Asian Drama

A tragedy love story set in the dark underbelly of Bangkok. Som, the daughter of a sex worker, believes that love will lead her towards a better life. Ter, a young criminal, robs just to buy love that doesn’t exist. Peach, a school idol full of secrets, will engage in a romance with Som, a prostitute who falls in love with Peach. 'Redlife' explores a world that is broken, ignored, and which offers no escape.

(Source: thai.film, BrandThink Cinema)

Release Dates: October 23, 2023 (Festival) | November 2, 2023 (Cinema)

Duration: 1 hr. 59 min.

Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

In an audacious reworking of the biopic, this ensemble drama sees jazz pianist Minami Hiroshi’s memoir cleverly reinterpreted into a surreal and playful story about chasing dreams, disillusionment and the inner lives of professional artists. Closer to playing two sides of the same coin than tackling a dual role, Ikematsu Sosuke embodies two versions of Minami – the naïve upstart and the jaded pro – who magically cross paths as they become entangled with a cast of colourful characters in the seedy alleyways and jazz clubs of Ginza over a single night.

A shocking incident is the start of a tragic chain of events that befall an ordinary family of four: Maehara Akio, his wife Yaeko, their son and Akio’s elderly mother, Masae. Akio is a commonplace company employee but has to carry his family’s tragedy on his shoulders as a psychological battle unfolds between himself and Kaga Kyoichiro. In order to get the Maeharas back to being a genuine family, Kaga disentangles the complex web of family interactions with his keen perception. Just when it is determined that the case has been solved.

Late 18th century, Tohoku. An outcast girl, Rin lives in a village suffering from famine. She draws strength from Mt. Hayachine, where the spirits of humans ascend after passing.

Han Gyul and Go Un is a young couple raising their newborn Woo Rim. Not too long ago, they got scammed by a real estate agent and lost their entire fortune leaving them homeless. Eventually, they lug their belongings and try to sleep at Jjimjilbangs every night. Han Gyul provides delivery service driving a scooter and Go Un put up flyers carrying Woo Rim. However, it seems impossible to find a place to live by their endeavors alone. One day, Woo Rim gets hurt at a Jjimjilbang and the couple’s situation becomes more desperate. They end up temporarily staying at a house of this elderly woman whom Han Gyul got to know through his delivery service work. Han Gyul tells Go Un that this lady is visiting the US for a month but the whole thing feels suspicious to her. Homeless illustrates the despair of the younger generation toward housing problems. The couple dreams to live a life like a model house that appears in the first scene, but the reality is the opposite.

(Source: JIFF)

Duration: 1 hr. 23 min.

Content Rating: 13+ - Teens 13 or older

Ratings: 6.7

A man washing up in a seaside town at the end of the season and seeking to stay so that he can reconnect with his recently deceased wife. There he is guided by a young woman.

Eun Sim, at the age of eighty, has returned to her hometown after more than sixty years. She is relieved to spend some time with her old friends Geum Soon and Tae Ho, who, unlike her, are still living in their hometown. At an age when death is closer than life, there is not a single part that does not hurt in her body, but she feels that she has lived well enough.

It is a trot-like movie where friendship and love bloom only in the twilight of life.

(Source: HanCinema, BIFF)

Release Dates: Oct 5, 2023 (Festival) || Feb 7, 2024 (Cinema)

Duration: 2 hr. 0 min.

Content Rating: G - All Ages

Amiko lives in Hiroshima, Japan. She is a little different from other girls. Her family consists of her father, pregnant mother, and an older brother. Her father is nice to other people and her mother teaches calligraphy. Amiko has classmate Ri-kun, whom she likes. Amiko is honest and naive. Her behavior sometimes makes people feel embarrassed.

Adapted from a novel of the same name.

The story follows three generations of a Taiwanese Indigenous family (Atayal tribe) that begins to fall apart when its head dies. With his passing, "Gaga" — the traditional beliefs for maintaining the order between people and nature — also vanishes. On the verge of being broken, the family witnesses the first snowfall in a very long time…

Susume is a young dentist who can’t communicate well with people since childhood. One day, he meets and falls in love with a woman named Miyako. She invites him into her lush, forest-like apartment, and he, though awkwardly, gradually becomes closer to her.

University student Hae-Won wants to break up with Teacher Sung-Joon. They have had a secret relationship. Hae-Won meets her mother, who is going to emigrate to Canada tomorrow. After meeting her mother, Hae-Won feels depressed and decides to meet Sung-Joon for the first time in a long while. On that day, Hae-Won and Sung-Joon happen to meet students at a restaurant who study the same major, and their relationship becomes known to others. Hae-Won becomes more depressed. Sung-Joon then suggests they run away somewhere else.

Duration: 1 hr. 30 min.

Deok Hee is an ordinary citizen. She becomes a victim of a voice phishing scam. She loses tens of thousands of dollars in one moment. With the help of Jae Min, Bong Rim and Sook Ja, Deok Hee chases after the voice phishing group. Jae Min is a member of the voice phishing group and Deok Hee's secret informant. Bong Rim is Deok Hee's friend and co-worker. Sook Ja shares Deok Hee's enthusiasm to catch the voice phishing group.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Duration: 1 hr. 54 min.

Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Miura Takahiro & Abe Shinnosuke to star in new movie "Winny" showing in spring 2020; a film director & his buddy make a movie on the developer of P2P software Winny charged for its involvement in illegal activities before being acquitted.

A film depicting the process of the main character, a victim of school violence, escaping from bullying and implementing justice.

“Wannabe” is a thriller about an actress preparing to return to acting after a long hiatus who gets caught up in an unexpected incident and heads straight towards catastrophe.

(Source: Naver)

The film tells the story of four members of the National Intelligence Agency's secret ace agent "Warhead" team: "Strategist" Alex, "Various Rose" Bibi, "Stormy Hero" Blake, and "Cold Knife Madman" Collier. He was framed by the group and became a wanted criminal by the National Intelligence Bureau. Through a series of anti-terrorist operations such as being hunted down, going deep behind enemy lines, and rescuing hostages, after experiencing repeated hardships, he finally got out of trouble, found the leader of the criminal group, and wiped them all out!

Duration: 1 hr. 49 min.

Ji Yeon is a beautiful university student, majoring in music. She is dating Dong Seok, but Dong Seok’s parents want him to study abroad. The day before he is scheduled to leave South Korea to study abroad, he prepares a proposal event for Ji Yeon. Ji Yeon does not appear at the event.

Meanwhile, a rumor exists about the old apartment building where Ji Yeon lives. The rumor is that a ghost appears in the apartment building.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Duration: 1 hr. 33 min.

Content Rating: 13+ - Teens 13 or older

The film tells the story of narcotics police officer Huang Mingjin and the "mysterious figure" Wei Yunzhou. Through completely different means and methods, in the process of calculating and wrestling with each other, they tear apart the facade of urban tranquility, exposing the underground drug network woven by the hidden hand "Long Wang", and ultimately eradicate the darkness with the sword of justice, revealing the dawn of light.

The feature film debut of an up-and-coming director, Atta Hemwadee, is about friendship, dreams, farewell – and also a homage to the love of cinema.

(Source: thai.film)

​Set in 1994, in the midst of student protests, "Who’ll Stop the Rain" cuts to the heart of a Taiwan still adjusting to its post-martial law reality. Wei, a freshman studying Fine Art, joins the student strike of her department demanding the right to freedom of expression. But the student campaign is opposed by a power-hungry Head of Department and a university insistent on obedience above all else. Determined Wei, quickly rises through the campaign committee, led by the charismatic Guang and enigmatic Qing. As passionate protest inflamed personal desires, a chemistry formed between Wei and Qing. But as the strike hits a stalemate and Guang also shows a romantic interest in Wei, she begins to realize that the fight for creative freedom is really a journey to discover herself and who she loves.

Creating a portrait of sensitive teens and their concerns, Kaneko Yurina’s adaptation of Omae Ao’s novel takes us into the midst of the Plushy Club at a university. It is a place packed with furry and comforting friends whom the club members talk to in order to relay their anxieties and fears. Male student Nanamori and female students Shiraki, and Mugito are the latest club intake, each wrestling with issues such as love, masculinity and femininity, fear of others and sexism in society.

Adapted from the novel "Nuigurumi to Shaberu Hito wa Yasashi" (ぬいぐるみとしゃべる人はやさしい) by Omae Ao (大前粟生).

A new concept horror IP cross project that turns six selected works out of 19 serial webtoons of the same name (Tastes of Horror) into movies. "DingDong Challenge: The reason why you shouldn't do dance challenge carelessly", "Four Legged Beast: Story of meeting a doppelganger with broken neck", "Jackpot: what happened when I took a taxi nearby", "The Residents-Only Gym: A woman who appears after 10 PM", "Rehabilitation: Cruel clinical trials currenly underway in the lab", and "Gluttony: The strange things that happened during a live broadcast."

In the new century, the fight against drugs faces an unprecedented and difficult challenge! Under the deep and complex dark network, an invisible war is being waged in Hong Kong...... Typhoon signal was hoisted in Hong Kong. Under the cover of the fierce wind, four tons of methamphetamine were entering Hong Kong, pending to be sold on the dark network. A cyber revelry of druggies was about to be unveiled, and a storm was brewing in the quiet Victoria Harbour. Police had to arrest the “boss” behind the scenes and nip the “drug network” in the bud in no time, that pushed their undercover intelligence to the narrow road. In the center of the storm, undercover agents, police officers, drug lords, black, white, and gray entangled.

As they are going to visit their former teacher, Micky, who is seriously ill, three men who were buddies back in their high school years are reunited. Moreover, they go back to the old cram school, reminiscing about their rebellious youth. In the 1990s, that cram school was known for its strict rules and the trio, who loved making trouble, had given the director a big headache until Micky arrived as a new teacher. He not only tamed the boys but became a good friend to them. Micky often talked about romantic relationships and sexuality to the students and made documentaries to speak up for the gay community. It is because of him that the students got to understand the homosexual or even themselves.

Zhuo Jia Jun is a senior cyber technician who is targeted by his brother Jason and general manager Sun Bin. He has a daughter, Bao Er, with his wife, Du Yong Shan.

Jia Jun has developed a powerful AI program, "Yi Tai". Sun Bin accuses him of being involved in money laundering activities and threatens to cooperate with him against CEO Chen Ming Zhi.

Jia Jun doesn’t know who is his enemy and who is his friend, so he launches ”Yi Tai” in the hope of finding out the truth. This move alerts Chen Ming Zhi, who sends his men to intercept Jiajun and take away the SSD. As Chen activates the ”Yi Tai” for illegal theft and money laundering, Jia Jun and Yong Shan try to stop the operation of the ”Yi Tai”.

Yong Shan, a former brilliant hardware engineer, tries to use the computer to shut down the ”Yi Tai”. At this point, Chen Ming Zhi blackmails them to stop interfering with the ‘Yi Tai’ by kidnapping Bao Er. Jia Jun blackmails Chen in return, and when Chen Ming Zhi sees the amount of money plummeting, he asks Jia Jun to return to the company immediately to deal with the situation.

Jia Jun and Yong Shan return to the company, and they risk their lives to try to shut down ”Yi Tai”. Then Sun Bin appears, and Jason also appears with Bao Er…

(Source: Cpophome)

Duration: 1 hr. 51 min.

Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Producer: Cheang Pou Soi [鄭保瑞]

Cinematographer: Cheng Siu Keung [郑兆强]

Art Director: Lee Kwok Lam [利国林]

Costume Designer:Polly Chan [陳寶欣]

17-year-old Iguchi Tatsuya has just been released from juvenile detention and is on probation. He's been relocated to a new area, away from the bad influence of his old friends, and is under the care of his aunt. He is determined not to be sent back to lockup, and he works hard in his aunt's restaurant. However, he still has the same personality, the same tendency to violence, and still falls in with the same sort of people. It's going to be difficult for him to stay out of trouble.

(Source: Mangaupdates)

Adapted from the manga series "Out" (OUT) written by Iguchi Tatsuya (井口達也) and illustrated by Mizuta Makoto (みずたまこと).

The Wild Blade of Strangers (2024)

Kisaragi Maaya, 16 years old. The first love confession of her life ended in complete rejection. She vows to "never confess to someone again" in the presence of the stoic but popular Chigira-kun, while on library duty together one day. Upon meeting again, and seeing her upset while reminiscing the past, he proposes they undertake a "pretend unrequited love play". As Maaya's heart begins to heal, her thoughts turn to them getting even closer... however she definitely can't fall in love with the out-of-reach Chigira-kun...?

Adapted from the manga series "Na no ni, Chigira-kun ga Amasugiru" (なのに、千輝くんが甘すぎる。) by Anan Kujira (亜南くじら).

Tanimura Tsutomu is a 30-year-old man, living in a provincial city. He works as a private secretary for Kawashima Shohei, who is a member of the House of Representatives and he has strong support from his constituents. One day, Kawashima Shohei collapses. Around this time, the House of Representatives is dissolved. For the next House of Representatives election, Kawashima Shohei’s 45-year-old daughter, Kawashima Yumi, decides to run for office.

With each day feeling hopeless and bleak, Kang Jin's life takes a dramatic turn when he stumbles upon a lost envelope of money belonging to Rang. Using this newfound wealth, he takes a stand against Nam Young's girlfriend Da-young. But when Nam-young discovers Kang-jin's actions, he strikes back by stealing his money and issuing dangerous threats. With nowhere to turn, Kang-jin confides in Rang, who reveals a secret knowledge of the debt-collecting world. Together, they embark on a thrilling journey of power and control, as Kang-jin takes his first steps into the world of loan sharks.

Duration: 1 hr. 45 min.