Tony Leung’s ‘Hidden Blade’ at Japanese Festival of Chinese Cinema

A new film festival titled Chinese Cinema Today is set to launch in Japan, featuring 15 Chinese films including four Japanese premieres. The program, running Nov. 22-Dec. 12 at Tokyo’s Cinelibre Ikebukuro before moving to Osaka (Dec. 13-26), spotlights both commercial hits and festival favorites from mainland China’s growing film industry.

The festival is structured in four distinct sections. Director in Deep Focus presents a special spotlight on artist and filmmaker Qiu Jiongjiong, screening three of his works: “Madame,” “Mr. Zhang Believes” and “A New Old Play.” This marks the first special screening of Qiu’s works in Japan.

The Chinese Now Hits section features recent commercial successes, including the thriller “Hidden Blade,” directed by Cheng Er and starring Tony Leung and Wang Yibo. The film marks Cheng’s return after a seven-year hiatus. Also featured are “Like a Rolling Stone,” starring Berlin Film Festival best actress winner Yong Mei, and “Post Truth.”

In the Chinese New Wave section, emerging talents take center stage with director Cai Jie’s “Borrowed Time,” which gained attention at Busan International Film Festival, Chen Shizhong’s “Good Autumn, Mommy” starring Shu Qi, and Liang Ming’s “Carefree Days,” which screened at San Sebastián International Film Festival.

The Play Back selection showcases recent festival circuit highlights including “Art College 1994” (Berlin Competition), “Gone with the Boat” (Shanghai Best Asian New Screenplay winner), Wei Shujun’s “Ripples of Life” (Tokyo FILMeX Competition), Gu Xiaogang’s “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains” (Cannes Critics’ Week closing film), Qiu Sheng’s “Suburban Birds” (Locarno), and “Journey to the West,” a Beijing Film Academy graduation project that has found recognition across Asian festivals.

Qiu is a contemporary mainland Chinese artist who has been widely exhibited in China and overseas. Experimenting with cinematic language, he has made six independent documentaries, and his solo fiction film “A New Old Play,” which won the Special Jury Prize at the Locarno festival in 2021 and the best film prize at the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Firebird (young filmmaker) competition in 2021. He is currently nearing completion of his second fiction feature film “Fuxi,” which will be completed next year.