24th Far East Film Festival – Awards 2022

By Asian Film Festival on May 1, 2022 • ( Leave a comment )

These are the winners of the Udine Far East Film Festival which took place from April 22 – 30, 2022 in Udine, Italy.

Audience Award

**Miracle: Letters to the President** by Lee Jang-hoon – South Korea | 2021 – 117 minutess

The Korean countryside of the 1980s. The village where student maths prodigy Jun Kyung lives is on the train line – but the trains don’t stop there. Where there’s a will there’s a way, though, and Jun wants a station at any cost, including writing dozens of letters to the president of South Korea. A dramedy that performs the miracle of getting into audience’s hearts and prompting smiles and a few tears.

Trailer:

**Return to Dust** by Li Ruijun – China | 2022 – 133 minutes

The arranged marriage of Ma and Guiying seems to bring together two solitudes and two social, emotional and affective poverties. But from their union, a solid and precious bond will slowly be forged… The revelation of the Berlin Film Festival tells of love through the silences and peasant rhythms of rural China. A sweet, painful film full of the flavor of the earth and the seasons.

Trailer:

**Too Cool to Kill** by Xing Wenxiong – China | 2022 – 109 minutes

Eccentric actor Wei is cast as the lead in a gangster movie, but unbeknownst to him it’s all a setup to deceive some very real gangsters and he’ll have to rely on his questionable acting skills for survival. A refreshing, beautiful and surreal parody of everything from Singing in the Rain to every gangster movie John Woo has ever made!

Trailer:

Black Dragon Audience Award

MYmovies Award

**Kingmaker** by Byun Sung-hyun – South Korea | 2022 – 123 minutes

What are the chances of an honest and idealistic politician like Kim Woon-bum democratically bringing down President Park’s dictatorship? We are in 1970s Korea and the electoral campaign is raging. Kim acts according to the strategies of brilliant spin doctor Seo Chang-dae, but when his opponents start playing dirty, the line between “being Machiavellian” and “being ethical” starts to get fuzzy.

Trailer:

White Mulberry Award for first time director

Best Screenplay Award

**Love Nonetheless** by Jojo Hideo – Japan | 2022 – 107 minutes

A romantic comedy that’s light years away from the genre’s usual saccharine tropes, Love Nonetheless is an ensemble piece that revolves around 30-yearold Koji’s book shop. All of the characters are in love and their lives are in a mess because of it, starting with Koji’s crush, teenager Misaki. Who will emerge unscathed from this game of unrequited impulses, betrayals and revenge?

Trailer: