Crocodile has first bite of Montreal

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Festival News

Chinese creature feature Million Dollar Crocodile 百萬巨鰐 will open the 36th Montreal World Film Festival (23 Aug — 3 Sep 2012).

The comedy-drama has a pan-Chinese cast including Taiwan's Barbie HSU 徐熙媛, Mainland China's GUO Tao 郭濤 and Hong Kong's LAM Suet 林雪 in the tale of a giant crocodile on the loose with €100,000. LIN Lisheng 林黎勝 won the best director prize for his film at the China Movie Channel Media Awards at the Shanghai International Film Festival 上海國際電影節 in June.

Seventeen films have been selected for the World Competition, including three dramas from Asia, Claude GAGNON's Karakara カラカラ, FURUHATA Yasuo 降旗康男's Dearest あなたへ and YANG Yazhou 楊亞洲's Wings 最長的擁抱 (2011). The three directors — two working in Japan, one in China — are regular guests of the festival, which has showcased their previous films.

The seven member jury, headed by Greta Scacchi, includes Chinese actor WANG Xueqi 王學圻 and South Korea's KIM Dong-ho 김동호 | 金東虎, the former director of the Busan International Film Festival 부산국제영화제. The other jury members are French producer Véra Belmont, Canadian actor Michel Côté, Russian critic Andrei Plakhov and Spanish actress Goya Toledo.

Films from Japan and China also dominate other sections of the festival.

WANG Quanan 王全安's Chinese epic White Deer Plain 白鹿原, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, screens out of competition, together with three Japanese films, NARUSHIMA Izuru 成島出's Admiral Yamamoto 聯合艦隊司令長官　山本五十六 (2011), KIMIZUKA Ryoichi 君塚良一's Reunion 遺体　明日への十日間 and The Floating Castle のぼうの城 (2011), directed by INUDO Isshin 犬童一心 and HIGUCHI Shinji 樋口真嗣.

Highlights of the panoramic Focus on World Cinema section include SUO Masayuki 周防正行's A Terminal Trust 終の信託, NISHIKORI Yoshinari 錦織良成's KON-SHIN 渾身, AN Zhanjun 安戰軍's Brother 黑暗中的救贖, YANG Yong-hi 양영희 | 梁英姬's Our Homeland かぞくのくに and North Korea-China co-production Meet in Pyongyang 平壤之約 ' 평양에서의 약속.

Curiously, there are no films from South Korea in this year's lineup. Southeast Asia is represented by Vietnam's Mother's Soul Tâm hồn mẹ (2011), the Philippines' The Hermit's Crab Mariana and French-Cambodian documentary Golden Slumbers Le sommeil d'or (2011). South Asia is represented by India's B.A. Pass and Sri Lankan co-production With You, Without You Oba nathuwa oba ekka.

This year's lineup comprises of 212 features, 144 shorts and 16 medium-length works. According to festival organisers, more than half the feature films are world or international premieres.

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