FAR EAST FILM FESTIVAL 23: a first peek at the line-up!

Chen Xiaomeng is a failed actor. So badly failed that finding himself unable to afford even to pay the rent, he decides to commit suicide. But he manages to fail at that too. Zhou Quan, on the other hand, is a successful man: rich, handsome and elegant, in his field he is considered among the best in the world. What do Chen and Zhou have in common? Absolutely nothing apart from the fact that Chen takes advantage of a favourable situation (involving a fall and consequent amnesia) to steal Zhou's identity. But what Chen doesn't yet know is which field Zhou excels in: murder!

And that's where irresistible black comedy Endgame by Rao Xiaozhi, the very first officially Chinese confirmed film of the Udine Far East Film Festival 2021 line-up (it will be the film's European premiere in collaboration with Emperor Motion Pictures of Hong Kong) starts. Released under the auspices of the Chinese New Year, this winning movie features superstar Andy Lau (in better shape than ever) in the role of Zhou and star Xiao Yang in the role of Chen. Will our heroes (or rather, anti-heroes) manage to emerge in one piece from the bizarre situation into which fate, as slippery as the bar of soap that puts Zhou out of action, has thrown them?

The second remake of the Japanese film Key Of Life (presented in Udine in 2012) after the Korean Lucky Key, Endgame skilfully blends humour, suspense and action, allowing its odd couple to go off like firecrackers. Firecrackers that the audience of FEFF 23, scheduled in Udine from June 24^th to July 2^nd, will be able to enjoy both on the big screen and online.

And together with the FEFF, there'll of course be the FEFF Campus, the journalism school for young talents headed by industry veteran Mathew Scott. From June 24^th to July 2nd there'll also be Ties That Bind, the Asia-Europe co-production workshop, and from June 30^th to July 2^nd June, Focus Asia, the industry section of the festival, returns with the Far East in Progress section (the first and only European platform dedicated to Asian films in post-production), the project market and a packed programme of webinars.