“It’s our 10th anniversary and, honestly, it’s quite emotional,” Hyejung Jeon, founder and director of the London East Asia Film Festival, tells Broadsheet. “We began in 2015 with just a handful of films and the belief that there was a space for an audience-driven celebration of Asian cinema in London. Now we’re the largest and longest-running East Asian film festival in the UK.”
The Leicester Square mainstay is all about creating a dialogue between cultures through the language of cinema, and this year is no different. For its 2025 edition, the festival expands beyond the West End with screenings at venues including the V&A, National Portrait Gallery and the Cinema Museum, celebrating new and old cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and more.
Ahead of kick-off on October 23, Jeon reveals her personal highlights, ranging from a Hong Kong classic long unavailable in the UK to an early film from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and a box office hit that is Japan’s official submission to the 2026 Oscars.
Hard Boiled (John Woo, 1992)
“To celebrate Asian cinema heritage, we have to think about Hong Kong films, which have long held a place in the imaginations of Western audiences through their energy and choreography,” says Jeon. Hard Boiled – long unavailable in the UK due to rights issues – exemplifies Hong Kong’s once world-renowned industry. The “gun-fu” action classic made stars of actors like Chow Yun-fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love) before director John Woo was poached by Hollywood, where he directed films like Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2. “I was brought up on Hong Kong cinema, so this is something I’ve picked from my personal experience,” Jeon says. “The recent restoration had its world premiere at Cannes in May, and to watch it in a cinema again was amazing.”
October 23, 7.30pm, Odeon Luxe Leicester Square
Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, 2003)
“Cinematographer Kim Hyung-koo has shaped the visual language of modern Korean cinema,” says Jeon. “He’s best known for internationally acclaimed movies like Bong Joon-ho’s The Host, Lee Chang-dong’s Peppermint Candy and several films by Hong Sang-soo [including The Day He Arrives]. This screening and discussion at the V&A presents a chance to meet the artist behind the lens of one of Bong Joon-ho’s most popular films.”
October 24, 5pm, V&A South Kensington
The Ugly (Yeon Sang-ho, 2025)
Yeon Sang-ho has found recent success with Netflix series like Hellbound and Parasyte: The Grey, but he’s best known as the director of Train to Busan. The filmmaker’s new thriller, The Ugly, based on his 2018 graphic novel of the same name, topped the box office in Korea upon its release last month on a budget of just ₩200 million (about £105,000). “I like this kind of creativity,” Jeon says, alluding to the film’s striking choice to conceal the protagonist’s face for almost its entire run time.
October 26, 8.30pm, Odeon Luxe Leicester Square
Kokuho (Lee Sang-il, 2025)
“It’s hard to make a box office hit in Japan,” Jeon says. “But Kokuho – an emotionally complex and visually powerful film about traditional kabuki theatre – was a big hit, both commercially and artistically. The title is Japan’s official 2026 Oscars submission [in the Best International Feature Film category].”
November 2, 6.30pm, Odeon Luxe Leicester Square
Run to the West (Kang Yun-sung, 2025)
“When I founded this festival, my plan was to get to 10 years,” says Jeon. “But in the last two years, I’ve been thinking about what comes next.” This question will be explored by special guest Kang Yun-sung – known in Korea for action blockbusters like The Outlaws – at a talk accompanying the UK premiere of his experimental film Run to the West. “It’s part of a new subsection titled Future Frames: AI, which invites the audience to consider the future of creativity and the evolving role of human ownership in cinema,” Jeon says. An accompanying installation will be hosted at St Martins Lane hotel in Covent Garden.
November 1, 4.30pm Soho Hotel Cinema
The London East Asia Film Festival runs from October 23 to November 2.
