section: Gala Presentations

Here’s a film reminding us that true hip-hop is political. In this era of extrajudicial killings under the reign of the current president, Duterte, young Hendrix sets his sights on underground rap battles in the slums of Pandacan, Manila. But his true enemies don’t have ears for his words.

Trailer:

The Man from the Sea by Koji Fukada – Japan | 2018 – 107 min.
Section: Opening Film

In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, a mysterious man (Dean Fujioka) emerges from the sea, and collapses on a beach. This stranger shows symptoms of amnesia, and Takako ends up taking him into her custody reluctantly. As he was found on a beach, she gives him the name “Laut,” the Indonesian word for “sea.” Strange phenomena begin to occur with his presence…

Trailer:

The Sacrament by Isora Iwakiri – Japan | 2017 – 90 min.
Section: Gala Presentations

A ghostly girl appears once every four years in the film club and the movies starring her have always been masterpieces. One day, I invite a black-haired girl named Minami to join my movie making . . .

Xiao Mei by Maren Huang – Taiwan | 2018 – 96 min.
Section: Gala Presentations

Xiao Mei, a frail and mysterious girl, is missing. Nine of her connections are interviewed and their accounts gradually piece together the puzzle of Xiao Mei’s life. None of them knows where Xiao Mei has gone, but they all hope that she is okay so that everything could be fine.

Schedule:
October 27th | Saturday | Kaohsiung Main Public Library 7F | 19:00

Trailer: