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The BFI London Film Festival returns to cinemas across the city 9th to 20th October. East Asian highlights this year include the latest from Jia Zhangke, Hong Sang-soo, and Tsai Ming-Liang along with the long-awaited return of Mipo O eight years on from Being Good, and Hong Kong LGBTQ+ drama All Shall Be Well.
China
- Caught by the Tides – Jia Zhangke looks back at the last few decades of Chinese history through the prism of his own work.
- Youth (Homecoming) – the final instalment in Wang Bing’s documentary series focusing on textile factories in Zhili.
Hong Kong
- All Shall Be Well – an older woman finds herself in a precarious position when her partner dies suddenly without a will in Ray Yeung’s poignant drama. Review.
- The Way We Talk – drama from Adam Wong Sau-Ping focussing on three young deaf people navigating contemporary Hong Kong society.
Indonesia
- Crocodile Tears – intense drama in which the close bond between mother and son operators of a crocodile zoo is disrupted when the son meets a girl.
Japan
- Black Box Diaries – documentary focussing on Shiori Ito’s quest for justice after being sexually assaulted by a powerful political journalist.
- The Cats of Gokogu Shrine – latest documentary from Kazuhiro Soda focusing on a shrine in Ushimado that is home to a large number of cats.
- The Colours Within – latest from Naoko Yamada in which a high school student sees others as colours.
- Happyend – teenage rebels pursue a passion for electronic music in a near future society.
- Living in Two Worlds – drama from Mipo O following a child of deaf parents.
- Manji – new restoration of Yasuzo Masumura’s adaptation of the Tanizaki novel Quicksand.
Singapore
- Small Hours of the Night – experimental drama drawing on the historic case of a “subversive” tombstone.
- Stranger Eyes – a couple begin receiving strange videos of themselves after their child is kidnapped in the latest from Yeo Siew Hua (A Land Imagined)
South Korea
- A Traveler’s Needs – latest from Hong Sang-soo starring Isabelle Huppert as an eccentric French teacher.
Taiwan
- Abiding Nowhere – 10th instalment in the Walker series in which Lee Kang-sheng relives Xuanzang’s pilgrimage.
Vietnam
- Don’t Cry, Butterfly – drama in which a woman resorts to witchcraft on learning her husband is having an affair.
- Viet and Nam – etherial queer romance focussing on two young miners.
The BFI London Film Festival takes place at various venues across the city from 9th to 20th October 2024. Full details for all the films as well as screening times and ticketing information are available via the official website. You can also keep up to date with all the latest news via the festival’s Facebook page, X (formerly Twitter) account, Instagram, and YouTube channels.
Windows on Worlds 