Asian films return to NYFF

---

---

Festival News

The 50th New York Film Festival (29 Sep — 14 Oct 2012) will open with the world premiere of Ang LEE 李安's 3-D Life of Pi and screen three Asian films in its Main Slate panorama section.

At last year's 49th edition, just two Asian films screened at the festival, special anniversary screenings of MIYAZAKI Hayao 宮崎駿's Laputa: Castle in the Sky 天空の城ラピュタ (1986) and Spirited Away 千と千尋の神隠し (2001).

Life of Pi is Lee's second opening film at the festival, following Ice Storm (1997) fifteen years ago. Lee, a Taiwan native, has spent much of his adult life in New York, making his first short films whilst a student there.

Two other Asian film-makers have directed films that opened the festival, KUROSAWA Akira 黒澤明 with Ran 乱 (1985) and ZHANG Yimou 張藝謀 with Shanghai Triad 搖呀搖！搖到外婆橋 (1995).

The Asian films in this year's main panorama are Jun Robles LANA's drama Bwakaw, SONG Fang 宋方's first feature Memories Look at Me 記憶望著我 and Abbas KIAROSTAMI's Japan-shot Like Someone in Love ライク・サムワン・イン・ラブ.

Also on an Asian theme is the film noir The Last Time I Saw Macao, a French-Portuguese co-production set in the former colony. The film is co-directed by João Pedro Rodrigues and João Rui Guerra da Mata.

Life of Pi opens in North America and Taiwan on 21 November.

---