News

“Don’t Worry About Vampire,” a fantastical comedy that explores Taiwan’s cultural identity through the lens of vampire-human relations, is being pitched at Taiwan Creative Content Fest (Tccf) by writer-director Chen Ho-yu.

The film will follow a bumbling protagonist who saves a vampire princess and becomes an overnight sensation, only to watch his hometown transform into an unrecognizable place as human-vampire peace treaties reshape society.

“I’ve always wanted to write a fantasy story from a Taiwanese perspective,” says Chen, known for HBO Asia’s “The Teenage Psychic.” “If every country has its own monsters originating from its historical, political, and cultural fears, what is it that Taiwan fears the most?”

Chen frames the story as an allegory about self-identity and cultural preservation. “If doing business with vampires could make you rich, but at the cost of losing your soul and freedom, would you agree?” he asks.

“For the society,...

The Golden Horse Film Festival, which operates the premier awards in the Chinese-language film industry, has teamed up with Cannes’ Marché du Film to showcase a handful of new films and projects under the banner Golden Horse Goes to Cannes.

To be presented May 16, the five films comprise new works from directors Chen Yu-hsun, Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi, Giddens Ko and John Hsu, with such high-profile producers as Lee Lieh, Sylvia Chang, Aileen Li, Jeffrey Chan and Hou Hsiao-hsien.

Yang Ya-che, known for Golden Horse-winning “The Bold, the Corrupt and the Beautiful,” and for shaping the careers of several actors, returns behind the camera with “The Chronicles of Libidoists.”

It was a standout at the Golden Horse project market, while at the production stage, the scandalous nature of its erotic take on “The Little Mermaid” tale meant that the names of the cast had to be kept secret.

They are...

As expected, Christopher Nolan’s keenly awaited “Tenet” topped the U.K. and Ireland box office over the past week, collecting £5,335,654 ($7.16 million), according to final numbers from Comscore.

Warner Bros. opened the late summer tentpole wide across 611 locations midweek. For many it was the first time they had returned to cinemas since they reopened after lockdown. Following a quiet start, collections picked up.

In second place, Disney holdover “Onward” gained 29%, collecting £185,028 from 454 sites. It now has a total of £6,657,744 from the territory.

However, if previews are included, the Disney release of “X-Men” universe property “The New Mutants” ranks second, collecting $296,233 from an unspecified number of U.K. screens on the Aug. 28-30 weekend, per boxofficemojo. Disney will open the film at more that 300 screens Sept. 4.

Vertigo U.K.’s “100% Wolf” gained 31% to collect £140,050 from 456 locations in its fifth week at cinemas.

Also in its fifth week is Russell Crowe’s “Unhinged,...

“The Bold, the Corrupt, and The Beautiful” is about a female family, who plays middle-man in a series of political corruption and bribes. Combining a love/hate relationship among the family members with complicated money trade, this film was the most ambitious work in Taiwanese cinema last year.

The Bold, the Corrupt and the Beautiful is screening at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival

The story begins with Madame Tang, who hosts an art exhibition with her family members Tang Ning and Tang Chen. In fact, it’s an art exhibition for those rich politicians to have a chance to discuss the bribe. They conspire a land development project, and with Madame Tang’s assistance, every detail of this endeavour should work perfectly, and they can earn billions from the project. However, a homicide disrupts the whole plan, revealing the situation as more complicated than everyone has imagined. Furthermore,...