These are our ten recommended films from the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema, taking place from February 6 – 13, 2024 in Vesoul, France.

All Ears by Liu Jiayin – China | 2023 – 119 minutes

Wen Shan is a mediocre screenwriter, struggling to make a living in Beijing. He leads a dull life in a rapidly expanding city. By chance, he starts to write eulogies for a living. He meets the families of the deceased, observes carefully, listens to the stories and finally puts pen to paper. While he is restoring the lives of others, he finds his own place in the city and realizes that ordinary people can also take centre stage. (Vesoul 2024)

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Evil Does Not Exist by Hamaguchi Ryûsuke – Japan | 2023 – 106 minutes

Takumi and his daughter Hana live in the village of Mizubiki, near Tokyo. Like their elders before them, they lead a modest life in harmony with their environment. The project of building a “glamping site” in the nearby natural park will offer city dwellers a comfortable escape to nature. When two representatives of a Tokyo firm arrive in the village to hold a meeting, it becomes obvious that the project will have a negative impact on the local water supply, leading to adverse effects. The non-environmental-friendly intentions of the agency that has been given the job of implementing the project endanger the ecological balance of the natural plateau and the way of life of its inhabitants, and will have effects on Takumi’s life. (Vesoul 2024)

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If only I could Hibernate by Zoljargal Purevdash – Mongolia | 2023 – 98 minutes

Ulzii, a teenage boy from an underprivileged area in Ulaanbaatar, is determined to win a science competition in order to obtain a scholarship. His illiterate mother finds work in the countryside, leaving him, his brother and sister alone, despite the harsh winter. Torn between the necessity of looking after his siblings and his wish to study for the competition, Ulzii has no choice but to accept putting himself at risk in order to provide for his family. (Vesoul 2024)

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Next Sohee (About Kim Sohee) by July Jung – Korea | 2022 – 137 minutes

Kim Sohee is a schoolgirl with a strong character. As work experience to complete her studies, she joins a Korea Telecom call centre. A few months later, she is demoralised by the weight of degrading working conditions and objectives which are more and more difficult to reach. A series of suspicious events which take place within the company come to the attention of the local authorities. In charge of the inquiry, the lady Inspector Yoo-jin is deeply shaken up by what she finds out. On her own initiative, she questions the system. (Vesoul 2024)

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Seven Winters in Tehran by Steffi Niederzoll – Iran, Germany | 2023 – 97 minutes

In 2007, in Teheran, Reyhaneh Jabbari, 19 years old, stabs to death the man who is about to rape her. She is accused of murder and condemned to death. From a series of pictures, filmed secretly, Seven winters in Teheran shows how her family fought to save Reyhaneh, who has become the symbol of the struggle for women’s rights in Iran. (Vesoul 2024)

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Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden – Tibet | 2022 – 109 minutes

The unexpected arrival of a snow leopard in a local shepherd’s pen and the death of nine rams not only cause a stir in the family with a conflict between father and son- the son insists they should kill the leopard whereas the father insists they should set it free but also draw a television crew to the village… (Vesoul 2024)

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Solids by the Seashore by Patiparn Boontarig – Thailand | 2023 – 93 minutes

On a beach that used to be sandy, worn away by strong tides and today replaced by artificial seawalls in the south of Thailand, two young women meet. Shati is a young Muslim woman from a conservative family. Once an activist, now a visual artist, Fon has come here for her new art exhibition. The more they get to know each other, the more Shati’s inner conflict with her traditional roots intensifies. Torn between fear and desire, she remembers the old tales that her beloved grandmother told her when she was a child. At this turning point for Shati, the strange, otherworldly events described in her grandmother’s tales gradually start to happen. Dream or not, Shati decides to forge a path for herself and to accept who she is. (Vesoul 2024)

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The List by Hana Makhmalbaf – Iran, Afghanistan | 2023 – 65 minutes

In the course of a few days, with the final withdrawal of the international forces from Kabul, the lives of millions of Afghan people suddenly changes for the worse. Overnight, with the return of the Taliban to power, many artists and filmmakers in the country find themselves at risk of being executed. In an attempt to escape to safety, like many others, they rush to the international airport to board the last few leaving planes. (Vesoul 2024)

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Untold Herstory by Zero Chou – Taiwan | 2022 – 112 minutes

Three women, imprisoned because of their ideas in Green Island prison in 1953, during the White Terror in Taiwan, choose to fight for freedom. They are repressed with violence by the authorities in charge. They stand up for their beliefs and hope that freedom will triumph. In the camp, when the prisoners think that their act of resistance has succeeded, the most stringent purge descends on them. (Vesoul 2024)

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Work to Do by Park Hong-jun – Korea| 2023 – 101 minutes

Kang Jun-hee, assistant manager at Hanyang Heavy Industries, is assigned to the Human Resources department. As the shipyard experiences a lack of orders, the creditors ask the HR to restructure the company. Although they are reluctant to do this, the team supposes it is inevitable to keep the company afloat. HR strive to make the restructuring as fair and as efficient as possible. At the end of the process, there is just defeat in the face of the huge power of capital, followed by the insidious fear of being laid off at any moment. (Vesoul 2024)

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For more information, please visit: https://www.cinemas-asie.com/en