East Winds Film Festival set to scare, excite and delight

A stunning selection of films from the Far East, ranging from action packed blockbusters and chilling horrors to touching dramas and delightful comedies will be on show at a major international film festival in Coventry later this month. 

The East Winds Film Festival, the UK’s only major showcase of East Asian cinema outside of London, takes place at Coventry University’s state-of-the-art digital 3D cinema at its city centre campus from Friday 31 October to Sunday 2 November. 

The festival forms part of a programme of activities run by the university’s award winning East Asian Film Society (CUEAFS). The society, which champions an eclectic selection of cinema from the Far East, was recently voted ‘Best Student Cinema in the UK’ for its efforts at this year’s Cinema for All Awards run by the British Federation of Film Societies.

 
East Asian film and culture are celebrated at the festival through a selection of 11 international, European and UK Premieres from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan with stars, directors and other creative artists associated with the films on show also making special guest appearances to discuss their work. 

East Winds opens with the European Premiere of Partners in Crime, a dark, brooding and sinister Taiwanese tale of teenage angst from acclaimed director Chang Jung-chi.  This is followed by Japanese black comedy Greatful Dead, a touching but troublesome story from independent distributors and festival partners Third Window Films about a vulnerable young woman’s transition from curious voyeur to fully-fledged stalker. 

Also playing for the first time in Europe will be David Lam’s crime thriller Z Storm. Starring Louis Koo - one of the stalwarts of the Hong Kong film scene - Z Storm presents a tense game of cat and mouse between a relentless anti-corruption investigator and crooked high-powered fat cats.

Further thrills follow with an assortment of chillers including an Amityville inspired horror of a haunted house, a tale of avenging schoolgirls taking justice into their own hands and dark and disturbing murder mysteries. 

A gentler tone comes in the shape of romantic comedies including the international premiere of Live @ Love, a light-hearted affair set in a private detective agency and the European premiere of The Teacher's Diary. Selected as Thailand’s official entry into the Oscars 2015 foreign language film category, Nithiwat Tharatorn's box office hit is a sweet and sentimental comedy drama which explores the possibilities for romance between two lonely teachers who have yet to meet. 

The East Winds Film Festival takes place from Friday 31 October to Sunday 2 November on Coventry University’s student cinema at The Hub, Jordan Well, Coventry CV1 5FB.

For further information, please contact Mark Farnan, communications assistant, Coventry University, on +44 (0)24 7765 8245 or email mark.farnan@coventry.ac.uk. 

The East Winds Film Festival
The East Winds Film Festival is the UK’s only major showcase of East Asian cinema outside of London and the first of its kind in the Midlands. East Winds is organised by the award-winning Coventry East Asian Film Society in partnership with Coventry University and UK distribution company Third Window Films. The festival aims to raise awareness in the UK of East Asian cinema and cultures, focusing squarely on showcasing popular films that do not receive distribution here. 

Further information is available at the East Winds website and trailers of the films selected for this year’s festival can be viewed on YouTube. 

Coventry East Asian Film Society Coventry
East Asian Film Society was founded in 2009 by students of Coventry University’s Department of Media and Communication under the guidance and with the help of Spencer Murphy, lecturer in film and visual culture. The society was established with the aim of promoting and celebrating cultural diversity by raising awareness in the UK of East Asian cinema and tradition.