Program of the 17th Five Flavours AFF

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The 17th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival takes place in a hybrid form – in Warsaw's Muranów and Kinoteka cinemas on November 15-21, and online till December 3.

The lunar patron of this year's Festival is the Water Rabbit.

We regularly publish program announcements on the Festival website and in our social media. In our Facebook group, we not only talk about Five Flavours films, but also discuss interesting developments in Asian cinema.

A screening schedule and a list of films through which you can buy Festival tickets:

Screening schedule

List of films

Here are the Festival sections:

Retrospective: King Hu

For the fist time in Poland, we present a retrospective of the filmmaker who changed the face of cinema. King Hu is an undisputed master of wuxia films who redefined and modernized the genre. His works prove that action cinema can truly be enriched by a touch of transcendence and palpable mystique.

The director of "A Touch of Zen" went down in history as the innovator of action scenes choreography. He employed visionary technical solutions which he approached with extraordinary accuracy. The epic fights of the Taiwanese master's films became the emblems of his work, characterized by precision, the pioneering approach to movement as a dance, and the dynamic camerawork enhancing the poetic dimension of the fights.

The program of the retrospective is presented in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan and the Taiwanese Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts. All films will be screened from digitally restored copies.

Hong Kong Heroines

This section is only seemingly an unusual look at the cinema that is very familiar to Five Flavours' audiences. Hong Kong is associated with action films, which most often bring to mind male protagonists. Most undeservedly so since, thanks to the characteristics of Hong Kong martial arts films, women have been successfully surmounting their male counterparts in them with training, agility, and wits for many decades – much earlier than in Hollywood. Hong Kong cinema also features brilliant comedies and dramas, rarely presented outside of Asia. The profit-oriented industry that did not shy away from experiments was an environment which brought to prominence the brilliant actresses who later became pop icons in that part of the world. Maggie Cheung, Sylvia Chang, Cheng Pei-Pei, Cherry Ngan, and Cherie Chung are some of the outstanding heroines whose break-through roles are the focus of the section.

Focus: India

A section devoted to films from a region that rarely makes it to Five Flavours program. There is a good reason to have a closer look at the cinema of the most populated country on the planet, determined to play an increasingly important geopolitical role. Indian cinema produces over 2000 films a year and gives a strong platform to arthouse creators, which is clearly visible at international festivals. In their hands, the film matter comes back to life, forged into a clever, modern, and extremely colorful cinema. Focus: India is a whole spectrum of emotions and different styles. Each film is a chance to get to know a different region of India and its varying traditions – both in terms of culture and the organization of film industry.

New Asian Cinema

Working on the competition section is always a challenge that comes with a strong sense of responsibility. How can we show the themes resonating throughout the cinemas of the continent and capture its heartbeat with just eleven films? The result of the many, often incredibly hard decisions, is a section filled with sharp portrayals of Asia, conveyed by auteurs who will surely keep on making waves in the industry. Many of the filmmakers will be joining us in Warsaw this year – the Five Flavours audiences will get a chance to discover them at the brink of their careers, and to talk about the films during Q&As and informal meetings after the screenings.

Asian Cinerama

A counterweight to the competitions section – blockbusters representing the state of mainstream entertainment, and the works of the masters of Asian cinema. A selection of films that won over the hearts of Asian audiences, proving that the continent remains the beating heart of contemporary cinema. Here, Five Flavours' viewers can revisit the works of artists regularly featured in Five Flavours program.

Special Screenings

The Special Screenings section reintroduces us to older productions that have already gained a cult status and were digitally restored in 4K. The films can be rewatched again and again, but we also encourage you to discover them for the first time and join their fan club.

The program of the 17th Five Flavours was prepared by: Marta Dymek, Marcin Krasnowolski, Łukasz Mańkowski, and Maja Pielak.