Soft Japanese drama by Kimura Taishi Fujiko The film won the Golden Mulberry Audience Award at the 28th Far East Film Festival (FEFF), which ended on Friday evening in the city of Udine, northern Italy.
FujikoKimura’s second film is a family drama set in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s that tells the story of a middle-aged single mother trying to make her way in a culture still struggling with the concept of women’s liberation. The film stars Yuki Katayama, Lily Franky, Tsuyoshi Ogeki, Keiko Takeshita, Kayoko Kishimoto and Issei Ogata.
Kim Shin Wan and Cho Chul Young’s documentary Silver Mulberry has been awarded the 2026 Silver Mulberry Award, the second most coveted audience award at FEFF. Seoul guards. The film depicts the surreal events that took place on December 3, 2024, when people in Seoul took to the streets to protest the stunning declaration of martial law by embattled President Yoon Suk-yeol. Seoul guards It received significant critical acclaim for its immersive account of one of the most bizarre and impressive moments in South Korean history. Seoul guards Share the FEFF Black Dragon Critics Award with Fujiko.
Third place Crystal Mulberry was unexpectedly shared between four films – Blades of the Guardians: Rising Wind in the Desert By Yuen Wu Ping; my name By Chung Ji-young; Tunnels: The sun in the dark By Bui Thak Chuen; and King’s guard By Zhang Hang Jun.
Elsewhere, the White Mulberry Award, decided by the jury, was awarded to Best Debut Film An unidentified murder By Kwok Ka Hee and Jack Lee, with special reference to Seoul guards. The Mulberry Award for Best Screenplay went to Tunnels: The sun in the darkwith special reference to Anthony Chen We are all strangers.
This year’s FEFF Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement was presented to legendary Japanese actor Koji Yakusho and hugely influential Hong Kong film director and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. Chinese actress Fan Bingbing received the Golden Raspberry Award for outstanding achievement.
According to the festival organizers, the 2026 edition of the festival witnessed the screening of 75 films, including eight world premieres, 18 international premieres, 21 European premieres, and 20 Italian premieres from 12 countries. The festival says it has seen a slight increase in visitors compared to last year, with nearly 70,000 people visiting FEFF’s various shows and events.
“We had Asian movie stars and we had blockbuster films. We had films that celebrated the diversity of talent that the region continues to produce and we had full houses throughout the festival,” AFC President Sabrina Parasiti said. “Tonight’s winner once again reflects the power of Asian cinema, and our dedication to celebrating and promoting these directors will continue.”
The organizer also revealed that the dates for the 29th edition of FEFF will be held from April 23 to May 1, 2027, and the focus country will be Hong Kong.
