LONDON EAST ASIA FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FULL 2023 PROGRAMME

The London East Asia Film Festival (LEAFF), the capital’s most celebrated champion of East Asian cinema and culture, opens its 8th edition on the 18th October at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square with The Boys, a gripping drama by Director Chung Ji-Young, and runs until the 29th October. The grand finale will feature Korea's entry for the 96th Academy Awards, Concrete Utopia, the latest disaster thriller by acclaimed Korean director, Um Tae-hwa.

Having expanded to include the cinematic treasures of Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, Tibet, Singapore and the Philippines, LEAFF’s 2023 programme focuses on justice and good fortune. Through the lens and unique perspectives of East Asian filmmakers, LEAFF offers compelling insight into not only the future of those in East Asia but in London, with vital and thought-provoking dialogues being opened up around subjects such as socio-economic issues, intergenerational relationships, climate change, sense of identity and belonging.

LEAFF will enthrall the audience with 12 International premieres and 25 UK premieres, which will take place at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square, ODEON Luxe West End and the Cinema at Selfridges. All venues will allow an unparalleled cinema experience with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. LEAFF is a journey into the heart of East Asian storytelling, where masterpieces are waiting to be discovered.  

 

The Boys (Director Chung Ji-Young)

 

The festival runs eight strands, carefully curated and programmed by Festival Director Hyejung Jeon, with a team of festival advisors and programmers based in East Asia and the UK. 

  • LEAFF Official Selection

  • Retrospective: Director Chung Ji-Young 

  • Stories of Women

  • Competition

  • Classics Restored 

  • Cherish the World

  • LGBTQIA+ 

  • Halloween Horror Special

Official Selection

The LEAFF Official Selection presents some of finest East Asian films of the year. From blockbuster sensations to critically acclaimed arthouse gems, LEAFF welcomes back the filmmakers that have shaped the cinematic landscape of East Asia and their new titles. These include Kang Je-gyu’s powerful depiction of the historic event in Road to Boston, as well as Lee Won-suk’s romantic comedy musical thriller Killing Romance. Both directors are eager to connect with the audience of London through Q&A sessions following the screenings. 

Straight from captivating audiences at international film festivals in Cannes, Berlin and Venice, LEAFF will screen the year’s most anticipated films, including Hong Sang-soo’s In Our Day; Zhang Lu’s Shadowless Tower; Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Monster, Anthony Chen’s Breaking Ice, as well as Hong Kong’s box-office hit, the destiny-driven thriller Mad Fate by Soi Cheang.

Retrospective: Director Chung Ji-Young 

This year marks the 140th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the UK and Korea. To commemorate, LEAFF brings a special Retrospective strand dedicated to Director Chung Ji-Young, who has tirelessly contributed to the industry for the past 40 years. Often hailed as the Ken Loach of Korea, Chung tackles diverse socio-economic issues through his films. The screening line-up spans from White Badge and Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid from the 1990s to his latest feature, The Boys, yet to be released domestically.  

Stories of Women

One of LEAFF’s most popular strands, Stories of Women, is back with five compelling titles from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and the Philippines, all of which depict the challenges from women of different ages and backgrounds.

This year’s selection opens with Director Ha Myung-mi’s Her Hobby, a mysterious drama that explores a young woman returning to a rural town with villagers trying to harm. Director Yi-fang’s Little Blue and Director Tracy Hsu’s Lonely Eighteen shows the adolescence desires and challenges. Untold Herstory by Director Zero Chou shows a group of female “thought prisoners” during the white terror period in 1950s and portrays these women’s determination to live. The producer and main actor Rebecca Chuansu Shangkuan will attend the Q&A to talk about her experiences with Her Locket. 

Competition

LEAFF’s Competition seeks out East Asia’s most talented emerging directors, with a stellar jury including Rhianna Dhillon, Hanna Flint, Leila Latif, Julia Wagnar from London’s Critics’ Circle. Established in 1913, the Critics' Circle is the oldest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 450 members who work in the UK media as critics of art and architecture, books, dance, drama, film, and music. 

This year sees a diverse range of films from East Asia by directors who have made three features or less. It includes GAGA (Dir. Laha Mebow), the work of the first indigenous female director in Taiwan and AMIKO (Dir. Morii Yusuke) that had its international premiere at Rotterdam. 

Iron Mask (Dir. Kim Sung-hwan) and The Cord of Life (Dir. Sixue Qiao) are arthouse gems that have been very well-received in Asia but has not yet had its UK premiere. The directors of Day Off (Dir Fu Tien-yu), Hopeless (Dir. Kim Chang-hoon) and  Stand Up Story (Dir. Au Cheuk Man) will attend the screenings of their films to meet with a UK audience for the first time. 

Classics Restored 

In partnership with the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute,  LEAFF will present two recently restored classics from Taiwan. From a screenplay by Hou Hsiao-hsien, which adapted from a novel by Liao Hui-ying in the 80s, the film, Ah Fei (1983), captures the changing fortunes of a rural Taiwanese family, emphasizing the situation of female family members, led by its embittered matriarch, as the years pass. Dust of Angels (1992) was at the tail end of the Taiwan New Wave and it covers some of the same boys-go-bad territory as the movement’s most famous films such as Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A Time to Live and A Time to Die and Edward Yang’s A Brighter Summer Day. 

Cherish the World

This year, LEAFF presents two impactful documentaries aiming to inspire positive change. The newly introduced strand focuses on fostering a sustainable future, examining both present issues and past events that have shaped our current climate. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s documentary, Where Has All The Pollution Gone? from 1992 and Director Hwang Yun’s Sura: A Love Song will be screened, urging the audience to reflect deeply and cherish the world we are living in. 

LGBTQIA+ 

We explore stories of love and self-discovery through the medium of cinema. Director Daishi Matsunaga’s Egoist, Director Shuai Han’s Green Night, thriller starring Fan BingBing, and Director Heng Fai Hong’s Kissing the Ground You Walked On will be a part of this strand. 

Halloween Horror Special 

With Asian horror on par with Hollywood’s scariest, LEAFF screens Japan’s Immersion by Director Takashi Shimizu, known to be the legend of the horror genre through previous works such as Ju-on. Director Takumi Saitoh returns with a thriller, Home Sweet Home, which will be screened in time for the Halloween season. 

 

Concrete Utopia

 

For any queries, please contact: press@leaff.org.uk  

#LEAFF2023 #LEAfilmfest