2023 Film Screenings
WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER
TIGER STRIPES
7.45pm-9.30pm
Home of the Arts, HOTA – Cinema 2
135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise
Nominated for Best Youth Film at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar
Malay with English subtitles, 94 mins, Classification M 15+
This Cannes award-winning body horror explores the peace of a rural Malaysian town getting disrupted when a carefree 11-year-old girl begins to go through unnatural physical changes, altering everything she perceived as normal life.
Out of fear she hides her changing body from those around her, causing a gap to grow between her and her closest friends. Unsatisfied with her struggling relationships and sudden mood swings, Zaffan strives to conform to society again, despite the struggle of hiding her ever changing body.
Written and Directed by Amanda Nell Eu
Produced by Foo Fei Ling, Patrick Mao Huang, Fran Borgia, Juliette Lepoutre, Pierre Menahem, Jonas Weydemann, Ellen Havenith, Yulia Evina Bhara
Starring Zafreen Zairizal, Deena Ezral, Piqa
This film screens as part of the Asia Pacific Screen Forum opening event ‘Spotlight on South East Asia‘.
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FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER
RICEBOY SLEEPS
10.00am-12.00pm
Event Cinemas Pacific Fair, Cinema 4
Level 1/1571 Hooker Blvd, Broadbeach QLD
Canada
English and Korean, 117 mins,Classification M 15+
Set in the 90s, a Korean single mother raises her young son in the suburbs of Canada determined to provide a better life for him than the one she left behind. Canada. Anthony Shim’s semi-autobiographical drama has won more than 20 international awards. Anthony has been nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2023 APSA Awards.
Seoul-born Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim’s second feature is an achingly intimate portrait of a mother’s love for her son. With delicacy and tenderness that never tips into sentimentality, Shim charts the difficulties faced by So-young and Dong-hyun as they attempt to fit into Canadian suburbia in a time when virtually no support was available. Years later we meet Dong-hyung (now known as David) as a wayward teenager who’s grown distant from his mother until a critical event takes them on an unpredictable journey into their Korean past. This shot-on-16mm treasure, drawing laudatory comparisons with Minari (SFF 2021), is superbly performed by dancer-turned-actor Choi Seung-yoon in her first feature role and 2022 TIFF Rising Star award winner Ethan Hwang.
Written and Directed by Anthony Shim
Produced by Bryan Demore, Rebecca Steele, Anthony Shim
Starring Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Hwang
Presented in partnership with the Australian International Movie Convention (AIMC)
Complimentary tickets Available for Asia Pacific Screen Forum Pass holders
Screening to be followed by an exclusive Q&A with Writer, Director, Producer Anthony Shim. Nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
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SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER
TORA’S HUSBAND
10.30am-12.30pm
Home of the Arts, HOTA – Cinema 2
135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise
Book Tickets via HOTA Website
India
Assamese with English subtitles, 121 mins, Unclassified 15+
Tora’s husband, Jaan, has a worldview unlike that of those living around him in his small town in Assam. Every day he strives to be a better version of himself and expects the same from his family, employees and acquaintances. In his attempt to create an ideal world, he sometimes gets aggressive and sometimes struggles with love and patience. But his expectations are crushed time and again, straining his relationship with his loved ones. The decline in his business due to the pandemic is adding to his woes. Feeling misunderstood and defeated, he tries to feel better by spending time with his children and drinking. His lost love and passion – football – becomes his escape.
Directed, Written, Produced and Cinematography by Rima Das
Starring Abhijit Das, Tarali Kalita Das
Screening to be followed by an exclusive Q&A with Director/Writer/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor Rima Das. Nominated for Best Director at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
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SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER
A SONG SUNG BLUE
4.00pm
Home of the Arts, HOTA – Cinema 2
135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise
Book Tickets via HOTA Website
People’s Republic of China
Mandarin with English subtitles, 92 mins, Unclassified 15+
During the loneliest of summers, 15-year-old Liu Xian meets Jin Mingmei, an ethnic minority Chinese-Korean girl. Mingmei’s wanton youthful vigour leads Liu Xian to experience a new world.
Directed by Geng Zihan
Written by Liu Yining
Produced by Jane Zheng
Cinematographer Hao Jiayue
Starring Zhou Meijun, Huang Zipi
Screening to be followed by a Filmmaker Q&A with cinematographer Hao Jiayue and producer Jane Zheng. Nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Presented in partnership with the Women in Film and Television (WIFT) Queensland
Please stay after for WIFT Queensland industry networking drinks at the HOTA bar.
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SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER
EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
6.30pm
Home of the Arts, HOTA – Cinema 2
135 Bundall Rd, Surfers Paradise
Book Tickets via HOTA Website
Japan
Japanese with English subtitles, 106 mins, Unclassified 15+
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a glamping site near Takumi’s house to offer city residents a comfortable escape to nature. When two company representatives from Tokyo arrive in the village to hold a meeting, it becomes clear that the project will have a negative impact on the local water supply, causing unrest. The agency’s mismatched intentions endanger both the ecological balance of the plateau and the people’s way of life, with an aftermath that affects Takumi’s life deeply.
Written and Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Produced by Satoshi Takata
Cinematographer Yoshio Kitagawa
Starring Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa
Presented in partnership with Container Film Society
Screening to be followed by a Filmmaker Q&A with Producer Satoshi Takata. Nominated for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENINGS
The BIFF program features seven APSA nominated films. Grab your tickets via their website or the links below:
Perfect Days (Japan)
Nominated for Best Film, Best Performance at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Breaking Ice (Ran dong, People’s Republic of China)
Nominated for Best Performance at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Inshallah a Boy (Inshallah Walad, Jordan, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
Nominated for Best Performance at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Riceboy Sleeps (Canada, Republic of Korea)
Nominated for Best Screenplay at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Monster (Japan)
Nominated for Best Youth Film at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Tiger Stripes (Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, Qatar)
Nominated for Best Youth Film at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Beyond Utopia (United States)
Nominated for Best Documentary Film at the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.