The rise of quality in the entries of this list becomes evident every year, with movies from countries such as Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Jordan finding a number of way outs through festivals and streamers, winning awards all over. Of course, Iran still heads the region, as its biggest movie industry, but the biggest surprise this year came from Sri Lanka, which produced three films of true quality.
Without further ado, here are the best West-Central Asian (rest of Asia one could say) films of 2023, in random order. Some films may have premiered in 2022, but since they mostly circulated in 2023, we decided to include them.
20. Under the Sky of Damascus by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh (Syria)
“Under the Sky of Damascus” is a great documentary, a testament to the quality and the impact of the medium, and a movie that truly deserved the International Competition Golden...
Without further ado, here are the best West-Central Asian (rest of Asia one could say) films of 2023, in random order. Some films may have premiered in 2022, but since they mostly circulated in 2023, we decided to include them.
20. Under the Sky of Damascus by Heba Khaled, Talal Derki, Ali Wajeeh (Syria)
“Under the Sky of Damascus” is a great documentary, a testament to the quality and the impact of the medium, and a movie that truly deserved the International Competition Golden...
- 1/4/2024
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Uri Marantz: 'I really like that how the guy talks is sort of one big stream of consciousness' Photo: Courtesy of Poff Uri Marantz’s King Khat is a high energy hybrid that, appropriately for a film about ‘legal highs’, is mixture of live action and animation filled with trippy visuals. It tells the story of Gabi Shalev (Oshri Cohen) who became an accidental - and extremely low key - drug lord, of sorts. A scientist with an expensive coke habit, his solution for the lack of cash in his bank account was to set about devising his own synthetic drug that mimicked the effects of the psychoactive plant khat. The resulting substance became a sensation in Israel and beyond, with this film charting the journey in parallel with recounting the love story between Gabi and his wife.
This latter element is crucial to the tale - and the...
This latter element is crucial to the tale - and the...
- 12/9/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Taking its nod from its subject - legal highs - matter Uri Marantz's documentary hybrid is a trippy little treat that mixes live action with animation and, one suspects, the truth with a whole lot more besides. He tells the story of nerdy Israeli chemist Gabi Shalev (Oshri Cohen), who after running out of cash to feed his coke habit and encountering the psychoactive plant khat, set about developing a synthetic drug that mimicked its effects.
Shalev - whose name has been changed for the purposes of this film - sets out his philosophy as he narrates the story. It's a perspective that views drug taking as a natural response to the inevitability of death. He argues that getting high is a "normal need", noting that there are plenty of other creatures in the animal kingdom that aren't averse to that. This opens the door for a story about elephants' desire.
Shalev - whose name has been changed for the purposes of this film - sets out his philosophy as he narrates the story. It's a perspective that views drug taking as a natural response to the inevitability of death. He argues that getting high is a "normal need", noting that there are plenty of other creatures in the animal kingdom that aren't averse to that. This opens the door for a story about elephants' desire.
- 12/3/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Fasten your seat belts and put your flashiest sunglasses on before boarding on Uri Marantz' train to the glitzy world of drug-fuelled funfair based on a true story about a man who got away with it all. Before you get tempted to draw any parallels to Walter White, a loveable but fictive character created for the popular TV series “Breaking Bad” starring the one and only Brian Cranston, hold your horses: the man whose name was changed to Gabi (Oshri Cohen) to protect his identity, is really like you and me. Furthermore, unlike Walter, he didn't find a way and means to produce a known drug to earn a significant amount of cash, instead he invented a legal psychoactive drug from Cathinonec, a completely new substance, through his knowledge of chemistry and the need to feed his own personal beast.
King Khat screened at Tallinn Black Nights
As an...
King Khat screened at Tallinn Black Nights
As an...
- 12/1/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Uri Marantz graduated from the Film School in Tel Aviv in mid- 1990s. He directed a number of short films, and was involved in several television projects, both as a writer and creator. He is best known for the hit series “Daddy” that aired on Hot. “Since filmmaking is more or less a hobby in Israel, I had to compromise a lot”, explains the Israeli helmer why it took him that long to direct a feature length movie, adding that he always had a project here and there happening, but that he ended up working in the advertising industry as a copy- and content writer. “My dream of filmmaking was somehow ebbing away”, he says.
When we met in the hotel lobby of Nordic before the world premiere of his debut feature “King Khat” which competes in the Rebels With A Cause program of Tallinn Black Nights film festival, Marantz...
When we met in the hotel lobby of Nordic before the world premiere of his debut feature “King Khat” which competes in the Rebels With A Cause program of Tallinn Black Nights film festival, Marantz...
- 11/18/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Titles include Kah Wai Lim’s Japanese feature ‘Everything, Everywhere’.
Eight features will have world premieres in the Rebels With A Cause strand of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff), including new films from Kah Wai Lim and Matias Rojas Valencia.
The competitive section includes 11 features, with two further films playing out of competition.
Scroll down for the full Rebels With A Cause selection
Japanese director Lim presents Everything, Everywhere, a semi-improvised road movie set in the Balkans where Lim typically films, in which Japanese star Shogen plays a fictionalized version of the director.
Lim’s previous films include 2022 comedy-drama...
Eight features will have world premieres in the Rebels With A Cause strand of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Poff), including new films from Kah Wai Lim and Matias Rojas Valencia.
The competitive section includes 11 features, with two further films playing out of competition.
Scroll down for the full Rebels With A Cause selection
Japanese director Lim presents Everything, Everywhere, a semi-improvised road movie set in the Balkans where Lim typically films, in which Japanese star Shogen plays a fictionalized version of the director.
Lim’s previous films include 2022 comedy-drama...
- 10/20/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
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