I’m finishing up editing a 52-minute documentary called “FICA: Du Proche au Moyen Orient” (FICA: From the Near East to the Far East).  FICA stands for the Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie (Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema), the oldest European Asian Cinema festival. 

Opening ceremony of the 15th edition

Indian music concert  feat. Paban das Baul

Lebanese directors Milka Assaf & Joana Hadjithomas

The documentary, shot in February 2009 – 39 hours of footage in 8 days! - during the 15^th annual festival, will be screened twice (on Janury 29^th and February 1^st, 2010) at the 16^th festival.

The French-Taiwanese connection

Taiwanese pop-star Van Fan 范逸臣and some fans

Presenting "Cape No. 7 海角七號"

“FICA: Du Proche au Moyen Orient” will be screened in the documentary section along with seven others, but out of competition (which is logical) on Jan. 29th & Jan. 30th, 2010.

Multi-ward winning iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria

High School students Jury

Party time

The 16^th annual Vesoul Asian Film Festival begins January 26^th and ends February 2^nd, 2010. 80 movies will be screened! It opens with Wang Quan'an’s “Weaving Girl” 纺织姑娘” (2009) and closes with Cai Ning's “Season of the Horse” (2006).

Check out the line-up below & Best wishes for 2010 to everyone!

Competition - Feature Films

China: COW鬥牛 - Guan Hu管虎

Hong Kong: NIGHT AND FOG 天水圍的夜與霧 - Ann Hui 許鞍華

Korea: ANIMAL TOWN애니멀 타운 - Jeon Kyu-Hwan전규환

India: THE DAMNED RAIN (GABHRICHA PAUS) - Satish Manwar

Indonesia: JAMILA AND THE PRESIDENT - Ratna Sarumpaet

Iran: FRONTIER BLUES - Babak Jalali

Philippines: THE PAWNSHOP (SANGLAAN) - Milo Sogueco 

Taiwan: NO PUEDO VIVIR SIN TI不能沒有你 - Leon Dai戴立忍 

Turkey: İNCIR ÇEKIRDEGI (DES VIES SANS VALEUR) - Selda Çiçek

COMPETITION - DOCUMENTARIES

Afghanistan - France : LE JOUEUR DE CERF VOLANT - Jean-Paul Mignot

Cambodia - France : TOURS D’EXIL - Jenny Teng

India: SUPERMEN OF MALEGAON - Faiza Ahmad Khan 

Indonesia: EFFORTS FOR LOVE - Ani Ema Susanti

WHAT’S THE POINT - Iwan Setiawan & Muhammad Ichsan

Iran : 7 FEMMES - Sara Rastegar

Taiwan : TIBET, TAIPEI - Wu Mi-sen

Vietnam - France : LA VIE SOMBRE TROIS FOIS… - Xuân Lan Guyot

DOCUMENTARY (OUT OF COMPETITION)

France : FICA : DU PROCHE A L’EXTREME-ORIENT - Frédéric Ambroisine

TRIBUTE TO ÖMER KAVUR

1974 : YATIK EMINE - EMINE, COUCHE TOI LA 

1978 : USUF ILE KENAN - LES GAMINS D’ISTANBUL

1981 : KIRIK BIR ASK HIKAYESI - UNE HISTOIRE D’AMOUR AMER

1981 : AH GÜZEL ISTANBUL - AH LA BELLE ISTANBUL 

1982 : GÖL - LE LAC 

1985 : KÖREBE – COLIN-MAILLARD

1985 : AMANSIZ YOL (DESPERATE ROAD) - LA ROUTE DESESPEREE

1987 : GECE YOLCULUGU – LE VOYAGE DE NUIT

1987 : ANAYURT OTELI (MOTHERLAND HOTEL) – L’HOTEL DE LA MERE PATRIE  

1991 : GIZLI YÜZ (THE SECRET FACE) - LE VISAGE SECRET 

1995 : BULUSMA – RETROUVAILLES 

1996 : AKREBIN YOLCULUGLU (CLOCK TOWER) – LA TOUR DE L’HORLOGE 

2000 : MELEKLER EVI - LA MAISON DES ANGES

2003 : KARSILASMA (ENCOUNTER) – LA RENCONTRE

FOCUS ON TAIWAN CINEMA

1956 : JOURNEY TO GUAN SHAN a.k.a. OVER THE ROLLING HILLS關山行  - Wen Yi易文

1962 : PAST LOVE CONTINUED 舊情綿綿 – Shao Luo-hui邵羅輝

1963 : OYSTER GIRL蚵女 - Lee Chia李嘉, Lee Hsing李行

1976 : POSTERITY AND PERPLEXITY碧雲天 - Lee Hsing李行

1983 : THAT DAY ON THE BEACH海灘的一天 - Edward Yang楊德昌

1989 : CITY OF SADNESS悲情城市 - Hou Hsiao-hsien侯孝賢

1991 : FIVE GIRLS AND A ROPE五個女子和 - Yeh Hung-wei葉鴻偉

1995 : SUPER CITIZEN KO超級大國民 - Wan Jen萬仁

1997 : MURMUR OF YOUTH 美麗在唱歌 - Lin Cheng-sheng林正盛

2000 : YIYI一一 - Edward Yang楊德昌

2000: HIDDEN WHISPER小百無禁忌 - Vivian Chang章蕙蘭

2001 : BETELNUT BEAUTY愛你愛我 - Lin Cheng-sheng 林正盛

2002 : BLUE GATE CROSSING 藍色大門 - Yee Chih-yen 易智言

2003 : GOODBYE DRAGON INN 不散 - Tsai Ming-liang 蔡明亮

2007 : LUST, CAUTION 色,戒 - Ang Lee  李安

2007: SOUL OF A DEMON 蝴蝶 - Chang Tso-chi 張作驥

2008 : PARKING 停車 - Chung Mong-hong 鍾孟宏

2008: GOD MAN DOG   流浪神狗人 - Singing Chen 陳芯宜

FRENCH-SPEAKING ASIA: VIETNAMESE INDIE FILMMAKERS

BAN TOI – MON AMI - Trinh Le Van

CHI DUNG - MADAME DONG - Dao Ba Son

CHU BE « CU-LI » - LE PETIT COOLIE - Pham Nhue Giang

HANOI CO CAU LONG BIEN – A HANOI, IL Y A LE PONT LONG BIEN - Pham Cuong

KHOE MUON – CRYING FOR HIRE - Phuong Lan

NGUOI O TRAN – THE HALF NAKED MAN - Phuong Lan

LOVE MAN, LOVE WOMAN - Nguyen Trinh Thi

FOCUS: MAN AND  NATURE

Bhutan : MILAREPA: MAGICIAN, MURDERER, SAIN (LA VOIE DU BONHEUR) - Neten Chokling – 2006

China : KEKEXILI (THE MOUNTAIN PATROL) 可可西里- Lu Chan 陸川– 2005

China: MONGOLIAN PING PONG綠草地 - Ning Hao寧浩 – 2005

China: SEASON OF THE HORSE季风中的马 – Cai Ning寧才- 2005

China: STILL LIFE三峽好人 - Jia Zhang-ke賈樟柯- 2006

Korea : DESERT DREAM (HYAZGAR)- Zhang Lu - 2007

India : DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST (ARANYER DIN RATRI ARANYER DIN RATRI ) - Satyajit Ray সত্যজিত রায় - 1970

India : A RIVER CALLED TITASH (TITASH EKTI NADIR NAAM) - Ritwik Ghatak – 1973

India : THE WARRIOR - Asif Kapadia - 2001

Japan : THE NAKED ISLAND裸の島 - Kaneto Shindô新藤 兼人 - 1960

Japan/Russia : DERSU UZALA Дерсу Узала - Akira Kurosawa黒澤 明 – 1975

Kazakhstan : OULTOUGAN - Yedigué Bosylbaiev – 1990  

Russia (Siberia) : URGA - Nikita Mikhalkov - 1991

Turkmenistan : KARAKOUM 45° A L’OMBRE - Khojakuli Narliev – 1982

Turkey : CLOUDS OF MAY (MAYIS SIKINTISI)  - Nuri Bilge Ceylan – 2000

Vietnam : THE SAWYERS (NHUNG NGUOI THO XE) - Vuong Duc - 1998

Vietnam : BUFFALO BOY (MUA LEN TRAU) - Nghiem Minh Nguyen Vô – 2003

WESTERN VIEW OF ASIA

UK : THE JUNGLE BOOK - Zoltan Korda – 1942

Austria: ÜBER WASSER (ABOUT WATER) - Udo Maurer- 2007

JAPANIMATION NIGHT

Japan : EVANGELION1.0 YOU ARE(NOT) ALONE ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版: 序 - Hideaki Anno 庵野秀明 (2007)

Japan: SWORD OF THE STRANGER ストレンヂア 無皇刃譚 - Masahiro Andō (2007)

KIDS’ AFTERNOON

China : LA BOUTIQUE DES PANDAS - Shen Zuwei, Zhou Keqin (1979)

Japan : PANDA! GO PANDA!  パンダ・コパンダ - Isao Takahata 高畑 勲 (1972)

Iran : MOOSHAK-E KAGHAZI (PAPER AIRPLANES) - Farhad Mehranfar (1997)

16th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema ; Jan. 26th-Feb. 3rd, 2010 http://www.cinemas-asie.com/

Frédéric Ambroisine (Jan. 16th, 2010)

Carrie Ng & Stephen Wong in "Red Nights" (2010)

“Red Nights” Cinematography by Ng Man-ching伍文拯 (“Infernal Affairs II & III”, “Initial D”); Editing by Sébastien Prangère (“Silent Hill”, “Martyrs”); Art direction by Horace Ma馬光榮 (“Rouge”, “Fist of Legend”, “One Nite in Mongkok”, “Three Kingdoms: Ressurection of the Dragon”); and  Music by Willie & Alex Cortés (“Eden Log”, “Martyrs”).

Carrie Ng and her Fingers of Doom

I can’t give away anything about the movie since it was a private screening but I’ll share some “safe” information and some information that the directors gave me on the movie set last March in Hong Kong. The main action takes place in Hong Kong. The characters speak French, Cantonese and Mandarin (Generally each actor or actress speaks his/her native language, but Maria Chen speaks some French as well!).

Maria Chen, on the set of "Red Nights"

“Red Nights” is a thriller in which women rule and are really bad-ass, especially Carrie Ng, who gives one of her best performances in a long long time (The movie was obviously written for her). There are some Cantonese Opera scenes (with Stephen Wong as an opera actor) and there are some very brutal murders and vicious S&M scenes (no detail, but they’re quite original). There are also many shots of women’s feet (with or without high heels).  The movie’s visuals are awesomely beautiful (reminds me of some gialli or Japanese 70’s movies like the Sasori/Scorpion series).

Carrie Ng, on the set of "Red Nights" (2009)

The following summary from the Films Distribution website is not really a synopsis of “Red Nights” (a contemporary movie, not a period piece), but is more a description of what happens in the Opera scenes.  It also gives information about the jade skull everybody is looking for in the movie:

 “During the reign of the first emperor of China, an ingenious torturer concocted an elixir that paralysed its victim's limbs, while increasing the sensitivity of their nerve endings tenfold. Kept in a jade skull, the elixir could provoke sensations in infinite variations - everything from erotic caresses to appalling lacerations. Haunted by the desire to experience the extreme sensations caused by the elixir, the executioner kills himself with his own poison, intensifying his death experience. His pursuers never found the skull, which had been concealed within a large imperial seal. But the curse of the jade skull, responsible for its creator's death, will endure within the seal, bringing misfortune to all of those who possess it. Until today...”

Carrie Ng, on the set of "Red Nights" (2009)

“Red Nights” will be initially released in France (probably between June and August 2010) by La Fabrique de Films, and Films Distribution will take care of the international sales. 2010 will be poisonous!

Frédéric Ambroisine (Dec. 21^st, 2009)

Photos (Behind the - Opera - scenes): ON THE SET OF "RED NIGHTS" WITH CARRIE NG

Related entry: ON THE SET OF A HONG KONG/FRENCH FETISH MYSTERY THRILLER (WITH SOME CANTONESE OPERA IN IT!)

Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Jocelyne Saab became a war reporter in 1975, and began directing independent documentaries in the Middle East.

After more than 20 films and numerous international awards Saab moved into fiction. In 2005, living between Paris and Cairo, she directed an extremely beautiful and strong movie in Egypt, about female desire called “Dunia دنيا - Kiss me not on the eyes”.

Starring beautiful Egyptian actress Hanan Turk, “Dunia” had A LOT of trouble with the local censorship, before the shooting, during the shooting and after the shooting. The pressure were so intense that even the lead actress is now denying the movie (sad).

Here is the beginning of the synopsis (from Johanna Hypatia blog – warning: the complete article contains spoilers): “Dunia is a university student taking courses in poetry, and also a promising belly dancer, about to enter a dance competition. Her mother had been a star of belly dance, who was referred to in Arabic respectfully as fannān: an artist. She is studying with the same dance teacher who had taught her mother, and while revering the mother's accomplishments in dance, he urges Dunia to release her potential and stop imitating her mother, to find her own self in the dance...”

The film was nominated at the Sundance International Film Festival, opened at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2006 and was screened at the Vesoul International Asian film festival 2009 during a retropective about Lebanese female directors. The following video is a (less than) 3-minute teaser of the Q&A which followed the screening in Vesoul  The whole Q&A was about 25 minutes.

I also had a few solo interviews with Jocelyne Saab during the festival. Part of them will included in a documentary that I’m now editing about the 15^th edition of the Vesoul International Asian film festival.

 Jocelyne Saab just finished a new movie,  "What's Going On" starring Raia Haidar,  a project which began in December 2008 was mainly shot in Beirut. 

Frédéric Ambroisine (Dec. 4th, 2009)

"Will You" is an unreleased song by AnD artist France de Griessen, which will be on her upcoming album “Ghost Ballerina”.

France De Griessen @ Le Klub (Oct. 9th, 2008)
Photo : Pierre Villard / Sipa Press

The footage that I edited come from a live performance shot last year in Paris (at Le Klub on Oct. 9^th, 2008 – NB: The musicians who play with her are members of the powerful rock band Destruction Incorporated) and the audio that I used is an early demo version of “Will You” recorded in 2007. Enjoy...

 If you like her music, check out the France’s 6-track EP “Six Uses for a Heart” featuring the song “I Want to be you” (that you can hear in the trailer of the new Bruce LaBruce new movie "L.A. Zombie"!).