Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016 trailer revealed

Asia takes center stage at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) as TIFF and the Japan Foundation Asia Center unveiled the official poster and trailer for Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections on September 12.

THREE EPISODES, ALL ASIA. Reflections is, quite literally, a reflection of how people live in Asia.

Reflections is an omnibus film that depicts the lives of characters who journey between Japan and other Asian countries. It brings together three talented directors to create a series of omnibus films that revolve around a common theme, with this year’s being “Living in Asia”.

THREE FILMS THAT SHOWCASE how Asians live their daily lives: that’s what Reflections is all about.

For Reflections, three brilliant directors were chosen to create the omnibus film: Brillante Mendoza from the Philippines, Isao Yukisada from Japan, and Sotho Kulikar from Cambodia. Each director was asked to include a character that is connected in some manner to an Asian country other than their birthplace. All films were shot on location in an Asian country of the director’s choosing.

Reflections is a first for the TIFF, as they have never gone into film production since its inception. This project was done in cooperation with the Japan Foundation Asia Center and will run until 2020, the year when Tokyo will host the Olympics and Paralympics.

The three films included in Reflections are:

SHINIUMA

• SHINIUMA (Dead Horse). A story of an illegal Filipino immigrant in Japan who returns to his homeland for the first time in decades after deportation. In this film, Brillante Mendoza deals with the issue of one’s loss of national identity and home after spending many years in a foreign country.

PIGEON

•  Pigeon. Japanese army retirees usually spend their remaining years in Malaysia, once a Japanese army station. One such retiree now lives in an estate with a pigeon coop has to deal with a rift between him, his son, and his relationship with a young female Malaysian caretaker, all while having recollections of the Pacific War at Plau Penang.

Beyond The Bridge

• Beyond The Bridge. A love story that transcends time and borders, this film begins in Cambodia amidst the nation’s civil war and the Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge in Phnom Penh.

Asian Three-Fold Mirror 2016: Reflections will be shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival, which will happen from October 25 to November 3.