A pulse-pounding thriller that puts you in the trenches of the 1979 Seoul military coup. History as living nightmare, with democracy hanging by a thread. Urgent, unflinching, unforgettable.

An unforgettable ode to love and the empowering freedom of travel, this captivating Japan-Taiwan coproduction is a sweeping, cross-cultural coming-of-age charmer.

A hilarious, life-affirming dramedy based on the real-life story of award-winning author Aiko Sato, who at the age of 90, publishes a bestseller that unites generations.

A sexagenarian's grief-stricken odyssey through Hong Kong's legal labyrinth after her life partner's death, in Ray Yeung's lyrical, devastating ode to love's resilience against the odds. Winner of the 2024 Berlin Teddy Award.

Amping the adolescent assassin anarchy to insane levels, our duo of deadly darlings battles history's most ferocious serial killer in a dazzlingly over-the-top thrillfest. Cuteness meets carnage in this sugar-coated bloodbath.

Writer meets gangster, sparks fly, and off they go on a magical, life-changing Taiwanese odyssey. This heartwarming BL tale is a breathtaking journey of unexpected connections and self-discovery.

From Hou Hsiao-hsien's protégé comes a stunning debut: a time-bending, eye-popping visual feast that'll make you ponder life's big questions. Hwarng Wern-ying is a force to be reckoned with.

Oscar-nominated director Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi’s standout stop-motion animated parable follows a mischievous cat and a little girl as they encounter an otherworldly creature confined within a small bottle.

Executive produced by late Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden, this hilarious coming-of-age tale continues the legacy of Tibetan New Wave cinema with a novel new take on the classic novel, Journey to the West.

A dynamic, star-studded cast teams up with wunderkind director Leo Wang to pull off this hyperbolically hilarious “reverse-heist” action-comedy, with non-stop-crazy set pieces and endlessly inventive antics.

A gut-punch debut that rips the Band-Aid off post one-child policy China, turning a family drama into a seductive, unsettling psycho-thriller that'll make you want to call your therapist, stat.

This “first and last film” by 88-year-old Keizo Murase, a legendary kaiju suit maker, stuntman and tokusatsu wizard, is a delightfully cheesy and thrilling fantasy concoction that reinvents the old-school analog scares and sentiments of yesteryear in an affectionate ode to the phantasmagorical wonders of the imagination.

NYAFF stalwart Kazuya Shiraishi creates a gentle, elegiac masterpiece with his first jidaigeki period drama, a tale of honor, dignity, treachery, male friendship and the strategic game of Go, which never looked so riveting.

A poignant, ethereal story about a vivacious twenty-something who must grapple with the impermanence of life, marked by beauty, melancholy and the unique sense of humor inherent to northeastern China.

In the 1960s, a 16-year-old Korean boy, kidnapped and assaulted at a juvenile center on a remote island, must escape with his rival to survive.

A remarkable directorial debut following a 17-year-old shaman living near Ulaanbaatar, who is smitten by a young client and sets of on a bittersweet journey of emotional, cultural and spiritual discoveries, as he makes his charmingly clumsy descent into adulthood.

As Mila navigates an oppressive workplace while finding temporary solace through frequent phone calls from a love interest, a promise of hope leads to tragedy and sad love songs.

A folk-horror film with an insightful ethnic twist, this chilling narrative stars Ananda Everingham as a widower who moves to insular Muslim community outside of Bangkok with his teenage daughter, and unwittingly unleashes the wrath of an evil Djinn, resulting in a terrifying cautionary tale of reckoning and redemption.

Bullets fly as customs agents navigate an arms-smuggling conspiracy in this adrenalized, switchback-laden thriller that'll have you white-knuckling your armrest till the credits roll.

Disillusioned by corrupt authorities, Thao and their friends decide to seek street justice against a thieving gang, aiming to foster renewed solidarity and protect their community.

An insightful and resonant dramedy about being on the cusp of adolescence in 2008, as a young teen spends his Cali summer chasing a girl, ruining friendships, discovering his calling as a “skateboard filmer” and fighting with his mom (Joan Chen).

Desperate defectors dash south but are locked in a visceral chase with security agent Koo Kyo-hwan. Lee Jong-pil's breathless defection thriller is DMZ madness!

A deliriously biting satire of class, ambition, and moral turpitude, deploying dynamic framing, surreal cinematic devices, and evocative production design to tell the story of a lovelorn ex-con, a kidnapping gone wrong, and a neurodivergent boy whose resilience is breathtaking.

This 2024 Korean box office megahit stars Choi Min-sik as a feng shui master, Yoo Hae-jin as a mortician, Kim Go-eun as a famed shaman, Lee Do-hyun as her protégé, who unleash hellish hounds when excavating an ominous grave.

A wonderfully quirky feature debut blending magical realism and inventiveness, about an exceptionally smart little girl who starts talking with a bottle of rice wine, which instructs her in alchemical experiments that lead to coming-of-age revelations.

An action-packed, heart-tugging drama about a reformed gangster and repentant father (Patrick Tam) on a go-for-broke journey to reclaim a brighter tomorrow, by Ip Man screenwriter Chan Tai-Lee.

A rousing, trans-generational musical journey about the search for happiness and relearning how to laugh, connect with and trust one another, as creative powerhouse Josie Ho takes a group of musicians and students to Iceland, officially one of the world’s happiest—and most scenic—countries.

After a young journalist vanishes along with her unfinished documentary in the winter of 2022, a group of survivors traces her shadow to the woods.

When 16-year-old Patrick (Ian Chen, Fresh Off the Boat) questions his love for God, his journey of self-discovery towards fluidity and openness manifests in his skin.

An expansive, inspiring family drama, based on director Sasha Chuk’s own novella, this follows 20 turbulent years in the lives of two Hunanese sisters who immigrate to Hong Kong in search of new lives, even as their dad (Wu Kang-ren of Abang Adik, NYAFF 2023) grapples with the dark side.

An engaging chamber piece about fathers, daughters, guns and payback that showcases surprising emotional resonance, thanks to seasoned vet Tai Bo and rising star Kuku So and the historic Mirador Mansion, where their adventure unfolds.

This sharply written, thought-provoking morality play about identity and survival considers the ramifications of perfectionism and the age-old conundrum of nature vs. nurture, and boasts remarkable performances and sardonic humor.

An evocative tale of love, identity, and cultural collision set in the high-fashion world, in which two men from different backgrounds find a profound connection.

A film meant to be watched with a crowd, this ingenious debut is a hilarious postmodernist comedy of errors, infused with incisive observation, sharp satire and one-of-a-kind metatextual creativity as it deconstructs screenwriting from its roots while seamlessly extending to real-life problems.

A sprawling, pitch-black mystery-thriller centered on the symbiotic relationship between a preternaturally intelligent teen boy and a devious adult schemer whose paths cross in a fatalistic turn of events in sunny Okinawa, with shocking twists and complex machinations.

Unstoppable elderly courtesans raise unholy hell to save their bedroom community. Bawdy, profound, and utterly priceless granny justice!

This pay-by-the-hour voyeur den's front desk patsies get trapped in perv hell after a Rob Zombie nightmare wanders in. Yeon Je-gwang's sweat-soaked suspense debut is Dostoevsky-level squirm.

A wild, unclassifiable debut feature that follows a ragtag group of young emigrants and their wild shenanigans in a bizarre underworld of drug dealers and hitmen.

Taiwanese icon Mavis Fan returns to the movie screen with a stellar performance in The Horse, a poignant film about intimate spaces and nostalgia.

When two young siblings are accused of theft by a convenience store owner, the unlikely protagonists find an uproariously offbeat way to extricate themselves from this harrowing mess.

This Thai box-office smash milks dysfunctional family dynamics for all they’re worth, creating an endearing journey of compassion and redemption, starring superstar Billkin as a slacker who quits his job to become his grandma’s caregiver—whether she likes it or not.

A bewitching and beautifully enigmatic tale that pays homage to Citizen Kane and Rashomon in its exploration of identity and unraveling of revelations, cleverly deploying fractured narrative devices to gradually uncover the shocking reality of its central character.

A martial arts fantasy-adventure that amps up classic tropes with a modern sensibility, as an old master and savant protégé flex their skills and six-pack abs in a war against the benevolent shifu’s renegade pupil… unleashing a full-fledged old-school-meets-new-blood action extravaganza that harkens back to Chinatown Saturday matinees of yesteryear.

In this campy sci-fi rom-com musical, Stella, an undocumented Filipino in pursuit of a green card, goes on a wild karaoke date with a goofy white man that turns the whole world on its ear.

Four master helmers from Korea reload the hitman flick. Vampire sleaze, assassin slapstick, neo-noir, and an avant-garde mind-bender to die(kill) for!

When the culprit of a car accident visits the now-paralyzed victim’s apartment to negotiate compensation for the damages, a bizarre turn of events befalls them.

The smash manga-inspired historical series about China’s warring states period marks a heart-pounding highpoint with chapter four, in which Shin (megastar Kento Yamazaki) is finally empowered to fight against the Cho side by side with legendary General Ohki (Takao Osawa), against tremendous odds.

Long estranged from the Korean-American Christian community his mother embraces, young prodigal Solomon (Young Mazino, Beef) must lie one last time on the day of his brief return.

Wrestling with a compulsion towards self-harm and pain, isolated law student Mia (Sonoya Mizuno, Ex-Machina) meets Josie, whose connection leads them into uncharted territory as the night progresses.

An unforgettable dramedy from director Nobuhiro Yamashita (Linda Linda Linda, La La La at Rock Bottom), who once again brings his affinity for music in cinema to a spirited adaptation of the sleeper-hit manga about an angel-voiced high school chorister who is forced to tutor a world-weary yakuza for a high-stakes karaoke contest.

An incendiary work about injustice and unrest that deftly merges a sociopolitical critique with a family drama, and hits the target with sharpshooter skills.

A moving, absorbing feature debut starring the vibrant Sandra Ng (Zero to Hero, NYAFF 2021) as a wealthy, widowed doctor whose deepening relationship on a dating app is actually with a charming young scammer, who begins having second thoughts.

This dynamic musical ode to chasing one’s dream despite a cruel, uncaring world stars rising actress Chung Suet Ying (a lyricist in her own right) as the budding-songwriter protagonist who evolves from geeky high schooler to young career woman, providing first-hand insight into the highly competitive and insular entertainment industry.

This animated masterpiece deploys everything from childlike, two-dimensional drawings to rotoscoped action to explore harrowing themes in its compelling portrait of a young man who must overcome his trauma or completely lose himself—literally.

A whimsically imaginative and gleefully ironic coming-of-age epic about unlikely friends and guerilla filmmaking, from the Thai studio behind Bad Genius (NYAFF 2017) and You and Me and Me (NYAFF 2023), reuniting the latter film’s leads.

An adolescent substitute goalkeeper reflects on a crucial game-changing moment. Before the fleeting glory eludes him, he wanders in-between memories, searching for a reason to be here and now.

A stark yet lyrical morality tale, set in a time of rapid economic growth and political change in Taiwan, follows the mentoring of a young boy by a ruthless landowner, tracing a poignant parable of humanism and survival of the fittest.

A visit from a free-spirited friend threatens the delicate balance of newlywed couple, Chu (Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy) and Sara (Ryo Matsuura, December, NYAFF 2023).

A surreal, V-cinema-style terror extravaganza from horror meister Shugo Fujii, who brazenly perverts Japan’s reputation for omotenashi (elevated hospitality), and puts actor-producer Josie Ho through a phenomenally bizarre series of near-death experiences… and worse.

A masterful excursion into zombie land from the director of hit action-fantasy trilogy Khun Pan (NYAFF 2018), who brings his penchant for historic storytelling to this sobering, blood-soaked tale of Thailand’s traumatic involvement in WWII, and crafts a poignant plea for peace.

A bodacious postmodern crime-action opus set in Thailand’s notorious “sin city” vacation destination, where sundry ne’er-do-wells vie for riches in gold, with ultra-violence, rampant sexuality, tongue-in-cheek dark humor and just a dash of melodramatic sentimentality for good measure.

A self-proclaimed fan offers inspiration to a director infamous for making uncomfortable films, unraveling a story about a little girl and a stable.

Sibling rivalry goes for the jugular in this Singaporean stunner. A fencing prodigy's hero-worship of his jailbird bro turns into a psychological duel, with director Nelicia Low skewering family dysfunction like a master swordsman. En garde, cinephiles!

One winter in Xiamen, Jiang and Yu meet at a nightclub for the first time and dance away with wild abandon, basking in the afterglow of youthful exuberance, but a devious twist of fate awaits them.

An effervescent, heartfelt coming-of-age story about the budding fling between two high-school girls.

An organically creepy tale of vengeful witches, folk magic curses, supernatural serial killings and adolescent dream warriors, bolstered by mesmerizing special effects and underlined by a message of unity and compassion in the name of the greater good.

This tender love story-cum-cautionary tale deploys a complex and unorthodox time-travel structure to explore just how far a man would go, and how much he would risk, if given the opportunity to rewrite the past.

Unstoppable beast Don Lee returns as Monster Cop Ma, teaming with scrappy cyber cops to batter Manila's seedy underworld in this bone-crushing action blast.

A sexy Taiwanese chicken farmer gets plucked for romance in Paris - or has she been catfished? Esther Liu's star-blazing turn as this self-actualizing bombshell revives the entire Taiwan romcom genre.

Envisioning himself as a feline, a mute young man finds refuge in a blind elderly cat lover's home where he experiences newfound tenderness while momentarily forgetting his human identity.

When an insecure Korean-American boy (Kevin Woo, Korean-American artist and former K-Pop group U-KISS member) meets an international K-Pop star who looks just like him, they decide to switch identities.

A soldier and a showgirl, their wartime tryst a fading memory, waltz unknowingly around each other in postwar Shanghai, while a starry-eyed ingénue stumbles into their orbit. Nostalgia, thy name is heartbreak.

A hallucinatory, hand-crafted 2D animation about prepubescent years of repressed sexuality, Shape of the Elephant articulates the director’s ever-changing impression of the mystical elephant that accompanies him while growing up.

This genre-mutating metahorror starts as a snuff art piece, segues into a delectably yucky zombie frankenshock, then a payback slaughterfest. By its grindhouse climax, you'll be an addled, petrified convert.

In a Garo tribal village facing displacement, an elderly couple clings to their broken home as well as the hope of seeing their firefighter grandson.

A meticulously crafted, visually striking and subtly provocative masterwork commemorating the nearly forgotten victims of the notorious 513 incident tragic events of May 13, 1969 in Kuala Lumpur, with a Then and Now structure that provides an intimate, illuminating perspective of an event whose social-political ramifications still reverberate.

Pema Tseden's final masterwork pits Tibetan tradition against bureaucracy in a metaphysical clash over a mythic snow leopard's fate. Magical realism meets mordant satire on the high plains of absurdity.

On the eve of her wedding, Lu is taken by surprise when an old flame arrives unannounced at her doorstep, with a plea for one last adventure: a daring journey across the China-North Korea border.

A neurotic pas de deux of love and betrayal in the digital age. OCD meets infidelity as two damaged souls tango through a glitchy romance, leaving emotional carnage in their wake. "500 Days of Summer" for the anxiety-ridden generation.

In the southern Chinese city of Chaozhou, a country boy decides to exhaust his savings on a stylish city haircut - a seemingly simple decision that leads to surprising results.

In Thanakorn Pongsuwan's swan song, a social-media-savvy lady killer (Ananda Everingham) falls for a stunning but enigmatic free spirit (Chayanit Pat Chansangavej) who vanishes, sparking a meditation on loneliness and love's elusive nature.

An instant cult classic, this glorious monochrome parable evokes Franz Kafka, Edward Gorey and David Lynch in its story of a young office drone forced to sublet his bathroom to a newlywed couple who look like escapees from Tod Browning’s circus, and then it gets worse.

A sumptuous triptych of postwar Ho Chi Minh City, where encroaching Westernization collides with the struggle for physical and spiritual survival. Metaphor and grit intertwine in this haunting, unforgettable classic.

A dynamic, vibrant tale that blends the best of Taiwan’s new BL wave with the trademark sentiment of its landmark cinema, as it perceptively probes the passions of youth in 1991 and today, showcasing forgotten fashions and paying homage to Back to the Future.

A profoundly tumultuous drama exploring the complex, broken-yet-unbreakable bonds between a mother and her young, neurodiverse daughter (Audrey Lin in an award-winning role), whose inner turmoil is exacerbated by her mom’s affair with her teacher.

A delirious shot of pure adrenaline for action junkies, this love letter to Hong Kong cinema’s kinetic legacy is set in the inglorious days of 1980s Kowloon Walled City, with Raymond Lam as a magnetic hero up against the unfettered criminal anarchy of villains Sammo Hung and Louis Koo.

A landmark of “forbidden love” cinema, this profoundly moving portrait of a later-life relationship between two married men in Hong Kong sensitively probes the isolation faced by those living outside traditional family structures.

A coming-of-age story and a feel-great, rip-roaring romp about a group of high school girls who shake a sleepy town alive with pom-poms and perfectly synchronized cheerleading routines.

At a basketball camp in the mountainous Liangshan region, 15-year-old Fang talks about her dreams, but life keeps pushing her into an indeterminate path.

Vertigo-inducing satire scales a Manila high-rise, where a teddy bear pusher's redemption quest mutates into a psychedelic class warfare carnival. It's Parasite on shrooms, with each floor a new circle of quarantine hell. Elevators optional, sanity expendable.

Upon hearing of her estranged mother’s passing, Vietnamese-Korean May returns to Vietnam after two decades, determined to uncover the truth behind her parents’ separation.

A balls-to-the-wall directorial debut from seasoned martial arts actor Marc Ma that boasts an action-packed opus of hyperbolic midnight cinema influences, pitting an evil conglomerate against a lone-wolf assassin out for vengeance.

Paradise lost and found in Nyangoen's raw Indonesian debut. A sun-soaked, unflinching dive into feminine struggle where ethnography meets drama, and hope flickers in oppression's shadow.

The first big-budget Japanese fantasy by a female director spins the rousing origin of legendary onmyoji (yin yang master) Abe no Seimei, starring Kento Yamazaki and Shota Sometani. Magical, momentous milestone cinema.