Taiwanese Film Directors Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang Named Top Ten Asian Directors by BIFF
What you need to know
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of BIFF, the festival committee has launched a special program called, Asian Cinema 100. The program has selected 100 significant Asian films, and "A City of Sadness" by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien ranks number five while Taiwanese director Edward Yang ranks number seven with "A Brighter Summer Day." Hou also places number two among the top ten directors in Asia.
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The 20th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opens on October 1. 304 films from 75 countries will take part in the 10-day event that will open with “Zubaan" from India and close with “Mountain Cry" from China. BIFF is the largest film festival in Korea and one of the most important in Asia. It has been chosen by TIME Magazine as the best film festival in Asia and focuses on non-traditional Asian films, creating an unique Asian cinema landscape.
In celebration of the 20th anniversary of BIFF, the festival committee has launched a special program called, Asian Cinema 100. The program has selected 100 significant Asian films, and “A City of Sadness" by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien ranks number five while Taiwanese director Edward Yang ranks number seven with “A Brighter Summer Day." Hou also places number two among the top ten directors in Asia.
hypesphere reports, Asian Cinema 100 is a collaboration project between BIFF and the Busan Cinema Center. They invited a number of critics, curators and directors to list their top ten Asian films and compiled them into a list of the top 100 Asian movies.
Film critics such as Jonathan Rosenbaum, Tony Rayns, Hasumi Shigehiko, and renowned festival executives, programmers, and directors Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Bong Joon-ho, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul were among the recommenders. The top 10 (a total of 10 films) will screen under Asian Cinema 100. A special book containing the details and reviews of the films on the list by 29 film professionals will also be published during the festival. BIFF says they plan to hold the event once every five years.
Funscreen Weekly reports, BIFF announced its lineup recently and 11 Taiwanese films have been selected, including “The Assassin" by Hou Hsiao-hsien, “Zinnia Flower" by Lin Tom Shu-Yu and “The Mad King of Taipei" by Nelson Yeh. “Afternoon" by Tsai Ming-liang and “Murmur of the Hearts" by Sylvia Chang will also screen at BIFF.
In addition, Taiwanese actress-turned-director Sylvia Chang has also been selected to lead the jury of the New Currents category this year.
Top Ten Asia movies:
1. Tokyo Story, Ozu Yasujiro (1953, Japan)
2. Rashomon, Kurosawa Akira (1950, Japan)
3. In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar Wai (2000, Hong Kong)
4. The Apu Trilogy; Pather Panchali; Song of the Road, Aparajito; The Unvanquished, Apur Sansar; The World of Apu, Satyajit Ray (1955, 1957, 1959, India)
5. A City of Sadness, Hou Hsiao-hsien (1989, Taiwan)
6. Seven Samurai, Kurosawa Akira (1954, Japan)
7. A Brighter Summer Day, Edward Yang (1991, Taiwan)
8. Spring in a Small Town, Fei Mu (1948, China)
8. Still Life, Jia Zhang Ke (2006, China)
10. The Housemaid, Kim Ki-young (1960, Korea)
10. Close Up, Abbas Kiarostami (1990, Iran)
Top Ten Asian Directors:
1. Ozu Yasujiro, Japan
2. Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan
3. Abbas Kiarostami, Iran
4. Kurosawa Akira, Japan
5. Satyajit Ray, India
6. Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong
6. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand
8. Jia Zhang Ke, China
8. Mizoguchi Kenji, Japan
8. Edward Yang, Taiwan
Translated by Olivia Yang
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