The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema have announced the lineup for the 2015 New York Asian Film Festival, which will take place from June 26 to July 8 at the SVA Theatre in New York City.

As per usual, it's absolutely packed with the latest and greatest of Asian cinema, screening the newest films from Sion Sono, Philip Yung, and Sabu-many for the first time on these shores.

The Opening Night presentation will be the North American Premiere of Philip Yung’s Port of Call., a film that centers on "the brutal murder of a 16-year-old Hunan girl who moves to Hong Kong with her family and falls into prostitution."

The Centerpiece Presentation will be the North American premiere of Sabu’s Chasuke’s Journey, which was in competition at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

Also featured is the World Premiere of Fire Lee’s black comedy Robbery; the International Premiere of Anh Sang-hoon’s erotic period actioner Empire of Lust; the North American Premieres of Chen Jiabin’s directorial debut A Fool, Daihachi Yoshida’s fantasy-drama Pale Moon, Lau Ho-leung’s action-comedy Two Thumbs Up, and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s slacker/rock drama La La La at Rock Bottom. And also the U.S. premiere of Yee Chih-yen’s high-school noir Meeting Dr. Sun.

Another clear highlight (from this author's perspective) is Sion Sono's indescribably amazing rap musical,Tokyo Tribe, which will no doubt be an audience favorite, as it was just at the 2014 Fantastic Fest.

Unlike in previous years, the festival will no longer cut in half and continue on with the Japan Society’s Japan Cuts festival, instead choosing to integrate the entire selection of Japanese films into the rest of the Festival's program, and adding new SVA Theatres (Silas and Beatrice) to increase the size of the fest. Some of the films that will be screened from the land of the rising sun include Brotherhood of Blades, The Royal Tailor, The Taking of Tiger Mountain 3D, and Vengeance of an Assassin.

Make sure to check subwaycinema.com for the full festival schedule and details on how to purchase tickets. This is one of the finest film festivals in New York, folks, so don't miss out. 

Tags: NYAFF 2015 Movies