Asian Cinerama: Exceptional Cinema at the 20th Five Flavours Film Festival
The captivating return of SABU – the eccentric king of Japanese genre cinema; an intimate duology that will take you on a journey through the provinces and the hidden corners of the human soul; and a hit comedy that offers an unflinching portrayal of the everyday lives of young Chinese women. True to Five Flavours tradition, this year’s Asian Cinerama brings together masterful cinema, box-office hits and the most intriguing phenomena in contemporary Asian cinema.
Buy a pass – the last passes for the 20th Five Flavours are still available!
Asian Cinerama is one of the most distinctive sections of Five Flavours. Its ambition is to capture the very best of Asian commercial cinema and the work of acclaimed masters – filmmakers who have been shaping the direction of their respective national cinemas for years. We select each title with particular care, creating a harmonious programme that, on the one hand, guarantees the highest quality and, on the other, reflects the most important trends and themes present in Asian cinema today.
This year’s selection has brought several pleasant surprises. We were completely won over by two films by Zhang Lü, made concurrently and connected by both their themes and cast (the actors even wear the same costumes!), so we couldn’t resist screening both of them. We were also delighted by SABU’s return to genre cinema and the atmosphere of his early work. Full of surprising twists and masterfully staged sequences, Arrested Memory perfectly matches the energy of this anniversary edition of the festival. We’re also revisiting the work of Yang Lina, whose Spring Wave won the Grand Prix at the 15th Five Flavours Festival.
And there’s more to come! You’ll discover the remaining titles on 20 October, when the full festival programme is announced!
Arrested Memory
Kuáng wàng jǐng tàn
dir. SABU, Japan 2026, 100’
* Polish premiere *
[cinema only]
What does Detective Lee do when he gets injured during a crucial operation and gradually begins to lose his memory? Naturally, he returns to work, tasked with finding the kidnapped son of a businessman. Except that from now on, every lead may turn out to be a dead end, and his own past will become the most difficult mystery to unlock. SABU takes on the police procedural, creating a subversive, absurd story about a man who must piece himself back together from the clues – before he forgets what he is actually looking for.
This unconventional crime film, tinged with melancholy, conceals a mystery while also being a quintessential SABU comedy, in which the whims of fate trigger the most unexpected twists and turns.
It’s OK
Wo, xu ke
dir. Yang Lina, China 2026, 118’
* Polish premiere *
[cinema + online]
Young teacher Xu Ke has to undergo a gynaecological procedure. What appears to be a straightforward diagnosis leads to an absurd odyssey through doctors’ offices. The reason? Xu Ke is a virgin, and the doctor refuses to approve the procedure without written consent from her family. To make matters worse, her mother unexpectedly turns up at her house, fleeing marital problems.
The daily tensions and misunderstandings that put the relationship between the two women to the test nevertheless become the beginning of an important lesson, in which the daughter teaches her mother that living life on one’s own terms is, well, ‘OK’. It is a tender and humorous portrayal of the female experience, an attempt to break free from a life dictated by the expectations of others. The director explores female bodily experience with ease, speaking about it with painful honesty and without pulling any punches.
Mothertongue
Chun shu
dir. Zhang Lü, China 2025, 121’
* Polish premiere *
[cinema only]
After years spent in Beijing, the young actress Chunshu is offered the chance to play her dream role. The character she is supposed to portray comes from her hometown of Chengdu. When the producers discover that Chunshu no longer speaks the local dialect, they dismiss her without hesitation. Humiliated, she returns to Chengdu, trying to reconnect with the city she once called home. Together with Dongdong, whom she has just met, she explores both familiar and lesser-known corners of her hometown in search of her own identity.
In Zhang Lü’s film, language becomes more than just a tool for communication. The director examines the consequences of China’s language policy, under which standard Mandarin is gradually displacing local languages. The film won the Best Director award at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2025.
Gloaming in Luomu
Luomu de huanghun
dir. Zhang Lü, China 2025, 99’
* Polish premiere *
[cinema only]
After receiving a mysterious postcard, Bai decides to visit the small town in Sichuan from which it was sent. Situated at the foot of the sacred Mount Emei, Luomu is the last place from which her ex-boyfriend Wang contacted her before disappearing without a trace three years ago. What was initially meant to be a short stay at a local guesthouse turns into a longer visit in the company of the local community. Following the traces he left behind, Bai tries to unravel the mystery of his disappearance while also confronting her own past.
The characters in Zhang Lü’s contemplative film are suspended between wakefulness and dreams, the present and memory. Gloaming in Luomu won the Best Film award at the Busan International Film Festival in 2025.
