Five Asian films compete at Skip City

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Festival News

Films from China, Philippines and Japan compete at the 9th Skip City International D-Cinema Festival ＳＫＩＰシティ国際Ｄシネマ映画祭 (14-22 July) next month.

The festival this year introduces a combined competition for local and foreign features, alongside its traditional shorts competition. In previous years, Japanese features had competed in their own section.

Organisers stated that there were 571 submissions from 84 territories for its feature and shorts competitions. The twelve titles in its feature competition, competing for a ¥1.5 million ($18.9 million) cash prize, include five that originate from Asia.

From China, CHEN Zhuo 陳卓's Song of Silence 楊梅洲 is about a divorced man, his deaf daughter and his young, runaway lover. It competed at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 香港國際電影節 in March.

From Philippines, Rommel "Milo" TOLENTINO's Nono (2011) is about an 8-year-old boy with a speech impediment who nevertheless enters a public speaking contest with the support of his mother.

From Japan, there are three family dramas, ASANUMA Naoya 浅沼直也's Heart Beat ハートビート, NAKANO Ryota 中野量太's Capturing Dad チチを撮りに and OKUMURA Morito 奥村盛人's Out to Sea 月の下まで.

The jury is comprised of producers KAWAI Shinya 河井真也, UMEKAWA Haruo 梅川治男, OH Jung-wan 오정완 and Marten RABARTS, the newly appointed head of development at India's National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

The festival opens with the world premiere of SHINJO Taku 新城卓's Aokigakara 青木ヶ原 (pictured), based on ISHIHARA Shintaro 石原慎太郎's novel, and South Korean thriller Countdown 카운트다운 (2011), the latter produced by Oh.

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