NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2008
June 20 ­ July 6, 2008

at the IFC Center
(323 Sixth Avenue, at West 4th Street)

and

Japan Society
(333 East 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues)


It¹s back like a bad dream ­ the New York Asian Film Festival kicks off its seventh edition this summer and we¹re exploding with the rich smoky taste of pure Asian movie flavor. While we have plenty of surprises still to be announced (including extreme terrorism, extreme weirdness and some hard-hitting, high profile action titles) here¹s what¹s confirmed so far:

SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO ­ we unleash the beast a full month before it hits movie theaters: Takashi Miike¹s berserk, bloody, out-of-control English-language spaghetti western, guest-starring Quentin Tarantino. Full of female gunfighters, clockwork wheelchairs, razor sharp samurai swords and tiny fetuses growing inside blooming flowers this is the Takashi Miike movie Variety calls ³Šone of his wildest ideas yetŠ² And they¹re right. (A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

L: CHANGE THE WORLD ­ the prequel to last year¹s hit DEATH NOTE movies, this is another pop gothic popcorn muncher and this time it¹s directed by Hideo Nakata of THE RING and DARK WATER fame. (A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

ASSEMBLY ­ China takes the war movie and kicks it up to eleven in one of the year¹s biggest blockbusters. The first half is a dirt-in-your-teeth war film about the Ninth Company¹s last stand during China¹s 1948 Civil War. The second half is a dissection of the way war heroes are put on the shelf and forgotten once the sounds of battle fade. Truly epic, and truly magnificent.

MAD DETECTIVE ­ the New York Times says that this dark, nightmarish thriller from Johnnie To ³reaffirms his status as an action master.² And they¹re right!

DAINIPPONJIN ­ this giant monster mock-u-mentary is the movie that ³Cloverfield² should have been. Ever wonder what happens when giant monsters go into heat? Wonder no longer! (A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

ALWAYS 1 & 2 ­ these two massively budgeted feel-good Japanese blockbusters about a Tokyo neighborhood rebuilding itself after World War II have won 14 Japanese Academy Awards between them and sold millions of tickets. ALWAYS 1 sold-out the NYAFF in 2006, and this year we¹re bringing it back with its enormously satisfying sequel. (Always 2 is a co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film)

M ­ Lee Myung-Se (DUELIST, NOWHERE TO HIDE) turns in one of the trippiest films of the year. A celluloid hallucination, it¹s like dreaming with your eyes open and it inspired legions of fans to take to the streets of Seoul in protest when one theater wanted to end its run early.

ACCURACY OF DEATH ­ Takeshi Kaneshiro (FALLEN ANGELS, HOUSE OF FLYING
DAGGERS) rules as the sexiest angel of death ever seen in this pitch perfect remake of ³Death Takes a Holiday.² It¹s a romantic comedy that manages the neat trick of being both genuinely funny and genuinely romantic. (A co-presentation with Japan Society's Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese
Film)

And we¹re super-excited about LADY WHIRLWIND: AN EVENING WITH ANGELA MAO, a celebration of the life and works of martial arts legend, Angela Mao. You may remember her best as Bruce Lee¹s sister in ENTER THE DRAGON, but Angela Mao was one of the greatest female screen fighters of her time and she will be here in person to do a Q&A and introduce newly discovered prints of two of her classic films.

We¹re also excited to be co-presenting the July 3 ­ July 6 portion of the New York Asian Film Festival with Japan Society¹s ³Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film.² Once we end our festival, they¹ll keep on going, presenting great new Japanese films for a further ten days. It¹s more Asian films than you can beat with a stick, and they¹re all out to get you.

It¹s been a tough year for many of the Asian film industries, with less blockbusters than ever before, but we¹re going to bring you a festival of epic proportions come hell or high water, so stay tuned to www.subwaycinema.com for all the latest news as we get it.