photo credits: fareastfilm.com

“We live on opposite sides of the world and we were afraid that our film would not be understood. But the world speaks a single language: that of love … ».
We decided to start our article with this phrase by the actress Crisel Consunji after the triumph of the film Still Human at the Far East Film Festival 21. Because this sentence represents the truth, there is only one language that unites the whole world and it is that of love.

photo credits: gacktitalia.com

It is therefore certainly a common thought, that of not being understood, that the Eastern vision of cinema can somehow not be understood by the Western world. The Far East Film Festival has still given light to this world that while it seems so far away from us, it really isn’t and, on the contrary, the similarities are many.

The film Still Human, directed by Oliver Chan and the lead actor Wong, who had already been awarded the Golden Lifetime Career Award, won the Far East Film Festival 21 and the critics’ award. In second place we find the Chinese black comedy Dying to survive by Wen Muye and in third place the Korean Extreme Job by Lee Byoung-Heon.

photo credits: scmp.com

Melancholic by emerging director Tanaka Seiji won the White Mulberry for first feature films while Fly me to the Saitama by the great director Takeuchi Hideki won the MYmovies award.

photo credits: mymovies.it

photo credits: mymovies.it

photo credits: aficfestival.it

The Far East Film Festival 21 ended with exorbitant numbers: 9 days of programming. 77 films, 3 world premieres, 14 debuts, 60,000 thousand spectators, over 20,000 participants in city events and 1600 accredited (journalists, teachers, students, ambassadors of other festivals), coming from over 20 countries: Italy, Holland, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, United States, France, Belgium, Switzerland, China, Canada, Spain, Hong Kong, Japan, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Norway, South Korea, Czech Republic, Brazil, Sweden and Serbia. Over 100 appointments including the Cosplay Contest, with over 20 thousand presences. We must not forget the very active Facebook community of the festival with 30 thousand fans involved.

photo credits: japanitalybridge.com

It was not only the Festival of the East but also of the whole world. Attendance came from anywhere.
Japan Italy Bridge attended as a media and we were able to witness an aggregation of people, including film buffs, experts, enthusiasts, journalists who were not afraid of the rain and the cold and enthusiastically participated in all the events and the projections.
A great enthusiasm that was also noticed in the talks held by the directors and actors, huge participation and curiosity to know how the works were born and how they came to life.

photo credits: japanitalybridge.com

As far as we are concerned, with GACKT ITALIA, one of our projects, we followed the creation, the rise and the great success of Fly me to the Saitama step by step, translating and sharing articles, interviews and videos for months now. It was, therefore, a great thrill to be able to see the film we talked about for so long here in Italy, to hear the audience’s laughter and the silences in intense moments. It was a bit like seeing the complete evolution of a creature after having followed it since its birth. Great excitement also in the interview to Takeuchi Hideki, director of the movie, that we were able to realize who with humility, sympathy and professionalism shared with us his point of view enthusiastically.

photo credits: japanitalybridge.com

photo credits: japanitalybridge.com

This Festival is the demonstration that aggregation is possible, that one can live in serenity despite the different cultures. That sometimes a different thought can open the mind and make you discover new horizons and maybe become even more interesting than what you can have seen or heard so far. This festival had not only much to show, but also a lot to teach. We look forward to seeing you at the next edition, always in Udine, for the Far East Film Festival 22, from April 24th to May 2nd, 2020! Do not miss it, it will surely be an experience that will make you come back home enriched and why not … even more in love with this world so distant and yet so close that is the Far East.