Beast Stalker (Hong Kong, 2008) [NYAFF 2018]
Although not as robust as in its heyday from the 1970s-1990s, Hong Kong action cinema still churns out pulse-pounding police thrillers, crime dramas, and neo-noirs...
The Hungry Lion (Japan, 2017) [NYAFF 2018]
The Hungry Lion is the fourth feature from Fukuoka-born indie filmmaker Takaomi Ogata. Each of his films addresses pressing social issues faced by modern Japan....
The Third Murder (Japan, 2017) [NYAFF 2018]
Hirokazu Kore-eda recently won the 2018 Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for his latest film, Shoplifters, receiving mainstream media attention from many outlets...
Dynamite Graffiti (Japan, 2017) [NYAFF 2018]
Adult magazines are big business worldwide, especially in Japan where it is still possible to walk into some convenience stores and see them on open...
Yappie – YouTube Original Web Series (USA, 2018)
A word that can mean two very different things in a romantic setting is ‘safe;’ it is either the affirmation of attachment (as in “you...
Returnee (Kazakhstan, 2017) [Aperture 2018]
Longing; longing for home. Fuelled by nostalgia and feelings of safety and the familiar it is one of those primordial emotions responsible for changes in...
The Chinese Exclusion Act (USA, 2018)
At the historic completion of the construction of the Transcontinental Railway in 1869, Promontory, Utah, the Chinese laborers who did the majority of the work...
Preview – JAPAN CUTS 2018, July 19-29
Japan Society announces the full lineup of the 12th annual JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film. Described by The New York Times as “meticulously...
Fake (Japan, 2016) [Aperture 2018]
Mamoru Samuragochi was a widely acclaimed composer in Japan, with an 18-year career creating music for orchestras, film and video games. He was also deaf,...
Moments of imperfect harmony: an interview with Catherine Lee
Though the title of Catherine Lee’s documentary short 9 at 38 (2017) is cleverly and enticingly succinct, a possible subtitle could be ‘Orchestral and political...