We present a list of fifteen films you shouldn’t miss at the 13th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival which will tale place from November 13th – 20th (2019) in Warsaw, Poland.

About the festival:
Five Flavours is the only annual film festival in Poland to present cinema from East, South-East and South Asia. For ten consecutive years, the Festival has brought to Poland premiere screenings of the latest and most appealing productions from the Far East as well as classic Asian films and retrospectives of renowned filmmakers.

The programme is composed of productions mostly unknown in Poland and not available in regular theatrical distribution. The previous editions saw the pioneering showcases of cinema from Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Selected Films:

Blue Hour by Yuko Hakota – Japan | 2019 – 92 minutes
Section: Japan: Out of Focus

Sunada is a 30-year-old married woman employed at a lucrative position in advertisement industry. She sometimes drinks too much at corporate events, she begins to get bored in her marriage, and what the world expects from women is not exactly climbing the career ladder, however spectacular. She left behind a rather boring family home at the province: a spontaneous return there with a childhood friend will give har an occasion to confront her past – and not only. – Jagoda Murczyńska

Screenings:
November 16th (Saturday) | Kinoteka 2 | 13:30 pm
November 17th (Sunday) | Kinoteka 1 | 16:00 pm

Trailer:

BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry by Nawapol Tamrongrattanarit – Thailand | 2018 – 108 minutes
Section: Masters

Twenty-six girls of different ages sit down alone in front of the camera to talk about their lives as a member of the Thai super girl band BNK48. Starting from the audition and casting, through exhausting trainings, friendships, competition, daily activities, holidays together, up until the official selection and its aftermath, each of the girls shares thoughts about the entertainment industry, relationships in the team, twisted mechanisms of popularity and the closed system in which they found themselves. Inequality and competition governs their everyday lives since sixteen of them are selected to work on the song and the music video, and the remaining ten are still practicing and preparing for the next selection. None of them thought that the desire for adventure and passion for would force them to quickly grow up … – Maja Korbecka

Screenings:
November 16th (Saturday) | Muranów | 18:45 pm (With Q&A)
November 19th (Tuesday) | Kinoteka | 17:45 pm (With Q&A)

Trailer:

BulBul Can Sing by Rima Das – India | 2018 – 95 minutes
Section: New Asian Cinema

Girls should be modest, girls should be polite – this is the refrain which has always accompanied 15-year-old Bulbul in her growing up. But wild meadows of the Indian state of Assam have plenty of space to hide secrets of the youth. Bulbul and her two friends, Bonny and Suman, live with passion every minute of this magic period when childhood innocence segues into the challenges, fascinations and mysteries of adulthood – and its dangers. – Jagoda Murczyńska

Screenings:
November 15th (Friday) | Muranów | 11:00 am
November 18th (Monday) | Muranów | 18:00 pm

Trailer:

Fly me to Saitama by Hideki Takeuchi – Japan | 2019 – 107 minutes
Section: Japan: Out of Focus

Life is life, so certain people are born in exciting metropolis and others – in some remote town that brings in mind only embarrassment and mothballs. The latter situation is well familiar to the inhabitants of Saitama, a prefecture within two-hour drive from Tokyo, infamous for its extreme temperatures and lack of access to the sea. The Sugawara family are leaving this place, heading for the capital where their daughter’s engagement ceremony is going to take place. The girl is especially looking forward to moving away, which her father can hardly understand. The travellers are on the verge of a quarrel when the radio broadcasts a play about the fight for independence of Saitama. – Marcin Krasnowolski

Screenings:
November 16th (Saturday) | Kinoteka 1 | 18:30 pm
November 20th (Wednesday) | Muranów | 16:00 pm

Trailer:

Jinpa by Pema Tseden – China | 2018 – 87 minutes
Section: Masters

It is improbable to meet anybody on the colourless Tibetan plateau Kekexili, the largest and highest situated in the world. So this day is unusual for Jinpa, a solitary driver who conquers the harsh landscape in his truck filled with sounds of “O sole mio” played from a worn-out cassette tape. An eternal hippie in sunglasses always covering his eyes first accidentally kills a sheep and then offers a ride to a lonely wandering traveller. The reticent passenger’s name is also Jinpa and before he gets off at the road fork, he reveals that he set off on his journey to kill a man. The driver cannot forget this declaration and decides to follow his mysterious namesake. – Marcin Krasnowolski

Screenings:
November 15th (Friday) | Muranów | 19:00 pm (With Q&A)
November 16th (Saturday) | Kinoteka 1 | 13:30 pm (With Q&A)

Trailer:

Maggie by Yi Ok-seop – South Korea | 2018 – 88 minutes
Section: New Asian Cinema

A little hospital is rocked by a scandal when a certain X-ray plate comes into light: it contains inconvertible evidence that some couple played doctor in the laboratory. Yoon-young, a nurse, takes the blame together with her boyfriend who can sketch cosmic ink tattoos. Meanwhile almost all the employees take a sick leave – isn’t their conscience that clear? How is it related to the deep craters which suddenly appear on the streets of Seoul? And what does a talking catfish think of it all? – Jagoda Murczyńska

Screenings:
November 17th (Sunday) | Muranów | 18:00 pm (With Q&A)
November 18th (Monday) | Kinoteka 1 | 20:30 pm (With Q&A)

Trailer:

Mr Long by Sabu – Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan | 2017 – 129 minutes
Section: Japan – Out of Focus

A Taiwanese killer, cold like steel and efficient as a panther, goes to Japan to do a job. However, something goes wrong and badly wounded Long has to hide in a random ruined building. There he gets found by Jun, a little boy who unexpectedly becomes a link between the silent gangster and the unsuspecting local community. The child, despite being just a few years old, also carries a burden of difficult experiences: perhaps Long will be able to repay for the help he received? – Jagoda Murczyńska

Screenings:
November 14th (Thursday) | Kinoteka 1 | 17:30 pm
November 17th (Sunday) | Muranów | 11:00 am

Trailer:

Nina Wu by Midi Z – Taiwan, Malaysia, Myanmar | 2019 – 103 minutes
Section: Masters

A visually electrifying psychological drama from the one of the most renowned Asian auteurs. Surprising with its oneiric form and striking with its message, it gained recognition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere.

For 8 years already Nina has been wasting her acting talent on supporting roles in rather unprestigious projects. However, there is a big chance on the horizon: the leading part in a spy thriller set in the 60’s. The media predict a spectacular success for the film, but the atmosphere on the set and behind the scenes of the production is more dense than in the plot itself. Psychological pressure and unethical tricks hidden under the guise of an artistic vision lead the protagonist into very dangerous regions.

Screenings:
November 14th (Thursday) | Muranów | 17:30 pm
November 16th (Saturday) | Kinoteka 1 | 21:15 pm

Trailer:

One Cut of the Dead by Shinichiro Ueda – Japan | 2017 – 96 minutes
Section: Horrors

Shot on a budget which in the case of any normal film set would hardly suffice for the toothpicks for the whole crew, “One Cut of The Dead” presents an invigoratingly fresh look at this half-rotten movie genre. The main characters are actors who strive for their best at the set of a production about the walking dead plague; they are trying to meet expectations of the director with a really difficult temperament. What if, however, this hyperactive artist will vanish somewhere and the location – an abandoned sewage treatment plant – will fall under attack of genuine zombie? – Jagoda Murczyńska

Screenings:
November 16th (Saturday) | Muranów | 21:30 pm

Trailer:

Still Human by Oliver Chan Siu-kuen – Hong Kong | 2018 – 115 minutes
Section: Asian Cinerama

Leung Cheong-wing is dependent on the help of others since he suffered an accident at the construction site and is now paralyzed from the chest down. He lives alone in one of the small, stuffy public housing estates in Hong Kong. His ex-wife and son live in the United States, only his sister and best friend come to visit. Caring for Cheong-wing is becoming more and more difficult for them, so they decide to hire a migrant worker from the Philippines, Evelyn, as a domestic help. The woman patiently endures Cheong-wing’s mood swings, constant stress and difficult housing conditions, trying to deal with the problems she left in the Philippines. The characters gradually overcome the language barrier, without suspecting that they will thoroughly influence each others’ lives… – Maja Korbecka

Screenings:
November 14th (Thursday) | Kinoteka 1 | 20:30 pm (With Q&A)
November 15th (Friday) | Kinoteka 2 | 18:15 pm (With Q&A)

Trailer:

The Red Phallus by Tashi Gyeltshen – Bhutan | 2018 – 85 minutes
Section: New Asian Cinema

16-year-old Sangay lives in the cloudy Phobjikha Valley in central Bhutan. The girl hardly ever speaks, she sleeps under her bed and meets with an older, married man. Her father, who chides her all the time, is a sculptor whittling wooden phalluses. They are supposed to ward off evil powers but for Sangay they are only the reason why her peers mock her. – Maja Korbecka

Screenings:
November 14th (Thursday) | Kinoteka 2 | 20:30 pm (With Q&A)
November 16th (Saturday) | Muranów | 16:15 pm (With Q&A)

Trailer:

Three Husbands by Fruit Chan – Hong Kong | 2018 – 101 minutes
Section: Fruit Chan Retrospective

In the last part of his „prostitution trilogy” Fruit Chan drifts further towards fairy-tale narration full of visual metaphors which stimulate imagination and bitter satire of Hong Kong reality. Mui lives with an older man, Second Brother, on a boat moored off the coast of Hong Kong. The main source of their income is main character’s prostitution, yet for Mui sex is more a matter of unfulfilled lust and irresistible biological need than simply one of the means to make money. One day she draws the attention of one of her clients – a shy underdog nicknamed Four Eyes. He bribes Second Brother to marry Mui, but living on land in a cramped social housing makes her unhappy. After all, she turns out to be a truly unique woman; her mysterious origin will push Mui and her three partners to search for the most intricate ways of sexual satisfaction. Suffice to say that Mui can do more with a papaya than Lee Kang-sheng’s character with a watermelon in Tsai Ming-liang’s “The Wayward Cloud”. – Maja Korbecka

Screenings:
November 15th (Friday) | Kinoteka 1 | 21:00 pm (With Q&A)
November 18th (Monday) | Kinoteka 2 | 18:00 pm

Trailer:

Tumbbad by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi – India, Sweden | 2018 – 104 minutes
Section: Horrors

In 1918, in the province of Maharashtra, Vinayak lived with his brother in the sinister Tumbbad estate. Both were illegitimate children of the maid and master of the house. One day Vinayak hears the mysterious name Hastar for the first time and learns about the legend of an extraordinary treasure hidden somewhere in Tumbbad’s deep basements. The clever boy helps out his doomed grandmother and thus discovers a way to gain wealth. After the unfortunate death of his brother, Vinayak leaves the run-down estate and returns whenever he needs more gold. Each time he manages to avoid an ominous curse, but cleverness may one day turn against him… – Maja Korbecka

Screenings:
November 17th (Sunday) | Kinoteka 2 | 20:30 pm

Trailer:

Wet Season by Anthony Chen – Singapore, Taiwan | 2019 – 103 minutes
Section: New Asian Cinema

Ling is a Chinese teacher at one of Singapore’s high schools. In an English-speaking country, her subject is widely considered superfluous, so the woman does not enjoy respect among students and staff, at home she also does not find understanding. Her husband is an always absent, busy businessman. He not only ignores Ling’s efforts to conceive a child, but leaves her alone looking after the bedridden father-in-law. Ling’s inner sadness attracts the attention of an equally lonely and neglected student, Wei Lun. During obligatory remedial afternoon Chinese classes, the student and the teacher get to know each other and establish quite complex, multifaceted relationship… – Maja Korbecka

Screenings:
November 15th (Friday) | Kinoteka 2 | 16:00 pm
November 17th (Sunday) | Kinoteka 2 | 16:00 pm

Trailer:

Where we belong by Kongdej Jaturanrasamee – Thailand | 2019 – 130 minutes
Section: New Asian Cinema

Sue does not even know what she dreams of and she does not feel at home in her family town. She would like to leave everything behind and go to Finland on a scholarship. Instructions for the interview and advice on packing suitcases can be easily found on the web – a much more difficult point on the to-do-list before leaving is, however, confronting oneself with own past and the emotions connected with leaving one’s best friend in the home country. – Jagoda Murczyńska

Screenings:
November 17th (Sunday) | Muranów | 20:30 pm (With Q&A)
November 19th (Tuesday) | Kinoteka 2 | 20:30 pm (With Q&A)

Trailer:

For more information about the programme please visit the official website of the festival: Five Flavours Asian Film Festival