非诚勿扰2 | If You Are the One 2

After the soul-searching trip to Hokkaido, Xiaoxiao has gotten over her bitter affair with Mr. Fang, somewhat disillusioned with romantic relationships. But one man still gives her mixed feelings: Qin Fen is a considerate and funny guy for sure, yet he’s too moody and childish to be the man she wants to walk down the aisle with. Although Xiaoxiao has tried to convince herself that Qin is her Mr. Right, she’s too conscious of the difference between liking and loving. On the other hand, Qin is pretty sure he wants to end his bachelorhood with Xiaoxiao. In a bid to find out whether they really suit each other, the two rent a villa in the scenic Sanya to begin their “trial marriage”…

Directed by Xiaogang Feng | Starring : You Ge, Qi Shu, Honglei Sun, Chen Yao, Fan Liao | Presented at N/A

非诚勿扰 | If You Are the One

China director Feng Xiaogang returns to the small story for his latest film, the romantic comedy If You Are The One starring top actress Shu Qi and popular Mainland actor and Feng Xiaogang regular Ge You. Feng’s once-a-year Lunar New Year offerings are box-office guarantees in China, and If You Are The One has been no exception, turning into one of the China’s highest-grossing films of all time. After Banquet and Assembly, Feng goes back to the smartly scripted comedies he’s best known for to tell the humorous, yet heartbreaking tale of a wealthy middle-aged man’s long-winded journey to find his other half. Keeping some of Feng’s recent penchant for grandeur, If You Are the One features sweeping photography and beautiful location shoots in China and Japan, not to mention a star-studded supporting cast that includes Taiwan beauty Vivian Hsu Hong Kong actor Alex Fong Chung Sun, and Mainland stars Fan Wei and Hu Ke Nouveau riche entrepreneur Qin Fen turned into an overnight millionaire after selling off an unlikely invention. Now all he needs is someone to share the wealth with. With his below-average looks and above-average wallet, Qin Fen sets out to find a wife through online personal ads, and ends up meeting a long lineup of strange candidates. But he holds a torch for only one: Smiley, a gorgeous flight attendant with a married lover and tons of emotional baggage.

Directed by Xiaogang Feng | Starring : You Ge, Qi Shu, Wei Fan, Alex Fong, Vivian Hsu | Presented at Leeds Film Festival

最好的时光 | Three Times

Three stories of women and men: in 1966, “A Time for Love,” a soldier searches for a young woman he met one afternoon playing pool; “A Time for Freedom,” set in a bordello in 1911, revolves around a singer’s longing to escape her surroundings; in 2005 in Taipei, “A Time for Youth” dramatizes a triangle in which a singer has an affair with a photographer while her partner suffers. In the first two stories, letters are crucial to the outcome; in the third, it’s cell-phone calls, text messages, and a computer file. Over the years between the tales, as sexual intimacy becomes more likely and words more free, communication recedes.

Directed by Hsiao-hsien Hou | Starring : Qi Shu, Chen Chang, Shi-Zheng Chen, Fang Mei, Lawrence Ko | Presented at Cannes Film Festival, Taipei Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, New York Film Festival, London Film Festival, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, San Francisco Film Festival, Istanbul Film Festival, Indianapolis Film Festival, Yerevan Film Festival, Helsinki Film Festival

千禧曼波 | Millennium Mambo

From one of the world’s greatest living directors and critically acclaimed as his finest film, Millennium Mambo is as stylish, hypnotic and mesmerizing as Wong Kar- Wai’s hit film, In the Mood for Live, which it clearly resembles in its evocative portrayal of an intense relationship and in its stylish direction powered by a thumping electric soundtrack. Winner of the Grand Prix Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Millennium Mambo is a strikingly beautiful film set in Taipei’s hot nightclub scene. The remarkable Shu Qi stars as Vicky, a lost soul who hangs out partying with her friends, smoking nonstop, and dancing and flirting. The youthful Vicky is torn between two men, Hao-Hao and Jack. She lives with Hao-Hao (Tuan Chun-hao), but he doesn’t seem to excite her anymore, so she starts seeing an older gangster, Jack (Jack Kao), although the depth of the relationship is left purposely ambiguous. Some degree of affinity between them begins to take shape: it may lead to a still closer relationship or a permanent friendship. Although Vicky wants to be a free spirit, she is battling demons that cast dark shadows over her somewhat meaningless existence. One of the world’s greatest filmmakers, Hou Hsiao-Hsien has made an innovative and daring film that is nothing short of mesmerising.

Directed by Hsiao-hsien Hou | Starring : Qi Shu, Jack Kao, Doze Niu, Chun-hao Tuan, Pauline Chan | Presented at Cannes Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, Ghent Film Festival, Chicago Film Festival, Flanders Film Festival, AFI Film Festival, Hawaii Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival, London Film Festival, Bangkok Film Festival

小百无禁忌 | Hidden Whisper

The film consists of three stories: One about a 5-year-old girl, one about a teenager, and still another about a 30 something woman involved in an affair with a married man. Without providing a definite answer whether the three leading actresses are playing the same person in different stages of life, the movie instead hovers on several consistent themes that keep on emerging in all the stories. For example, the image of drops of blood on the clothes, in the shape of maroon flowers.

Directed by Vivian Chang | Starring : Qi Shu, Leon Dai, Elaine Jin, Ching-ting Hsia, Shu-shen Hsiao | Presented at Cannes Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival, Fribourg Film Festival, Febio Film Festival

有时跳舞 | The Island Tales

A group of disparate characters find themselves trapped overnight on a island somewhere off the coast of mainland China. The circumstances force them to overlook their preconceptions of one another, and they forge a kinship that goes to the heart their identities.

Directed by Stanley Kwan | Starring : Michelle Reis, Qi Shu, Elaine Jin, Kaori Momoi, Julian Cheung | Presented at Berlin Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival