Kim Ki-duk’s “The Net” to open 17th edition of Tokyo Filmex

PanARMENIAN.Net - Maverick Korean director Kim Ki-duk’s ‘The Net’ will open the 17th edition of Tokyo Filmex. The festival will unspool at venues around Tokyo Nov. 19-27, organizers announced, according to Variety.

Kim’s drama about a North Korean fisherman who finds himself in the clutches of the South Korean police had its world premiere at Venice and its North American premiere at Toronto. The film will be distributed in Japan by King Records.

The festival’s closing film will be “Trivisa,” a fact-based thriller about three criminals rumored to be plotting a big score in 1990s Hong Kong. The film’s directors — Frank Hui, Jevons Au and Vicky Wong — are winners of the Hong Kong Fresh Wave shorts competition chaired by “Trivisa” producer Johnny To,

Filmex’s ten-film competition section will keep the festival’s signature focus on new work by Asian directors, with several entries, such as Israeli director Yaelle Kayam’s “Mountain” and Philippine director Eduardo Roy Jr.’s “Ordinary People,” both of which had their first screening at Venice. Others, such as Sri Lankan director Sanjeewa Pushpakumara’s “Burning Birds” and Chinese director Wang Xuebo’s “Knife in the Clear Water,” are bowing at this year’s Busan festival.

The head of the competition jury will be U.K. critic and programmer Tony Rayns.

The festival will include a classic sections focusing on films from Taiwan between the 1960s to 1980s, a two-film mini-section on contemporary Israeli cinema and its annual Talents Tokyo workshops for up-and-coming directors and producers.