Friday, June 29, 2012

A Preview of New York Asian Film Festival 2012

BROOKLYN, N.Y.—

Wu xia (2011)

It's that time of year again: the New York Asian Film Festival is back for its 11th year of rip-roaring, ass-kicking fun!

This year, I decided to act the part of a professional film critic and come up with a preview piece for the festival before the festival officially started tonight. Alas, I see that, compared to the New York Asian Film Festival previews I've seen from others—like, say, Michael Atkinson's Village Voice round-up and R. Emmet Sweeney's summary at Film Comment's blog—mine isn't nearly as deep; I only ended up seeing about five of the 50-or-so films playing at this year's festival, so I can't vouch for some of their recommendations, like The Sword Identity or Scabbard Samurai. (They certainly weren't screened for press; the ones I cover at length in my preview were.)

Nevertheless...well, I hope, for all of those New Yorkers who intend to dive into this insanely wide-ranging festival, my House Next Door round-up will offer something of a starting point.

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