“We founded the festival on the basis that Asian films submitted to the Oscars go mostly unnoticed,” said Georges Chamchoum, a Niger-born filmmaker of Lebanese descent who directs the festival. “Many of those movies don’t get screened enough in theaters or at all, so we’re here to cater and help Asian movies reach the top level of awards.”
AWFF was started by Sadyk Sher-Niyaz, the Krygyz director behind the film “Queen of the Mountains.”
According to Chamchoum, only five movies from Asia have won an Oscar since 1947. “There is so much talent that comes from those Asian countries, I find it mind-boggling that only a few of these movies are ever nominated,” Chamchoum said.
He pointed to filmmakers from the Russian regions of Buryatia and Yakutsk – areas which produced last year’s top films – as those whose works go ignored.
“They don’t look at little Republics,” Chamchoum said. “Whenever Russia wins an award, they send ethnic Russians, so people in the smaller Republics are not represented, and many of them have outstanding movies.”
The festival will kick off with an opening night featuring a Red Carpet Awards Gala that will recognize well-known talents that have made major contributions throughout the Asian film community.
“Ali and Nino,” set in Baku, Azerbaijan, and directed by Asif Kapadia, will open the festival, and South Korea’s “Operation Chromite” will close. Official selections include “3000 Nights,” from Jordan, “A Father’s Will,” from Kyrgyzstan, and “My Murderer,” from Russia.
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