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Taiwan-based Distribution Workshop is set to introduce Hong Kong director Juno Mak’s Sons Of The Neon Night, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Sean Lau, to international buyers at Busan’s Acfm, along with a trio of Taiwanese titles.

It has been over a decade since Mak – who was a singer and actor before moving into directing – premiered directorial feature debut and vampire horror film Rigor Mortis at Venice and Toronto in 2013. His second feature, Sons Of The Neon Night, began filming in 2017 and has gone through a long gestation period including the Covid pandemic.

The $50m cop action thriller marks...

Chinese sci-fi blockbuster “The Wandering Earth” was named film of the year by the China Film Directors Guild at its annual awards ceremony on Saturday night in Beijing, local media reported.

The award ceremony, which took place coincided with the further re-opening of cinemas in China as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, also presented director of the year award (Hong Kong and Taiwan) to Derek Tsang for his 2019 youth drama “Better Days.” It was the second time that Tsang won the award. He previously won for his 2016 drama “Soul Mate.”

“Better Days” star Zhou Dongyu was named actress of the year, also her second win for this award. In 2018 she won with her performance in “This Is Not What I Expected.”

The actor of the year award went to Wang Jingchun for his portrayal of a father who adopted a boy after losing his son in “So Long, My Son.” The...

Chinese distributor Phoenix Entertainment Group has bought all China rights to the Italian comedic drama “The Sweeties” from Germany-based Media Luna New Films.

The movie is the second feature from director Francesco Ghiaccio and stars Valeria Solarino, Vinicio Marchioni and four young newcomers in their acting debut. It deals with issues of bullying and body-shaming through the story of three overweight girls who decide to become synchronized swimming champions after a video of them in their swimsuits embarrasses them online.

It was written by Marco D’Amore, also known for his turn as an actor in the TV series “Gomorrah.” It is distributed in Italy by VisionDistribution. It premiered at the Giffoni Film Festival earlier this year.

Phoenix Entertainment is one of China’s bigger production and distribution companies, and has jointly produced films such as “Wolf Totem” and “This Is Not What I Expected,” the 2017 romantic comedy starring Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhou Dongyu.

By Shikhar Verma

In Ritesh Batra’s 2013 Indian film ‘The Lunchbox,’ romance blossoms between two strangers through food. While being alarmingly charming, ‘The Lunchbox’ was also incredibly honest, grounded and real. Derek Hui’s ‘This Is Not What I Expected’, quite ironic to its title, is not only everything you would expect but is also so timidly clichéd that it never leaves you with enough meat to chew on.

“This Is Not What I Expected!” screened at the New York Asian Film Festival

Based on Lan Bai Se’s novel ‘Finally, I Get You’, the film opens with Lu Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a stiff, well-dressed and overly self-conscious multi-millionaire. His job is to visit and acquire hotels, making them a part of his own company. While on inspection he also likes to sit alone and eat the various cuisines that the hotels have to offer. He has made it a...

China’s Zhou Dongyu may have taken a recent turn as a producer, but the 27-year-old actress plans to focus on honing her craft in front of the camera rather than branching out too much into other roles behind it. She also believes that female roles are increasing in quantity and quality in China, and is hopeful that women are finally being judged on “standards of ability” instead of beauty.

Zhou both acted in and produced one of her latest films, the small arthouse title “On the Balcony,” in which she portrays a mentally disabled girl.

“I was quite anxious about the role, because I’ve never come into contact with a person like that. So I watched a lot of documentaries in order to accurately portray her,” Zhou said at a Kering Women in Motion talk on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival. “That’s one of the...

Creative Artists Agency (CAA) has signed with We Pictures, the production and distribution company founded by Hong Kong-born director and producer Peter Chan Ho-sun. It aims to boost the company’s footprint both in China and abroad.

Within China, CAA China will help We Pictures to develop new business partnerships and find new sources of investment and financing, as well as improve its branding and promotion, it said in a statement last Friday. Abroad, it will assist with international distribution and “mobilize the resources of the global film industry to connect We Pictures with more top-notch international content.”

Chan, who also has a production deal with Huanxi Media, is a two-time winner of the best director Golden Horse Award, first in 2006 for “Perhaps Love,” the first musical to be shot in China in decades, and again in 2008 later for the battle-filled historical drama “The Warlords,” starring Andy Lau and Jet Li.

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.Over the last few years it has become increasingly easy to see mainstream Asian films in North America at the same time they are released in their home countries. Thanks to partnerships with small, international distributors, the major multiplex chains (AMC, Cinemark, Regal) have devoted a handful of screens in major markets to showing new releases from India, Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Most of these titles fall under the radar of both critics and audiences outside the diasporic communities to which they are targeted. They play for a week or two and then disappear, outside of a handful of breakout titles. Last year Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid made headlines for its high per-screen averages in North America as it shattered domestic box office records in China.

Hong Kong director Derek Hui's romantic comedy This Is Not What I Expected was one of the big winners Sunday night at the second annual Golden Screen Awards, a growing film business occasion which celebrates co-productions between China and movie industries around the world, particularly Hollywood.

This Is Not What I Expected won the event's top best co-production film award, and the best leading actor trophy also went to the film's male lead, Japanese-Taiwanese star Takeshi Kaneshiro.

Held at Club Novo in downtown Los Angeles, this year's Golden Screen Awards were hosted by actor and comedian Kevin Pollak (The Usual...

Centerpiece Gala is North American premiere of Filipino thriller Birdshot.

The Us premiere of Jung Byung-gil’s revenge thriller and recent Cannes Midnight screening The Villainess will close the 16th New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff), set to run from June 30-July 16.

Festival brass unveiled on Monday the selection of 57 films including seven entries in the new Main Competition: previously announced festival opener Bad Genius (Thailand, pictured); Birdshot (Philippines); A Double Life (Japan); The Gangster’s Daughter (Taiwan); Kfc (Vietnam); Jane (South Korea); and With Prisoners (Hong Kong).

The Centerpiece Gala is the North American premiere of Filipino thriller Birdshot.

The festival programme includes a 20th Anniversary Hong Kong Panorama with a focus on emerging talent called Young Blood Hong Kong. Selections include Wong Chun’s Mad World, Derek Hui’s This Is Not What I Expected, and Alan Lo’s Zombiology: Enjoy Yourself Tonight.

An Lgbtq showcase features five films: Naoko Ogigami’s Close-Knit from Japan...

A cloying Chinese rom-com so full of clichés that it instantly qualifies for a Hollywood remake, Derek Hui’s directorial debut concerns an uptight businessman and free-spirited chef who meet cute, instantly detest each other and, naturally, fall in love. That they bond over a shared love of fine food marks the only distinguishing element of This Is Not What I Expected, whose title belies its overly familiar content. Still, the film has its charms, mostly found in the culinary offerings so gorgeously shot they qualify as food porn.

The lead characters are Lu Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro, The Crossing and...

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 Kicks Off the Summer With a Sci-Fi Action-Comedy

After three weeks of dominating the box office, Universal’s The Fate of the Furious is going to have to give way to a new movie, and that’s because the first weekend of May means that it’s officially...The Summer Movie Season!!!!

Just like the last couple years, the summer movie season is kicking off with a new movie from Marvel Studios, and their sequel Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. 2 (Marvel Studios/Disney), reunites Chris Pratt as Starlord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista’s Drax, Michael Rooker’s Yondu with the voices of Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper as Groot and Rocket Racoon, for the next...