Lim Kah Wai and Tetsuya Mariko, two directors who have both worked outside their own countries, will showcase selected works as part of the Malaysia-Japan Film Dialogue this March 13 and 14 at HELP University.

Lim is a native of Kuala Lumpur who found success in China and Japan, while Mariko shot “FUN FAIR”, the first of a three-part omnibus movie, entirely in Malaysia.

A graduate of Osaka University, Lim was employed as an engineer for a telecommunications company in Tokyo for six years before he decided to make a leap to the reel world. His enrollment at the Beijing Film Academy in 2004 kicked off a string of coordinator and assistant director credits on such blockbusters as “A Battle of Wits”, “The Longest Night in Shanghai” and “Plastic City”.

He made his feature-length directorial debut in 2010 with ?After All These Years?, which was officially screened at international film festivals in Hong Kong and Osaka. In 2011, he was honoured with the Audience Award and Technical Contribution Award by Cineastes Organization Osaka for “New World”. Two years later, the South Taiwan Film Festival held a retrospective of Lim’s features and short films.

Mariko on the other hand is known as a darling in the independent film circuit. He shot to fame in 2003 with his sophomore effort “The Far East Apartment”, which was invited to 13 film festivals and took home awards at seven of them.  The following year, “Mariko’s 30 Pirates” won awards at nine film festivals and helped him retain the Grand Prix in Yubari.

Since his graduation from the Tokyo University of the Arts, he has focused exclusively on feature films, all of which have continued to nab accolades and film festival invitations across the world.

Lim and Mariko will discuss their industry experiences and field questions from the floor at the end of each day’s screenings.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

For more information, visit https://www.jfkl.org.my/ or contact the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur at 03 2284 6228.

Venue: Auditorium, Block A, Level 1, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara (KPD), Jalan Dungun, 50490 Damansara Heights, KL
Admission: Free

13 March 2015 (Friday)
6.30 p.m. | Screenings of “The Far East Apartment” and “Mariko’s 30 Pirates” by Tetsuya Mariko
7.30 p.m. | Light refreshments
8.00 p.m. | Screening of “Fly Me to Minami” by Lim Kah Wai
9.45 p.m. | Q&A
10.15 p.m. | Event ends

14 March 2015 (Saturday)
3.00 p.m. | Screening of “New World” by Lim Kah Wai
5.00 p.m. | Screening of “FUN FAIR” by Tetsuya Mariko
5.30 p.m. | Q&A and discussion
6.30 p.m. | Event ends

Download the event flyer by clicking the image below, right-clicking it and selecting ‘Save As…’ from the drop-down menu.

Film Synopses

The Far East Apartment
Tetsuya MARIKO
2003/32min

Communication in our world is becoming more difficult. Our protagonist has bound himself mentally to his own imaginations and physically to his room in the Far East Apartment. But one day he decides to desert the room. Using a camera for the first time, he ventures out into the world acting in the strangest ways possible.

Mariko?s 30 Pirates
Tetsuya MARIKO
2004/23min

A film that blurs the line between documentary and fiction about the state of Super-8 in today’s digital era, the filmmaker himself, his own roots, his dreams as a fictional character as well as old and familiar things. While writing his final paper at university, Mariko finds out he is a descendant of pirates. He then dresses up as one, gathers some other 30 pirates and starts a campaign against the university, which is attempting to tear down a building he has grown fond of.

FUN FAIR
Tetsuya MARIKO
2012/38min

An installment from an omnibus film depicting “small miracles” that happen to the Japanese living in Southeast Asia. Mariko presents a comedic portrayal of the misadventures of a trio who all speak different languages. Xiaojiajia tries to return a wedding ring to her mother after she leaves home. On the way, she is helped by a Japanese businessman named Kimura and a rickshaw driver called Alif (Azman Hassan). However, none of them speak the same language, so they run into communication difficulties. Stars local talents Jenny Soon and Azman Hassan.

Fly Me to Minami
Lim Kah Wai
2013/110min

A pretty editor from Hong Kong and a university student looking for work. A flight attendant in Seoul and her secret lover living in a Korean town in Japan. These four men and women from different backgrounds crisscross in downtown Osaka, and an unexpected destiny awaits them. Stars former Miss Malaysia Sherine Wong.

The New World
Lim Kah Wai
2011/93min

Coco, a modern Beijing girl, wants to spend a romantic and fancy Christmas vacation in Osaka. However, she finds herself in Shinsekai (?New World? in English, an old neighbourhood located next to downtown ?Minami?, known as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas in Osaka). When she arrives there, she starts feeling regretful and frustrated by the encounters and landscapes that are far beyond her expectations. Suddenly, she is involved in an incident concerning a local Chinese family, which coincides with her increasing fascination with the city through her wanderings. During this short and unusual Christmas vacation, Coco discovers a ?Japan? she never knew and a ?China? she is unfamiliar with.