Osaka Asian Film Festival gets an expo boost

Japan Times

4 days ago

From the end of this month, those in Osaka for the World Expo will also have the chance to take in independent cinema from across Asia at the Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF), which runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7 at venues around Osaka Station.
If you're scratching your head, convinced this year's Osaka Asian Film Festival already happened, you're not wrong. The official 2025 OAFF, which marked the festival's 20th anniversary, took place in March. The 21st edition, officially titled Osaka Asian Film Festival Expo 2025 — OAFF 2026, has been pushed forward to take place alongside the expo to capitalize on the crowds currently visiting the city.
"We hope that alongside our usual audience, we'll attract new visitors who might not usually seek out a film festival," says OAFF programming director Sozo Teruoka, 64. "In a way, the expo and our festival share a similar mission, which is to promote international exchange and communication."
OAFF first kicked off in 2005 as a festival centered on the cinema of South Korea before expanding to include films from broader Asia.
"We aim to make our festival a springboard for films to reach audiences worldwide," says Teruoka, who has been in charge of OAFF's lineup since 2009. "So we work hard to select films I think have a lot of potential abroad and try to discover films that wouldn't necessarily be shown at other festivals."
The Osaka festival will close with Singaporean feature 'A Good Child,' highlighting the Southeast Asian nation's modest but notable film industry. |
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OAFF is being held during the expo at the request of the city of Osaka, a major sponsor. Teruoka had reservations about changing the date, as hosting two festivals in a single year poses logistical challenges. But the expo tie-up did allow the programming director to open the festival with a film he's been looking to feature for years: "Tracing to Expo '70."
The Taiwanese film, directed by Liao Hsiang-Hsiung, stars Judy Ongg as a Taiwanese woman raised in Japan whose quest to find her long-lost benefactor eventually takes her to the site of the 1970 Osaka Expo.
Teruoka, who first encountered the film on a beat-up old print decades ago, says that in the years since its 1970 release it has become so obscure that even the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute had barely heard of it. Nevertheless, when contacted by OAFF about showing the film, the institute was able to locate its elements and prepare a brand-new restoration in time for the festival.
"Remasters like this come at no small cost in terms of money and labor, so I'm very thankful to them," Teruoka says. "The film was shot on location at the 1970 Expo, so I think watching it and comparing the '70 event with this year's will be a very interesting experience."
Meanwhile, OAFF will close with "A Good Child," a new Singaporean film from director Ong Kuo Sin about a drag queen who returns home to his conservative family to help care for his mother, who has been diagnosed with dementia. The film takes a twist when the protagonist arrives one night in drag and convinces his mother that he is, in fact, her daughter.
"Singapore doesn't produce many films a year, and we've never had a film from Singapore as our opening or closing film before, so I thought it was a good opportunity," says Teruoka.
Of the festival's 68 feature-length and short films, the programming director is keen to highlight two from Bhutan, the small Himalayan country located between India and China. The feature "I, the Song," playing in the Competition section, is about a teacher on a quest to find her doppelganger after being accused of appearing in a pornographic video. Meanwhile, the short "The Bridge," playing in the Spotlight section, is about a young man who changes his mind about ending his own life after a chance encounter.
"I was surprised to see multiple films from Bhutan, which has a tiny film industry," says Teruoka. "I was also surprised by the level of quality. I feel like the cinema of Bhutan is entering an interesting era, especially in terms of independent filmmaking."
The Competition section presents a total of 11 feature films, all premiering in Japan for the first time. Other entries include "Shambhala Story," a Japan-U.S.-India coproduction about a Tibetan monk who visits Japan for spiritual training; "Some Like It Cold," a South Korean love story that takes place during a zombie apocalypse; and "Evacuation," a black-and-white film set in World War II-era Kazakhstan in which a family flees from the Nazi occupation.
The festival's Director in Focus section, which has previously highlighted up-and-coming talents like Satoko Yokohama, will feature Miki Tanaka, whose "Ginger Boy," about two high school friends who reunite as adults, won a La Cinef award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The section will feature both "Ginger Boy" and two new 30-minute shorts created by Tanaka this year.
"Cannes was in May, but Tanaka has already made two short films since then," says Teruoka. "I'm hoping this section will help bring more attention to this active young director."
Although programming director Sozo Teruoka had reservations about moving up the 21st edition of the Osaka Asian Film Festival to take place alongside the Osaka Expo, the tie-up gave him the opportunity to open the festival with "Tracing to Expo '70," an obscure Taiwanese film shot on location at the 1970 Expo. |
COURTESY OF OSAKA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL
In addition to Tanaka's films, the programming director is excited about the number of Japanese entries showing at this summer's OAFF. Its Indie Forum section features 18 Japanese films, 11 seeing their world premieres, and includes a new short from director Neo Sora starring Japan Academy Prize winner Sakura Ando.
"When some people in Japan hear 'Asian film festival,' they think of films from outside Japan, but in recent years we've also used the festival to help introduce Japanese films to an international audience," says Teruoka. "Despite the last OAFF taking place in March and the Tokyo International Film Festival coming in October, we had a surprising number of strong Japanese entries this time around."
Speaking of Tokyo, Teruoka says there are some advantages to holding a film festival in Japan's second city over its first.
"Rather than simply screening films, we put a lot of effort into having filmmakers come and participate, and we often hear from Asian filmmakers that they prefer visiting Osaka over Tokyo," says the programming director. "Some say it has a more 'Asian' atmosphere. For many countries, like South Korea, it's much closer, too. That's a big benefit for us."
Osaka Asian Film Festival takes place from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7 at venues around Osaka Station. All of the films feature English subtitles, and Q&As with filmmakers will feature English-language interpretation (as well as Japanese for films outside Japan). For more information, visit oaff.jp/en/oaff2025expo