10 Films you cannot miss at the 25th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas

By Asian Film Festival on January 26, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

We present a list of ten films you shouldn’t miss at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas which will take place from February 5th – 12th, 2019 in Vesoul, France.

A Family Tour (Zi You Xing) by Liang Ying
Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore | 2018 – 107 min.

Chinese film director Yang Shu has been forced to remain in exile in Hong Kong after filming The Mother of One Recluse which offended the Chinese government. When, five years later, her mother in Sichuan has to undergo an important operation, both women try to reconnect. Yang Shu takes the opportunity of a film festival event in Taiwan to go with her husband and son and meet her mother who pretends to be on a mainland company leisure tour. To ensure this family reunion can take place under the strict itinerary of the Chinese tour company, the young family checks into the same hotel and follows the tour group to the various scenic spots they visit. (VIFFAC 2019)

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A Land Imagined by Yeo Siew Hua – Singapore | 2018 – 95 min.

Set in industrial Singapore, police investigator Lok must find missing migrant worker Wang. Wang suffers a worksite accident and is anxious about repatriation. Unable to sleep, Wang starts frequenting a dreamy cybercafé in the dead of the night. Hoping to look for some form of human connection in this foreign land he feels alienated from, Wang forms a virtual friendship with a mysterious gamer that takes a sinister turn. When Wang suddenly disappears, Lok digs deep into the trail leading to a land reclamation site, in order to uncover the truth beneath all that sand. (VIFFAC 2019)

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Alpha, the Right to Kill by Brillante Mendoza – Philippines | 2018 – 93 min.

Manilla. Against the background of a police crackdown on drugs, a huge police raid is launched against Abel, one of the biggest drug dealers in the town. Police officer Espino and his snout, Elijah, a minor dealer, both play a key role in this operation. While the SWAT team is moving through the shanty town, the situation gets quickly out of control with violent confrontation erupting between the police and Abel’s gang. In the middle of all this chaos, before the officers in charge of the investigation arrive on the scene, Espino and Elijah get hold of a rucksack full of money and methamphetamines. This act, stemming from corruption for the one and survival for the other, is soon going to set off a series of dangerous events, putting their reputation, their families and their lives at stake. (VIFFAC 2019)

Trailer:

Coming Home (Gui Lai) by Zhang Yimou – China | 2014 – 109 min.

Lu Yanshi, a political prisoner, has been freed at the end of the Cultural Revolution. When he gets home, he discovers that his wife is suffering from amnesia. She no longer recognizes him and waits every day for her husband to return, without realizing that he is already by her side. (VIFFAC 2019)

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Growing Up (Grandir) by Jill Coulon
France, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Myamar | 2018 – 54 min.

Prin was born in Jarai community in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. She is six years old. In North Myanmar, teen years old Myu Lat Awng lives in a camp for Internally Displaced Persons because of border war. 14 years old Phout lives in kingdom of the million elephants. Deaf and mute, she has a whole different perception of life. 17 years old homeless Pagna dreams of studies and travels. Thookoloa is 21. Without any Thai identity papers, she left her mountains to find work in Bangkok. 34 years old Juliet lives happily with her husband and her four children in the Philippines. A grown-up orphan in Cebu’s trash dump site, she did everything to make her dreams become a reality. She is currently a primary school teacher. All these destinies tie, meet and assemble like pieces of one giant puzzle for one big adventure: Growing up. (VIFFAC 2019)

Have a nice day (Hao Jile) by Liu Jian – China | 2017 – 77 min.

A dismal rainstorm is hanging over a small town in southern China. Xiao Zhang, an ordinary driver on the payroll of a local mafioso, steals a bagful of banknotes from his boss. As evening is falling, the news of this desperate action is relayed very quickly and everybody goes in pursuit of Xiao Zhang and the bag. (VIFFAC 2019)

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His Lost Name (Yoake) by Hirose Nanako – Japan | 2018 – 113 min.

A young man is found almost unconscious on a river bank. A middle-aged widower Tetsuro shelters the man who tells nothing but his name “Shin-ichi.” Though baffled by the old man’s eagerness who treats Shin-ichi like his own son by providing a place to live and a job, Shin-ichi starts to feel at ease and tries to confess his past. In the meantime, there is a rumor about an incident a little while ago in the town, and people begin to suspect the stranger. (VIFFAC 2019)

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Jinpa by Pema Tseden – China, Tibet | 2018 – 86 min.

On an isolated road passing through the vast barren plains of Tibet, a truck driver who has accidentally run over a sheep chances upon a young man who is hitching a ride. As they drive and chat, the truck driver notices that his new friend has a silver dagger strapped to his leg. He comes to understand that this man is out to kill someone who wronged him earlier in life. As he drops the hitchhiker off at a fork in the road, little does the truck driver realize that their short time together has changed everything, and that their destinies are inexorably intertwined. (VIFFAC 2019)

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Sub-Zero Wind (Young ha eui ba ram) by Kim Yuri
South Korea | 2018 – 109 min.

At the age of 12, she is afflicted with the burden and insecurities of abandonment, when her father suddenly disappears without any explanation after the divorce of her parents. At age 15, Young-ha is the best daughter she can be, to support her mother, who works hard to support her second husband and the newly recomposed family She also tries to console her cousin and best friend Mi-jin, who is sent away to an uncle after losing her family. At 19, after finishing the college entrance exam, Young-ha spends many hours with her new stepdad since mom is busy working. One day, an unexpected event brings everything down and puts the whole family in grave danger. (VIFFAC 2019)

Waiting for Sunset (Kung Paano Hinihintay ang dapithapon) by Carlo Enciso Catu
Philippines | 2018 – 110 min.

Teresa and Celso are an unmarried couple trying to survive their mundane elderly life. On the night of their anniversary, they received a phone call from Teresa’s estranged husband Benedicto who is ill and asking for care. The couple went out of their way to attend to his needs in the remaining days of his life, even seeking for the forgiveness of his son Chito. (VIFFAC 2019)

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