The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema in association with Japan Society has announced today that Jay Chou's THE ROOFTOP has been selected as the Closing Night presentation of the 2013 New York Asian Film Festival. Also announced were 22 additional titles, including several notable premieres, highly anticipated titles and salutes to Hong Kong Cinema, Taiwan Pulp and the Well Go USA distribution company. The 12th edition of The New York Asian Film Festival will take placeJune 28 - July 15, with screenings at The Film Society of Lincoln Center (June 28 - July 11), Japan Society (July 11 - 14) and Asia Society (July 15).
Chou's THE ROOFTOP will make its North American Premiere as the Closing Night selection for NYAFF. Shot on location in Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai, Cho's second film behind the camera, following SECRET (2007) is a romance combining elements of martial arts and special effects in a musical extravaganza. The film stars Chou with Eric Tsang, Wand Xueqi and Alan Ko in a story set in a fantasy world comprised of two distinctly contrasting communities and lifestyles. One group lives on rooftops, where they dance and sing, passing their days without a care in the world, while below them are the people living under the rooftops, who possess more money and power. Chou has described the film as the first in a new genre, "A musical action movie, (where) love is the main axis, combining fantasy, romance, dancing, action, special effects and many other elements, so that there will be romantic scenes and classical taste." Chou also wrote ten songs for the film's soundtrack.
Highlights include the North American premieres of Sion Sono's and Tokyo GAGAGA's long awaited sci-fi gang war epic, BAD FILM, Hideo Nakata's chilling descent into a much darker family drama with THE COMPLEX, Nattawat Poonpiriya's COUNTDOWN, about a deadly New Year's Eve outing, Takashi Miike's return to blood and guts with LESSON TO THE EVIL, and the latest entry in the popular Ip Man series, IP MAN: THE FINAL FIGHT, with director Herman Yau in attendance. Mika Ninagawa's HELTER SKELTER, a horror film dealing with celebrities and plastic surgery, will make its New York debut, and Andrew Lau will be on hand to present the first two films from his YOUNG AND DANGEROUS series.
NYAFF has also announced three planned focuses for this year's edition of the popular festival: Hong Kong Cinema Now & Beyond!;Taiwan Pulp! - Tales of Gangsters, Female Avengers and Ninjas!; and a spotlight on distributor Well Go USA.
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