GU Changwei’s directorial debut Peacock (Kong Que, China 2004 ) won the audience award at “Far East Film Festival 7” which closed on April 29th. Gu was cinematographer on several critically acclaimed films such as Kaige Chen’s Farewell My Concubine and Zhang Yimou’s Red Sorghum. Peacock is the story of three siblings growing up in China after the Cultural Revolution. The sister (Zhang Jingchu) works in various domestic capacities such as a glass washer, or in childcare. She fails miserably because of her disinterest in typically female chores. Later her dreams of becoming a parachuter come to a halt because of an unanswered attraction to a soldier. She returns to further domestic misery, marries and divorces. Her younger brother ((Yulei Lu) leaves home, embarrassed by his brother and in defiance of his father. He later returns with a wife with a child from a previous relationship. The eldest brother (Li Feng) who is bullied by the townsfolk for being overweight seems to turn out the best and together with his wife, a woman crippled at birth, starts a business selling cooked food. The narrator of the film finds comfort in returning to a time when the family all sat outside their apartment sharing meals together. The brilliant story and cinematography make Gu Changwei’s new film a solid masterpiece.

One of the special events of FF7 was the panel entitled “Eye of the Beholder” where three Asian cinematographer’s/DP’s were invited to give their views on their work: Gu Changwei , Tamura Masaki of Japan, and Kim Hyung-koo of South Korea. Masaki worked with Shinji Aoyama on Desert Moon (2001) and Toshiya Fujiti on Lady Snowblood (1973) -- both shown at the festival. Kim Hyung-koo of South Korea has worked with Kaige Chen on Together and Lee Chang-dong on Peppermint Candy (2004). In several Asian countries the cinematographer who often works with lighting or the DP has a close relationship with the director for the translation of the narrative into images. This provides many Asian films with a rich visual language that sometimes is not recognised in their own countries but which is highly acclaimed at international film festivals

In second place for the audience award was a brilliant example of stunning visuals in Tetsuya Nakashima’s Kamikaze Girls based on a 'Lolita subculture' novel by shojo (girl manga) writer Novala Takemoto. The story reveals part of the intricate and colorful Japanese youth subculture. Momoko is a "Lolita" girl raised by a Yakusa (mafia) father, and a mother who runs off with her gynaecologist. She lives three hours by commuter rail out of Tokyo in a small town called Ibaragi. On her sojourns to the big city she spends her time buying clothes from a boutique that caters to frilly 'girlie girl' clothing (she loves the Rococco period). Her father peddles fake Versace merchandise which Momoko (Kyôko Fukada) advertises in a magazine. The ad draws a girl from a "Yankee" bike gang - Ichiko (Anna Tsuchiya) to Ibaragi and they later strike up a friendship. Momoko later designs embroidery for Ichiko and for her favourite clothing store in Tokyo. The story eventually leads to a Lolita/Yankee showdown.The art direction is multilayered with accoutrements that require multiple viewing and the pace of the film and comic touches make it a riveting visual extravaganza from beginning to end. Therefore it is not surprising that this film won the heart of the audience for second best film.

The top ten list of audience awards include three films from China, two by women who star in the lead role, and four films from South Korea:

Peacock, GU Changwei, 2005 CHINA
Kamikaze Girls, TETSUYA Nakashima, 2004 JAPAN
Someone Special, JANG Jin, 2004 SOUTH KOREA
A Letter from an Unknown Woman, XU Jinglei, 2004 CHINA
White Gardenia, JIANG Lifen, 2005 CHINA
Road, BAE Chang-ho, 2004 SOUTH KOREA
To Catch a Virgin Ghost, Shin Jung-won, 2004 SOUTH KOREA
Beyond Our Ken, PANG Ho-cheung, 2004 HONG KONG
Arahan, RYU Seung-wan, 2004 SOUTH KOREA


Moira Sullivan