I've been an adviser to the Udine Far East Film Festival since 2000. The event, held in Udine, Italy, is the largest festival in Europe dedicated to popular cinema from Asia.
For its 20th edition this year, 10 new Japanese films screened in the Competition section with one, the ultra-low-budget zombie comedy "One Cut of the Dead," scooping the second-place Audience Award. Director Shinichiro Ueda, producer Koji Ichihashi and several cast members got a raucous standing ovation from 500 fans following the film's midnight screening — a rarity at Udine, where audiences tend to remain seated even when their applause is thunderous.
Veteran director Daihachi Yoshida, whose offbeat drama "The Scythian Lamb" also screened in competition, later emailed his congratulations to first-time feature director Ueda, adding that he had walked home alone after the "One Cut" screening "feeling envious of your success" and "determined to make a film Udine audiences will like."