Cracker of a showcase highlights the best of Asian cinema

Despite occasional hits such as Spirited Away and Hero, Asian cinema is still neglected in Britain. But a new Asian-focused film festival is out to change all that.

The Firecracker Showcase is a London-based film event that's held every September to bring the excitement and diversity of the region to British audiences. The fourth Firecracker Showcase ended last Sunday and presented an eclectic array of films from across Asia.

Previous Showcases have focused on a specific country such as China or the Philippines, but this year it offered 40 films from eight nations, including 22 British premieres.

'Certain types of Asian cinema receive a disproportionate amount of exposure in the UK,' says organiser Erika Franklin. 'It's invariably easier to market a thriller or a horror movie because they're genres people are familiar with. Our aim is to show the true diversity of films from this part of the world. We believe that this richness ultimately could provide a compelling alternative to the movie mainstream.'

This year's programme was vivid and wide-ranging. As well as a series of recent offerings from the mainland, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, this Showcase highlighted many smaller and emerging film industries, including those from Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Everything from rural satire to hyperkinetic kung fu was on display, as well as a few extraordinary cult items.

The festival opened on a nostalgic note with Nuan, Huo Jianqi's beautifully photographed tale of lost loves. The director and producer Dong Fan were on hand as special guests of the festival, which was also attended by Chinese and Philippine embassy officials.

Huo's equally stunning Life Show was paired with Zhang Bingjian's psychological thriller Suffocation (Zhixi). Other highlights included an early peek at Kim Ji-woon's A Bittersweet Life (billed locally as 'this year's Oldboy', but proving a pale imitation), as well as the first London screening of Hayao Miyazaki's latest masterpiece, Howl's Moving Castle.