Despite what the joint juggernaut of social media and trade journals would have you believe, fall festival season encompasses more than just the triumvirate of Venice, TIFF, and NYFF; more than Locarno, San Sebastian, and London, too. One of our favorite smaller fests to catch up with every autumn is the San Diego Asian Film Festival, which consistently delivers a carefully curated slate of the year’s finest offerings in Asian cinema — these year includes appearance by such diverse and venerated vets as Hong Sang-soo, Jafar Panahi, Trịnh T. Minh-hà, and Lav Diaz — always rounded out by a selection of restored classics to revisit.
We’ve already checked out a dozen titles from this year’s slate (linked below) across various 2022 festivals, and we’ll be circling back with another dispatch of brand-new coverage after the festival wraps this weekend. In the meantime, check out our thoughts and plan your viewing — there’s still time to check out some of the fantastic works in this year’s program. More details can be found over at SDAFF.org.
