When I first covered the festival numerous years ago at the downtown Anthology Film Archives, I was struck by several features not encountered in any of the other established festivals. The organizers of the festival performed antics on the stage before the films and threw presents like videos and books into the audience. They were greeted by an adoring and enthusiastic crowd who seemed to be familiar with directors and principal characters of the films screened. In short an audience addicted to...

NEW YORK ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2004June 18 - 27, 2004at the Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Avenue @ Second Street)For the third year in a row, Subway Cinema presents its festival (one of only three in the US) devoted to new feature films from Asia. After watching 211 films, we feel we can safely say that this year¹s line-up includes the hands-down, no-holds-barred best new films from across the region. These are the movies that have been sweeping the awards ceremonies, racking up the box offi...