Asian World Film Festival Announces Additional Films Out of Competition and Special Screenings (Exclusive)
By: Sydney Levine
Tags: Festivals, Asian, Asian Cinema, International Film

The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) has added 11 films to their Special Screenings and non-competitive lineup, with “Piku” (India) as the Festival’s

“Centerpiece Screening”, presented by Pelican Executive Suites. Running from October 26 — November 2, 2015 in Culver City and Westwood, California, the Festival features select foreign language

films from the 50 eligible countries in the Asian World region, including films that have been officially submitted as their country’s Oscar® and Golden

Globe considerations. South Korea’s “The Shameless” will officially open the Festival with Taiwan’s official Oscar® submission, “The Assassin,” by master filmmaker as the official

closing night film on November 2nd.

The 11 films include [in alphabetical order by country]: “Let Pan” (Myanmar), “Road to the Sky” (China), “My Voice, My Life” (Hong Kong), “Piku”(India), “Theeb”

(Jordan’s Official Oscar Entry), “Under Heaven” (Kyrgyzstan), “The Thief of the Mind” (Mongolia), “Kid Kulafu” (Philippines), “Steppe Games”(Republic of Burtya, Russia), “4 O’Clock at

Paradise” (Syria), and “From A to B” (United Arab Emirates).

“In every Festival that I have organized, the Special Screenings Category has a unique place in my heart because it is the one that reflects the spirit of

the program over all. It is eclectic, it is a journey of discovery, and does not have the pressure of the Competition Category. Each one these movies has a

different cinematic language, feel, mood, emotions. “Theeb” from Jordan is a beautiful coming of age movie set during the Ottoman Empire. “Kid Kulafu”

(Philippines) is the amazing inspirational story of Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Pacquiao from his humble beginning as a street kid to become one of the greatest

boxers of all time. “4 O’Clock at Paradise” (Syria) is a heart wrenching drama set in today’s war torn Damascus where several characters come in and out from

each other’s daily lives and where you literally live between ‘life and death,’ just to name but few,” said Executive Director of Festival and Programming,

Georges Chamchoum.

The Festival was created by “Heavenly Nomadic’s” producer Sadyk Sher-Niyaz in order to bring the best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los

Angeles, drawing greater recognition to the region’s wealth of filmmakers and strengthening ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. All films

that participate in the Festival will have a unique chance to be guided through the challenging awards season, showcasing their foreign films to the

Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration.

Following the Opening Night Red Carpet Awards Gala and Opening Night Film, the Festival features seven days of films at ArcLight Cinemas in downtown Culver

City and the luxury iPic Theaters in Westwood.

As previously announced, the 16 films in competition include:[in alphabetical order by country]: “Utopia” (Afghanistan), “Jalal’s Story” (Bangladesh), “The Last

Reel” (Cambodia), “12 Citizens” (China), “Moira” (Georgia), “Court” (India), “Memories on Stone” (Iraq), “100 Yen Love” (Japan), “Heavenly Nomadic” (Kyrgyzstan), “Void” (Lebanon), “Talakjung vs Tulke” (Nepal), “The Wanted 18” (Palestine), “How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)” (Thailand), “Sivas” (Turkey), “Jackpot” (Vietnam) and “Unsolved Love”

(Yakutia, Sakha Republic).

Throughout the week there will also be expert panels on subjects such as Film Financing and Distribution, PR, Marketing and Awards Campaigns and Cross

Cultural Collaborations in the Festival’s Filmmaker Lounge located at the Culver Hotel.

For more information you can visit the official site HERE