The 65th Venice Film Festival, in partnership with the Udine Far East Film Festival, presents:
Queens of Langkasuka
di Nonzee Nimibutr
THAILANDIA, 137′, original version: Thai; subtitles: Italian/English
con Ananda Everingham, Jarunee Suksawat, Sorapong Chatri
Friday, 5th September, midnight, Sala Grande
Press/Industry Screening 9am Sala Grande
In the XVII century, the kingdom of Queen Hijau is conquered by a rebel prince who has made a deal with the evil pirates of Captain Black Raven. Pari, who as a child witnessed the murder of his father by the Black Raven pirates, is brought up by his uncle and introduced to the magical arts by the sage White Ray, who teaches him how to empathetically make contact with the ocean and the creatures which inhabit it. Once he reaches adulthood, Pari will put these magical arts to use to take vengeance on Black Raven and return the kingdom to Queen Hijau.
Nonzee Nimibutr, born in Nonthaburi, in Thailand, in 1961, is a director, producer and screenwriter. Nimibutr began his career by directing music videos, and he made his film debut in 1997 with Dang Bireley’s and Young Gangsters, the adventures of a gang of young criminals. This was followed by Nang Nak (1999, presented at the Far East Film Festival in 2000), then Jan Dara (2001), Three (2002), OK Baytong (2003). His last work was the short The Celino (2005).
The 65th Venice Film Festival, in partnership with the Udine Far East Film Festival, presents:
Monster X strikes back: attack the G8 summit!
di Minoru Kawasaki
GIAPPONE, 98′, original version: Japanese, subtitles: Italian/English
con Natsuki Kato, Kazuki Kato, Akira Matsushita, Beat Takeshi
Thursday, 28th August, midnight, Sala Grande
Press/Industry Screening 9am Sala Grande
A parody of the Japanese daikaiju genre (in technical terms, a film with gigantic monsters) set during an imaginary G8 summit ravaged by Guilala, the monster from outer space. With a focus on environmental issues, the summit, which takes place in the summer of 2008 in Hokkaido, explores the various ineffectual efforts of the major world leaders (including the French President, who is exclusively concerned with matters regarding the fairer sex) to deal with planetary imbalances. The arrival of the monster from outer space sets off a frenzied race to take credit for saving the planet from the extraterrestrial threat, right up to the finale in which the Japanese leader is unveiled as an impostor, an emissary from an evil enemy dictatorship.
Born in Tokyo in 1958, the independent film-maker Minoru Kawasaki rightly deserves the epithet of “the Japanese Ed Wood”, thanks to his style based on demented ideas and his nostalgia for VFX techniques. International success came his way in 2004 with The Calamari Wrestler, followed two years later by The World Sinks Except Japan and then by The Rug Cop.
Due film di mezzanotte saranno presentati in collaborazione con il Far East Film Festival di Udine: Monster X Strikes Back: attack the G8 summit! di Minoru Kawasaki (giovedì 28 agosto - ore 00:00 in Sala Grande) e Queens of Langkasuka di Nonzee Nimibutr (venerdì 5 settembre - ore 00:00 in Sala Grande).
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The 10th Far East Film Festival welcomed back the Japanese Director Nakata Hideo with a double bill: the international premiere of L change the WorLd, a sci-fi thriller, and the ghost story Kaidan, the film that opened Horror Day on Wednesday 23rd.
The first film recalls the themes and characters of the preceding Death Note, exploring with greater detail the last twenty days of the detective L. Marking the director’s return in Japan after his Hollywood experience, Kaidan brings to light the epoch of the samurai, a period close to the director’s heart.
During a press meeting it was surprising to discover that the author of the series The Ring doesn’t particularly like the horror genre, but that he was drawn to it by chance or, using his own words, “heavenly destiny”. It was even more interesting to find out that one of the masters of J-Horror prefers to relax with melodramas…
The director also confirmed the importance of cinema as a means of communication, without barriers, providing a cultural bridge between East and West. He instead said that he wasn’t interested in political issues, preferring a cinema that provided the audience with an escape from reality, far from any pretence of social commentary.
Cinema wasn’t the only topic of conversation. The death penalty in Japan is seen as a legal way by which the families affected by a serious crime give the State the authority to carry out their personal vendetta. If it were to be abolished, according to Nakata Hideo, cases of extreme violence in which many young Japanese find themselves involved in would increase.
Of great interest was the internet rumor that Dreamworks wanted the director for a new installment of The Ring, but this was immediately denied by the director.
