The Japan Foundation Asia Center and Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) are set to serve a flavorful selection of films across Asia at the CROSSCUT ASIA Delicious! Online Film Festival from January 21, 2022 to February 3, 2022.
CROSSCUT ASIA was originally a section of the TIFF from 2014-2019, showcasing Asian cinema with a focus on specific Asian countries, directors, and or themes. This 2022, it makes its return with a selection of thirteen films in two programs namely the Special Edition featuring "delicious" culinary themed films and Encore! featuring a selection from past editions of CROSSCUT ASIA.
Access to the online screening will be via the CROSSCUT ASIA website with registration starting on January 18, 2022, 12:00 PM JST.
All films will be in their original language with subtitles in English and Japanese with films having additional subtitles in other Asian languages. Not all films will be available to view in all territories.
Here are the films for Program 1: Special Edition.
Aruna & Her Palate (Indonesia/2018)
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| ©CJ Entertainment, Palari Films In cooperation with Osaka Asian Film Festival |
Director: Edwin
Cast: Dian Sastrowardoyo, Oka Antara, Nicholas Saputra
Aruna is sent on a research trip to investigate the outbreak of avian flu. Joined by her friends, her trip becomes a culinary journey of famous regional dishes across Indonesia. The four friends taste black soup in Java and crab noodles in Kalimantan. The road movie is directed by Edwin, whose latest film Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, won the Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival in 2021.
Balut Country (Philippines/2015)
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| ©Solar Pictures |
Director: Paul Sta. Ana
Cast: Rocco Nacino, Ronnie Quizon, Vincent Magbanua, Archi Adamos
A son inherits a large duck farm from his late father. Having left home for life in the city to pursue a career as a musician, he returns to his hometown intending to sell the property. But the grand landscape begins to change his heart. Balut, a Filipino soul food, is a fertilized duck egg boiled after the embryo develops. The film was screened in CROSSCUT ASIA 2015.
Not available for viewing in the Philippines.
Film is also part of the Encore! CROSSCUT ASIA program.
Kampai! Sake Sisters (Japan/2019)
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| ©2019 KAMPAI! SAKE SISTERS PRODUCTION COMMITTEE World Sales: SYNCA Creations Inc. |
Director: Konishi Mirai
Cast: Imada Miho, Chiba Marie, Rebekah Wilson-Lye
The world of Japanese sake brewing has long been off-limits to women. In this uplifting and touching documentary, a new generation of women shine in the traditional and esoteric business, inspiring the viewer with the strength to face today's challenges. The film is a sequel to Kampai! for the Love of Sake, which toured the world after its premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Not available for viewing in the Philippines
My Love is Soup (Thailand/2020)
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| ©MPictures Co., Ltd. |
Director: Kriangkrai Monwichit
Cast: Hussawee Pakrapongpisan, Sassanee Virachat, Pitisak Yaowananon, Suttida Kasemsan Na Ayutthaya
Minnie finds a job in a fancy restaurant despite her lack of cooking skills. After making a major blunder that jeopardizes the restaurant's reputation, she tries to restore it by finding the secret soup recipe of her great-grandfather, who was a royal chef. This heartwarming comedy entertains viewers with culinary images from Thailand's deep south, with its large Muslim population, as well as behind-the-scenes footage in a restaurant kitchen.
Namets! (Yummy!) (Philippines/2008)
Director: Jay Abello
Cast: Angel Jacob, Christian Vasquez, Peque Gallaga
In Bacolod City on the island of Negros, the Philippines, an Italian restaurant is lost through a debt and transformed into a restaurant featuring traditional local cuisine. This romantic comedy is a treat for the eyes, with splendid presentations of Negrense dishes that will delight epicureans. The film participated in the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, the gateway to success in thriving Filipino independent film circles.
A River Changes Course (Cambodia, USA/2013)
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| ©2013 MIGRANT FILMS and The DOCUMENTATION CENTER OF CAMBODIA |
Director: Kalyanee Mam
A documentary portraying the lives of three young Cambodians, this film captures daily images of people eating, working and making a living, while revealing the social problems of overfishing, deforestation, poverty and debt. It won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Wanton Mee (Singapore/2015)
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| ©Zhao Wei Films |
Director: Eric Khoo
Cast: Koh Boon Pin, Bill Teoh, Tammie Chew
A middle-aged food critic captures Singapore's traditions and development, while rediscovering his career and life through interviews with street-food hawkers. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Eric Khoo, this ambitious docufiction features a rich variety of street foods, from diverse noodle dishes such as wanton mee and laksa, to foods that reflect the country's multiethnic diversity, such as fish head curry and nasi lemak.
Here are the films for Program 2: Encore! CROSSCUT ASIA
Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll (USA, Cambodia/2014)
Director: John Pirozzi
Cast: Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, Bayon Band
Through the eyes, words and songs of its popular music stars of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock & Roll examines and unravels Cambodia's recent tragic past.
Invisible (Japan, Philippines/2015)
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| ©Solar Pictures In cooperation with Fukuoka City |
Director: Lawrence Fajardo
Cast: Allen Dizon, Ces Quesada, Bernardo Bernardo, JM De Guzman
Invisible tells the story of four Filipino migrant workers in Japan, a crucial encounter that mirrors the difficult challenges that confront the "Pinoy" diaspora.
Pete Teo Special (Malaysia/2008-2013)
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| ©2009 Redbag Music Sdn Bhd. |
Directors: Ho Yuhang, Yasmin Ahmad, Amir Muhammad, Linus Chung, Liew Seng Tat, Desmond Ng, Kamal Sabran, Tan Chui Mui, Woo Ming Jin, James Lee, Benji & Bahir, Johan John, Khairil Bahar, Nam Ron, Suleiman Brothers (15Malaysia), and others
15Malaysia consists of 15 short films made by Malaysian filmmakers. Produced and released by Pete Teo in 2009, these films revolutionized the media and political cultures in Malaysia.
The Pete Teo Special includes other shorts (Vote!, Malaysia Day: Slipstream, Here in My Home, I Go) in which Pete Teo was involved.
Tang Wong (Thailand/2013)
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| ©Song Sound Production |
Director: Kongdej Jaturanrasmee
Cast: Sompob Sittiarjarn, Siripat Kuhavichanun, Nutthasit Kotimanuswanich, Anawat Patanawanichkul, Natarat Lakha
Tang Wong is a comedic drama that centers around four high school boys. They have prayed before the Luang Poo idol at the spirit house. When their wishes come true, they must repay the debt by performing a traditional Thai dance...
Three Sassy Sisters (Indonesia/2016)
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| ©KalyanaShiraFilms/SAFilms |
Director: Nia Dinata
Cast: Shanty Paredes, Tara Basro, Tatyana Akman, Rio Dewanto, Reuben Elishama, Richard Kyle
Usmar Ismail's Three Sisters (Tiga Dara) was first released in 1956. Nia Dinata, who grew up watching the film in reruns on Indonesian TV and was very inspired by it, has created an homage to her favorite director.
Trap (Philippines/2015)
Director: Brillante Ma Mendoza
Cast: Nora Aunor, Julio Diaz, Aaron Rivera
In the horrendous aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, survivors are left to search for the dead while keeping their sanity intact, and protecting what little faith there may be left.
CROSSCUT ASIA will also have special content of related content that includes talks, interviews, and other food related features.
One side event is the online streaming of Suzuki Daisuke: Diary of an Ambassador's Chef, presented by Japan Foundation, Manila. Hosted by renowned chef Reggie Aspiras and featuring an interview with Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko, the film will premiere on January 21, 2022 at the JFM's YouTube channel and Facebook Page.
Suzuki Daisuke: Diary of an Ambassador's Chef 公邸料理人の日記
Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar
Diary of an Ambassador's Chef tells the story of food and cultural diplomacy through a day in the life of Chef Suzuki Daisuke, who works at the Japanese Ambassador's residence. On his fifth year of being based in the bustling city of Manila, he has concocted and devised innovative and surprising dishes fusing the best of Filipino and Japanese cuisine.
January 21, 2022 also sees the launch of a Japanese language version of PELIKULA, a journal on Philippine cinema, published annually by the University of the Philippines Film Institute.
Supported by the Japan Foundation, Manila, the upcoming journal will include five articles by Filipino authors translated into Japanese, namely:
Life, Love and Labor: Depicting the OFW Subcultures in Japan in Contemporary Philippine Films by Alona Guevarra
Temporal Technologies: Toward Southeast Asian Science Fiction Cinema by Jasmine Nadua Trice
Shaping Filipino Regional Cinema: Film Festival Programming in Cinema Rehiyon by Katrina Ross Tan
Rebels With a Cause: Filipino political film collectives and their cinema for the people by Julian Bato
Philippine Cinema in the Age of Media Deliveries: Streaming Platforms from the Philippines since the COVID-19 Pandemic by Icho Pascual
The Japanese version of PELIKULA journal will be made available through the PELIKULA website and also through the JFM social media sites.
CROSSCUT ASIA Delicious! Online Film Festival is presented by the Japan Foundation Asia Center and Tokyo International Film Festival in cooperation with the Embassy of the Philippines in Japan, the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in Japan, the Royal Thai Embassy in Japan.
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