Interview: 'Goddamned Asura' director Lou Yi-an on his multi-layered crime drama

by Juan Carlos Ojano

Inspired by a 2014 real-life killing, Goddamned Asura explores the lives of six people involved in a ramdom shooting in a night market, including the perpetrator - a troubled teenager named Jan Wen. The film follows not only the lead-up to the shooting incident, but also the aftermath of the characters as they face the repercussions of the actions of Jan Wen.The result is a somber exploration of class, isolation, and violence that is unfortunately still timely and universal.

Goddamned Asura is Taiwan's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. In this interview, co-writer and director Lou Yi-an expounds on the origins and themes of the story as well as explaining some terms with their cultural context compared to their English translation...

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TIFF: Lee Jung-jae’s ‘Hunt’

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s always interesting to see what a performer, who is already well-regarded in their home country, does in the wake of international success. Lee Jung-jae just made history with his SAG and Emmy wins for his leading role on Squid Game. Last week he was announced as the star of the upcoming Star Wars TV series The Acolyte. It’s more than fair to say that he’s hot right now. That makes his directorial debut, Hunt, which he also wrote and stars in, all the more exciting.

The now internationally famous actor stars as the head of the foreign unit of the KCIA, South Korea’s Central Intelligence Agency. It's the 1980s and a period of deep unrest and an assassination attempt in the United States. Back at home, he finds himself pitted against the head of the domestic unit (played by Jung-jae’s friend and frequent collaborator Jung Woo-sung), both tasked to uncover the identity of a North Korean spy...

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Venice at Home – Day 6: (A)Moral Tales

by Cláudio Alves

Good news for Martin McDonagh fans - The Banshees of Inisherin is getting great reviews, marking a potential return to form after Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri proved to be a polarizing picture, regardless of its awards success. The new film reunites the Irish director with two of his favorite thespians, Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. With another hit on his resume, the latter is having a marvelous year. Maybe that will materialize in Oscar buzz, or maybe not.

In contrast, Koji Fukada and his cast need not worry about such matters. The Japanese auteur rarely registers with voters beyond the festival circuit. Nevertheless, fans should be excited about Love Life, a family drama centering on a returning patriarch who brings with him much pain and guilt. Such aching themes are a constant in Martin McDonagh's cinema, too, featuring prominently in the first collaboration between the director, Farrell, and Gleeson. So let's remember that brilliant black comedy and one of Fukada's offbeat oddities… 

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Japan and Latvia and make their Oscar submissions

Two more official Oscar submissions to report bringing us to a dozen competitors. Only about 80 films to go!  It's starting to feel exciting, isn't it? At least it is for us here at TFE since we love the diversity and eye-opening capabilities of this category. The latest countries to choose their films are Japan and Latvia.

🇯🇵 PLAN 75
Japan (14 nominations, 2 wins, 3 honorary awards, and 1 additional finalist from 69 submissions)

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First 3 International Feature Submissions for the 95th Oscars

by Nathaniel R

The incredible Tang Wei stars in Park Chan-wook's "Decision to Leave"

Finally some news on the Best International Feature Film Oscar race. It's the most exciting for us to track since you really have to play along to be in the know.  Earlier today we told you about the possibilities from Israel (they always select the winner of the Ophir... unless they can't for eligibilty reasons) and we also have our first three official submissions. They are...

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