"We’re living in a very crazy world now, and in the middle of all this chaotic situation I feel we’re very blessed we still have films. We still have movie houses that we can go to... whether you want to escape or you want to cry, you want to laugh, you want to share emotion – well, at least in that two hours we still believe the world is beautiful!" The words of legendary Taiwanese superstar Sylvia Chang after receiving the Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement on the stage of the "Giovanni da Udine" Teatro Nuovo theatre capture perfectly the spirit of the Far East Film Festival and the energy of the edition that has just come to an end. The 27th edition. An edition which has focused on the narrative momentum of contemporary Asia, ranging across genres and creating a line-up that has been particularly attentive to social issues. FEFF 27 brought to Udine 77 films (12 world premieres, 22 international premieres, 23 European premieres and 19 Italian premieres from 12 countries), 220 guests of honour (including of course Sylvia Chang and the legendary Tsui Hark, both winners of the Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement award) and 65,000 spectators. “Never before,” underline Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, the FEFF’s founders, “have we so strongly felt the affection and closeness of the people of Udine and the city’s pride in the festival. Yes, if we add up the number of audience members at the Teatro Nuovo theatre and the Visionario, we come up with a figure of 65,000 - but it would be truly impossible to count all the people actually affected by the Asian mood!” And it was the votes of the audience, the absolute judges of the titles in competition since 1999, which once again determined this year’s winners
The public gave the Golden Mulberry to box office hit Her Story by director Yihui Shao, awarding the Silver Mulberry to Hong Kong’s The Last Dance - Extended Version by Anselm Chan and the Crystal Mulberry to Like a Rolling Stone by director Yin Lichuan. Which means that on the first and third steps of the podium are two of the most emblematic titles of the entire selection: they both come from mainland China, they both tackle the theme of gender equality, and they’re both by female directors
While the Black Dragon pass holders also chose Anselm Chan’s The Last Dance - Extended Version, the three jurors of the debut film section (Kim Yutani, Sakoda Shinji and Japanese celebrity Megumi) awarded the White Mulberry to Diamonds in the Sand by Filipino director Janus Victoria. The jury also gave a special mention to Kim Bo-sol’s animated South Korean love story The Square). The three jurors of the “Sergio Amidei” International Award of Gorizia - Massimo Gaudioso, Silvia D’Amico and Francesco Munzi awarded the Mulberry for Best Screenplay to Japanese psychological thriller Welcome to the Village by Jojo Hideo. FEFF 27 welcomed more than 3,000 guests in accommodation facilities around the city, while the number of accreditations reached a record high of 1,993. Enthusiasts, journalists, experts, professionals, the simply curious and 130 university cinema students (from Italy, the UK, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and Singapore), showing just how much much attention there is on the event from younger Fareasters. Over 200 professionals arrived from all over Europe for the industry sessions of Focus Asia (Filipino project What’s Left of Us won the TAICCA/Focus Asia Co-Production Award) and around 20,000 people took part in the Far East Film Events dotted around the centre of Udine, including visitors to the incredible Mondo Mizuki, Mondo Yokai exhibition
Finally, more than 10,000 hours of the online FEFF’s 23 titles were streamed on MYmovies ONE. The titles most popular with viewers included Janchivdorj Sengedorj’s hard-hitting Mongolian noir Silent City Driver (to which the MYmovies community awarded the Purple Mulberry) as well as Hideo Jojo’s Japanese thriller A Bad Summer, whose 1,426 hours of viewing are certainly deserving of mention
So all that’s left to do now is make a note of the dates of the 28th edition on your calendars, remembering the words with which Tsui Hark wished the audience in the Teatro Nuovo farewell: "I hope all the Far East Film Festival community continues to enjoy the wonderful discoveries that cinema brings with it." See you in Udine from 24 April to 2 May 2026!