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Stories dealing with time traveling have always held a certain attraction, and have even achieved classic or cult status in some cases. While the possibilities for the storyteller are endless, the opportunities to explore themes like fate, the interconnection of lives and the relation of past, present and future is equally attractive. Unlike other aspects of science-fiction, time travelling stories do not necessarily need a lot of budget in order to work and tackle the aforementioned issues, as we have seen in the last years with Junta Yamaguchi's features “River” and “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes”. His colleague, director Shinji Araki uses the idea of time loops in order to talk about the question whether we are truly the masters of out fate in his new feature “Penalty Loop”, a blend of drama, science-fiction and thriller.

Penalty Loop is screening at Nippon Connection

Ever since the death of his girlfriend,...

Brazil’s Fantaspoa film festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and the festival is breaking numerous records, presenting an impressive total of 114 feature films, 22 of these as World Premieres, marking the largest number of feature films in Fantaspoa’s long history.

The final selection of feature films for Fantaspoa’s highly-anticipated 20th edition has been exclusively presented to Bloody Disgusting, so read on for everything you need to know!

The festival tells us this week, “With a diverse selection, the feature films screening at Fantaspoa Xx have been divided into seven distinct competitive categories: International, Ibero-American, National, Documentary, Animation, All-Nighter, and Low Budget, Great Films. These categories promise audiences a variety of cinematic experiences, from the fringes of horror and fantasy to the depths of the human imagination.

“In addition to feature films, Fantaspoa will screen 123 short films, totaling 237 participating works, making this edition of the festival the largest in its history.

Osake-born Junta Yamaguchi burst onto the scene in 2021 with Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes, a high concept, low budget science fiction film which surprised everyone by remaining inventive throughout, and by packing an emotional punch on top of that. Now he’s back exploring similar themes, perhaps in the same universe, as the staff and residents of a small Kibune inn find themselves trapped in a time loop.

Time loops of any kind can be supremely irritating in films, and to keep viewers watching through a two minute one, repeated over and over again, takes real skill, but Yamaguchi has got that. He begins by getting the basics out of the way. The characters are smart enough to realise and accept what’s going on, even if it makes sense. They don’t waste time on denial or on doubting each other’s observations. It helps that they can...

Cineverse's AsianCrush will be releasing River, the latest from Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes' Junta Yamaguchi, on AsianCrush starting one two weeks from today, February 16th. Seeing as both of Yamaguchi's movies have been big favorites of mine I'm pleased to have been asked to share with you an exclusive clip from this upcoming release.    From the director of the sci-fi comedy cult hit Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes comes another tiny time-loop adventure. Something very strange is happening at the Fujiya, a long-established inn in snowy Kyoto: Hot sake that doesn't get hot, no matter how long you boil it. A pot of ice porridge that won't go empty, no matter how much you eat. A bathroom that you can never leave, no matter...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

We all love a time travel movie, especially one that features lots and lots of twists to subvert our expectations at every turn, but this 2020 microbudget Japanese rom-com takes it to another level to become one of the most cerebrally enjoyable movies of the 21st century. Get ready to scratch your brains until your mind gets lost in an infinite chaos loop, all with a smile on your face, as Junta Yamaguchi’s Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes channels all of the chaos of Rick and Morty at their most ambitious crossed with the sincerity of a Friends episode. Time travel has consistently proven itself to be one of the best sci-fi tropes to materialize on a shoestring budget, with films like Shane Carruth’s Primer blowing minds across the globe in spite of only costing $7,000. The trick lies in the fact that the ingenuity doesn’t come from VFX...

Japan’s Nikkatsu studio is pitching “River” at the top of its Tiffcom sales slate. The film – on which it shares rights with Third Window Films – is a time loop comedy from Yamaguchi Junta, director of “Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes.”

The one-hundred-year-old Fujiya inn stands in a quiet region of Kyoto. An employee is standing in front of the Kibune river at the back of the building when she is called back to work. But two minutes later, she finds herself back at the river again. The whole inn seems to be stuck in a time loop! Not only Mikoto, but other staff and guests begin to feel something strange. Hot sake does not get hot. Rice porridge never gets eaten and there’s a bathroom that is impossible to leave. For all that people can’t move forward, their memories are intact. Some people want to leave. Others want to stay.

How often have you thought, "if only I had a little more time to deal with this?" It's a common thought for many people, though there's not much we can do about it – no one has the power to stop or slow down time or jump through time. However, this is this power of great cinema! Only in stories can we experiment with manipulating time. River is the latest whimsical time loop creation made by Japanese filmmaker Junta Yamaguchi and screenwriter Makoto Ueda – their highly anticipated follow-up to the cult hit Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020). They're back with another two minute time loop comedy in Japan, this time set at a lovely ryokan near Kyoto. After an ecstatic screening at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival, I'm delighted to report - it's even better than Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. An instant favorite. Not only have they expanded the two minute...

Thomas Hardiman's Medusa Deluxe is now showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries—including the United Kingdom, India, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico—from August 4, 2023, in the series Debuts.Medusa Deluxe.In the midst of navigating the drama that ensnares all of Medusa Deluxe’s characters, Claire Perkins’s Cleve looks at a fellow hairdresser and explains, “There is some serious history in this hairstyle, do you know that? A story.” The hairstyle in question is initially shown as an unfinished work of art (or travesty if you’re a competitor hoping for a fellow stylist’s downfall): a mess of strands that’s easy to see through and hard to make sense of. But as the film progresses, Cleve creates a truly beautiful and engrossing design out of what was once incoherent webbing: a glowing ship upon a wave of hair, meant to be a recreation of the Orient,...

Time loop movies are all about finding the beauty in repetition; helping us understand our rhythms and routines, and find a way to think bigger. To evolve beyond what’s comfortable and familiar – to grow. So it seems only apt that Junta Yamaguchi and Makoto Ueda’s smartly-assembled new feature River, is itself a play on their own kind of familiar. Effectively a rerun of the team’s other time loop movie, 2020’s festival smash Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, River doesn’t so much build on that winning formula as it does simplify it, chasing soul over science-fiction, and ending up with something deeper, if a little too similar.

Sweeping long takes? Hyper-mobile camerawork? A chaotic farce with a hint of the fantastical? River does it all, again, often feeling just as much a quasi-sequel to Two Minutes, as it does a follow-up for Yamaguchi, Ueda and their troupe of actors.

The prickliest challenge for indie time-loop thrillers like Dane Elcar’s Brightwood to overcome is simple: can you entertain an audience with minimalist repetition? Elcar utilizes nothing more than a suburban pondside trail, two actors, and the temporal puzzlement of purgatorial duplication. Your mileage will vary with an almost 90-minute mindbender that’s as barebones as a Bear Grylls camping trip due to the stripped-down nature of a movie running in circles by design. Everything rides on character dissections as reality fractures like a damaged record skipping the same few beats over and over, which may or may not be enough to pull viewers through Elcar’s conversationally dependent, light-and-breezy nightmare.

Dana Berger stars as Jen, and Max Woertendyke as her husband Dan — an Anywhere, America couple needing therapy, reconciliation, or divorce. Jen decides to go for a brisk jog through local wilderness routes, and Dan tags along to make a half-hearted,...

As Fantasia 2023 continues into its second week we have been treated to some more funny, disturbing, and puzzling films that we are excited to share with this latest bacth oc capsule reviews.

More details at fantasiafestival.com.

River

One of my favourite films of Fantasia 2021 was Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes; a very unique Sci-Fi film from Japan. This is what I wrote about it "A very well made time warp film from Japan, with a seamless single take look, almost dizzying in places, and all in a taut 70 minutes and with a nice little feel-good ending." Needless to say I was delighted to s...

Japanese filmmaker Junta Yamaguchi follows his buzzy debut "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes" with another winning time-loop comedy, the more succinctly titled "River." Yamaguchi chooses Kyoto's picturesque Fujiya Inn as his backdrop, thriving off the meditative aesthetics of a rushing river that soothingly gurgles through a serene hotel. It's so calming and comforting, much like Yamaguchi's hilarious sci-fi predicament where time keeps repeating on a two-minute cycle. There are parallels between "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes" and "River," but Yamaguchi's sophomore effort is an upgrade in every conceivable measure. "River" is a triumphant indie comedy that'll have you laughing out loud from start to finish — easily one of the funniest films I've seen this year (at minimum).

The story follows both guests and staff of Fujiya, sticking on waitress Mikoto (Riko Fujitani) as our focal protagonist. Mikoto goes to check stock on their beer supply, stopping at the ​​Kibune River for a quick prayer.

Following up on the success of his directorial debut “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes,” Junta Yamaguchi again reinstates time as a plot element in his newest film, “River.” The original Japanese title translates to “River, don't drift away.” Similarly, two minutes are utilized for the sci-fi elements, though in a different manner than previously. Returning alongside Yamaguchi is screenwriter Makoto Ueda, along with some of the cast of the filmmaker's previous movie. Like before, the feature is made on a low budget, though with noticeably higher production values. “River” would be met with positive reception, further boosting Yamaguchi's popularity amongst audiences.

“River” is screening at Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival

The narrative is set during winter in Kibune, Kyoto, at a traditional Japanese inn, with a river behind the establishment. One day, surrealism ensues when the people in the area find themselves trapped in a time loop that resets every two minutes with no escape.

Looking to leap into the future for your next movie night? Amazon’s excellent Prime Video service allows you to scroll through thousands of great flicks, including some undiscovered sci-fi gems. And the best part is that it’s free if you have Amazon Prime. If you don’t, you can pick up a 30-day Free trial.

So what are you waiting for? Jump into the sci-fi future and start streaming for free.

30-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month amazon.com Jurassic World Dominion June 1, 2022

Four years after Isla Nublar was destroyed, dinosaurs now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators ona planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures.

Transformers: Age of Extinction June 25, 2014

As humanity picks up the pieces, following the conclusion of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,...

Stars: Paula Brasca, Marie Ruane, Sophia Davey, Cassandra Magrath, Michael Lorz | Directed by Charly Goitia, Ryan J. Thomson, Lorcan Finnegan, Nathan Crooker, Adam O’Brien, Mia’Kate Russell, David M. Night Maire

Based on a concept by Michael Kraetzer, Nightmare Radio: The Night Stalker is an anthology feature assembled from short films released as early as 2011. The wraparound segments come from director Charly Goitia, as late-night radio DJ Candy (Paula Brasca) asks listeners to call in and share their real-life horror stories. In between the wild experiences recounted on-air, an obsessed fan takes great lengths to make sure Candy hears his voice – even if it sounds like someone trying to mimic Roger L. Jackson’s Ghostface voice.

Playtime opens the film in the middle of the night, punctuated by a television turning on and awakening a sleeping woman. As she ventures downstairs to investigate, a spectre dressed as a bride appears before piling on the spooky occurrences.

Editor’s note: This review was originally published at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival. Dark Sky Films releases the film in theaters and on VOD on Friday, August 4.

An immensely clever and resourceful micro-budget movie about time-travel in the tradition of “La Jetée,” “Primer,” and last year’s loopy Japanese wonder “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes,” Andrew Legge’s collage-like “Lola” seamlessly combines authentic World War II-era newsreels together with fictional home videos to create a (very modern) found footage sci-fi story that strives to feel like it could have been made by someone in 1941, or at least by Guy Maddin in 2006.

The premise is tantalizing enough to keep your imagination tickled for most of the film’s brisk 79-minute running time: In 2021, a mystery cache of meticulously edited old celluloid was discovered in the cellar of a Sussex country house that once belonged to Martha and Thomasina Hanbury. It contained...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Beanpole (Kantemir Balagov)

The horrors of war are often told through male-centric narratives. Heroes who go through hell on the battlefield, brothers who sacrifice everything for each other, soldiers who return home scarred for life etc., all of which we’ve seen put on the big screen time and again. But wars are of course collective nightmares, tears in the fabric of history that leave no one–men, women, children–unscathed. This is the premise of Russian writer–director Kantemir Balagov’s second feature Beanpole, a radical relationship drama that examines the trauma of war from a distinctly female perspective. – Zhuo-Ning Su (full review)

Where to Stream: Ovid.tv

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi)

The logistics behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes...

Exclusive: Avi Federgreen’s Indiecan Entertainment is launching a genre-focused distribution arm, hot on the heels of releasing Junta Yamaguchi’s time paradox comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.

Red Water Entertainment will serve as a home for genre cinema from around the world, focused on bringing North American audiences high-quality cinema with no language or regional barriers.

It will work primarily in the horror, science fiction and action genres, but will release films from the vast spectrum that the term ‘genre’ encompasses. “There’s a lot of wonderful genre cinema that never sees the light of day in North America, and I’m excited to help some of these films find the audiences they deserve,” said Federgreen.

Red Water’s launch slate comprises six diverse films that will release late this year. They are Stefano Lodovichi’s The Guest Room (aka The Room; Italy), John Farrelly’s The Sleep...

On the April 8, 2022 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editorial director Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film news writer Ryan Scott to discuss what they've been up to at the virtual water cooler.

Opening Banter: Not much news going on, so we thought we'd have a mini water cooler.

In The Water Cooler:

Peter has watched Severance Season 1 on AppleTV+ and Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes

Ryan saw Michael Bay's AmbuLAnce and Coda

Also mentioned:

All the other stuff you need to know:

You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today's show at slashfilm.com, and...

The post Daily Podcast: Mini-Water Cooler: Severance, AmbuLAnce, Coda, Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes appeared first on /Film.

In the midst of a pandemic, with limited resources and using an iPhone to shoot, Junta Yamaguchi and his team made one of the most ingenious movies in recent years: Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. The Japanese sci-fi comedy proves that with a clever script – in this case written by Makoto Ueda – and the dedication to accurately plan and execute its production, you can deal with classic science fiction elements without a big budget. Developed entirely in one location – several floors of the same building – and in one long take, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes allows its protagonist (Kazunari Tosa) to communicate with himself in the very near future … only two minutes later, thanks to the monitor of his computer,...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Air Doll (Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Despite coming from one of international cinema’s foremost working filmmakers, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 2009 film Air Doll had never seen a release in the U.S. Adapted by Kore-eda from Yoshiie Gōda’s manga series Kuuki Ningyo, it’s a modern retelling of the Galatea myth—in which the king Pygmalion fell in love with his ivory statue and the goddess Aphrodite brought the statue to life. For a 21st-century spin on the tale, Kore-eda naturally updated the statue to a blow-up sex doll, played by Bae Doona. – Mitchell B. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (Junta Yamaguchi)

The logistics behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes are mind-boggling to fathom; time-travel stories are...

Last Radio Call Exclusive Clip: "Isaac Rodriguez’s found footage horror film, “Last Radio Call” releases on January 14th on the Terror Films Channel, followed by Digital and VOD platforms one week later.

Written and Directed Rodriguez, who also produced alongside Cynthia Bergen, Last Radio Call centers around Officer David Serling, who went missing inside the abandoned Yorktown Memorial Hospital. One year later, his wife has hired a film crew to help bring light on what really happened that night. Using recovered body cam footage, she discovers a dark secret that sends her spiraling down a horrific path of ancient evil. She must now face an unknown terror to find the answers she desperately seeks. Starring Sarah Froelich, Jason Scarbough, June Griffin Garcia, Ali Alkhafaji, KeeKee Takatsuki, Bert Lopez, and Makayla Rodriguez, the film will be available across digital and VOD platforms January 21st, one week after it debuts on the Terror Films Channel.

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2021, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

Two years into the pandemic, we’re still living through a collective nightmare, a cycle of crisis/reprieve/next-wave that can be so demoralizing. All the more reason, then, to be thankful for the filmmakers who soldiered on, telling stories that helped to make things feel less bad.

What a joy it was to travel through Siberia with the protagonists of Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment Number 6 and be reminded of the sparks of chemistry we share with random passers-by in our lives. How healing it felt to see a deep, life-changing bond develop between two strangers in Japanese filmmaker Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s poetic Murakami adaptation Drive My Car. And bless Norwegian auteur Joachim Trier for the bittersweet ride that is The Worst Person in the World,...

It was shot in a week and premiered to 12 people, but micro-budget sci-fi movie Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes has become the breakout success of the year

“We made the film in seven days, shooting non-stop from six in the evening to six in the morning. It was hell. We were always tired. And the cast and crew were always picking on me because my brain would just go completely dead at 2am every day.” Japanese film-maker Junta Yamaguchi is talking about his first feature film, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, which was shot almost entirely inside a real cafe in Kyoto. “We couldn’t film anything during their opening hours.”

But Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes isn’t your average small-scale indie film. It’s a nicely innovative time-travel yarn that asks: in our world of remote working and Zoom calls, what if the face staring back at us...

Stars: Aki Asakura, Kazunari Tosa, Riko Fujitani, Gota Ishida, Masashi Suwa, Yoshifumi Sakai | Written by Makoto Ueda | Directed by Junat Yamaguchi

A couple of years ago One Cut of the Dead blew everyone away with it’s originality, cleverness and charm, creating a whole new kind of zombie movie. Even though Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes does not feature the same filmmakers, it is still rightly being hailed as a worthy successor to the genre film.

It’s easy to see why after only a few minutes of the movie as we jump straight into the time travel story. It may sound a little more complicated than it actually is as a café owner discovers his PC monitor shows what will happen two minutes into the future, while a screen downstairs in the café shows the past of two minutes ago. His friends decide to place the two screens opposite...

The smart little short which provided proof of concept for 2020 feature Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes, this diligently structured work by Makoto Ueda (who would go on to write the said feature) follows the adventures of a man who is sitting in his apartment one day when he receives a message on his television set - from himself. This version of himself claims to be two minutes in the future, speaking through a connected monitor in his workplace downstairs. After a quick test to confirm that the man on the television set is who he claims to be, our hero rushes downstairs, where he explains the situation to a past version of himself. But rather than just playing this scenario over and over on a loop, Ueda explores what happens when the man decides to try and exploit the situation, taking the story in a different direction.

Inventive camerawork...

Our friends at Abertoir, the Welsh horror film festival have let us know their plans for this year’s edition. Going with the hybrid version there is an in-person event during the first week of November in the coastal town of Aberystwyth. The following week there will be an online edition for three days. Welsh horror film The Feast was already announced as the opening film for the festival. Welsh director Prano Baily-Bond will be present to talk about her award winning film Censor after a special screening at the festival. Other festival hits include Lamb, Titane, and Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. Other films to keep an eye out for include See For Me, an excellent home invasion thriller that I really like,...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Sitges drew to a close yesterday and while we still have a trio of reviews still in the works the audience chimed in with their own thoughts.    Camille Griffin's debut the comedy horror Silent Night won the Audience Award in the official selection. I must be missing something because they loved Javi Camino's Jacinto from the Panorama Fantástico section. Not a fan. Takashi Miike's The Great Yokai War Guardians won for the Midnight X-Treme section and Junta Yamaguchi's Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes won for the Focus Asia section. Two for Japan! Sugoi!   The audience also voted with their attendance, buying more than 60,000 tickets this year, eclipsing the 34,000 bought last year under health and safety restrictions, proving that if you build...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Huh. Who knew the Nightstream audience were such softies for heavy metal monster bands? Nightstream wrapped up a couple days ago so all that was left was to tally the votes and announce the audience awards! The documentary This is Gwar took top honors this year, winning the audience award in the feature film category. Another documentary, Kier-La Janisse’s doc, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror got a runner-up nod, along with Japanese sci-fi comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. In regards to the shorts, two films shared top honors this year, Ghost Dogs, from Joe Cappa and Guts from Chris McInroy. Congrats to all the winners and congrats to the National Alliance To End Homelessness and climate change advocacy...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Horror fans don’t have to wait until October to celebrate the scary movies, but this month offers a welcome opportunity to embrace the form. Last year, when the pandemic made in-person film festivals hard to achieve, four respected genre festivals from around the country — Boston Underground, Brooklyn Horror, North Bend, and Overlook — joined forces for a virtual festival event called Nightstream. Blending traditional horror programming with broader examples of genre filmmaking, the lineup provided a welcome opportunity to bring the festival experience to audiences nationwide.

This year is no exception: The second edition of Nightstream begins tonight and runs through October 13, with an exciting online program of films and events accessible to anyone in the U.S. Badgeholders will be able to tune into conversations with David Lowery, “Malignant” writer Akela Cooper, and “Creepshow” showrunner Greg Nicotero, as well as recurring events like The Future of Film Is Female...

CinemaSome of the most interesting films include 'Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes', 'Midnight', 'Wonderful Paradise' and 'Glasshouse'.Harish MallyaFor the first time, I had the honour and privilege of being invited as accredited press to Fantasia Festival (Aug 5 – Aug 25), one of the largest genre film festivals focusing on various Asian films as well as some of the most mind-blowing, eye catching premieres from across the world. The pandemic has opened new ways of hosting film festivals. Many of the premiere film festivals, including Marche du film, Toronto International Film Festival, Tribeca International Film festival, International Film Festival of Rotterdam are following a hybrid model, with both in-person theatrical screenings as well as virtual online screenings. The good part is that you can watch the premieres directly from your home, but the challenge is that there will be too many films to watch within a short time. Well, that is how...

Stars: Aki Asakura, Kazunari Tosa, Riko Fujitani, Gota Ishida, Masashi Suwa, Yoshifumi Sakai | Written by Makoto Ueda | Directed by Junat Yamaguchi

A couple of years ago at Frightfest, One Cut of the Dead blew everyone away with it’s originality, cleverness and charm, creating a whole new kind of zombie movie. Even though Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes does not feature the same filmmakers, it is still rightly being hailed as a worthy successor to the genre film.

It’s easy to see why after only a few minutes of the movie as we jump straight into the time travel story. It may sound a little more complicated than it actually is as a café owner discovers his PC monitor shows what will happen two minutes into the future, while a screen downstairs in the café shows the past of two minutes ago. His friends decide to place the two...

Junta Yamaguchi was born in 1987 and studied management at Kindai University. In 2005 he joined Kyoto-based theater troupe Europe Kikaku as director, editor and DVD-producer. Apart from his many theater productions, he also directed and shot many short features, TV drama, music videos as well as advertisements. Together with Europe Kikaku he made his feature debut “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes”, which already screened at Fantasia Festival and Nippon Connection 2021, among others, and, due to is low-budget nature, has been compared to “One Cut of the Dead”.

On the occasion of “Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes” being screened at Fantasia Festival, we talk with Junta Yamaguchi about directing a movie about time travel, the use of humor and the comparisons of his movie and “One Cut of the Dead”.

As your movie covers concepts such as fate and how one might be able to change his or hers, do you believe...

Ingenuity has always been the name of the game in low-budget filmmaking; scrimping and saving and stretching what you have to fill out the biggest canvas possible. Under the right direction, hundreds can look like thousands, and thousands can look like millions. But none of that really matters if you don’t have a killer hook, and a script that’ll actually see you through. Enter Junta Yamaguchi and Makoto Ueda’s delightfully sunny sci-fi Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes; a positively genius little time-travel comedy that plays to its strengths, putting story and concept front and centre and mastering the art of the DIY head-scratcher.

Playing out entirely in real-time, in one long, sweeping take, Ueda’s script starts as a simple twist on the Droste effect – the famous picture-in-picture-in-picture illusion that’s on everything from boxes of raisins to M.C. Esher paintings – before spinning out into a wild,...

Korean director Hong Eui-jeong’s debut feature “Voice of Silence” stood out at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival as the year’s best film from its Cheval Noir main competition section. The film, about two men who clean up after an organized crime organization, has enjoyed an impressive international festival run, having built up strong buzz as a project when it was selected to Venice’s Biennale College Cinema program in 2016.

“In a film festival that’s known as a melting pot of genres, ‘Voice of Silence’ feels like an excellent representative for the top prize in the Cheval Noir section. It’s earnest and sincere in tone but also unpredictable and experimental, impossible to pin down, and truly idiosyncratic,” said the jury in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Basque filmmaker Igor Legarreta was honored as the year’s best director for his sophomore effort “All the Moons,” a 19th...

Yoo Ah-in (Voice Of Silence), Zelda Adams (Hellbender) win acting prizes.

EuiJeong Hong’s South Korean thriller Voice Of Silence has won the 25th anniversary edition Fantasia International Film Festival’s Cheval Noir award for best film.

Hong’s film follows a mute low-level gangster tasked with taking charge of an 11-year-old kidnapped girl from a wealthy family. The jury described Voice Of Silence as “impossible to pin down, and truly idiosyncratic. Put simply, it’s unlike anything we’d seen before”.

Juried awards

In other Cheval Noir awards Yoo Ah-in who plays the mute man won best actor while...

The logistics behind Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes are mind-boggling to fathom; time-travel stories are often confusing enough when they aren’t filmed as a one-shot. The Europe Kikaku theatrical troupe embracing that extra challenge is, accordingly, wild. Group director Makoto Ueda admits he wouldn’t have written the script that way if he didn’t already trust his actors and know they could handle the experiment. Not that having them at his disposal necessarily made his and director Junta Yamaguchi’s jobs any easier. To be able to craft this particular adventure through time and space into a seamless seventy-minute progression, they would still need to break everything into two-minute increments to ensure it all happened as it already had.

Why? Because that’s the conceit. Kato (Kazunari Tosa) doesn’t know how it’s possible, but the Apple computer in his second-floor apartment has somehow connected with the...

Fantasia 2021 will run from August 5th to the 25th. A great number of films will be available to watch on-demand on the Festival’s virtual streaming platform (powered by Festival Scope and Shift72). Some virtual screenings will be scheduled at a specific date and time, check out the website to know when to tune in! Several films will be shown in person at Montreal’s Cinéma Impérial, Cinéma du Musée, or outdoors at Place de la Paix. Click here to see which ones! All panels, talks, masterclasses and special events will once again be completely free and accessible worldwide on Zoom or YouTube.

You can buy a Festival Passport Here. Please check the Official Website for more info.

Here are, in alphabetical order, all the Asian Films:

The 12 Day Tale Of The Monster That Died In 8 | Japan Dir: Shunji Iwai

North American Premiere

Shunji Iwai’s latest is a delightfully...

Exclusive: Indiecan Entertainment has acquired North American distribution rights to Junta Yamaguchi’s Japanese comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.

The pic premiered at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, winning the White Raven and the Critics Award, before screening at events including Neuchâtel, Bucheon and Fantaspoa, winning the audience award at the latter. It will have its North American premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

Makoto Uedawrote the screenplay. It follows a cafe owner who discovers that the TV in his cafe suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes forward. Kazuchika Yoshida produced.

The deal was negotiated between Indiecan President Avi Federgreen and Adam Torel, CEO of Third Window Films. Indiecan plans to release the film in Canada and the U.S. following the conclusion of its film festival run.

Indiecan President Avi Federgreen commented, “I am extremely excited to be able to work with...