The Lyon Asian Film Festival

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 11/04/2007 5:04 PM  |  Life

Cynthia Webb, Contributor, Gold Coast, Australia

France has a colonial history in South East Asia, (Vietnam and Cambodia), so perhaps it's natural there would be an interest in the region. Also, France is the birthplace of the cinema (1895) and is a nation that loves and respects cinema today.

Jean-Pierre Gimenez is the Director of a ""labor of love"" film festival to showcase the cinematic works of Asia, which would otherwise not find opportunity in France. It is the Lyon Asian Film Festival. The thirteenth festival opens on 6th November, and will run until the 11th November.

""After twenty years of traveling in Asia, this festival was born from a passion. I wanted to show the French audiences, and especially my own City, Lyon, (the second biggest city in France), the huge diversity of Asia,"" he said.

""I started with a small team of four people and one theater. Today the team consists of about fifty volunteers, and shows eighty-two films (shorts and features) and has forty events, (exhibitions, meetings, workshops, roundtable discussions etc.) in thirty places.""

""Our program has both art-house films and popular films. We like both. Our desire is to present Asia in as unrestricted a view as possible. We try to bring the audience where they would not have thought to go. We are featuring works that aren't seen at the mainstream festivals because after thirteen years we have a network throughout Asia with young Indie directors, and the buzz about us is very good.""

""This year we are showing films relatively unknown to the French media. This is a risk, but it is also a way to differentiate our festival from the big International festivals. They have the big money, but in the end they mainly show the same known directors who are already recognized.'

Jean-Pierre mentioned that since 2005, fewer Asian films are in French theaters, and sales of DVDs have fallen. He thinks it's probably because of downloading on the internet. In 2000-2001 Asian cinema was much more available and well known on French screens.

Each year the festival focuses on the films of one country. This year it's the turn of Vietnam to be guest of honor. In 2006 it was Thailand. Last year the festival team published a 260-page book in French and English, accompanied by a DVD of interviews and reporting, and they will do the same this year.

A DVD collection of independent films called ""Asian Collection"" will also be launched - the films are in the original versions, with French and English subtitles. Jean-Pierre said that, ""We will release only films that are our ""coup de coeur"" (favorites of the festival), and which have never been released before, even in their country of origin.""

""During the years of the Festival's history I have viewed only about twenty-four films from Indonesia, so I know very little of the cinema of Indonesia.""

Last year, Indonesia's Nia Dinata won the Audience Award with the film ""Love for Share"". In 2007 the only Indonesian film in the festival is Richard Oh's ""The Lost Suitcase"" (""Koper"").

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.