102 FILMS, 42 COUNTRIES, 11 DAYS, ONE BRISBANE ASIA PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL
An international cultural program has been unveiled for the second Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF), proudly presented by Treasury Casino and Hotel, with 102 films from 42 countries and areas to be screened during the 11 day event from 19-29 November.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said Brisbane audiences will celebrate cinema at its best this November when Brisbane’s signature film festival and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) returns to the city.
‘Brisbane is Australia’s gateway to Asia Pacific and BAPFF reflects our growing influence on the region’s cultural landscape.’ Cr Quirk said.
‘Our city is the ideal location for the nation’s only Asia Pacific-dedicated film festival. We are proud to showcase the quality of film from our region to our residents and visitors this November.’
APSA/BAPFF Chairman, Michael Hawkins said ‘this is a world-class program. We’re screening films straight from their premieres at Locarno, Venice and Toronto Film Festivals to Brisbane audiences next month.
‘We have 33 Australian premieres and 23 Queensland premieres in just 11 days. This year has been an incredible year for Asia Pacific film, particularly Australian cinema, and this is an opportunity for Brisbane to see the diversity of film on offer from our region,’ he said.
Maxine Williamson, APSA/BAPFF Film Director is pleased to offer the significant international program which includes 83 feature films, 9 shorts and 10 Virtual Reality works, from 42 countries and areas of Asia Pacific.
‘We have over 50 international guests attending the film festival to support the screenings. The Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region and this festival pays homage to the exceptional talent and artistry from a region that encompasses 70 countries and areas. Our program has representation from Egypt to Russia to the Pacific and includes award-winning cinema, festival gems, cult classics, restorations and masterpieces,’ said Ms Williamson.
‘Following the success of the inaugural BAPFF in 2014, this year will see the return of sections A Matter of Form and The Colours of Asia Pacific, along with a sophisticated international cultural program offering sections dedicated to Turkish, Malaysian, Hong Kong and Oceanic cinema,’ she said.
Already announced is the BAPFF Country of Focus: Turkish Waves, a special collaboration between the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, Turkish Government’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Curated by Head of Zeyno Film and Chairwoman of the Turkish Guild of Film Producers Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, this section will screen nine Turkish films including this year’s Venice Film Festival Special Jury Grand prize winner and 9th APSA-nominee for Best Screenplay Frenzy (Turkey, Qatar, France), along with the first feature from acclaimed Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan, The Small Town, from 1971.
Selected from the ‘100 Must-See Hong Kong Movies’ list of the Hong Kong Film Archives, Coming to Terms with Change, co-presented by BAPFF and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, will screen five titles spanning from the 1950s to 1980s. Curated by Hong Kong film critic and curator Sam Ho (Ho sits on the APSA International Jury for Youth, Animation and Documentary), Tsui Hark’s beloved 1984 comedy Shanghai Blues (Hong Kong, PRC) will open this section. Tsui’s latest 3D action adventure The Taking of Tiger Mountain (Hong Kong, PRC) has been selected as the Festival’s Closing Film.
APSA International Jury member and leading figure of Malaysian New Wave cinema, U-Wei Bin HajiSaari, has selected two Malaysian films as part of Voices from Malaysia – the Australian premiere of the compelling family drama Nova and youth crime drama, Songlap. The short film One Note One Fragment (a segment of the omnibus Fragment), made for the tenth anniversary celebration of the Asian Film Archive (AFA), written and directed by HajiSaari, will be screened prior to both films.
Curated by Herman Van Eyken, Head of Griffith Film School and Khadidja Benouataf from The Oceanian International Documentary Film Festival (Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien , known as FIFO), Carte Blanche for Films from the Pacific will showcase 11 remarkable films from the vast islands of Oceania including French Polynesian films My Adopted Family and Tatau, and New Zealand films There Once Was An Island, This Way of Life and Made in Taiwan.
BAPFF Head Programmer, Kiki Fung explained the importance of the carefully selected festival program.
‘Cinema is a unique art form and our program reflects this. We are particularly drawn to filmmakers who seek to refine, experiment and expand. The subtlety and poetry of these films demonstrate different countries’ aesthetics and artistic expressions. In this year, there are recurring themes of connection and self-discovery that are profoundly resonating. We are blessed to see these filmmaker’s visions brought to screen and are thrilled to share them with our audience,’ Ms Fung said.
Joining this year’s A Matter of Form line-up are the Australian premieres of the electrifying satire Atomic Heart (Islamic Republic of Iran) and the award-winning, poetic Thanatos, Drunk (Taiwan) from veteran Taiwanese director Chang Tso-chi. This section also sees the Queensland premiere of Cemetery of Splendour (Thailand, Malaysia, France, Germany, United Kingdom), nominated for Best Feature Film and Achievement in Directing at the 9th APSA. This section also includes The Assassin (Taiwan), Right Now, Wrong Then (Republic of Korea), Tehran Taxi (Islamic Republic of Iran), Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous (Hong Kong, PRC) and Mountains May Depart (People’s Republic of China, Japan, France).
This year, The Colours of Asia Pacific section sees the Queensland premiere of Downriver (Australia) featuring 9th APSA-nominee for Best Actor Reef Ireland, and Australian premiere of The Gulls (Russian Federation) nominated for the 2015 APSA UNESCO Award and 9th APSA-nominee for Best Performance by an Actress for Evgeniya Mandzhieva, and Queensland premiere of Naomi Kawase’s An (Japan, France, Germany).
Masterpieces Revisited will showcase works of art from the 21st Century that demand to be seen on the big screen. Joining Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness (Taiwan) in this section are Mikio Naruse’a Floating Clouds (1955, Japan) and the new 4K restoration of King Hu’s A Touch of Zen (1971, Taiwan).
The Ties that Bind section explores films that pay tribute to family as a source of comedy and drama. This section offers the Queensland premiere of The Daughter (Australia) alongside APSA-nominated films Mina Walking (Afghanistan, Canada), Motherland (Turkey, Greece), Lorna (Philippines), Our Little Sister (Japan), and Set Me Free (Republic of Korea) and 9th APSA Best Feature Film nominee End of Winter. Also featuring is Chinese-Australian filmmaker Liu Shumin’s The Family, an ambitious and accomplished portrait of contemporary China which opened the Critics’ Week section at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
The Journey is the Thing offers a chance to discover beautiful and soulful journeys through cinema. This section includes the Australian premieres of three-time APSA nominee A Corner of Heaven (People’s Republic of China, France) from Miaoyan Zhang, Stranger (Kazakhstan), Heavenly Nomadic (Kyrgyzstan), The Find (Russian Federation, Finland) and from the People’s Republic of China, River and Tharlo.
Co-presented by BAPFF and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is Hybrid Story Worlds: Imagining our Future – a full day of free immersive visual experiences which focus on Virtual Reality at The Cube, QUT on Sunday 22 November. Curated by Deb Polson, a specialist in game design and Senior Lecturer at QUT’s School of Design, this program showcases Hybrid Arcade, where new Virtual Reality works ranging from short film, games and interactive museums can be experienced on special headsets or oculus. Another part of the program, Hybrid Masters, features distinguished individuals and communities from across the region in four different panels to discuss how gaming and cinematic concepts and technologies are being merged to create hybrid experiences. There is also a special workshop, Hybrid Labs -The Monster Zoo, where kids from 6-12 years old can experience Augmented Reality filmmaking (Hybrid Labs price: $25, per child).
A free family community screening of this year’s popular family film Oddball (Australia) will take place at The Courier-Mail Piazza, South Bank Parklands on Saturday 28 November with activities from 5.30pm.
The 2015 Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) runs 19-29 November across six Brisbane cinemas and cultural venues including Palace Barracks Cinemas, New Farm Cinemas, The Australian Cinémathèque at the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Griffith Film School, The Cube at Queensland University of Technology and The Courier-Mail Piazza. The full program and tickets, including Opening and Closing night, special presentations and Gala events, are on sale now at bapff.com.au.
-ENDS-
ABOUT BRISBANE ASIA PACIFIC FILM FESTIVAL (BAPFF)
Founded by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and Screen Queensland, the Brisbane Asia Pacific Film Festival (BAPFF) proudly presented by Treasury Casino and Hotel, celebrates cinema at its best in Brisbane this November. Driven by Brisbane City Council and delivered by Brisbane Marketing, BAPFF treats film fans to some of the most outstanding cinema from our region from Thursday 19 to Sunday 29 November. Now in its second year, BAPFF boasts 102 award-winning features, documentaries and shorts from here and abroad, in a program packed with gala screenings, special guest appearances, and retrospectives. BAPFF will also offer Brisbane audiences a rare chance to see a selection of the nominated films from the 9th APSA, the region’s highest accolade in film, held at Brisbane City Hall on Thursday 26 November.
Media enquiries, BAPFF: Maddie Smith – 0411 426 357 | [email protected]
Film stills available at this dropbox link.
2015 BAPFF PROGRAM:
OPENING NIGHT: Thursday 19 November
The Idol (Palestine, Qatar, UAE, Netherlands, UK)
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
CLOSING NIGHT: Sunday 29 November
The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D (People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, PRC)
Director: Tsui Hark
Sections:
A MATTER OF FORM
Tehran Taxi (Islamic Republic of Iran) Dir: Jafar Panahi
Atomic Heart (Islamic Republic of Iran) Dir: Ali Ahmadzadeh
The Assassin (Taiwan) Dir: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Under Electric Clouds (Russian Federation, Ukraine, Poland) Dir: Alexey German Jr
Thanatos, Drunk (Taiwan) Dir: Chang Tso-Chi
Cemetery of Splendour (Thailand, Malaysia, France, Germany, United Kingdom) Dir: Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Hong Kong Trilogy: Preschooled Preoccupied Preposterous (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Christopher Doyle
Our Little Sister (Japan) Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda
Right Now, Wrong Then (Republic of Korea) Dir: Hong Sang-soo
The Family (People’s Republic of China, Australia) Dir: Liu Shumin
Mountains May Depart (People’s Republic of China, Japan, France) Dir: Jia Zhangke
DOCUMENTARIES
Sherpa (Australia) Dir: Jennifer Peedom
A Young Patriot (People’s Republic of China) Dir: Du Haibin
Another Country (Australia) Dir: Molly Reynolds
My Love, Don’t Cross that River (Republic of Korea) Dir: Jin Mo-young
The Look of Silence (Indonesia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, United Kingdom) Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
Among the Believers (Pakistan, United States of America) Dir: Mohammed Ali Naqvi, Hemal Trivedi
The Chinese Mayor (People’s Republic of China) Dir: Zhou Hao
THE COLOURS OF ASIA PACIFIC
Taklub (Philippines) Dir: Brillante Ma. Mendoza
Tikkun (Israel) Dir: Avishai Sivan
An (Japan, France, Germany) Dir: Naomi Kawase
Black Horse Memories (Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkey) Dir: Shahram Alidi
A Minor Leap Down (Islamic Republic of Iran, France) Dir: Hamed Rajabi
The Coffin in the Mountain (People’s Republic of China) Dir: Xin Yukun
Interrogation (India) Dir: Vetri Maaran
Very Big Shot (Lebanon, Qatar) Dir: Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya
The Gate of Departure (Egypt) Dir: Karim Hanafy
The Road Called Life (Republic of Korea) Dir: Ahn Jae-hun, Han Hye-jin
Sunrise (India, France) Dir: Partho Sen-Gupta
Dark in the White Light (Sri Lanka, France) Dir: Vimukthi Jayasundara
Downriver (Australia) Dir: Grant Scicluna
Alive (Republic of Korea) Dir: Park Jungbum
The Gulls (Russian Federation) Dir: Ella Manzheeva
Tent (Kazakhstan) Dir: Kenzhebek Shaikakov
THE JOURNEY IS THE THING
The Find (Russian Federation, Finland) Dir: Victor Dement
Journey to the Shore (Japan, France) Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
The President (Georgia, France, Germany, United Kingdom) Dir: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
A Corner of Heaven (People’s Republic of China, France) Dir: Miaoyan Zhang
River (People’s Republic of China) Dir: Sonthar Gyal
Heavenly Nomadic (Kyrgyzstan) Dir: Mirlan Abdykalykov
Tharlo (People’s Republic of China) Dir: Pema Tseden
Spear (Australia) Dir: Stephen Page
Stranger (Kazakhstan) Dir: Yermek Tursunov
THE TIES THAT BIND
Early Winter (Australia, Canada) Dir: Michael Rowe
The Daughter (Australia) Dir: Simon Stone
End of Winter (Republic of Korea) Dir: Kim Dae-hwan
Lorna (Philippines) Dir: Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo
Set Me Free (Republic of Korea) Dir: Kim Tae-yong
Mina Walking (Afghanistan, Canada) Dir: Yosef Baraki
Our Little Sister (Japan) Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda
Motherland (Turkey, Greece) Dir: Senem Tüzen
The Family (People’s Republic of China, Australia) Dir: Liu Shumin
Mountains May Depart (People’s Republic of China, Japan, France) Dir: Jia Zhangke
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Bad Boy Bubby (Australia) Dir: Rolf de Heer
MASTERPIECES REVISITED
Floating Clouds (Japan) Dir: Mikio Naruse
A City of Sadness (Taiwan) Dir: Hou Hsiao-hsien
A Touch of Zen (Taiwan) Dir: King Hu
COMING TO TERMS WITH CHANGE: MUST-SEE HONG KONG FILMS co-presented by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office
Curated by Sam Ho
China Behind (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Shu-Shen (aka Cecille Tong Shu-Shuen)
It was a Cold Winter Night (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Lee Sun-fung
Shanghai Blues (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Tsui Hark
The Spooky Bunch (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Ann Hui
The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Patrick Lung Kong
COUNTRY OF FOCUS: TURKISH WAVES presented by Asia Pacific Screen Academy, Turkish Government’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Curated by Zeynep Özbatur Atakan
Mustang (Turkey, Qatar, France, Germany) Dir: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Until I Lose My Breath (Turkey, Germany) Dir: Emine Emel Balcı
The Bride (Turkey) Dir: Ömer Lütfi Akad
Hope (Turkey) Dir: Yilmaz Güney
Frenzy (Turkey, Qatar, France) Dir: Emin Alper
The Lamb (Turkey, Germany) Dir: Kutlug Ataman
Motherland (Turkey, Greece) Dir: Senem Tüzen
The Small Town (Turkey) Dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Ivy (Turkey) Dir: Tolga Karaçelik
VOICES FROM MALAYSIA
Curated by U-Wei Bin HajiSaari
Nova (Malaysia) Dir: Nik Amir Mustapha
Songlap (Malaysia) Dir: Effendee Mazlan, Fariza Azlina Isahak
One Note One Fragment (Malaysia) Dir: U-Wei Bin HajiSaari
CARTE BLANCHE FOR FILMS FROM THE PACIFIC co-presented by Griffith Film School
Curated by Herman Van Eyken (Head of Griffith Film School) and Khadidja Benouataf (FIFO)
Canning Paradise (Australia) Dir: Olivier Pollet
Kumu Hina (United States of America) Dir: Dean Hamer
Les Horizons Chimériques (France) Dir: Gilles Dagneau
Made in Taiwan (New Zealand) Dir: Dan Salmon
Murundak – Songs of Freedom (Australia) Dir: Rhys Graham, Natasha Gadd
My Adopted Family (French Polynesia) Dir: Eliane Koller
Naissance D’une Nation (New Caledonia) Dir: Ben Salama, Thomas Marie
Rapanui, The Secret Story of Easter Island (France) Dir: Emmanuel Mauro, Stéphane Delorme
There Once Was an Island (New Zealand) Dir: Briar March
This Way of Life (New Zealand) Dir: Thomas Burstyn
Tatau (French Polynesia) Dir: Jean Philippe Joaquim
HYBRID STORY WORLDS: IMAGINING OUR FUTURE co-presented by Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
Curated by Deb Polson, Senior Lecturer, School of Design, QUT
Sunday 22 November from 11am to 5pm
Driving Sim (Australia) Developer: Ashley Davis
Nighttime Terror (Australia) Dir: Mark Schramm
Darkfield (Australia) Dir: Mark Schramm
Virtual Meanjin (Australia) Dir: Brett Leavy
Montas (Australia) Developers: Garth Robertson, Alex Stevens
The Thing in the Wall (Australia) Dir: Tyronne Curtis
Extinction Point: Gold Run (Australia) Dir: Gordon Moyes
The Perfect Hyde: Deadly Yacht (Hong Kong, PRC) Dir: Kevin Tse
Explore ForeVR (Australia) Developers: Thomas Macnamara, Michael McClenaghan and Johan Becconsall
Beach Road (Singapore) Dir: Ender Jiang
Hybrid Labs: The Monster Zoo
Hybrid Masters: The Asia Pacific Virtual Reality Network
Hybrid Masters: Writing and Designing Hybrid Worlds
Hybrid Masters: The Gurus of Games
Hybrid Masters: The Labs of the Future
SHORTS
The Phoenix (Australia) Dir: Nora Niasari
The Meek (Australia) Dir: Joe Brumm
Under The Sun (People’s Republic of China, Australia) Dir: Qiu Yang
Crazy Little Thing (Japan) Dir: Onohana
Nulla Nulla (Australia) Dir: Dylan River
Waves ’98 (Lebanon, Qatar) Dir: Ely Dagher
Ernie Biscuit (Australia) Dir: Adam Elliot
Oscar Wilde’s The Nightingale and the Rose (Australia) Dir: Del Kathryn Barton, Brendan Fletcher
PANELS & SEMINARS
Photography vs Film: Who Tells a Better Story?
When Art Film Meets Martial Arts
Doing Business in Asia: Japan – Introducing the Business Essentials
FREE FAMILY SCREENING at The Courier-Mail Piazza, South Bank
Saturday 28 November from 5.30pm
Oddball (Australia) Dir: Stuart McDonald
