Asian avant-garde

An annual highlight: screenings of the cult pinku eiga, i.e. Japan’s equivalent to the Western porno. This is a genre born out of an attempt at being erotic while abiding to the once highly stringent Japanese censorship laws (no showing of genitals, for example), often to hysterical ends.

Opening the fest, director Kaushik Mukherjee lets his imagination run loose in an interconnected web of dirt and delirium as rapper and eponymous loser of the film Gandu (Sep 9, 20:00) raps his way through a world of porn, smack and violence. Follow the film link to find out about our discount offer on Gandu.

Anyone interested in an unconventional type of titillation should check out this year’s Erotibot (Sep 10, 23:00, photo).

Equally provocative is Indonesia’s Madam X (Sep 10, 20:00), a trashy mix of parody, queer comedy and socio-political critique featuring a transgender superhero.

For the highbrow-inclined, Thomas Mao (Sep 10, 13:45) is a brilliant exploration of changing Chinese identity in the face of globalization surprisingly reminiscent of Mulholland Drive. All films are shown in the original language with English subtitles.

Asian Hot Shots, Sep 9-11 | Moviemento, Kottbusser Damm 22, Kreuzberg, U-Bhf Schönleinstr., www.moviemento.de