14th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival online!

Asia is way more than merely beautiful landscapes, an admirable tradition and a contemporary culture that surprises with its diversity. It is also a centre of modern technology and a dynamically changing reality. In this year's programme we will invite our audience to travel to extraordinary corners of East and Southeast Asia, to discover the secrets of the world-renowned Asian cuisine, but also to explore the world of new film possibilities.

Journey to Asia

The section "Journey to Asia" will lead through lesser-known regions of the continent. Selected films will present how the past meets modernity, how social change affects the natural environment. Such road cinema, which combines the film traditions of different cultures, is an excellent starting point for both conscious tourism and internal journeys. 

Tasty Cinema 

The programme of the culinary section will, in turn, provide an opportunity to explore Asian food culture: its rituals, symbolism and feelings, hidden in the aroma of spices and taste of dishes known for generations. Cooking and eating together is an excellent way to break down barriers between people, and at the same time it is a perfect excuse for building exciting film narratives. In cooperation with several Warsaw restaurants we are preparing a special menu which will combine artistic impressions with direct sensual experience of Asian cuisine. 

Asian VR

A new feature in the Five Flavours programme will be "Asian VR" featuring films made in virtual reality. VR is already coming out of the pioneering and experimental phase: this modern technology is creating daring and sophisticated projects, seducing with form and surprising with original narratives. The heart of these changes is currently beating in Asia, where most VR films are made today, addressed both to mass audiences and festival audiences looking for ambitious content from renowned artists. The programme of the section will be available both in Warsaw’s venue and at homes!

Hong Kong Now

The Five Flavours, as usual, keeps its hand on the pulse of current political and social events. An important element of this year's programme will be the section “Hong Kong Now”, which presents a selection of Hong Kong films from the last few years, using the best scripts of genre cinema - from melodrama to action cinema - to convey the tensions and emotions associated with the turbulent changes taking place in the region, which is being managed by China with an increasingly firm hand. 

Parasites

Echoes of social changes are also the main theme of the "Parasites" section. Inspired by the staggering success of Bong Joon-ho's film, it will show new voices of the dynamically developing Korean cinema, which amazes audiences with its bold approach to difficult topics and daring combinations of genre conventions. Through subtle auteurs films and thrilling action movies, we will focus on stories of class divisions, economic inequalities and paradoxes of existence in the contemporary world. 

New Asian Cinema

As every year, the festival's programme will also include the showcase of new Asian cinema - a set of titles that have had a wide impact in their home countries, from China and Japan to Indonesia. The section will feature films by renowned filmmakers and debutants, touching on the most important issues and experimenting with the film form. This year, due to the epidemic situation, the section will not be competitive, and there will be no People's Jury. 

Asian Cinerama

We will again look at the films nominated and awarded by the Asian Film Awards Academy. The Asian Cinerama section will feature local box office blockbusters and mainstream films that earned wide critical acclaim - thrilling features that have captivated millions of viewers on the continent. 

Accompanying Events

We cannot imagine the festival without meetings with fascinating artists. Although intercontinental travels are difficult to organise this year, presented films will still become a pretext for extensive discussions. Filmmakers will accompany us via online meetings after screenings, and our experts will invite the audience to explore Asian reality at debates and lectures. We are also preparing a number of surprises that will allow all of us to feel the festival's emotions, no matter where we will be watching films. 

Important dates

The festival programme will be announced on 29 October at 4:00pm.

The 14th edition of the festival will take place on the Internet from 25 November to 6 December 2020.