FAR EAST FILM FESTIVAL 26
FROM “SORRING CITY” TO “RED LANTERNS”: IN
WORLD PREMIERE AT FEFF 26 THE RESTORATIONS OF
FIVE UNFINDABLE MASTERPIECES!
The legendary producer of the five films, Chiu Fu-sheng,
will receive the Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement 2024 in Udine.
What Johnnie’s The Mission To, Live! And Zhang Yimou’s Red Lanterns, The Master Puppeteer and Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s City of Sorrows, besides being the five masterpieces we all know? They have in common a legendary producer like the Taiwanese Chiu Fu-sheng and also the fact that they have been absolutely unobtainable for decades. Five masterpieces that the West has rewarded and venerated (think of the Golden Lion for Sorrowful City, the Silver Lion for Red Lanterns or the triumphal march of Vivere! in Cannes). And this is where the Far East Film Festival of Udine comes into play: if Chiu Fu-sheng has decided to restore the five titles, starting from the very precious original negatives, it will in fact be the FEFF 26 (April 24/May 2, 2024) to present them in world premiere!
The news, great news for all lovers of cinema and not just Asian cinema, was officially announced by Chiu Fu-sheng himself during a press conference which was held in Taiwan and was attended by the directors of the Far East Film Festival, Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche. «We have always admired the talent and work of Mr. Chiu – are the words of Sabrina Baracetti – and we have worked hard to see this new dream come true. Yes, because bringing five restorations of this value to Udine, already destined to make history, is truly a dream come true: there’s no other way to say it!».
Also during the press conference, Baracetti and Bertacche then anticipated another piece of news with a capital N: the FEFF Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement 2024 will be awarded to Chiu Fu-sheng himself, an absolutely unique figure in the panorama of Asian cinema of the last century.