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The British must certainly have a strange love affair with Asian cinema. Almost every other month now, another film festival pops up showcasing a slate of Asian films from the region. But is there really a need for so many different ones? Furthermore, with quite a number of these festivals struggling to find an audience, why do festival organisers still persist?
“As long as there is a demand, then why not?” insists Joey Leung, the Festival Director for Terracotta Far East Film Festival. “Asian films encompass a wide geography, wide genre, wide style of films and each story teller has something different to say.”
This is reflective of the 15 films he personally hand-picked for the 2nd edition of the festival. With a selection of films of different genres from various countries, he has catered for a mix of audience. To open the festival, there is the latest Jackie Chan action flick LITTLE BIG SOLDIER, which is a UK premiere and yet to be released in Europe. Although, Jackie Chan himself cannot make it to the launch of the festival, it is indeed a major step forward in introducing new audiences to Asian cinema.
Likewise, with the closing film, BODYGUARDS AND ASSASSINS, another star-studded film attempting to tap into the international market, this too, has yet to find a theatrical release beyond the Asian cinema screens. Whilst there is little doubt about the drawing power of these two films, it is the smaller ones that Leung wants to introduce through the festival.
“The lesser known ones are the ones that we really like to champion. For example FISH STORY (‘will a punk rock song save the world from a meteorite impact?’) is a great, mind-puzzling film that really is something different and definitely has strong Japanese sensibilities. COW is another undiscovered gem – set during the Second World War in a Chinese village, it’s the story of a village simpleton entrusted with looking after a cow.” (Leung insists that I should check it out since he detected that I didn’t believe him)
Throw in the sure-fire winners of the anime SUMMER WARS, a triad film VENGEANCE by veteran helmer Johnnie To and a documentary IN THE MOOD FOR DOYLE about the charismatic cinematographer Chris Doyle, the Terracotta Film Festival is bound to pull in the audience. However, the big question remains though, will major UK cinemas pick up these films after the festival is over and distribute it on a national scale?
It is wonderful to see great, undiscovered films (whether they are Asian or not), but can they match the marketing power of Hollywood? Beyond the already converted Asian cinephile, how do reach out to the mainstream audience?
“I think anything that’s mainstream means it has mass appeal by definition. Action always works well whether it’s Hollywood or Asian. So do large scale epics with an army of a real cast, rather than CGI; these historical battle epics offer something different for the British public. Then there are the cross-over genre, due to their bizarreness or uniqueness or ingenuity, like your OLDBOY (dir: Park Chan-wook - Korea) and AUDITION (dir: Takashi Miike – JAPAN). They are so imaginative and the word of mouth is so easy to package; these get picked up, not just by the core film fans, but also through trend setting artistic magazines for the more seemingly cutting edge crowd. And finally there is the real connoisseur stuff – for those who know their Akira Kurosawa from their Kiyoshi Kurosawa, it would be hard for these to break into the mainstream, though thankfully there is still enough of an audience in this country to support these films.”
Leung goes on to say that getting a general theatrical release is not that easy. With the issue that there are more films than there are cinema screens, it is the collaborative efforts between festival organisers and distributors to get the message out there to the new audience that Asian cinema is worth watching.
Yet another fundamental reason is language barrier.
Sun Xiaoxiao, the Festival Director for Filming East Festival (www.filmingeast.org) agrees. However she thinks this is “nothing strange”. For the last three years, she and her team have put together a comprehensive festival exhibiting Chinese films. Despite the success, the response from the mainstream audience is still low.
“People don’t want to read subtitles. Even with the Oscars having the foreign best picture category, finding audience for a foreign language in a Western society is always going to be challenging.”
It isn’t hard to find examples to illustrate her point. The beautiful Japanese film by director Yojiro Takita, DEPARTURES (Oscar Best Foreign Picture winner 2009) only got a very limited release at the Curzon, many months after winning the award. Likewise, Hong Kong director John Woo’s epic RED CLIFF was dubbed into English and the two-part saga was combined into one film for the international market.
But could there be other reasons? Perhaps the audience are getting tired of the over-stylized Asian martial arts films. After the successes of CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON (dir: Ang Lee) and HERO (dir: Zhang Yimou), many of the subsequent films of this genre have failed critically and at the box office. It is like a double-edge sword whereby, Asian filmmakers are producing films to specifically cater for a broader audience, yet by doing so they risk over-exposure and over-playing the genre. Wouldn’t it be great if the UK mainstream audience can watch an Asian film which is not kung fu, not anime, not triad related or doesn’t have Jackie Chan starring in it?
Sadly, that day will probably never come. That is why, there is the constant need for festivals like Terracotta, Filming East and many others to continue and grow.
In touring the Filming East Festival to cities outside of London, Sun realises there is a small interest out there. “People do come, as they have had no chance to see Chinese cinema before”. She says “people do care, and they want to know more and see more good quality films”. But there is still plenty of work to be done.
“We need continuing support from both commercial sponsors, exhibitors and a strong helping hand from the relevant government bodies. Moreover, we need good curators, passionate volunteers to run the festival and also hold regular film screenings throughout the year.”
Whist Filming East and Terracotta do arrange special screenings for their members, it is equally vital that the cultural divisions of the local governments do their part to promote their own film industry. Sun cites the work of the Korean Cultural Centre which regularly screens films in London. In many ways, their sustained effort and support have created a buzz about Korean films and their work has subsequently generated much industry recognition and importance (i.e. The Pusan International Film Festival is highly respected amongst filmmakers in the film festival circuit).
Another such example would be the collaboration between Manchester’s Cornerhouse (www.cornerhouse.org) and The Hong Kong Economic Trade Office (London) in presenting their ‘Visible Secrets’ Festival, focusing on women filmmakers from the Special Administrative region. Sarah Perks, the curator of the festival was delighted with the response.
“Audiences were genuinely impressed by the strength of the work. We were also ahead of the curve as the subject of HK’s women filmmakers was picked by Hollywood Reporter and Screen at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), when we’d already done it!“
Perks goes on to say that, as there is a lot more visibility of Asians in Manchester, it does help in promoting Asian film festivals amongst the mainstream audience.
“Manchester has always been a diverse city with a large percentage of people from Asian backgrounds, and a city built upon multiple layers of immigration that go back centuries. It makes for a cosmopolitan local audience with a genuine interest in international culture and influences.”
Nonetheless, despite touring the ‘Visible Secrets’ festival to eleven other cities in the UK, Perks recognizes that there is still plenty of work to be done for Asian film festivals and distribution alike.
“Unfortunately despite the growth of film festivals there are a lot less Asian films actually distributed at the moment in the UK – people see them as a special event perhaps, not a regular thing. Zhang Yimou’s A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP is unlikely to get a UK distribution for example. Film festivals are also very difficult to sustain in the current arts funding climate, but I’m glad that so many are still happening.”
Ultimately, films are made for an audience, and these Asian film festivals are equally about balancing commercial success and building an audience in order to create sustainability. There is no doubt, London and the UK needs these festival organisers to continue the work they do. But rather than having many small players do their own respective thing, wouldn’t a much bigger festival be better? What if every individual combined their efforts in creating a major annual event… maybe call it, the London Asian Film Festival (LAFF)? Don’t laugh, it might just happen!
Perhaps then, we can finally get Jackie Chan to come to town?
Kevin Han
The 2nd Terracotta Far East Film Festival
6 – 9 May 2010
Prince Charles Cinema, London
www.TerracottaFestival.com
Individual Film Tickets: £7.50 per film (£6.00 for Prince Charles Cinema Members)
Festival Pass: £70 (£55 for Prince Charles Cinema Members) - access all films with your own reserved seat
*** DIMSUM SPECIAL OFFER *** Readers have a discount to The Terracotta Film Festival. When booking, mention ‘DIMSUM’ to purchase individual tickets for £6.00 per film. |
