Venice competition for Asian trio

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Festival News

A trio of Asian films have been selected for main competition at the Venice International Film Festival, the first under the new stewardship of Alberto BARBERA.

KIM Ki-duk 김기덕 | 金基德's Pietà 피에타 (pictured) will compete with KITANO Takeshi 北野武's yakuza tale Outrage Beyond アウトレイジ ビヨンド and Brillante Ma. MENDOZA's Thy Womb Sinapupunan.

Kim describes his new film, about a cruel loan shark who falls for a woman claiming to be his mother, as his first commercial film in four years, since directing Dream 비몽 (2008) that premiered in San Sebastian.

Kitano stars again in his follow-up to Outrage アウトレイジ (2010), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, as yakuza boss Otomo who is released from prison into the midst of a yakuza war and a police crackdown.

For Filipino director Mendoza, Thy Womb will be his second film this year in the competition section of one of the world's top three festivals. In February he screened Captive in Berlin, to mixed reviews.

Womb is the story of a midwife, played by acting legend Nora AUNOR, coping with the irony of her own infertility while handling the deprivations of the 'sea gypsy' community in the Tawi-Tawi region.

The Venice line-up may be slimmed down compared with previous years, but it remains awash with big name art-house talent, including Terrence Mallick, Olivier Assayas, Ulrich Seidel, Harmony Korine and Marco Bellocchio.

As previously announced The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by North American based Indian director Mira NAIR, will open the festival in an out-of-competition slot.

Asian films in out-of-competition slots announced today are Stephen FUNG 馮德倫's Taichi Zero 太極１　從零開始, KUROSAWA Kiyoshi 黒沢清's 270-minute TV mini-series Penance 贖罪 and 3-D shark movie Bait (2011).

Penance was broadcast on Japanese cable television in Jan and Feb 2012. Its four episodes are based on the original writing of MINATO Kanae 湊かなえ, whose novel was adapted into another female-themed suspense, Confessions 告白 (2010).

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