News

Upcoming projects from award-winning directors Huang Ji, Qiu Jiongjiong, and Chong Keat Aun are among the 15 works-in-progress (Wip) titles selected for the 23rd Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF23).

The upcoming features will be showcased during the Hkiff Industry Project Market, set to take place from March 17-19 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre during the 29th Hong Kong Filmart.

After winning best film at the 60th Golden Horse Awards for Stonewalling, Huang Ji and her regular collaborator Ryuji Otsuka will present A Woman Builds, about a Chinese woman who commits herself to building a house in her hometown while living a pseudo-single life,...

New projects from Golden Horse Award winner Huang Ji, Indonesian actor-turned-director Reza Rahadian and US-Philippines actor and director Isabel Sandoval are among the 15 Works-in-Progress selected for this year’s Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf).

A Woman Builds is the latest feature from Huang Ji and her regular collaborator, Otsuka Ryuji, after winning best film at the Golden Horse Awards for Stonewalling. The new film follows a Chinese woman who builds a house in her hometown while living a pseudo-single life during the pandemic.

Rahadian’s directorial debut Pangku, starring Christine Hakim, explores a tradition in a rural part of Indonesia in which coffee shops provide women to sit in men’s laps whilst drinking their coffee.

Sandoval both stars in and directs Moonglow, a neo-noir about an ex-cop assigned with her ex-lover to investigate a break-in at the mansion of a corrupt police chief. Arjo Atayde also stars.

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg)

There are a lot of ways A Different Man could go and a lot of things it could be. Aaron Schimberg’s uniquely uncomfortable, uncomfortably unique feature sometimes plays as a reverse-Frankenstein medical horror, a tragic life-imitates-art satire, and a spiraling relationship drama. To its ambitious and distinct credit, it attempts packaging them all into ominous-sounding harmony, as if Charlie Kauffman’s surrealist Escher concoctions became a Twilight Zone episode modeled after David Lynch’s Elephant Man or Beauty and the Beast. It’s a dark, hilarious, and deeply unsettling portrait of a disfigured man that’s also an unflinching mirror of a looks-focused industry. – Jake K. (full review)

Where to Stream: VOD

Green Border (Agnieszka Holland...

Fran Borgia of Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia (“Tiger Stripes”), who’s at the Venice Film Festival this week with Yeo Siew Hua’s Golden Lion contender “Stranger Eyes,” has unveiled two new projects on his production company’s fast-growing slate, including a limited series from Yeo, whose “A Land Imagined” won the Locarno Film Festival’s top prize in 2018.

“We are excited to announce that we are expanding our horizons beyond Southeast Asia, embarking on ambitious new projects in collaboration with partners from China, Japan and India,” Borgia told Variety. “These international co-productions present new challenges and opportunities, allowing us to push creative boundaries and expand our artistic skills.”

Described by the producer as “a captivating and innovative addition to [Yeo’s] body of work,” the Singaporean filmmaker’s seven-part psychological police thriller series “The Fundamentals” delves into small-town paranoia, blending science, cultism and procedural elements. Created by Yeo and written by Yeo,...

Taiwanese family drama ‘Old Fox’ won the most awards on the night.

China-set drama Stonewalling, directed by husband-and-wife team Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, won best narrative feature at the 60th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan on Saturday (November 25).

Taiwanese family drama Old Fox won the most awards on the night, including best director for Hsiao Ya-chuan, best supporting actor for veteran Akio Chen, makeup and costume design, and best film score.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Mainland Chinese director Huang and Japan’s Otsuka were in attendance at Taipei’s National Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to...

The husband and wife team of Otsuka Ryuji and Huang Ji, who worked with a minimalist crew and mostly non-professional actors, gave a round of thanks to Asian leading auteurs for inspiring them, and then hugged each other on stage for winning the Taipei Golden Horse Film Awards best narrative feature prize with their pregnancy drama “Stonewalling.”

The numerical winner on Saturday night was “Old Fox,” which earned the best director award for Hsiao Ya-chuan, as well as the best supporting actor, makeup and costume, and best film score prizes.

The nominations, announced in October, saw “Snow in Midsummer” collect nine nominations and Taiwan’s Oscar contender “Marry My Dead Body” head the field with eight. They were narrowly ahead of a further cluster of films with seven nominations each, including “Abang Adik,” “Old Fox,” “Trouble Girl” and “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon.”

On the evening, “Marry My Dead Body...

China-set drama Stonewalling, co-directed by husband-and-wife team Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji, won best narrative feature at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, which is celebrating its 60th edition this year.

The film, which premiered in Venice and won best film at Hong Kong film festival’s Young Cinema Competition, follows a young woman in mainland China grappling with issues around career, relationships, health and fertility. It also won best editing, which was shared by Otsuka and Taiwan’s Liao Ching-sung, with the latter winning his first Golden Horse award after 12 nominations stretching back four decades.

The awards were evenly spread among the nominated films. Taiwan’s Wu Kang-ren won best leading actor for his role as a deaf-mute in Malaysian drama Abang Adik. Best actress went to 12-year-old Audrey Lin for her role in Trouble Girl, making her the youngest ever best actress winner at the Golden Horse awards.

Best...

Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Fpp) has wrapped with Lee Yi-shan’s debut feature Chewing Gum winning the Grand Prize, which comes with a cash award of $32,000 (TWD1M).

The project is about a young boxer from the lower rungs of society who redefines herself through the struggles of her spiritual journey.

The prize was presented by a three-person jury comprising Taiwanese actor and director Chen Yi-wen; Taipei-based, Hong Kong-born producer Jeffrey Chan and Hong Kong producer and distributor Winnie Tsang.

The three judges praised Chewing Gum for its “wonderful character depictions, including their relationships, attitudes, and various aspects of their lives, which feel absurd but also very real.”

Golden Horse Fpp has separate sections for in development features, works-in-progress and in development series. In the series section, Netflix presented...

Full list of winners at the Film Project Promotion (Fpp) project market revealed.

Chewing Gum, the upcoming feature directorial debut of Taiwan’s Lee Yi-shan, has won the Nt$1m grand prize at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Fpp) project market.

It was one of 17 awards announced at a ceremony that marked the end of this year’s Fpp, which focuses on Chinese-language projects and ran from November 20-22 at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Chewing Gum centres on a young boxer from the lower rungs of society who redefines herself...

“Chewing Gum” was named winner of the Nt$1 million Grand Prize, the top award at the 2023 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion production event.

Other prizes were awarded for works in progress and for TV series. The winners were announced at a ceremony on Wednesday at the New Horizon Event Space in Taipei, Taiwan.

“Chewing Gum” is the debut feature film of Lee Yi-shan, a previous winner of the Golden Horse Film Award for best short film.

The project portrays a young boxer from the lower rungs of society who redefines herself through the struggles of her spiritual journey. The female protagonist accepts the messed-up lives of the adults around her with a nonchalant attitude, not catering to political correctness but instead being true to herself.

The Fpp jury, comprising Jeffrey Chan, Winnie Tsang and Chen Yi-wen, praised “Chewing Gum” for its character depictions, relationships, attitudes and aspects of the characters’ lives which felt absurd,...

The Japanese romantic fantasy film Who Were We?, which recently competed at the Tokyo International Film Festival, has locked down several key sales in East Asia. Happinet Phantom Studios and Tetsuya To Mina Film will co-distribute the title at home in Japan, while Seoul-based Andamiro Films has taken all rights for South Korea and mainland China rights have gone to Beijing Jungle Jim Culture Media.

The second feature from rising Japanese indie director Tetsuya Tomina, Who Were We? is a metaphysical love story that follows a man and a woman — played by the in-demand Japanese stars Ryuhei Matsuda and Nana Komatsu, respectively — who find themselves on the premises of an ancient gold mine on Japan’s remote Sado Island with no memory of how they got there or who they are.

Komatsu, also a popular fashion model in Japan, is best known internationally for her performance in Martin Scorsese’s Silence,...

Marks the first title of Monar Films since being appointed international sales representative for Hkiff Collection.

Hkiff Collection has added Tokyo’s competition title Who Were We? by Tetsuya Tomina to its sales catalogue through its new sales representative Monar Films.

Hkiff Collection has picked up worldwide rights to the Japanese film, excluding Japan, which is set to have its world premiere in the main competition at the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival (October 23-November 1).

Set in a gold-mining town on Sado Island, the film explores the relationship between a night guard and a female cleaner who have no memory of their past.

Snow In Midsummer, directed by Malaysia’s Chong Keat-aun, leads the race for this year’s Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan with nine nominations, including best narrative feature, best director and best supporting actress (Wan Fang).

The film, which is a collaboration between Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, also has nods for best adapted screenplay, best cinematography, best makeup & costume design, best original film score, best original film song and best sound effects.

Taiwanese features Marry My Dead Body and Eye Of The Storm were not far behind, with eight nominations apiece. Marry My Dead Body, which is also Taiwan’s submission for Best International Feature at the upcoming Oscars, was nominated for best narrative feature, best director, two best leading actors nods (Hsu Kuang-han and Austin Lin), best adapted screenplay, best action choreography, best original film song and best editing.

Eye Of The Storm has nods for best narrative feature,...

‘’Eye Of The Storm’ and ‘Marry My Dead Body’ also secure several nods.

Chong Keat-aun’s historical epic Snow In Midsummer leads the nominations for the 60th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, scoring nine nods including best film and best director.

Lin Chun-yang’s Sars drama Eye Of The Storm and Cheng Wei-hao’s ghost comedy Marry My Dead Body are close behind with eight nominations apiece.

Each will compete in the best film category along with Stonewalling by husband-and-wife team Huang Ji from mainland China and Ryuji Otsuka from Japan, and Time Still Turns The Pages, the feature debut...

“Snow in Midsummer,” a drama film which premiered in the Venice Days section of the recent Venice film festival, narrowly emerged as the front-runner for the Golden Horse Film Awards.

Nominations for the November awards were announced on Tuesday, with “Snow” gathering recognition in nine categories, including best film. But it was only narrowly ahead of a pair of films with eight nominations each – “Marry My Dead Body” and “Eye of the Storm” – and a further cluster with seven nominations each. These include “Abang Adik,” “Old Fox,” “Trouble Girl” and “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon.”

The best picture category includes “Snow,” “Dead Body” and “Eye of the Storm” as well as Hong Kong’s “Time Still Turns the Pages” and Chinese-Japanese indie film “Stonewalling.” Directed and written by husband and wife team of Otsuka Ryuji and Huang Ji, “Stonewalling” is enjoying a career on the international festival circuit,...

These last few years the Criterion Channel have made October viewing much easier to prioritize, and in the spirit of their ’70s and ’80s horror series we’ve graduated to––you guessed it––”’90s Horror.” A couple of obvious classics stand with cult favorites and more unknown entities (When a Stranger Calls Back and Def By Temptation are new to me). Three more series continue the trend: “Technothrillers” does what it says on the tin, courtesy the likes of eXistenZ and Demonlover; “Art-House Horror” is precisely the kind of place to host Cure, Suspiria, Onibaba; and “Pre-Code Horror” is a black-and-white dream. Phantom of the Paradise, Unfriended, and John Brahm’s The Lodger are added elsewhere.

James Gray is the latest with an “Adventures in Moviegoing” series populated by deep cuts and straight classics. Stonewalling and restorations of Trouble Every Day and The Devil, Probably make streaming debuts, while Flesh for Frankenstein,...

Directors include Huang Hsin-yao, Tom Lin Shu-yu, Lam Sum, Ng Ka-leung and Daishi Matsunaga.

Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Fpp) has revealed a diverse selection of 46 films for its 2023 project market, including directors Huang Hsin-yao, Tom Lin Shu-yu and Hsu Chih-yen from Taiwan, Lam Sum and Ng Ka-leung from Hong Kong and Daishi Matsunaga from Japan

The market is scheduled to take place from November 20-22 during the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival with a the total prize pool of nearly $250,000 (Nt$8m), including a grand prize worth $32,000 (Nt$1m). All projects in the selection are eligible to...

The 2023 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion, the project market that accompanies the Golden Horse film festival and awards in Taiwan in November, has laid out a huge 64-title selection for its 2023 edition.

These include 39 film projects at various stages of development and financing; a further seven works in progress; and the 18-previously announced series at project stage.

The event, which runs Nov. 20-22, offers a $31,000 (Nt$1 million) first prize and a total prize pool of $250,000 (Nt$8 million) from sponsors and industry sources. All selected projects are also eligible to apply to two Taicca funding initiatives: the Creative Content Development Program and the International Co-funding Program.

Among the Taiwanese filmmakers: Huang Hsin-yao, the director of “The Great Buddha+” and “Classmates Minus,” takes on the legend of Taiwanese treasure hunters in “Super-Reasoning Treasure Hunt”; Tom Lin Shu-yu, director of “Winds of September” and “The Garden of Evening Mists,” teams up with Kimi Hsia...

‘Modern Love’ Third Iteration Sets Release

Prime Video has set May 18 for the global release of its upcoming Indian anthology series “Modern Love Chennai.” This is the third Indian adaptation of “Modern Love,” the internationally acclaimed original anthology directed by John Carney, following “Modern Love Mumbai” and “Modern Love Hyderabad.”

Produced under the banner of Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, with Thiagarajan Kumararaja as the creator, the six-episode anthology presents a bouquet of love stories set in the city of Chennai that explore relationships, push boundaries, and open minds.

“Love stories and rom-coms have never been my cup of tea. Thus, ‘Modern Love Chennai’ was an interesting challenge,” said Kumararaja, creator of the series and writer-director of one of the episodes. “With these stories, we have explored and celebrated the old-world charm of the city, which remains rooted in a distinct blend of tradition and modernity.”

Festival Winners

The Jeonju International Film Festival,...

Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji’s “Stonewalling” won the Chinese-language section of the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Firebird Young Cinema competition. Lila Aviles’s “Totem” won the equivalent Firebird Award for international films.

The festival began on March 30 and concluded on Sunday evening with a world premier screening of “Vital Sign” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre. The screening was accompanied by cast and crew including Louis Koo, director Cheuk Wan-chi, producer Jacqueline Liu and performers Neo Yao, Angela Yuen, Ng Wing-sze, Tony Wu and So Yuet-yin.

In total, “Stonewalling” picked up three awards. In addition to the best film prize, it also collected the best actress prize for leads Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui and the Fipresci Award. The tale of an unwanted pregnancy, the film premiered at Venice and Toronto last year. The Hkiff jury said it “[reminds] us of the confusion, difficulty and...

Stonewalling, co-directed by Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, was the big winner at Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff), taking home three prizes including best film in the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) of the Firebird Awards.

While Hkiff did manage to hold some postponed, but in-theatre, editions during the pandemic, this year was the first time the festival had been able to welcome overseas guests after Hong Kong dropped it strict Covid quarantine requirements towards the end of last year. The festival wraps today (April 10) and held its awards ceremony with a screening of closing film, Cheuk Wan-chi’s Vital Sign, last night.

Part of a trilogy that focuses on the struggles of young women in contemporary China, Stonewalling also won best actress, which was shared by its two female leads, Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui, playing mother and daughter, and also picked up the Fipresci prize.

The Hkiff...

Lea Grob’s ‘Apolonia, Apolonia’ picked up the top documentary award.

Chinese coming-of-age drama Stonewalling and Mexican feature Totem have won the top prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s (Hkiff) Firebird Awards.

Stonewalling, co-directed by husband-and-wife team Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. It also saw Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui jointly named best actress for their roles as mother and daughter in the film. The feature was also awarded the Fipresci Prize.

The film, which premiered in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori section last September,...

More than 60 films to receive their world premieres at the festival.

South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival (April 27-May 6) has unveiled a line-up of 247 films from 42 countries for its 24th edition and will open with Tori And Lokita by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes.

The Belgian filmmaking duo will attend the Korean premiere of their feature, which played in Competition at Cannes last year and won the festival’s special 75th anniversary prize.

Jeonju will close with the world premiere of Kim Hee-Jung’s Where Would You Like To Go?, a Korea-Poland co-production about a woman who travels to Warsaw...

The drama about two sisters is from first-time feature director Sasha Chuk.

Hong Kong project Fly Me To The Moon won five awards at the closing of this year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.

The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Sasha Chuk and is produced by Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan, whose films as a director include Venice 2005 title Everlasting Regret, Cannes 2001 film Lan Yu and Berlin competition titles Center Stage, The Island Tales, Hold You Tight and Red Rose White Rose.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Fly Me To The Moon was among...

Hong Kong-based indie sales agent Good Move Media has added Japanese music drama “Plastic” to its FilMart slate.

The film is directed by Miyazaki Daisuke, the Japanese helmer behind “Yamato (California),” which had festival play in 2016, and 2019 slacker youth title “Tourism” in 2019.

The new picture is the story of teenagers Juna and Ibuki, who set out to find the psychedelic rock band Exne Kedy. Exne Kedy is a fictional creation from musician Ide Kensuke, who previously released punky album “Kensuke Ide With His Mothership — Contact From Exne Kedy and the Poltergeists,” but the band is actually credited as performing and providing part of the music track in the film. “Plastic” is recently completed and headed for a theatrical release in Japan in July.

Good Move has a strong track record of handling offbeat but powerful Asian independent films. Its recent titles include “Me and the Cult Leader,” a documentary exploring...

Shout! Studios presents The Magic Flute by Florian Zigl, executive produced by Roland Emmerich, at 325 theaters with expansion likely. A reimagining of the Mozart opera, it follows a present-day teen sent from London to the Austrian Alps on singing scholarship at the legendary Mozart boarding school. There, he discovers a century old forgotten passageway into the magical world of Mozart’s famed opera.

This Harry Potter-ish adventure fantasy stars Jack Wolfe as Tim Walker, who passes from school into the world of the opera and its many adventures as hero Prince Tamino. Wide releases may be picking up steam and Scream, but in terms of new specialty, and family fare, these isn’t much new competition this weekend.

Melissa Boag, EVP of Family Entertainment at Shout! Studios, hopes it will play with fans of magical adventure, Harry Potter, and classical music. Wolfe is a star of Netflix YA series Shadow & Bone.

The Asian premiere of Soi Cheang’s “Mad Fate” is just one of three locally-produced movies that have been set as the opening and closing titles of the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival.

“Mad Fate” is joined in the festival opening slot on March 30 by “Elegies,” Ann Hui’s documentary portrayal of the topography of contemporary local poetry, which will have its world premiere. The closing film, another world premiere, is “Vital Sign,” an affecting drama directed by Cheuk Wan-chi and starring Louis Koo, Yau Hawk-sau, and Angela Yuen, which will wrap up proceedings on 10 April.

In total, the festival has programmed some 200 films from 64 countries and territories. These include nine world premieres, six international premieres, and 67 Asian premieres.

“Mad Fate,” an intense examination of murder, local superstition and the lower depths of society, premiered last month at the Berlin festival in a special section. Cheang will be a major feature of the Hkiff,...

“I don’t want to owe people money,” are the words defeatedly uttered by Lynn (Yao Honggui), the protagonist of “Stonewalling,” the forthcoming film from the Beijing-based husband-and-wife team, Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka. The film, focusing on Lynn’s life for a year, finds her at a crossroads: in the midst of her college education and has been training for a career as a flight attendant, everything is overtaken by doubt and disarray when Lynn discovers that she’s pregnant.

Continue reading ‘Stonewalling’ Trailer: Directorial Duo Of Huang Ji & Ryuji Otsuka Bring A Staggering Portrayal Of Contemporary China To Theaters In March at The Playlist.

One of the most heralded films from last fall’s festival circuit––playing at Venice, TIFF, NYFF, and BFI London––came from directors Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, the wife-and-husband team hailing from Beijing. Their strikingly shot, patient drama Stonewalling, which follows the journey of a student flight attendant whose plans to finish college are thrown into doubt when she discovers she’s pregnant, marks the continuation of a trilogy led by Yao Honggui, which also includes Egg and Stone and The Foolish Bird. Now set for a theatrical release from KimStim starting March 10 at Film at Lincoln Center, where they will screen the entire trilogy with the directors in person, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the U.S. trailer and poster.

Here’s the official synopsis: “20-year-old Lynn is told she needs English classes, flight attendant school, and a go getter-attitude. She perseveres along this path of upward...

Cinematographer Ed Lachman was meant to reunite with his frequent collaborator and director Todd Haynes on “May December,” starring Natalie Portman, but he broke his hip. “I just came home from Chile doing a film with Pablo Larrain, and I unfortunately, I broke my hip.” Lachman says.

Instead of joining Haynes and Portman in Savannah, Ga., where the film is currently in production, Lachman is doing well and recovering in Mallorca. He spoke with Variety about his recent projects and the surge of shooting on film after being honored at the recent Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival.

The festival presented Lachman with its inaugural Evolution Cinematography Icon Award recognizing his work over four decades across films such as “Carol,” “Far From Heaven” and “Erin Brockovich.”

Your latest project, “Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues” uses a lot of archival images and voiceover to tell this story. What was your approach there?...

The ebbs and flows of a rather long, deliberately paced narrative can test most viewers. Especially difficult when it seems the movie’s central conflict doesn’t manifest in a few key sequences, instead building piece-by-piece over time, in small gestures. Those with a keen eye and ear, who are willing to soak in commentary on muted malaise of 21st-century youth, will find reward in Huang Ji and Ryûji Otsuka’s Stonewalling. Like the characters, it plays a waiting game: this film bets its outskirt sleepy venues will absorb viewers enough to find deeper meaning. Not only about the modern lives of China’s youth, but also the troubling economic and social inheritances that will come to the generations after.

The camera barely moves. Sequences of still shots play directly to a paced narrative hinging on tension of unmade decisions and half-taken next steps that embody the genuine aimlessness felt by its young protagonist.

The 60th annual edition of the New York Film Festival kicks off on Friday night with the North American premiere of Netflix’s “White Noise” – the first of many awards contenders set to screen at the Manhattan fest as the season marches forward.

“White Noise,” which actually kicked off the 2022 Venice Film Festival back in August, is Noah Baumbach’s latest project for the streamer and his first since “Marriage Story” landed numerous Oscar nominations in 2020, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay for Baumbach, Best Actor for Adam Driver, Best Actress for Scarlett Johansson, and Best Supporting Actress for Laura Dern (Dern was the film’s sole winner). The early reviews for “White Noise” leaned positive – with Baumbach’s adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel holding a 68 rating on Metacritic. That gives “White Noise” an edge, at least from a critical perspective, over a handful of other top awards contenders...

Exclusive: New York-based arthouse distributor KimStim has acquired all North American rights to Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka’s third feature film, Stonewalling, which recently premiered in the Giornate Degli Autori section of this year’s Venice film festival.

Part of a trilogy that focus on the struggles of young women in contemporary China, the Chinese-language film revolves around a woman’s journey dealing with an unplanned pregnancy in the hyper-competitive, TikTok-influenced, gig economy world of urban China.

The cast of the film is headed by Yao Honggui and also includes Liu Long, Xiao Zilong, Huang Xiaoxiong and Liu Gang. Wife-and-husband duo Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka previously directed Egg And Stone and Foolish Bird, also starring Yao Honggui.

Following its Venice premiere, Stonewalling is screening at Toronto International Film Festival before moving on to the New York and BFI London film festivals. KimStim is planning to release the film...

The curators of the 2022 edition of the BFI London Film Festival have programmed a total of 164 feature films, including 23 world premieres, 6 international premieres and 15 European premieres, with a special programme of over 20 features and 15 short films available digitally across the whole of the UK on BFI Player until October 23.

The films are grouped in thematic strands: Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Experimenta, Family and Treasures, and will also include TV series.

Over 60 countries are represented, with 41 of the programme from female and non-binary directors and creators or co-directors and co-creators, while ethnically diverse directors and creators make up 34 of the line-up.

Explore the full Programme Here and find all the information about tickets and booking Here

And now browse the selection of Asian Titles of the BFI London Film Festival:

Official Competition Nezouh

Nezouh

Soudade Kaadan – UK-Syria-France 2022. 104min

Soudade Kaadan turns to her Syrian roots for this wry,...

When China introduced its one-child policy in 1980 in an attempt to control its rapidly expanding population, the country went through a spiritual reckoning with what it meant to build and be a family unit. Over the next five decades and until the law was changed in 2015, there were high numbers of botched sterilizations, abortions without consent, abandoned infant girls, and even infanticide. Parents who broke the law and had more than one child were forced to pay a social maintenance fee to the government as penance for their decision to take more than their fair share of state-ordained resources. It was only in 2021 that all limits, as well as penalties, regarding the number of children you could have were entirely removed.

In “Stonewalling,” a movie described by its directors as “observations of a post-Tik Tok China,” the film finds its ruminative rhythm in the relationship between the modern day and...

The Toronto International Film Festival returns in September 2022 for its 47th edition — 11 days of international and Canadian cinema, special events featuring some of the biggest names in film, and TIFF’s Industry Conference, offering diverse and innovative perspectives on the art and business of film. The full programme can be found Here.

Here is a selection of Asian titles:

Features A Gaza Weekend

A Gaza Weekend

Basil Khalil ­- Palestine, United Kingdom, 2022

A Long Break

Davit Pirtskhalava – Georgia, 2022

A Man of Reason

Jung Woo-sung – South Korea, 2022

Alam

Firas Khoury – France, Tunisia, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, 2022

Autobiography

Makbul Mubarak – Indonesia, France, Singapore, Poland, Philippines, Germany, Qatar, 2022

Beyond the Wall

Beyond the Wall

Shab, Dkheli, Divar – Iran, 2022

Broker

Hirokazu Kore-eda – South Korea, 2022

Decision to Leave

Park Chan-wook – South Korea, 2022

Hunt

Lee Jung-jae – South Korea, 2022

In Her Hands

Tamana Ayazi, Marcel Mettelsiefen – United States of America, Afghanistan, 2022

Joyland

Joyland

Saim Sadiq – Pakistan, 2022

Kacchey Limbu

Shubham Yogi – India,...

The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the international arm of its festival. Taking place September 8 through 18, TIFF previously unveiled Sally El Hosaini’s opening night film “The Swimmers” as well as Special Presentations including the world premieres of Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans,” Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” and Nicholas Stoller’s “Bros.”

“The Woman King,” “Catherine Called Birdy,” “The Menu,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “My Policeman” additionally debut at the festival.

Now, the Contemporary World Cinema slate has been announced for 2022 TIFF. The lineup includes features from more than 50 countries spanning the globe. The respective world premieres for “Bones of Crows” and “The Swearing Jar” are among programming highlights, as well as the North American premieres for Koji Fukada’s “Love Life” and Jerzy Skolimowski’s “Eo.”

“We are so proud of the TIFF Docs and Contemporary World Cinema programs,” Anita Lee, chief programming officer,...

Festival runs September 30-October 16.

New York Film Festival (NYFF) has unveiled its 60th anniversary edition Main Slate, a roster that includes latest work by imprisoned Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi, Park Chan-wook, Joanna Hogg, Todd Field, Kelly Reichardt and Claire Denis.

As previously announced, Noah Baumbach’s White Noise and Elegance Bratton’s The Inspection bookend the festival, Laura Poitras’s documentary All The Beauty And The Bloodshed is the Centrepiece screening and James Gray’s Armageddon Time is the NYFF 60th Anniversary Celebration screening.

“If there is one takeaway from this year’s Main Slate, it is cinema’s limitless capacity for renewal,...

Click here to read the full article.

Alice Diop, Kelly Reichardt, Paul Schrader, Park Chan-wook and Ruben Östlund are among the high-profile directors whose films are set to screen during the main slate of the 2022 New York Film Festival.

Park’s Decision to Leave and Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness are among the Cannes prize-winners coming to the annual fall event in Manhattan along with Claire Denis’ Stars at Noon and Charlotte Wells’ debut feature Aftersun.

Filmmakers making their first appearance in the festival’s main slate include Margaret Brown, Davy Chou, Laura Citarella, Alice Diop, Mark Jenkin, Marie Kreutzer, Cyril Schäublin, Ryuji Otsuka and Huang Ji.

Helmers returning to the festival include Todd Field, Mia Hansen-Løve, Hong Sangsoo, Joanna Hogg, Pietro Marcello, Cristian Mungiu, Jafar Panahi, Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Kelly Reichardt, Paul Schrader, Albert Serra, Jerzy Skolimowski and Frederick Wiseman.

NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said in a statement,...

This year’s 60th annual New York Film Festival Main Slate is bursting with can’t-miss auteur titles from festivals around the globe. Presented by Film at Lincoln Center, the festival takes place from September 30 through October 16 at Lincoln Center and in venues across the city.

“If there is one takeaway from this year’s Main Slate, it is cinema’s limitless capacity for renewal,” said Dennis Lim, artistic director, New York Film Festival. “Collectively, the films in the program suggest that this renewal takes many forms: breathtaking debuts, veterans pulling off new tricks, filmmakers of all stripes seeking new and surprising forms of expression and representation. We love the range and eclecticism of this group of films and are excited to share it with audiences.”

This year’s Main Slate showcases films produced in 18 different countries, featuring new titles from renowned auteurs, exceptional work from returning NYFF directors as...

The 60th New York Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled its main slate of movies from established and upcoming directors including Cannes’ Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund, Claire Denis’ Stars at Noon (tied for Cannes Grand Prize), Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave (Cannes Best Director) and Charlotte Wells’ debut feature Aftersun (Cannes’ French Touch Jury Prize).

The list of 32 films from 18 countries also features Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, which took the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in World Cinema and the l’Oeil d’Or for best documentary at Cannes. Another selection, Carla Simón’s Alcarràs, was awarded the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival.

Appearing in the NYFF main slate for the first time are Margaret Brown, Davy Chou (New Directors/New Films 2017), Laura Citarella (Nd/Nf 2015), Alice Diop (Nd/Nf 2021 and Art of the Real 2022), Mark Jenkin (Nd/Nf 2019), Marie Kreutzer,...

New movies from directors Claire Denis, Park Chan-wook, Ruben Östlund, Kelly Reichardt and Paul Schrader will play at the 60th New York Film Festival, which is running from Sept. 30 through Oct. 16.

On Tuesday, Film at Lincoln Center, which hosts the annual Manhattan-based celebration of cinema, unveiled the 32 films that comprise the main slate. The lineup showcases films produced in 18 different countries and spotlights a mix of first-time and returning filmmakers.

Several movies that first screened at Cannes Film Festival, including Claire Denis’s Grand Prix winner “Stars at Noon,” Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,” Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winner “Triangle of Sadness” and Charlotte Wells’ debut feature “Aftersun,” will play at NYFF. Carla Simón’s “Alcarràs,” which was awarded the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlinale Festival, and Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes,” which took Sundance Film Festival’s grand jury prize in the world cinema documentary competition,...

The 60th New York Film Festival’s Main Slate will consist of 32 titles from directors such as Claire Denis, Paul Schrader, Margaret Brown, Park Chan-wook, Kelly Reichardt and Mia Hansen-Løve, organizers said Tuesday.

As previously announced, the festival is set to kick off on Sept. 30 with Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” and close with the Oct. 14 premiere of Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection.” The Centerpiece selection is “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras’ documentary about photographer Nan Goldin’s fight against the Sackler family and the opioid epidemic. James Gray will make his third NYFF showing with his film “Armageddon Time,” which will also screen at a special event celebrating the festival’s 60th anniversary.

Produced in 18 different countries, the Main Slate will showcase a mixture of new and auteur filmmakers. Among the featured prizewinners from Cannes earlier this year are Claire Denis’s “Stars at Noon,” Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave,...

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Shia Labeouf’s latest performance, a turn as an Italian monk in Abel Ferrara’s Padre Pio, will get its world premiere in Venice as part of the Venice Days lineup, the independently-run sidebar to the Venice International Film Festival.

Labeouf, who co-starred in 2020 Venice Festival competition title Pieces of a Woman, took a well-publicized break from acting two years ago after his ex-girlfriend, Tahliah Debrett Barnett, sued him for assault, sexual battery and emotional distress.

Padre Pio sees Labeouf play a real-life Italian monk who became a superstar among the Catholic faithful, who believe he bore the holy stigmata, the wounds of Christ’s crucifixion. Padre Pio, who died in 1968 was canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

It is not yet clear whether Labeouf will attend Venice to promote the movie.

The 2022 Venice Days program opens with Dirty,...

Despite the fact that the West mostly knows about Tsai Ming-liang, Hou Hsiao Hsen, Edward Yang and Ang Lee’s works, Taiwan is actually home of a rather vibrant movie industry, which produces films of quality of every category. Particularly during the last few years, when Netflix gave local filmmakers a platform for their films to be known all over the world, the aforementioned fact became even more evident, with the audience discovering the quite high level of Taiwanese productions, beyond the aforementioned masters. In that fashion, we chose to highlight 40 of the best local productions, actually including two works by them, which could, though, very easily be omitted.

Without further ado, here are 40 great Taiwanese movies released from 2010 and onwards, with a focus, as always, on diversity

1. A Family Tour (2018) by Liang Ying

Liang Ying finally releases a vindicating story against censorship and oppression, because when freedom is so...

Every once in a while comes along a film that has a story behind it – a story about its troubled production or problems the film may have post-production; a story that goes on to manifest itself into something bigger than the film itself. Ying Liang’s “When Night Falls” is one such film. The film screened at the Jeonju International Film Festival, amidst great attempts by the Chinese authorities to stop its showing, and at the Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Golden Leopard Awards for Best Director and Best Actress for An Nam. Before we talk about the film though, it is imperative that we understand, in brief, the real-life case that it is based around.

“When Night Falls” is streaming on CathayPlay

The film is based on the sensational real-life case of Yang Jia, who was arrested in Shanghai in October 2007 for riding an unlicensed bicycle. Beaten...

Haf and Wip award winners also include The Way We Ad, I Come From Ikotun, Stonewalling and No Winter Holidays.

Oliver Chan’s Her Lullaby won the Haf Fiction Award for a Hong Kong project at the close of this year’s Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum, while The Catch, directed by India’s Rishi Chandna, took the Haf Fiction Award for a project from outside Hong Kong.

The Haf Documentary Awards went to The Way We Ad, to be directed by Hong Kong’s Bud-ming, and France-Hong Kong co-production I Come From Ikotun, to be directed by China’s Wang Bing.

As it happens to the main character of the film, the director Liang Ying’s last 5 years has been some kind of a chaotic trip. He directed the film “When Night Falls” in 2012, where he treated the events occurred in China on 2008, where a man was sentenced to death for killing 6 police officers . As a result of this controversial project, the director Liang Ying was pressured by the authorities and had to go into exile in Hong Kong, where he has been living all these recent years.

“A Family Tour” is streaming on Mubi

“A Family Tour” is his first feature film after that incident, a project softly touching the documentary genre, where he treats in a very personal way all the problems and experiences he had to go through (and might be going through) these past years since 2012, because despite a few differences in some identities, the main conflict...

Every once in a while comes along a film that has a story behind it – a story about its troubled production or problems the film may have post-production; a story that goes on to manifest itself into something bigger than the film itself. Ying Liang’s “When Night Falls” is one such film. The film screened at the Jeonju International Film Festival, amidst great attempts by the Chinese authorities to stop its showing, and at the Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Golden Leopard Awards for Best Director and Best Actress for An Nam. Before we talk about the film though, it is imperative that we understand, in brief, the real-life case that it is based around.

“When Night Falls” screens at Chinese Visual Festival

The film is based on the sensational real-life case of Yang Jia, who was arrested in Shanghai in October 2007 for riding an unlicensed bicycle.

As it happens to the main character of the film, the director Liang Ying’s last 5 years has been some kind of a chaotic trip. He directed the film “When Night Falls” in 2012, where he treated the events occurred in China on 2008, where a man was sentenced to death for killing 6 police officers . As a result of this controversial project, the director Liang Ying was pressured by the authorities and had to go into exile in Hong Kong, where he has been living all these recent years.

“A Family Tour” is his first feature film after that incident, a project softly touching the documentary genre, where he treats in a very personal way all the problems and experiences he had to go through (and might be going through) these past years since 2012, because despite a few differences in some identities, the main conflict of “A Family Tour” is the exact...