Asian Cinema Festival

The Draguignan Asian Cinema Festival: An Open Window to Asia

The Draguignan Asian Cinema Festival is an original and valuable cultural initiative in the Var festival landscape. By dedicating an entire festival to Asian cinema, the organizers have filled a void and responded to a real demand from audiences passionate about Asian culture, which is often under-represented in traditional film programming.

The Richness of Asian Cinema

Asian cinema is one of the richest and most diverse in the world, driven by dynamic film industries and internationally recognized talented filmmakers. The festival highlights the continent's great cinematic traditions:

Japanese Cinema

From auteur films to popular movies, including animated films (anime) and popular genres like live-action manga, Japanese cinema offers an extraordinary range of works. Masters like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and Makoto Shinkai are alongside new generations who are constantly renewing this art form.

Korean Cinema

Since the triumph of Bong Joon-ho's *Parasite* at Cannes in 2019 and its Oscar for Best Picture in 2020, Korean cinema has achieved global recognition. The festival presents films by directors such as Park Chan-wook, Lee Chang-dong, and the new voices of K-cinema, in genres as varied as thrillers, social dramas, genre films, and romantic films.

Chinese Cinema and Pan-Asian Cinema

The cinema of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan is also represented, with its own historical and aesthetic particularities. The cinemas of Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and India complete this panorama of inexhaustible richness.

An International Program: Films, Animation, Documentaries

The festival's program covers all genres and formats: feature fiction films, animated films – with a special focus on Japanese animation, which is experiencing a renaissance – documentaries, and sometimes short films. The festival strives to present films that are new or rarely shown in France, giving the Var audience privileged access to works that may never be distributed in local cinemas.

Encounters with Asian Guests

The international dimension of the festival is realized through the invitation of Asian directors, actors, or producers for audience encounters. These exchanges provide a better understanding of the cultural and cinematic contexts of the films presented and establish direct dialogue between the creators and their French audiences. These encounters are often cited by festival-goers as the most memorable highlights of the event.

A Festival Rooted in Draguignan

Organized in partnership with the City of Draguignan, the festival uses the city's cultural facilities for its screenings. Its roots in Draguignan give it a strong territorial identity and allow it to reach a loyal local audience, while also attracting film enthusiasts from across the region. The accessible and affordable programming aims to appeal to both specialists in Asian culture and curious newcomers eager to discover these often-unfamiliar cinematographies.