A woman aims to reunite her dead husband’s amputated leg with his body, recalling their life together in the process, in this deliciously dark comedy.

A high-spirited, feature-length PSA that enlists a multitude of Hong Kong stars to send a message about the role of artists in times of crisis.

A novel take on the Shakespeare classic that reimagines the story’s gender-bending romance in a whimsical, near-future Taipei.

Three misfits united by boxing form an odd triumvirate, viewing life’s travails through the lens of this most brutal yet scientific martial art.

Three inmates band together to plot a desperate escape in this thriller rife with pathos, hard-boiled action, and pulp comic-book style to spare.

A North Korean refugee in Seoul is coaxed out of her protective shell by a boxing coach in this starkly effective emotional drama.

Adolescent thugs fight at the drop of a hat in an amped-up 1980s setting in this absurdly hilarious feature version of the manga-based TV show.

Actor Chan Kin Long (My Prince Edward, NYAFF 2020) makes his directorial debut with this gritty bromance, an exciting genre thriller and deeply poignant tale of personal loyalty with a formally astonishing final sequence that takes it to a whole nother level.

Janine Gutierrez (star of NYAFF 2020 Opening Film The Girl and the Gun) and director JC Santos are perfectly paired in this meditation on the pandemic, a dexterous blend of romantic escapism with the heavier concerns about family, health, and distance that have impacted us all.

A single office worker’s inner voice offers unpredictable and potentially limiting advice in this topical tale of modern romance and self-discovery.

An administrator banished to Nowheresville bonds with her co-workers over hardships in this impassioned plea against discrimination and exploitation.

A compelling portrait of today’s underworld, with multi-ethnic characters who are scrambling to bridge physical, generational, and moral divides.

A wealth of images and interviews paint an intimate portrait of legendary filmmaker Ann Hui, a pioneering artist who is also the ultimate Hong Konger.

A harrowing game of cat and mouse between a deaf woman and a serial killer sparks this edge-of-your-seat thriller with implicit social critiques.

A young director struggles to complete his first feature despite resistance on all sides in this gleefully inventive satire of the creative process.

A thirtyish postal worker’s humdrum life is transformed by an odd series of events in this dazzlingly original and whimsical twist on the rom-com.

A sad-sack single father is transformed into the One-Second Champion, able to see a moment into the future, in this inspiring twist on the fight film.

Auteur Rikiya Imaizumi sends up modern romance and Japan’s “freeter” (slacker) lifestyle, also offering a sublime travelogue of Tokyo’s bohemia.

This homage to kung fu films of yore blends “now” with “then” for a rousing spectacle of martial-arts fury with a perennial moral of might for right.

In 1995 Korea, a company-sponsored English class unites a trio of Korean “office ladies.” With smarts and determination above their lot in life, they uncover a scandal of Erin Brockovich proportions

Stephy Tang shines in this dark psychological thriller as a forensic psychiatrist whose investigation reawakens her own insurmountable trauma.

A fishing trip goes awry when three unwitting buddies venture into a deliriously off-kilter backwater in this gonzo action-comedy spectacular.

A YouTuber and a handsome con man join forces to exact revenge on her unscrupulous ex in this taut heist movie–cum–rom-com that knows no bounds.

An alienated teen reunites with her reckless birth mother in this arresting meditation on societal dysfunction through the lens of a fractured family.

This haunting exploration of AI sentience casts Lee Yoo-young as both a woman caring for her bedridden mother and the family’s devoted robot nurse.

Corruption of the worst kind is exposed in this stirringly acted account of a boarding school for the hard of hearing, based on a shocking true story.

Adam Wong’s joyous meta-study of dance films has much to say about the preservation of subcultures as they’re confronted by the forces of capitalism.

Stark drama, gentle comedy, and pointed social themes are deftly interwoven in this quietly triumphant family portrait.

A once-legendary hitman reclaims his dignity in this clever and compassionate pastiche of genre trappings, imbued with endearing nostalgia.

Writer-director Tan Bee Thiam’s insightfully whimsical world-building posits deep existential questions against a cheerily inventive background, where the creeping shadow of artificiality may in fact point to enlightenment.

Mixing coming-of-age tropes and romantic comedy, this manga adaptation flippantly satirizes the consuming need to find one’s purpose in life.

Veteran documentarian Xu Hui-jing brings a Hoop Dreams–level depth to this unsentimental study of a baseball school for underprivileged youngsters.

Three of Japan’s most talented actor-directors adapt the refreshingly unique manga series Zokki, about characters in “an obscure corner” of the world.

Two of Asia’s greatest actresses of all time, Maggie Cheung and Brigitte Lin (who famously took an arrow in the eye during the shoot), play badass swordswomen who attempt to thwart Ming Dynasty eunuch Tsao (played by Donnie Yen in full supervillain form) as he masterminds a plot to take over the Empire.

Set in Inner Mongolia in the 1980s, when China launched economic development programs that resulted in widespread clear-cutting (essentially mass destruction by chainsaw), this is a breathtakingly beautiful debut with a romance at its heart and an environmental message in its soul.

Set in 1991, when a long-festering internal conflict erupted into war, the fact-based film thrusts the audience into the terrifying street-level chaos, as two sets of Korean diplomats attempt to flee the country with their families and lives intact.

Actor Chan Kin Long (My Prince Edward, NYAFF 2020) makes his directorial debut with this gritty bromance, an exciting genre thriller and deeply poignant tale of personal loyalty with a formally astonishing final sequence that takes it to a whole nother level.

The compelling feature debut of Aimee Long, this troubling, fact-based film touches on of-the-moment themes that have become part of the public dialogue—from racial politics to the role of the media in manipulating public sentiment and meting out justice.

Writer-director Tan Bee Thiam’s insightfully whimsical world-building posits deep existential questions against a cheerily inventive background, where the creeping shadow of artificiality may in fact point to enlightenment.

A deeply compassionate and intensely moving film about an ex-con’s bumpy road to redemption, this masterwork from Miwa Nishikawa is punctuated by gentle humor, pointed satire, and explosive violence, and anchored by a career-best performance from beloved actor Kōji Yakusho.