NYAFF 2018: New York Asian Film Festival announces full line-up

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema have announced the 17th edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), with screenings from 29 June to 15 July 2018.

The seventeenth edition of the festival features four world premieres, three international premieres, 21 North American premieres, three U.S. premieres, and twelve New York premieres.

There a 7 films playing in the re-launched Main Competition: Shiraishi Kazuya’s BLOOD OF WOLVES (Japan), Nam Ron’s CROSSROADS: ONE TWO JAGA (Malaysia), Naito Eisuke’s LIVERLEAF (Japan), Dong Yue’s THE LOOMING STORM (China), Sunny Chan’s MEN OF THE DRAGON (Hong Kong), Jeon Go-woon’s MICROHABITAT (South Korea), and Treb Monteras’s RESPETO (Philippines).

Dante Lam also gets a focus as he’s awarded the Daniel A. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema. Along with a retrospective, his most recent film Operation Red Sea will get a screening as well.

This year, the festival presents two Star Asia Awards: South Korea’s Kim Yun-seok and Chinese filmmaker Jiang Wu. The Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Japan’s Harada Masato, who is recognisable to audiences from The Last Samurai to his latest, Sekigahara, also playing at the fest.

FULL LINEUP (58)

Titles in bold are included in the Main Competition; the list excludes the surprise screening.

CHINA (7)

Co-presented with Confucius Institute Headquarters and China Institute

Dude’s Manual (Kevin Ko, 2018)
End of Summer (Zhou Quan, 2017) – New York Premiere
The Ex-Files 3: The Return of the Exes (Tian Yusheng, 2017)
Looking for Lucky (Jiang Jiachen, 2018) – International Premiere
The Looming Storm (Dong Yue, 2017) – North American Premiere
Old Beast (Zhou Ziyang, 2017) – New York Premiere
Wrath of Silence (Xin Yukun, 2017) – New York Premiere

HONG KONG PANORAMA (9)

Presented with the support of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York

Beast Stalker (Dante Lam, 2008) – Tribute to Dante Lam
The Big Call (Oxide Pang, 2017) – North American Premiere
The Brink (Jonathan Li, 2017) – New York Premiere
The Empty Hands (Chapman To, 2018) – New York Premiere
House of the Rising Sons (Antony Chan, 2018) – World Premiere
Men on the Dragon (Sunny Chan, 2018) – World Premiere
Operation Red Sea (Dante Lam, 2018) – Tribute to Dante Lam
Paradox (Wilson Yip, 2017) – New York Premiere
Unbeatable (Dante Lam, 2003) – Tribute to Dante Lam

INDONESIA (1)

Buffalo Boys (Mike Wiluan, 2018) – US Premiere

JAPAN (14)

Blood of Wolves (Shiraishi Kazuya, 2018) – North American Premiere
Dynamite Graffiti (Tominaga Masanori, 2018) – North American Premiere (OPENING NIGHT)
The Hungry Lion (Ogata Takaomi, 2017) – North American Premiere
Inuyashiki (Sato Shinsuke, 2018) – North American Premiere
Kakekomi (Harada Masato, 2015) – Tribute to Harada Masato, New York Premiere
Kamikaze Taxi (Harada Masato, 1995) – Tribute to Harada Masato
Liverleaf (Naito Eisuke, 2018) – North American Premiere
Midnight Bus (Takeshita Masao, 2017) – North American Premiere
One Cut of the Dead (Ueda Shinichiro, 2018) – North American Premiere
River’s Edge (Yukisada Isao, 2018) – North American Premiere
The Scythian Lamb (Yoshida Daihachi, 2017) – New York Premiere
Sekigahara (Harada Masato, 2017) – Tribute to Harada Masato, New York Premiere
Smokin’ on the Moon (Kanata Wolf, 2017) – International Premiere
The Third Murder (Kore-eda Hirokazu, 2017) – New York Premiere