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New York Asian Film Fest Line-Up

John Woo Presents
STRANGLEHOLD

and

SUBWAY CINEMA

P r e s e n t

New York Asian Film Festival 2007
June 22 – July 8

June 22 – July 5 @ the IFC Center
(323 Sixth Avenue, between 3rd and 4th Streets)

June 5 – 8 @ Japan Society
(333 East 47th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

Director E. J-Yong of DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS will be attending

Director Shusuke Kaneko of DEATH NOTE and DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME will be attending

Director Han Jae-Rim of THE SHOW MUST GO ON will be attending

Don't miss “From Lahore With Gore” a one-night-only Pakistani exploitation extravaganza on July 3rd! Featuring a screening of Pakistan's first splatter film, HELL'S GROUND, with the producer and director in attendance and a magical mystery tour of Pakistani exploitation cinema featuring highlights from some of its most infamous films.

Friday, June 22 there will be a party sponsored by "John Woo Presents Stranglehold" and Kirin Beer after the opening night screening of THE BANQUET at the IFC Center

The NYAFF has partnered with Korea's Mise-en-scene's Genres Film Festival (MGFF) to bring over their award-winning horror, comedy, melodrama, sci-fi and action short films, selected by MGFF's committee and jury members, including directors Park Chan-Wook (I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK), Ryu Seung-Wan (City of Violence), E. J-Yong (Dasepo Naughty Girls), Kim Dae-Seung (Traces of Love), Bong Joon-Ho (The Host) and Kim Jee-Woon (A Bittersweet Life). Presented with the generous support of the Korean Cultural Service New York. More details to be announced soon.

Screeners are available. Please contact Grady Hendrix at this email address or at 917-405-7477

Stills are available as publication-ready, 300 dpi JPGs at: http://www.subwaycinema.com/stills/nyaff07/

The Line-Up

AACHI & SSIPAK (Korea, 2006) - 8 years in the making, this sci fi animated action extravaganza about a totalitarian future where the government controls its citizens' bowel movements is refreshingly obscene and totally offensive.

AFTER THIS OUR EXILE (Hong Kong, 2006) – Wong Kar-wai's mentor, Patrick Tam, returns to directing after 17 years and delivers an astounding, award-winning, father and son film that's a popcorn muncher for those who love to watch other peoples' families fall apart.

THE BANQUET (China, 2006) – starring Zhang Ziyi and with the team that made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon behind the camera (Tan Dun on music, Yuen Wo-ping on action, Tim Yip on design) this Chinese adaptation of Hamlet is highbrow brain candy.

BIG BANG LOVE, JUVENILE A (Japan, 2006) – Takeshi Miike's aggressively experimental tale of two convicts falling in love is as beautiful as Jean Genet and as bloody as you'd expect from Miike. Oh, and there's a rocket ship and an Aztec pyramid, too. (Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)

THE BODYGUARD 1 & 2 (Thailand, 2004 & 2006) – Mum Jokmok, Thailand's favorite comedian (and the co-star of Ong Bak and The Protector) directs and stars in these action-loaded spoofs of action movies, with special appearances by Tony Jaa. Like huffing glue: addictive and bad for your brain, but fun while you're doing it.

CITY OF VIOLENCE (Korean, 2006) – festival fave, Ryu Seung-Wan (Arahan, City of Violence), directed and co-stars in this pulpy, two-fisted noir flick with Korea's greatest stuntman and action choreographer, Jeong Du-Hong. It's a shout-out to Hong Kong action cinema of the 80's and features death by breakdancer.

CRUEL WINTER BLUES (Korean, 2006) – a rabid gangster heads to a small town to wait for the man who killed his best friend to show up so he can stab him to death. A three-way acting showcase that is exhilarating in its emotional intensity.

DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS (Korea, 2006) – E. J-Yong's musical about a high school full of perverted students is a cleansing blast of surreal smut that mixes Bollywood musical conventions with, well, porn.

DEATH NOTE & DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME (Japan, 2006) – Japan's box office one-two punch of 2006, these goth dramas are twisty cat n'mouse thrillers that feel like a net-savvy teenager has taken an Agatha Christie novel and forcibly cross-bred it with an Edgar Allan Poe short story. (Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)

DOG BITE DOG (Hong Kong, 2006) – Soi Cheang's insanely intense hitman flick is caked with grime and unfolds over the course of one bloody day and night. Welcome to the action movie as nature documentary.

DYNAMITE WARRIOR (Thailand, 2006) – the craziest martial arts flick you'll ever see, this unhinged movie stars Tony Jaa's teacher, Panna Rittikrai, as a scabby wizard and Dan Chupong from Born to Fight as a rocket-riding, 19th Century Thai bandit in a film that's one long, exhilarating action scene.

EXILED (Hong Kong, 2006) – Johnnie To's latest movie is a magnificent spaghetti western with a cast of Hong Kong's best character actors filling the island of Macau with enough hot lead to sink it beneath the waves.

FREESIA: BULLETS OVER TEARS (Japan, 2007) – another festival fave returns! Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri (Antenna) turns in the ice-cold story of a near future Japan where revenge has become a licensed business, with professional hitmen committing murders that come with forms to fill out in triplicate. Chilling. (Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)

GAMERA THE BRAVE (Japan, 2006) – this kaiju for kids movie stars the Rocky Balboa of the giant monster world, Gamera, trampling major cities in his battle with an evil dino-lizard. (Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)

GETTING HOME (China, 2007) – the latest movie from Zhang Yang (Shower, Quitting) is a black comedy about a broke construction worker trying to take the corpse of his friend thousands of miles home so it can be properly buried. His method of transportation? Public bus.

HARD BOILED (Hong Kong, 1992) – a 15th Anniversary screening of John Woo's action classic celebrates the release of Midway's "John Woo Presents Stranglehold" the sequel to the movie in video game form. Travel back in time 15 years to an era when no one shook the camera around, Chow Yun-fat was a god, Tony Leung was a young punk and John Woo was the most amazing action director the world had ever seen.

HELL'S GROUND (Pakistan, 2006) – Pakistan's first gore movie is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets the Taliban, featuring a mace-swinging killer.

HULA GIRLS (Japan, 2006) – a laser-guided crowd-pleaser that rocked the Japanese box office and swept the Japanese Academy Awards. 1965. Hula dancing. A gang of losers overcoming incredible odds. You know you want to see it.

I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK (Korea, 2006) – the latest from Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy, JSA) is a fairy tale love story between a kleptomaniac and a girl who thinks she's a cyborg, set in a mental institution.

MEMORIES OF MATSUKO (Japan, 2006) – Moulin Rouge meets Citizen Kane in the latest movie from the director of Kamikaze Girls. Check your cynicism at the door and prepare to have your heart jump started. (Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)

NEVER BELONGS TO ME (Korea, 2006) – from the director of Teenage Hooker Becomes Killing Machine in Daehakroh this advanced art object is inscrutable, bizarre and head-scratchingly hilarious. Featuring a mutant offspring of a union between lady and tiger, a penis machine gun, ballet dancer fetishism and a robo-hooker built by Dr. Hell.

NIGHTMARE DETECTIVE (Japan, 2006) – the world's favorite arthouse provocateur, Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo the Iron Man, Vital), makes a mainstream crowd-pleaser in this flick about a man who can crawl inside dreams and a self-mutilating psychic vampire who's addicted to suicide. (Co-presented with JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film)

RETRIBUTION (Japan, 2006) – a downbeat horror film that reunites director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse, Doppelganger) and his favorite leading man, Koji Yakusho (Cure, Shall We Dance).

THE SHOW MUST GO ON (Korea, 2007) – fresh outta Cannes comes this Korean hit that stars Song Kang-Ho (The Host) in a bravura performance as a low level gangster trying to manage his family and his failing criminal career.

TRACES OF LOVE (Korea, 2006) – the opening film from 2006's Pusan Film Festival is a beautiful, wrenching melodrama about a man longing for his lover who died in the real-life Sampoong Department Store collapse in 1995.

About "John Woo Presents Stranglehold"™ Experience the excitement of true next-gen action as you take on the role of Inspector Tequila created by John Woo for his influential action film, Hard Boiled starring Chow Yun-Fat. Ensnared by a crime boss with a gripping secret, Inspector Tequila is forced to cross the line from sworn duty to bloody revenge. Engage your enemies with intense cinematic gun battles and cause massive environmental damage in real-time or revolutionary slow-motion Tequila Time.

About the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF)
Now in its sixth year, NYAFF is America's leading festival of popular Asian cinema. To date, the Festival has featured over 100 films from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand, including 6 International premieres, 17 North American premieres, 23 U.S. premieres, and over 50 New York premieres.

About Subway Cinema
Subway Cinema is New York-based film programming, exhibition and marketing collective, founded in 1999. Subway Cinema is committed to increasing exposure and appreciation for Asia's popular cinema, which has traditionally been overlooked by American film distributors. The annual NYAFF is Subway Cinema's flagship event. <www.subwaycinema.com>

About JAPAN CUTS – Festival of New Japanese Film
To learn more about Japan Society's JAPAN CUTS – Festival of New Japanese Film, July 5-July 15, visit www.japansociety.org.

About Mise-en-scene's Genres Film Festival (MGFF)
Now in its sixth year, MGFF is one of the most prestigious short film festivals in Korea, with the exclusive focus on genre short films. The Festival's main objective is to promote talented young Korean filmmakers, and to serve as their launching pad for careers in the film industry. For more info, visit http://www.mgff.org/eng/aboutMGFF/mgff.asp


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