Malaysian Film Banglasia Selected by New York Asian Film Festival
The New York Asian Film Festival (June 26 – July 11) has announced that the Malaysian feature film Banglasia will make its international premiere at this year’s festival. Banned in its home country, the festival is proud to host the premiere of this hilarious and surreal comedy that touches on issues of political corruption, mass hysteria about immigration, and out-of-control nationalism.
Says Goran Topalovic, one of the directors of the festival, “We’re proud to be hosting the international premiere of Banglasia. This is the second movie by Namewee we’ve screened, and our audience loves his irreverent approach to filmmaking, his refusal to compromise, and his go-for-broke sense of satire. While Banglasia makes fun of issues that are of great concern to Malaysian audiences, Americans can definitely identify with them, too.”
Reached for comment, director Namewee says, “I wanted to direct a film that I feel strongly about through the only way I know how, by being fun and entertaining. I hope more Malaysians will come support this film and watch it with me on my very first trip to New York. You’ll be the first batch of Malaysians to witness history in the making since it’s banned in Malaysia, so it’s going to be a very meaningful occasion.”
The movie’s producer, Fred Chong, adds, “It is never easy to produce a feature film no matter how many times you’ve done it, I always believe that every film has it’s very own life, Banglasia is a wonderful and meaningful movie directed by the very talented Namewee, it’s a great honour that this film is selected for the New York Asian Film Festival and I hope the audience will enjoy the film and learn more about our country.”
Banglasia will screen on Friday, July 10 at 8pm, followed by a Q&A with Namewee and Fred Chong.
The screening will take place at the SVA theater (333 West 23rd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $14 and can be purchased at this link:
http://universe.com/
Full Festival Line-Up and Information:
www.subwaycinema.com
ABOUT THE NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL (NYAFF)
Now in its 14th year, the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) is North America’s leading festival of popular Asian cinema, which The New York Times has called “one of the city’s most valuable events.” Launched in 2002 by Subway Cinema, the festival selects only the best, strangest, and most entertBaaining movies to screen for New York audiences, ranging from mainstream blockbusters and art-house eccentricities to genre and cult classics. It was the first North American film festival to champion the works of Johnnie To, Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike, and other auteurs of contemporary Asian cinema. Since 2010, the Festival has been produced in collaboration with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
