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).
