14th AL ESTE International Film Festival – Asian Presence 2023

By Asian Film Festival on April 16, 2023 • ( Leave a comment )

We take a look at the Asian films that will be screened at the AL ESTE International Film Festival which will take place on site and online from April 19 – 29, 2023 in Perú.

– Feature Films –

**Merry Christmas, Yiwu** by Mladen Kovačević – Serbia, China | 2020 – 94 minutes

Even though China does not celebrate Christmas, there are over 600 Christmas-decoration factories in Yiwu, China. They are often run as a family business and manufacture year round, employing people from across the country. This observational documentary focuses on several of them, located in and around Yiwu. There are no high-tech machines, just people working really hard putting glitter on baubles, pom poms on Christmas hats and assembling Father Christmases.

The camera trails the workers at the factory and elsewhere – their conversations, love issues, a game of pool, shopping and eating, and the calls home, far away from Yiwu’s prosperity. People joke about child labour in China, complain about the heat, but basically everyone seems to accept this artificial, surreal society where your colleagues are your new family and the factory is home. A portrait without voice-over of a place created where communism and globalism intersect and transform one another. (IFFR 2020)

Trailer:

**The Woman from Myanmar** by Xiuyue Wang – China | 2022 – 102 minutes

This documentary is mainly about a poor woman from Myanmar (Burma) who married three men and had four children in total. Within her own bowels she is always searching for love. But she knows that men marry her just to have children.

**Tora’s Husband** by Rima Das – India | 2022 – 150 minutes

A loving father strains to keep his small-town business afloat while his relationships deteriorate amidst personal loss and lockdowns during the pandemic. (MUBI)

Trailer:

– Short Films –

**An Excessive Day** by Zhao Danyang – Korea, China | 2021 – 25 minutes

Seowoo goes back to a convenience store where she’s been working part-time to claim her late payment. When she arrives, a new part-timer seems somewhat clumsy. (FirstFilm)

Trailer:

**Nowhere Else** by LEE Kyeongwon – Korea | 2021 – 28 minutes

His wife, who disappeared after the accident six years ago, lost her memory and now visits Ok-cheon (in Korea) with her new husband. (VilniusISFF 2022)

**Trace of Time** by Sanghoon Lee – Korea | 2021 – 19 minutes

Immerse yourself in the visionary universe of renowned artist Kim Bora, whose captivating works challenge our perception of time and space. A bold and innovative creation, Trace of Time will take you on an unforgettable journey beyond the limits of your imagination. Kim Bora explores the connection between man and nature, revealing how the body’s senses shape our understanding of the world around us. (Lefifa)

For more information, please visit: https://www.peru.alestfestival.com/