We take a look at the Asian films that will be screened at the FilmFest Hamburg which will take place from September 28 – October 7, 2023 in Hamburg, Germany.

City of Wind by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir – France, Germany, Mongolia, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar | 2023 – 103 minutes
Set in the wind-whipped yurt settlements of Ulan Bator, a coming-of-age story about a clash of ways of life. A directorial debut shines a light on a rarely seen world with impressive cinematography and rousing performances. 17-year old Ze is caught in a double life. Like his schoolmates, he is under pressure to perform and thus survive in modern Mongolian society. At the same time, he communicates with his ancestors as a shaman and is a spiritual helper in his community. When he is called on to help Maralaa, who suffers from a heart condition and is sceptical of such old-fashioned incantations, the meeting causes a sea change in Ze’s life. (HFF 2023)

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Evil Does Not Exist by Ryusuke Hamaguchi – Japan | 2023 – 106 minutes | Fiction
A quiet drama that plumbs the depths of the human psyche and the imponderabilities of human behaviour: In his new film, Oscar-winner Ryūsuke Hamaguchi once again proves to be Japan’s most versatile filmmaker. As with generations before them, the inhabitants of the village of Mizubiki lead a modest life in harmony with the seasons and Nature. One day, they are confronted with the plans of a company from Tokyo to build a luxury camp site. It soon becomes clear that the company’s interests will disturb the ecological balance in Mizubiki and would also have repercussions for Takumi and his daughter Hana. (HFF 2023)

Heavy Snow by Yun Suik – Korea | 2023 – 78 minutes | Fiction
Celestial melodrama about the relationship between two women against the backdrop of the sea and a conservative society. Suan makes friends with the celebrity Seol, whom she meets at acting school. On a late-night excursion they discover feelings for each other, but what with misunderstandings and social barriers they do not get together. Longing lures Suan back to the winter lake where she last saw her friend and the powers of nature take her to a point where the real and the imaginary begin to merge. Thus, this softly lit story of queer desire slowly falls under the spell of dream logic. (FFH 2023)

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In Our Day by Hong Sangsoo – Korea | 2023 – 84 minutes | Fiction
Hong Sangsoo portrays two encounters between different generations in his maybe most autobiographical film to date. Actress Sangwon (Kim Minhee) is living temporarily at a girlfriend’s. There, she meets a cousin of her friend who is also hoping to become an actress. Somewhere else in Seoul, a conversation takes place between the withdrawn poet Hong Uiji, a filmmaker and a young admirer. With skilful juxtapositioning of storylines and subtle humour, the film focuses human idiosyncrasies. (HFF 2023)

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Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell by Pham Thien An – Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain | 2023 – 178 minutes
With virtuoso artistry, the film tells of a mystical pilgrimage through the hinterland of Vietnam, which is characterized by the Christian minority. Together with his 5-year old nephew, Thien returns from Saigon to his family’s village to bury his sister-in-law. Back home, the ghosts of the past await him – and he begins an existential search for his brother who disappeared years before, which brings together faith, doubt and the overwhelming power of nature. (HFF 2023)

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Last Shadow At First Light by Nicole Midori Woodford – Singapore, Japan, Slovenia | 2023 – 107 minutes
Nicole Midori Woodford’s debut film is a sensitive ghost story about the search for traces of a family past. Ami lives in Singapore with her father. All that is left of her mother are messages recorded on cassette in Japan, where she went missing after a tsunami. After Ami gets a message from her uncle, who lost his wife in the same catastrophe, she sets out with him in search of her mother. The journey though the tsunami-ravaged Japanese landscape gives voice to their grief, while dreams and apparitions take ever clearer shape. (HFF 2023)

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Mother Land by Park Jae-beom – Korea | 2022 – 68 minutes | Animation
Krisha, a Siberian girl, and her brother set off on a dangerous journey into the wilderness. The spirit of the forest, a red bear, has appeared to her in her dreams and may be able to help her sick mother. But the siblings are not alone in their search: two hostile hunters are after the bear’s magic powers and want to drive Krisha’s tribe off their land. When they reach the forest, Krisha follows the voice of the bear. Will she manage to save her mother and her tribe? (HFF 2023)

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Perfect Days by Wim Wenders – Japan | 2023 – 123 minutes
In his latest film, Wim Wenders returns to Japan and discovers the transcendence of normal life. Leading actor Kōji Yakusho won Best Actor at Cannes. Hirayama’s life runs in clearly ordered routines. With patient diligence, he performs his work cleaning Tokyo’s public toilets. His private life is also characterized by ritualized procedures, until a series of unexpected encounters disturb the balance of Hirayama’s practised autonomy and reveal the traces of the past behind his calm exterior. (HFF 2023)

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Total Trust by Jialing Zhang – Germany, Netherlands | 2023 – 97 minutes | Documental
DOCUMENTARY A deeply disturbing story about technology, the misuse of power and (self-)censorship which makes tangible the threat to individual freedom and human rights. In China, individual freedom is restricted by an all-encompassing surveillance system, big data and intelligent technologies. Be it at work, on the street or in one’s own four walls – access by the state cannot be avoided. The film follows those who dare to defy the total control of the omnipresent state. It accompanies Chen, Li and Sophia, who pursue an existential fight for freedom and justice in the midst of this spider’s web of surveillance. (HFF 2023)

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More information: https://www.filmfesthamburg.de/