The 10th edition of the BARCELONA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL – BAFF 2008- will open today, April 25th, with the screening of ASSEMBLY, by Feng Xiaogang. The BAFF -the only Asian film festival in Spain, and one of the most respected Asian film festivals in Europe- will run for 10 days and will offer you the best cinema produced in Asia in the last year.

For this its 10th anniversary, our team has prepared a number of special events. Nine films will compete for the Golden Durian Award to the Best Film of the Official Competition, courtesy of Casa Asia, all of them directed by new talented Asian film-makers with a filmography of three films or less. Thirteen films will compete for the Cinematk Award for Distribution in Spain, granted by Cinematk and Teuve. In adition to these two awards, the D-Cinema Award and the Audience Award -sponsored by Singapore Airlines- will be granted.

The AS-Asian Selection, the Focus on Hong Kong, the Nippon Connection on Tour, the D-Cinema -with as much as 25 titles- and the B10 and the Best of D-Cinema sections, a selection of fifteen essential Asian films screened at BAFF in the last 10 years, will complete this year’s programme.

On May 1st, a very unique screening will take place in Sala Apolo, our first festival venue 10 years ago. Goodbye, Dragon Inn, by Tsai Ming Liang, will be screened with a specially composed soundtrack, played live by Fibla and Arbol.

The Closing Ceremony will take place on May the 2nd, at the Espacio Movistar, with the screening of Sparrow, the last feature film by Johnnie To, who will be among us to introduce his lastest work to the audience.