Meet the Guests of the Anniversary Edition of Five Flavours
Meetings with filmmakers are one of those elements that give a festival its special character, adding another dimension to the films and bringing them closer to us. Conversations during post-screening Q&A sessions, in informal settings or at the festival club shed light on the filmmakers’ motivations and the stories behind their films, helping us to understand many important contexts. We are delighted to introduce the artists who will be joining us in Warsaw for the 20th edition of Five Flavours!
Buy a ticket for a screening followed by a Q&A!
This year, the largest group of festival guests will be filmmakers featured in our ‘Focus: Vietnam’ section. Their visit will be an excellent opportunity to discuss how Vietnam’s rapidly evolving film industry has changed in recent years, where it stands today, and what opportunities it offers filmmakers. We are also excited for the meetings with the filmmakers behind the films in the competition and those featured in the ‘Poetics of Spirituality’ section. We warmly encourage you to stay after the screenings and join the Q&A sessions!
And there’s more! Five Flavours also brings audiences remote interviews with filmmakers who will not be travelling to Poland. On the opening day of the festival, our VOD platform will feature interviews with, among others, Toshiaki Toyoda (Transcending Dimensions), Tribeny Rai (Shape of Momo), Chong Keat Aun (Mother Bhumi), as well as an in-depth conversation with Tsui Hark, the subject of this year’s retrospective, recorded in Lyon during the Lumière Festival.
This year, the festival’s guests will be staying at the Warsaw Presidential Hotel, the official hotel of the Five Flavours Asian Film Festival.
Focus: Vietnam
Võ Thạch Thảo
director of “Mr. Hero”
Born in 1983, a Vietnamese director, screenwriter, and producer. She graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Theatre and Cinema and began her industry career as an editor on productions by Vũ Ngọc Đãng, establishing a solid technical foundation. She earned widespread acclaim and established herself as one of the leading directors in Vietnamese television with a string of hit dramas. Her work combines a strong feel for genre with insightful psychological portraits of her characters, set against the vivid social and cultural backdrop of contemporary Vietnam.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Mr. Hero”:
- Saturday, 14 November, 1:15 PM, Kinoteka 1
- Monday, 16 November, 5:30 PM, Muranów
Lê Bảo
director of “Hearing”
Born in Ho Chi Minh City in 1990, Lê Bảo is one of the most uncompromising voices in contemporary Vietnamese independent cinema. A self-taught filmmaker, he honed his craft by watching foreign films on his computer and shooting short films with borrowed cameras. He casts non-professional actors, setting his films in locations familiar to him from his childhood. His feature directorial debut, Taste (2021), won the Special Jury Award in the Encounters section at the Berlinale, while triggering a moral controversy in his native Vietnam that irreversibly transformed the country's independent film scene.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Hearing”:
- Wednesday, 11 November, 5:15 PM, Kinoteka 1
- Thursday, 12 November, 8:15 PM, Kinoteka 3
Leon Lê
director and co-writer of “Ky Nam Inn”
Born in Saigon in 1977, Leon Lê grew up in Vietnam until the age of 13, when he moved with his parents to Southern California. After college, he moved to New York City to pursue his dream of performing on stage and began a career in musical theatre. He established himself as an accomplished actor, singer, and dancer, even performing on Broadway. He also worked as a photographer and appeared in television series, as well as taking supporting and minor roles in American and Vietnamese films.
Leon Lê is a self-taught filmmaker who never attended film school. His short films Dawn (2012) and Talking to My Mother (2014) attracted attention from audiences and critics on the film festival circuit. His feature debut, Song Lang, was screened at the 12th Five Flavours.
Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc
co-writer of “Ky Nam Inn”
Author, actress, and director. She has written more than 70 stage plays, nearly 30 feature films, and hundreds of episodes for many TV series. Some of her award-winning works include Living in Fear, Pearl from the Far East, SOS Drugs, Thanh Ton: The Artist, Time and Eternity, Song Lang.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Ky Nam Inn”:
- Friday, 13 November, 5:45 PM, Kinoteka 1
- Sunday, 15 November, 5:30 PM, Muranów
Dužan Duong
director and co-writer of “Summer School, 2001”
Director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor born in 1991 in Hanoi. He moved with his family to the Czech Republic at the age of four. He took his first steps behind the camera by filming his own dance performances. After leaving his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), he focused on directing short films set in his native Vietnam. His feature debut, Summer School, 2001 (20th Five Flavours), had its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. As the first Czech-Vietnamese co-production, it stands as an important voice in the cinema of the Vietnamese diaspora in Europe.
David Bui
actor in “Summer School, 2001”
David is a bilingual actor based in the Czech Republic. He debuted with Summer School, 2001 (Letní škola, 2001) in the role of Kien. Alongside his work in the film industry, he performs as a musical artist under the artist name Solitude and is a member of the music production collective lohi5 production.
Thang Xuan Ngo
actor in “Summer School, 2001”
He is a radio editor collaborating with Czech Radio, where he contributes to the program Mezi námi (Among Us) as a voice for the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic.
His work extends to socially engaged theatre. Since 2023, he has performed in the play Každý má v sobě dva vlky (Everyone Has Two Wolves Inside), in which he draws on his personal story to explore the challenges and opportunities facing young people of Vietnamese descent growing up in the Czech Republic.
In Summer School, 2001, directed by Dužan Duong, he plays the role of a teacher. He was also involved in promoting the film.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Summer School, 2001”:
- Saturday, 14 November, 4:15 PM, Kinoteka 1
- Sunday, 15 November, 2:30 PM, Muranów
New Asian Cinema Competition
Oliver Chan Siu-kuen
director of “Montages of a Modern Motherhood”
Born in Hong Kong in 1987, Oliver Chan Siu-kuen is a director and screenwriter. Raised in a public housing estate in Kowloon, she appeared as a child actor in educational television programmes. After graduating, she worked for two years at Hang Seng Bank before shifting career paths in 2012 to pursue film studies at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Her debut short film, 3 Coins, won an award funded by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, while her 2015 short, Children, was selected for the Fresh Wave programme. Following her studies, she founded No Ceiling Film Production Limited, directing commercials and corporate films. Her feature directorial debut, Still Human, screened at the 13th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Montages of a Modern Motherhood”:
- Saturday, 14 November, 3:45 PM, Kinoteka 3
- Sunday, 15 November, 5:45 PM, Kinoteka 3
Han Chang-lok
director of “Funky Freaky Freaks”
Born in 1990, Han Chang-lok studied at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and the Korea National University of Arts. He has directed a number of short films, which have screened at international festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the New York Asian Film Festival, and the Jeonju International Film Festival. Funky Freaky Freaks is his feature directorial debut.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Funky Freaky Freaks”:
- Saturday, 14 November, 6:45 PM, Kinoteka 3
- Monday, 16 November, 8:30 PM, Muranów
Poetics of Spirituality
Nao Yoshigai
director of “Masayume”
Born in 1987, Japanese filmmaker, dancer and choreographer. She studied dance at Japan Women’s College of Physical Education and filmmaking at Tokyo University of the Arts. Her work explores corporeality and the sensory perception of the body, bringing cinema together with dance and performance art. She also directs music videos and works as an actress. Her documentaries have been screened at festivals in Rotterdam and Cannes. Her feature-length debut, Masayume (screened at the 20th edition of Five Flavours), premiered in the Forum section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “Masayume”:
- Saturday, 14 November, 3:45 PM, Kinomuzeum
- Monday, 16 November, 8:15 PM, Kinomuzeum
Huang Hsin-yao
director of “The Great Buddha+”
Born in 1973, Taiwanese director known for his satirical tone, dark humor, and distinctive visual aesthetic. Primarily a documentary filmmaker, his most notable works include the award-winning documentaries Bluffing, Nimbus, and Taivalu. A major breakthrough in his narrative fiction came with his 2014 short film The Great Buddha, which he expanded in 2017 into his feature directorial debut, The Great Buddha+. The film earned critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including the Golden Horse Award for Best New Director.
Post-screening Q&A sessions for “The Great Buddha+”:
- Friday, 13 November, 6:30 PM, Kinomuzeum
- Sunday, 15 November, 2:45 PM, Kinoteka 1
