The Pan-Asia Film Festival 2012, which runs from the 9th to 18th March, will include a screening of a Taiwanese film Starry Starry Night at the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square on Tuesday 13th March.
Starry Starry Night focuses on a young girl called Mei, who keeps to herself after moving from her grandfather’s house in the mountains to the city with her parents. Mei has difficulties sharing her feelings with anyone until she meets Jay, a transfer student who is as isolated and lonely as she is, and together they escape from home to look for what is missing in their lives. The film represents a modern tale concerning the difficulties that come with growing up, and while many films have dealt with similar subjects, Starry Starry Night remains compelling through the blurring of Mei’s imaginative world and the real world, as well as the delightful young cast.
The film, adapted from an illustrated book by Taiwan’s best selling artist Jimmy Liao, is the second feature of Tom Shu-Yu Lin, one of the most promising filmmakers from Taiwan. After receiving his M.F.A. from California Institute of Arts in 2002, he started working in the Taiwanese film industry as the first assistant director to filmmakers such as Tsai Ming-Liang and Doze Niu. Both his breakthrough short film The Pain of Others in 2005, and Winds of September in 2008 have been highly acclaimed by critics and screened at various festivals throughout the world.
The Pan-Asia Film Festival is the only festival of its kind in the UK, offering audiences a unique opportunity to discover the best in new Asian cinema. It aims to promote cinema from across Asia and its selection of this highly acclaimed Taiwanese films reflects the fresh and vibrant profile of Taiwanese cinema and culture in the UK.
For more screening and booking information, please visit Asia House’s website at http://www.asiahouse.org
(Photo:courtesy of Atom Cinema)
