'Kokuho' GKIDS/Courtesy Everett Collection The full lineup for the 28th edition of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) has been revealed and as ever the speciality event will showcase the best and brightest of Asian cinema.
Taking place once again in the picaresque Italian city of Udine, FEFF 2026 will screen 76 films — 52 in competition and 24 out of competition — hailing from 12 countries.
FEFF will open on April 24 with Anthony Chen’s Singaporean family drama We Are All Strangers and close on May 2 with Phan Gia Nhật Linh’s Blood Moon Rite 8, a Vietnamese remake of cult Japanese zombie film One Cut of the Dead.
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Cinema from Singapore and Vietnam will have something of a moment at FEFF 2026. As well as Chen’s opener, the other Singaporean films screening at the fest include Ah Girl by Geck Priscilla Ang and The Old Man and his Car by Michael Kam. The additional three Vietnamese films include Leon Le’s romance drama Ky Nam Inn, Ham Tran’s action thriller Hijacked and finally the Vietnam War movie Tunnels: Sun in the Dark from Bùi Thac Chuyên.
From Japan, Lee Sang-il’s globally praised Kokuho will screen at the festival a few days before its debut in Italian theaters. Lee will be in attendance for the FEFF screening of his film. Kokuho, a historical drama that centers around the traditional Japanese theater of kabuki, became something of cultural phenomenon and is Japan’s all-time highest grossing live-action film and was the country’s selection for the Academy Awards.
Other highlights from Japan include singer, actress and tarento Megumi returning to Italy for the world premiere of her female-led drama Fujiko. From South Korea, FEFF will screen Jang Hang-jun’s The King’s Warden and Cho Chul-young, Kim Jong-woo and Shin-Wan Kim’s The Seoul Guardians, the latter film becoming the first documentary to enter competition in Udine.
This year’s Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement honorees are two Asian legends who are both enjoying career renaissance. Chinese actress Fan Bingbing will be in Udine to accept her Golden Mulberry award, a tribute to her long career that has taken in arthouse hits I Am Not Madame Bovary and Ever Since We Love as well as commercial films like The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom, League of Gods and Lady of the Dynasty. Fan’s most recent film, the drama Mother Bhumi, screened in competition in Tokyo and received 8 Golden Horse nominations.
Also receiving a Golden Mulberry is Japanese legend Koji Yakusho. In career that has spanned over four decades, Yakusho has starred in all manner of genres and featured in many classics of Japanese cinema including The Blood of Wolves, The Woodsman and the Rain, The Eel, Perfect Days, Tampopo, Under The Open Sky, 13 Assassins and Cure. He most recently received universal praise and a Cannes best actor prize for his leading role in Wim Wenders’ acclaimed film Perfect Days.
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