Chinese vs Japanese – a clash of Asian sci-fi giants!
A psychedelic crime story set in the Japanese countryside, where shamanic rituals coexist with AI and contract killers. Bi Gan’s Cannes-awarded epic about a world that has stopped dreaming. A Chinese mockumentary featuring a UFO enthusiast living beyond the orbit of everyday life. The Asian Sci-Fi section is a journey through dimensions and time – cinema that captivates with style while redefining the very essence of the genre.
Nowhere else does science fiction have such a long and powerful tradition – it was in Japan and China that stories about the fears of the future and technological dystopias were born. Placed side by side, Chinese and Japanese cinema reveal the full spectrum of the genre: from epic spectacles to intimate lo–fi experiments. It’s not only entertainment but also a stylish, multidimensional journey that expands the imagination.
The Asian Sci-Fi program includes “Transcending Dimensions”, the latest project by Toshiaki Toyoda, the last of Japan’s independent punk filmmakers, who for years has been expanding the boundaries of his artistic expression with elements of science fiction, blending genres and styles in a way that is entirely his own. Those longing for a total spectacle will have the chance to immerse themselves in the world of Bi Gan. His “Resurrection” proved that cinema is far from dead – and neither is Sci-Fi. As a counterpoint, “Journey to the West” offers a lo–fi mockumentary about fans of extraterrestrial civilisations, whose humour, honesty and heartwarming love for UFOs will make you want to leave this planet behind. During the 19th Five Flavours Film Festival, that will be entirely possible – we guarantee it!
Screenings in the Asian Sci-Fi section will take place in the festival’s new venue – the Kinomuzeum, located in the tower of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. Its cosmic interior provides the perfect setting for the films being shown there.
Transcending Dimensions
Jigen o koeru
Toshiaki Toyoda, Japan, 2025, 96’
[only in theatres]
A monk, his lover, a shaman and a hitman. When the monk suddenly disappears, a series of strange events unfolds in the Japanese countryside. At his lover’s request, the hitman sets out to track down the shaman – but can magic protect him from bullets? The characters move through a landscape where the boundaries between the real and the fantastic blur, where the shaman’s whispers intertwine with the voice of artificial intelligence, and ancient rituals merge with the numbers of modern algorithms.
Known for his experimental approach and punk energy, Toshiaki Toyoda creates a cinematic kaleidoscope that fuses genres and styles, multiplying the dimensions of reality surrounding his characters. When faith and technology begin to share the same pulse, the director poses a crucial question about modern spirituality – what place will it hold in a world dominated by AI? “Transcending Dimensions” unfolds as an artistically accomplished, ambiguous, and stylish impression, infused with Shabaka Hutchings’ electrifying music and Toyoda’s signature creative fury.
Resurrection
Kuángyě Shídài
Bi Gan, China, France, USA 2025, 160’
[only in theatres]
In a world where humanity has lost the ability to dream, a woman and an android exist in the shadow of dreams invisible to others. As they drift into the land of dreams, they lead us through six chapters referring to the human senses, offering a journey through the history of Chinese cinema – from silent film, through noir, a Buddhist parable, a neorealist heist movie, to a vampiric romance. It is a virtuoso tribute to the art of cinema, the most visually impressive spectacle of the past year, awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. Bi Gan’s long–awaited epic fresco is a cinematic experience that asks about the very nature of dreams in a world that has stopped dreaming.
The Polish distributor of the film is the New Horizons Association.
Journey to the West
Yuzhou tansuo bianjibu
Kong Dashan, China 2021, 118’
[theatre screenings+online]
Tang Zhijun, the editor of a once–popular science fiction magazine from the 1980s and 1990s, is facing the slow collapse of his beloved publication. Bit by bit, he parts with the props accumulated in the office, selling them off to film crews. When he hears about reports of extraterrestrial activity coming from a village deep in Sichuan Province, western China, he sees a chance to rescue the magazine’s finances. Setting off with his small team in search of signs of alien life, each of them has their own reason for joining the journey – yet when they finally arrive, what they find is nothing like what they expected. “Journey to the West” is at once arthouse science fiction and a sharp–witted comedy of situations, one of the most layered and entertaining works in contemporary Chinese cinema.
