From Hirokazu Koreeda’s Broker to Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave, the 10 most highly anticipated Asian movies at Filmart 2022
- Japanese filmmaker and 2018 Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Koreeda’s first Korean-language film, Broker generated buzz at Asia’s biggest film industry trade event
- Also of note: thriller The Goldfinger reunites stars of the Infernal Affairs series Tony Leung and Andy Lau; Tang Wei and Park Hae-il star in Decision to Leave
Although Covid-19 has disrupted shooting schedules and closed cinemas all over Asia at different times over the past two years as various waves of the pandemic have moved across the region, a reassuring number of films made it into production and should be available to audiences later this year.
This was evident at Filmart Online in Hong Kong last week (March 14-17), the biggest film industry trading platform in Asia, where many new works were being promoted or discussed, from big-budget action spectaculars to high-quality art house films that are likely to make an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Below, in alphabetical order, we profile 10 of the most interesting titles showcased at this year’s Filmart.
1. Back to the Past (Hong Kong-China)
The three stars of Hong Kong TV series A Step into the Past – Louis Koo Tin-lok, Jessica Hsuan and Raymond Lam Fung – are reunited in this time-travel historical action drama, directed by visual effects specialist Ng Yuen-fai and Jack Lai.
When a sudden attack shatters the peace of the recently unified Qin dynasty, the Qin Emperor turns to his mentor for the first time in 20 years to fight a time-travelling villain.
A Step into the Past was a big hit on Hong Kong television channel TVB Jade in 2001. The film sequel is being lined up for release later this year.