[Tokyo IFF] CROSSCUT ASIA Delicious! Online Film Festival Full Lineup Announced!

From January 21 to February 3, 2022, the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) and the Japan Foundation Asia Center will jointly present theCROSSCUT ASIA Delicious! Online Film Festival. Originally launched as a section of TIFF in 2014, CROSSCUT ASIA showcased diverse Asian cinema with a focus on specific Asian countries, directors or themes for six years until 2019. It now returns in a special online version with two programs—CROSSCUT ASIA special edition featuring “delicious” films from Asia, and Encore! CROSSCUT ASIA—streaming a total of 13 titles for free, along with a packed program of special “side dishes” and “main courses.”

We are pleased to announce the full lineup and program details.

The CROSSCUT ASIA special edition featuring “delicious” films from Asia section is themed around food and features seven films, including Wanton Mee, by leading Singaporean director Eric Khoo, whose films play regularly at international film festivals; Jay Abello’s romantic comedy Namets! (Yummy!), which showcases the visually delightful cuisine of the Philippine island of Negros; and Aruna & Her Palate, an Indonesian food-themed road movie by Edwin, the acclaimed director who won the Golden Leopard at the 2021 Locarno International Film Festival.

Encore! CROSSCUT ASIA brings together a selection of carefully chosen films that attracted great acclaim when previously screened in the CROSSCUT ASIA section at TIFF. Fresh from her success with Netflix’s A World Without, director Nia Dinata’s Indonesian musical Three Sassy Sisters is included, along with a Pete Teo Special, a series of works including music videos and an omnibus of short films by 15 Malaysian directors. These are just two of the works screening in this richly varied program.

The festival’s lineup of related content has talks with film directors and interviews about food. The musician, actor, producer, director and talented multi-hyphenate Pete Teo, whose Pete Teo Special is showing in the Encore! CROSSCUT ASIA section, will also make a special video especially for the festival. Other content will include various videos and articles. Further details will be available on the festival website. Don’t miss this “delicious” opportunity to feast on great Asian cinema!