FESTIVALS: Mama’s Affair, Angry Son among world premieres at Osaka Asian

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Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF, March 10-20) has unveiled its biggest ever line-up with 76 films and 24 world premieres, including two in its competition section – Mama’s Affair, from Hong Kong director Kearen Pang, and Angry Son from Japan’s Kasho Iizuka.

Pang is returning to OAFF with her sophomore feature after her debut, 29+1, won the festival’s audience award. Mama’s Affair (pictured) has also been selected for the festival’s ‘Special Focus on Hong Kong’ section, which also includes OAFF competition titles Anita, directed by Longman Leung, and Candy Ng’s The First Girl I Loved, both receiving their Japanese premieres.

Other competition titles include Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s No Land’s Man, Chinese director Kong Dashan’s Journey To The West, Tan Chui Mui’s Hong Kong-Malaysian Barbarian Invasion and Korean filmmaker Hong Sung-eun’s Aloners (see full list below).

As previously announced, OAFF will open with the Japan premiere of Zhang Lu’s Yanagawa and close with the Japan premiere of Daniel Dencik’s Miss Osaka, which was filmed in Norway and Japan with Danish actress Victoria Carmen Sonne and a Japanese cast. 

OAFF’s Indie Forum will screen its biggest ever selection of 20 titles, which are competing for the Japan Cuts Award. This section includes a focus on on Kahori Higashi, with screenings of Melting Sounds and The Residents, and two special screenings – Sino-Japanese War In A Toy Film, which will be screened with a live piano performance, and documentary Yu-Geki – Side Story Of Love’s Twisting Path.

Satoko Yokohama has been selected as Director In Focus, following her wins of OAFF’s Grand Prix and audience award last year for Ito. OAFF’s Spotlight strand focuses on innovative or ground-breaking films such as No Ground Beneath The Feet, from Bangladesh’s Mohammad Rabby Mridha, and award-winning LGBTQ short film My Mother’s Girfriend, from India’s Arun Fulara. 

In addition to the Hong Kong focus, OAFF also has sections dedicated to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The Taiwan section includes the world premiere of the first episode of Twisted Strings, a series produced by HBO and Screenworks Asia and executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien.

OAFF is taking place with physical screenings, although ten films from previous editions of the festival have been selected for an online showcase, including Yutaka Yamazaki’s Torso, starring Makiko Watanabe and Sakura Ando. 

OSAKA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2022 FULL COMPETITION LINE-UP:

Aloners (Korea), dir: HONG Sung-eun (JP)
Amira (France, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia), dir: Mohamed DIAB (JP)
Anita (Hong Kong), dir: Longman LEUNG (JP)
Angry Son (Japan), dir: IIZUKA Kasho (WP)
Barbarian Invasion (Hong Kong, Malaysia), dir: TAN Chui Mui (JP)
Big Night (Philippines), dir: Jun Robles LANA (JP)
Days Before The Millennium (Taiwan), dir: CHANG Teng-yuan (JP)
The First Girl I Loved (Hong Kong), dir: Candy NG, YEUNG Chiu Hoi (JP)
The Girl On A Bulldozer (Korea), dir: PARK Ri-woong (IP)
Journey To The West (China), dir: KONG Dashan (IP)
Mama’s Affair (Hong Kong), dir: Kearen PANG (WP)
No Land’s Man (US, India, Bangladesh, Australia), dir: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (JP)
Red Pomegranate (Kazakhstan), dir: Sharipa URAZBAYEVA (JP)
The Sales Girl (Mongolia), dir: JANCHIVDORJ Sengedorj (IP)
Shankar’s Fairies (India), dir: Irfana MAJUMDAR (JP)