Films to See Before You Die | Asia Society

Films to See Before You Die

A still image from Marilou Diaz-Abaya's film 'Moral'

Pictured: Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Moral (1982)

Asia Society presents an ongoing monthly series titled Films to See Before You Die featuring classic films and underseen gems from across Asia and the Asian diaspora, presented on 35mm or in new digital restorations, with extended introductions by Asia Society's Curator of Film.

Upcoming

Zhang Ziyi in Zhang Yimou's 2005 film 'House of Flying Daggers'
In-person
Film

House of Flying Daggers

09 Apr 2025
6:30 - 9:45 p.m.
Pivotal 5th Generation Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s sumptuous Tang Dynasty wuxia epic features all-star trio Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau in a deadly passionate love triangle. Presented on 35mm.
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A still image of children in a tree from Naomi Kawase's 1997 film 'Suzaku'
In-person
Film

Suzaku

07 May 2025
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Naomi Kawase's ethereal, Cannes prize-winning debut feature plays on an imported 35mm print as part of our monthly series "Films to See Before You Die".
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Past

A black and white photo of a woman sitting in a tub smiling and a woman's face in a small window behind her; a still image from Kinuyo Tanaka's film 'The Eternal Breasts' from 1955
In-person

The Eternal Breasts

12 Mar 2025
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Kinuyo Tanaka's 1955 masterpiece 'The Eternal Breasts', based on the life of tanka poet Fumiko Nakajō, screens on an imported 35mm print from the Japan Foundation as part of our ongoing monthly series "Films to See Before You Die".
Four women laugh together in a car in a still image from Marilou Diaz-Abaya's 1982 film 'Moral'
In-person

Moral

12 Feb 2025
6:30 - 9 p.m.
The second entry in Asia Society's monthly series "Films to See Before You Die". Four Filipina women navigate friendship and adulthood against a backdrop of martial rule in the late Marilou Diaz-Abaya's frank and unapologetic melodrama.
Four teenage boys jump and dance together in front of a crashing wave in a still image from Hou Hsiao-Hsien's 1983 film 'The Boys from Fengkuei'.
In-person
Film

The Boys from Fengkuei

08 Jan 2025
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Asia Society kicks off a new monthly series titled 'Films to See Before You Die' with a 35mm screening of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's 'The Boys from Fengkuei', cited by the director as a favorite among his own works.