CROSSCUT ASIA Delicious! Online Film Festival

Aruna & Her Palate
Love Story / 2018 / Indonesia / 107 min / Indonesian
Subtitles: Japanese, English, Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese
Director: Edwin
Cast: Dian Sastrowardoyo, Oka Antara, Nicholas Saputra

Aruna is sent on a research trip to investigate an outbreak of avian flu. Joined by her friends, her trip becomes a culinary journey of famous regional dishes across Indonesia. The four friends taste black soup in Java and crab noodles in Kalimantan. The road trip movie is directed by Edwin, whose latest film Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, won the Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival in 2021.

Balut Country
Drama / 2015 / The Philippines / 94 min / Filipino
Subtitles: Japanese, English, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese
Director: Paul Sta. Ana
Cast: Rocco Nacino, Ronnie Quizon, Vincent Magbanua, Archi Adamos

A son inherits a large duck farm from his late father. Having left home for life in the city to pursue a career as a musician, he returns to his hometown intending to sell the property, but the grand landscape begins to change his heart. Balut, a Filipino soul food, is a fertilized duck egg boiled after the embryo develops. The film was screened in CROSSCUT ASIA 2015.

Kampai! Sake Sisters
Documentary / 2019 / Japan, USA / 96 min / Japanese, English
Subtitles: English, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese
Director: KONISHI Mirai
Cast: IMADA Miho, CHIBA Marie, Rebekah Wilson-Lye

The world of Japanese sake brewing has long been off-limits to women. In this uplifting and touching documentary, a new generation of women shine in the traditional and esoteric business, inspiring the viewer with the strength to face today’s challenges. The film is a sequel to Kampai! for the Love of Sake, which toured the world after its premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

My Love is Soup
Comedy / 2020 / Thailand / 99 min / Thai
Subtitles: Japanese, English, Indonesian, Khmer
Director: Kriangkrai Monwichit
Cast: Hussawee Pakrapongpisan, Sassanee Virachat, Pitisak Yaowananon, Suttida Kasemsan Na Ayutthaya

Minnie finds a job in a fancy restaurant despite her lack of cooking skills. After making a major blunder that jeopardizes the restaurant’s reputation, she tries to restore it by finding the secret soup recipe of her great-grandfather, who was a royal chef. This heartwarming comedy entertains viewers with culinary images from Thailand’s deep south, with its large Muslim population, as well as behind-the-scenes footage in a restaurant kitchen.

Namets! (Yummy!)
Comedy / 2008 / The Philippines / 94 min / Hiligaynon
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Director: Jay Abello
Cast: Angel Jacob, Christian Vasquez, Peque Gallaga

In Bacolod City on the island of Negros, the Philippines, an Italian restaurant is lost through debt and transformed into a restaurant featuring traditional local cuisine. This romantic comedy is a treat for the eyes, with splendid presentations of Negrense dishes that will delight epicureans. The film participated in the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, the gateway to success in thriving Filipino independent film circles.

A River Changes Course
Documentary / 2013 / Cambodia, USA / 83 min / Khmer, Jarai
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Director: Kalyanee Mam

A documentary portraying the lives of three young Cambodians, this film captures daily images of people eating, working, and making a living, while revealing the social problems of overfishing, deforestation, poverty, and debt.  It won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for documentaries at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Wanton Mee
Drama / 2015 / Singapore / 71 min / English, Mandarin
Subtitles: Japanese, English, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, Vietnamese
Director: Eric Khoo
Cast: Koh Boon Pin, Bill Teoh, Tammie Chew

A middle-aged food critic captures Singapore’s traditions and development, while rediscovering his career and life through interviews with street-food hawkers. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Eric Khoo, this ambitious docufiction features a rich variety of street foods, from diverse noodle dishes such as wanton mee and laksa, to foods that reflect the country’s multiethnic diversity, such as fish head curry and nasi lemak.

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock & Roll
Documentary / 2014 / USA, Cambodia / 107 min / English, French, Khmer
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Director: John Pirozzi
Cast: Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, Bayon Band

Through the eyes, words, and songs of its popular music stars of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock & Roll examines and unravels Cambodia’s recent tragic past.

Invisible
Drama / 2015 / Japan, the Philippines / 134 min / Filipino, Tagalog, Japanese
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Director: Lawrence Fajardo
Cast: Allen Dizon, Ces Quesada, Bernardo Bernardo, JM  De Guzman

Invisible tells the story of four Filipino migrant workers in Japan, a crucial encounter that mirrors the difficult challenges that confront the “Pinoy” diaspora.

Pete Teo Special
Short films / 2008-2013 / Malaysia / 97 min / Mandarin, Malay, Tamil, English
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Directors: Ho Yuhang, Yasmin Ahmad, Amir Muhammad, Linus Chung, Liew Seng Tat, Desmond Ng, Kamal Sabran, Tan Chui Mui, Woo Ming Jin, James Lee, Benji & Bahir, Johan John, Khairil Bahar, Nam Ron, Suleiman Brothers（『15Malaysia』）, and others

The Pete Teo Special presents a number of shorts (Vote!, Malaysia Day: Slipstream, Here in My Home, and I Go) in which musician, actor, producer, and director Pete Teo was involved, as well as 15Malaysia, which consists of 15 short films made by Malaysian filmmakers. Produced and released by Pete Teo in 2009, these 15 films revolutionized the media and political cultures in Malaysia.

Three Sassy Sisters
Musical / 2016 / Indonesia / 124 min / Indonesian, English
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Director: Nia Dinata
Cast: Shanty Paredes, Tara Basro, Tatyana Akman, Rio Dewanto, Reuben Elishama, Richard Kyle

Usmar Ismail’s Three Sisters(Tiga Dara) was first released in 1956. Nia Dinata, who grew up watching the film in reruns on Indonesian TV and was very inspired by it, has created an homage to her favorite director.

Trap
Drama / 2015 / The Philippines / 93 min / Filipino, Waray
Subtitles: Japanese, English
Director: Brillante Ma Mendoza
Cast: Nora Aunor, Julio Diaz, Aaron Rivera

In the horrendous aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, survivors are left to search for the dead while keeping their sanity intact, and protecting what little faith there may be left.