Kota Kinabalu: The 13th Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) continues with a film on a true story of a world-famous dancer, “Yuli”, at 8pm this evening (Thursday), at the City Cineplex, City Mall, here.
“Yuli” directed by Icíar Bollaín is an extraordinary biopic of the Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, a legend in the dance world and the first black dancer to perform some of the most famous ballet roles. Yuli is Carlos’ nickname.
He avoids discipline and education and just wants to be a normal boy – but his father believes in Yuli’s natural talent as a dancer and sends him to the National Ballet School of Cuba. He was a dancer who did not want to dance.
And yet he ended up in dance companies such as the Houston Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London.
His story is told both as a straightforward biographical drama and also as an interpretive dance piece.
Starring the dancer himself, Acosta is a magnetic force whose charisma and astonishing talent leaps off the screen.
His affirmative story superbly articulates experiences of sacrifice, maleness, black identity, exile and the transformative power of art.
Among the awards received by the film were the Audience Award at the Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad” (2018, Nantes Spanish Film Festival (2019) – Audience Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival (2018) – Best Screenplay, and The Platino Awards for Iberoamerican Cinema (2019) – Best Original Music.
Apart from film screenings at the City Cineplex, KKIFF also offers more than 30 films in the Cinebalu Screenings – Online programme at its official website.
From documentaries to feature films, the online screenings cover various topics and genres.
The online screenings which are available from Sept 17-25, also include films from the Mini Film Festival (MFF) and nominated films for the Cine10 Filmmakers’ Competition.
The films screened online include two feature films.
The Rise of Lion
Sabah | 2022 | Drama, inspirational | 1h 30m
Director: Michelle Xin
JJ has been inspired by Master Chen and his lion dance troupe, Ba De. He leaves his village to chase his lion dance dreams in the city of Kota Kinabalu and is dismayed when he discovers that Master Chen has passed away and the troupe has lost its pride and glory. The troupe is now led by Master Chen’s daughter, Jia Hui, who is struggling to carry on his legacy. JJ wants to help her restore Ba De’s reputation by participating in an upcoming lion dance championship. JJ may have no knowledge but his passion, perseverance and his Kadazan culture leads Ba De to a whole new level of lion dance experience.
Nine Queens / Nueve Reinas
Argentina | 2000 | Crime drama | 1h 54m
Director: Fabián Bielinksy
Synopsis: The story centres on two con artists who meet and decide to cooperate in a major scam – they try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps (the “nine queens”).
This clever, fast-moving thriller interlinks capitalism and criminality (it was made just as Argentina was entering economic freefall). The duplicity-laden and enchantingly scripted plot features one bewildering twist after another and there are superb performances from the two main actors.
For more information, visit the official website at cinebalu.kkiff.com or contact Rendall at 016-8497160.
