New York City is home to hundreds if not thousands of film festivals, and it’s amazing that amid all the prestigious and red carpet events that a little black sheep could come into town and quickly become one of the biggest, best, and most quirky film festivals in New York City and the entire country. This little sheep? The New York Asian Film Festival. Since 2002, it has brought Asia’s brightest, most explosive, and most important films to New York City, and 2008 is poised to be the Asian Film Festival’s biggest year yet -- with 43 feature films screening between June 20 and July 6!
The New York Anime Festival knows the team behind the New York Asian Film Festival, and the show’s acclaim and fanbase are no accident. They are the result of the hard work and sleepless nights of everyone whose hands are involved in the event, and I strongly encourage you to head out to the New York Asian Film Festival this year as there’s a wide world of Asian cinema out there -- with anime just the beginning.
Some highlights from this year’s New York Asian Film Festival…
L: CHANGE THE WORLD -- The Death Note movies were massive hits in Japan, and now the latest installment in the series hits screens courtesy of Hideo Nakata, director of the landmark horror film The Ring. This time around it's L, the teen, goth Sherlock Holmes who takes center stage to solve a new, sinister mystery. This summer blockbuster is like a candy bar for your brain.
DORORO -- Osamu Tezuka's rip-roaring action manga hits the big screen in a big-budget movie that's like Lord of the Rings on acid. A female thief teams up with a swordsman who's hunting the missing 48 parts of his body, stolen by a whole cursed zoo of demons who scuttle across the screen in all their spider/slug/baby monster glory.
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES -- Kiriko Nananan's manga Sweet Cream and Red Strawberries hits the big screen in a movie that refuses to insult your intelligence. It's what Sex and the City would have been if it had been about the lives of real women in a real city, rather than a cartoon for adults set in a fictional New York. Considered by many to be the best Japanese film of 2006, this is essential viewing and the best of what manga on the big screen can mean.
Excited yet? For the full film listing, showtimes, and tickets, visit subwaycinema.com!
