Conventional wisdom says comedies from Asia are unable to travel because the humour is too localised. But this year's Udine Far East Film Festival, in northern Italy, challenged that idea: the festival, which ended yesterday, screened a range of comedies from the region in a series called Asia Laughs!
'Everyone thinks comedy is not an international genre but a local one,' says Udine festival president Sabrina Baracetti. 'But that's not actually true.'
She cites the films of Hong Kong comedy king Michael Hui Koon-man - who was present at the festival - as an example: 'Everyone finds Michael Hui's films funny. He is a genius, a very rare talent, who makes us laugh through his skilful acting. He's very physical. We thought it would be a challenge for us to make a comedy retrospective work, but it turned out to be easier than we thought.'
Asia Laughs!, which was curated by Hong Kong International Film Festival director Roger Garcia, features Hui's Chicken and Duck Talk and The Private Eyes with other famous Hong Kong comedies such as Sammo Hung's Pedicab Driver. Comedies from South Korea, the Philippines, mainland China and Malaysia also feature.
Italy has its own history of comedies, but they are a bit different in style from those produced in Asia, festival co-ordinator Thomas Bertacche says. 'It's always between tragedy and comedy. In Italian comedies, they are always trying to find the comedy in a tragic situation. We don't really have slapstick like Michael Hui here. Hui's style is perhaps more close to Hollywood stars like Jerry Lewis. That's what makes his films universal.'
The Udine Far East Film Festival, which takes place in the picturesque town two hours from Venice, had its 13th edition this year. The unlikely proposition of a festival dedicated to popular Asian films in northern Italy have met with spectacular success, and past attendees have included Stephen Chow Sing-chi, Johnnie To Kei-fung and, back in the early days, Anita Mui Yim-fong and Anthony Wong Chau-sang.
Whereas most festivals concentrate on art-house films, Udine is the place for international audiences to catch up with what's popular in cinemas across Asia. The bill consists of horror - a much-loved genre in Italy - romance, action and comedy films.
