Venice And Toronto Film Festivals Select Major Asian Titles Alongside Directorial Debuts

The fall film festival season is in full swing, with industry heavyweights like the Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival just around the corner. A number of Asian films have been selected for these festival slates, which include major works by established filmmakers like Hong Sang-soo and Kôji Fukada, alongside debuts from new directors.

At the upcoming Venice Film Festival (August 31 to September 10), the main competition line-up includes Love Life from Japanese filmmaker Kôji Fukada and two films by Iranian directors — No Bears from Jafar Panahi and Beyond the Wall from Vahid Jalilvand. Fukada’s film is set in contemporary Japan and follows a woman, Taeko and her husband, Jiro, who are living a peaceful existence with her young son, Keita. However, a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park, back into her life. MK2 Films is handling world sales for the Japan-France co-production.

Panahi’s No Bears will have its world premiere in Venice before receiving its North American premiere in the Toronto Film Festival’s “Special Presentations” section. Last month, the director was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment, related to a conditional release in 2010 for charges involving “propaganda against the system” and critiquing the Iranian government in his films and at protests. The Cannes Film Festival issued a statement condemning his arrest, alongside the arrests of fellow Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad.

Beyond the Wall from Vahid Jalilvand tells the story of a blind man named Ali who attempts suicide, but is interrupted by his building concierge. The concierge then tells Ali about an escaped woman, named Leila, who is hidden in the building and Ali becomes determined to help Leila.

The Orizzonti (“Horizons) competitive section at Venice will see the world premieres of Kei Ishikawa’s A Man (Japan), Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography (Indonesia) and Houman Seyedi’s World War III (Iran). The festival’s Out of Competition program will screen Filipino auteur Lav Diaz’s When the Waves
WAVES
Are Gone as well as the posthumous work Call of God from controversial South Korean director Kim Ki-duk.

The Toronto International Film Festival’s gala presentations include the world premiere of Kacchey Limbu from Indian filmmaker Shubham Yogi and the North American premiere of Lee Jung-jae’s Hunt. Hunt is Lee’s directorial debut; the actor is best known for his leading role in Netflix’sNFLX
breakout series, Squid Game. Another directorial debut from a South Korean actor is A Man of Reason, by Jung Woo-sung (best known for his work in The Good, the Bad, the Weird, Cold Eyes and Steel Rain). Jung’s film will have its world premiere in the Special Presentations section of the Toronto fest.

Joyland by Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq and Walk Up by Hong Sang-soo are also in the Toronto line-up. Hong’s film has been acquired by Cinema Guild and rounds off a productive year for the prolific filmmaker, whose The Novelist’s Film won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize earlier at the Berlinale.