Photo: Tomi Rantanen
Helsinki Cine Aasia continues its impressive growth. The festival, held for the 13th time, attracted nearly 3,200 visitors, marking an incredible 30% increase compared to the previous year. This year’s festival featured the most extensive program to date, and larger halls at Finnkino Kinopalatsi allowed even more film enthusiasts to attend screenings.
“The festival reached a much broader audience this year, and we saw many new faces among the viewers. Ticket sales also got off to a great start,” says the festival’s artistic director, Eija Niskanen. “The number of films and the variety of genres were also the most extensive ever. We are pleased that all films found their audience,” Niskanen rejoices.
Most Popular Films from Japan and South Korea
The festival’s most extensive program ever included a diverse selection of films from across East and Southeast Asia, as well as one film from Kyrgyzstan. The largest audiences were drawn to the heartwarming Japanese family drama Takano Tofu, the Cannes award-winning Chinese film Black Dog, and the Korean shamanic thriller Exhuma. In addition, panel discussions and other events held during the festival attracted a large audience.
Some Films Available After the Festival
Some festival films will be shown again during the summer as part of Cinema Orion’s summer series. Additionally, on April 2nd, Vuotalo will screen the Indonesian horror-drama Crocodile Tears, set on a crocodile farm. Screenings of the Korean Golden Age Cinema series, produced in collaboration with the Korean Film Archive and Kino Regina, will also continue throughout the spring at Kino Regina.