Asian Drama

In the early days of the Republic, legendary martial artist Ye Ruzhou suffers a severe injury, losing her memory and winding up in the impoverished alley of Minfu Lane. By a twist of fate, she crosses paths with the carefree Chen Awang, and the two fall for each other. When local tyrant Zheng Juehou intensifies his hold over the neighborhood, Ye Ruzhou rises to defend her new community. Her actions, however, draw unforeseen danger, and together with Chen Awang, she faces the challenge to protect Minfu Lane’s hard-won peace.

A fatigued man wakes up at a bar with a bartender who will forever change his life as he gets to know more about her. Three criminals have somewhat accomplished their task of kidnapping their target, but their overall mission seems to go nowhere in the end. In the late 1970s, a mysterious woman runs a bar where a deadly situation will affect the lives of everyone. Two killers are looking for their faceless victim, who shows up at a diner every day at 6 o'clock sharp. Four incredibly talented Korean filmmakers, four intriguing cinematic visions, four astounding stories revolving around murderers for hire. (Source: fantasiafestival.com) ~~ Adapted from the short story "The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway. ~~ Release dates: Jul 24, 2024 (Festival) || Oct 23, 2024 (Cinema)

Duration: 1 hr. 59 min.

Content Rating: 18+ Restricted (violence & profanity)

The story follows a young man who has been single for a year after his boyfriend suddenly disappeared without a formal breakup. One night, while scrolling through a dating app, he encounters someone who looks strikingly similar to his ex. After a spontaneous hookup, he discovers that this new acquaintance is actually his ex’s twin brother. As he navigates this unexpected twist, he finds himself drawn into a complicated web of emotions. Will he end up choosing between the two brothers, or will he find himself entangled with both?

Duration: 11 min.

Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

The film depicts a coming-of-age story centered on the two sugar babies, Kotone, who is unemployed, and Sakura, a college student, in the coronavirus pandemic, as they try their best to live at the mercy of frivolous men.

Adapted from the novel "Tsuyu no Ato Saki" (つゆのあとさき) by Nagai Kafu (永井荷風).

Duration: 1 hr. 45 min.

Content Rating: 15+ - Teens 15 or older

Ki Hyuk moves to a new place to overcome his broken heart. There are no people like himself, and no jobs are even available. One day, he meets Sang Woo in an application, who catches a cold. He fears that Sang Woo will leave him.

A high school reunion. Among the men and women who seem to be excited about reuniting after a long time, a strange woman is present. Former classmates who are curious about the presence of this woman, open a chat app and start a meeting. What is the identity of the woman who blends into their memories? Is she an acquaintance they just forgot, or someone else? The high school's dark history they hid is being dug up. Exchanges happen in the real world, in a cafe bar, and in the virtual world, on SNS. At the cafe bar ODAZY, the second party of a high school alumni association is held. Classmates Akemi, Ryoko, Yoshioka, and Odashima are intimidated by the fact that a strange woman is present. While continuing the conversation, they have a meeting about the identity of the woman through a group talk on SNS, but the mystery only deepens. Eventually, the woman begins to talk about Akemi and Ryoko's dark history in high school, six years after graduating. Akemi and Ryoko were in the lower ranks of the school caste when they were in high school, and were ignorant of the class idol Yumi-chan. The two made an impersonation of Yumi-chan's personal account and repeated the unprecedented slander. Yumi-chan suffered from mischief without love, did not go to school, and disappeared. What is the true identity of the mysterious woman? Yumi-chan's twin sister? Yumi-chan herself? Akemi and Ryoko, who should have been "best friends", begin to curse each other while the suspicious demons are spreading. Yumi-chan's revenge begins ...

When you’re in a long-term relationship, you sometimes have to spice things up a little. Yoon Jung (Kim Ah Joong) has been dating Seung Joon (Kang Kyung Joon) for five years, and the relationship has become routine and boring. Yoon Jung decides to infuse some much-needed excitement and calls Seung Joon to have phone sex with him. But Yoon Jung accidentally calls

A series of home invasions and brutal murders have struck fear into the hearts of the community lead the townspeople to request the help of Young Lord in finding out who is carrying out these terrible crimes. The appearance of a blood-stained wedding Kimono for a samurai woman makes this on of the most puzzling cases that Young Lord has ever had to solve. Exciting and tension Young Lord is like a Japanese Sherlock Holmes or tele-vision CSI as he strives to decipher the mystery and bring the guilty party to justice!

It tells the moving story between a fallen noble lady and a rich heir to a large company. She’s broken and has lost the direction in life, whereas he chooses a life of poverty and freedom to pursue his passion as a painter. Together, will they be able to find themselves in this world of twists and turns before it’s too late?

Adapted from the novel "For Love or Money" (红颜露水) by Amy Cheung (張小嫻).

"Actress is not just the story that charts the rise of Kinuyo Tanaka, played brilliantly by Sayuri Yoshinaga, who mesmerized and illuminated the screen with her charismatic performance of a legend, from her naively youthful days in pigtails, to coiffed professional veteran of the industry. We see how she started off in the studio system being one of many potential talents available, having her family's economical hopes all pinned on her, and down to having a sugar daddy of sorts in Hiroshi Shimizu (Toru Watanabe) looking over her shoulder, whom she would get into and out of an unhappy secret marriage. Sayuri Yoshinaga provided that spark to endear herself to the audience, and needless to say, made me sit up and wonder just how the real actress was like in person, with her steely guts and perseverance in an industry that saw its brightest and darkest days during militarism and WWII." From IMDB By Dick Steel, Singapore In Actress, Kon Ichikawa shows us much of the life of Kinuyo Tanaka from the time she started as a hopeful in the Studio System until her work with Mizoguchi in Life of Oharu in 1952. The biography is good in itself, but it is cut with documentary footage detailing the state of Japanese cinema at the time in question. This gives us a very enlightening look at the development of the industry as a backdrop to the actress's career as it progresses. In the dramatic/biographic part we meet Shimizu, Gosho, Ozu and Mizuguchi to name some of the significant directors Tanaka worked with and in most cases had emotional relationships with as well. I've been watching Japanese cinema for a long time and this film was a real eye-opener in that it made the whole history of Japanese film come alive while showing a large part of Tanaka's career. It's unfortunate this film only covers her career until 1952. She had so many great roles, but to take on her role in Sandakan No.8 three years before her death in 1977 was impressive. It is surely one of the most impressive displays of acting I have ever seen. Interestingly enough, Sayuri Yoshinaga, who plays Tanaka brilliantly in this film in 1987, went on to have her own tour de force in Nagasaki Bura Bura Bushi in 2000 in another biography, that of the famous geisha, Aihachi. Mind you, in her case she is still doing critically acclaimed work in major productions to this day.

In an empty street, a car secretly delivering a moneybag encounters an unexpected accident. Ji Noo, following after the car, Na Mi, a tow truck driver patrol around the scene, and Yakuboo from an auto junkyard chance upon the money bag and decide to split the money, thus becoming involved in a dangerous case. While they get chased by the ruthless money bag owner, Ji Noo and Na Mi get attracted to each other. Now a thrilling race of feisty, bold and intimate friend begins.

"The island of healing, Jeju Island, a comforting story from Aewol." Soo Hyeon is on a bike tour around the country when he dies in Aewol due to a tragic accident. Soo Hyeon's lover, So Wol, misses him so much she stays in Aewol to be close to him. Meanwhile, their best friend, Cheol, receives a letter from Soo Hyeon 3 years after he wrote it and heads to Aewol. Cheol stays in So Wol's house for a while and they mingle with the villagers, enjoying the small, but daily things and overcoming their grief for Soo Hyeon in their own ways.