EXTREMES FROM EAST

One of the fields of discovery at Fantasporto has been the Official Section Orient Express. It was through this festival that Portugal discovered and acknowledged this strange and different way of looking at the life. With cultures so different from our own and values that often clash with ours because of exploring the cult of violence and extreme cruelty, Asian countries have been an endless source of inspiration and remakes of American movies. After some years in relative creative stagnation, the eastern film is back in force and renewed. From mind-blowing sci-fi to terror so close to reality, the Orient Express competitive section makes offers one can't refuse.

From the Official Selection: In Competition of the Cannes Film Festival 2010, "The Housemaid" is one of the most remarkable films in Fantasporto 2011. The return of South Korean cinema to the suspense and sensuality. Less restrained, this cinematography is not afraid anymore to show the female body, and even use it as part of the plot. An explosive mix of eroticism and extreme psychological violence in a shocking film with creepy final.

Another film from Cannes 2010, winner of the prestigious Un Certain Regard section, "Hahaha" is a comedy that revolves around a conversation between two friends, who go on telling their stories, shrewd episodes and imaginary and real adventures.

The South Korean grand Kim Woon Jee, winner of Fantasporto 2004 with "A Tale of Two Sisters", returns with "I Saw the Devil" - a new story of revenge. The crime film reaches a whole new level and the concept of revenge is taken to the extreme just like Asia loves it. The protagonist of "Old Boy", Choi Min-Sik, plays Kyung-chui, a dangerous psychopath who kills for his own pleasure.

A Hong Kong/France co-production "Red Nights" is another film you don't want to miss. A fantastic thriller about fetishistic sadism of the same scriptwriters who created "Running out of Time" by Johnnie To. It is also the return of the legendary Hong Kong movie star Carrie Ng, famous for her appearances in "Naked Killer" and "Zen". Here she plays the role of "Jade" Dragon Lady, a seductive psycho-sexual killer. A bittersweet fortune cookie of murder and fraud where the Italian "giallo" and spy thrillers cohabit mixed with the exoticism of the Far East.

With the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, via ICA and Municipality of Porto, the European Union via the MEDIA Programme, the Ministry of Economy via the Tourism of Portugal and with SuperBock as the main sponsor, the 31st edition of FANTASPORTO has, as usual, two distinct partitions, the first between February 21 and 24 - called Pre-Fantas and the second, the Festival itself, which officially opens its doors on February 25, ending on March 6 with the display of the award winning films. This year Fantas is back again at the Rivoli Municipal Theatre, having exclusive use of auditoriums, and will have the traditional farewell party, the Vampires Ball, on the Carnival Saturday, March 5, at Teatro Sá da Bandeira.

Orient Express

Bedevilled - Jang Cheol-so - South Korea - 115 min (tb CF)

Death Kappa - Tomoo Haraguchi - Japan - 85 min

Enemy at the dead End - Park Soo-Young - South Korea - 93 min

Hahaha - Hong Sang-soo - South Korea - 115 min

I Saw the Devil- Kim Jee-woon - South Korea- 144 min (Tb CF)

Patient X - Yam Laranas - Filipines - 108 min (Tb CF)

Red Nights - Laurent Courtiaud e Julien Carbon - France/Hong Kong - 110 min (Tb CF)

The Housemaid - Im Sang-Soo - South Korea - 106 min (tb SR)

Dates of the 31st edition / Datas para a 31ª edição do Festival

February 21st till March 6th 2011 / 21 de Fevereiro a 6 de Março de 2010