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The 27th edition of the Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Udine, Italy, concluded this weekend with China’s “Her Story” taking home the Golden Mulberry award, marking a significant triumph for female filmmakers at the event.

Director Yihui Shao’s box office hit claimed the festival’s top honor, awarded by audience votes, while Hong Kong’s “The Last Dance – Extended Version” by Anselm Chan secured the Silver Mulberry. Mainland China dominated the podium as director Yin Lichuan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” rounded out the winners with the Crystal Mulberry.

This year’s results highlighted gender equality in Asian cinema, with two of the three top prizes awarded to female directors from mainland China. The victories came as part of a festival edition that organizers described as “particularly attentive to social issues.”

The festival, which ran from April 24 to May 2 at Udine’s Teatro Nuovo and Visionario venues,...

Her Story, Yihui Shao’s feature dramedy that became something of a feminist phenomenon in China, scored another big win by securing the top prize at the 27th Far East Film Festival (Feff), which concluded Friday night in the northern Italian city of Udine. The film, which grossed almost $100 million at China’s box office and inspired a thousand think pieces about its radical and refreshing themes, received Feff’s Golden Mulberry Audience Award. Her Story stars Song Jia and Zhong Chuxi, and tells the story of two single women who become neighbors, and despite their contrasting personalities and circumstances, become fast friends.

Feff’s second most coveted audience award, the Silver Mulberry, went to Anselm Chan’s Hong Kong family drama The Last Dance. Like Her Story, The Last Dance was a box office phenomenon in its domestic market, and is currently the highest grossing Hong Kong film of all time.

Chinese comedy-drama Her Story scooped the Golden Mulberry for best film at the Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Udine, Italy.

Shao Yihui’s feminist feature is about a single mother and her friendship with a new female neighbour, which proved a major box office hit when released in China last November, grossing nearly $100m.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Feff’s top awards are decided by a public vote and saw the Silver Mulberry go to the extended version of The Last Dance, Anselm Chan’s funeral rites drama that ranks as Hong Kong’s biggest local film of all time.

The Cannes Directors’ Fortnight section has unveiled its lineup for the 2024 festival, which will open with This Life of Mine, the final feature from the late French director Sophie Fillières. The drama features Agnès Jaoui as a woman whose identity starts to unravel when she turns 55. Fillières died shortly after wrapping principal photography on the film and her children finished post-production.

There are four U.S. titles in the feature section of the non-competitive sidebar: Tyler Taormina’s Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point, Carson Lund’s Eephus, India Donaldson’s Good One and Gazer from Ryan J. Sloan.

Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, starring Michael Cera, Elsie Fisher, Francesca Scorsese. Ben Shenkman, Gregg Turkington, Sawyer Spielberg, Maria Dizzia and newcomer Matilda Fleming, follows four generations as they gather for what might be their last Christmas in the family home. Lund, who lensed Christmas Eve, makes his feature debut with Eephus,...

Social drama directed by Jin Ong picked up three prizes.

Social drama Abang Adik has become the first feature from Malaysia to win the Golden Mulberry at the Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Udine, Italy.

The directorial debut feature of Jin Ong follows two undocumented men, played by Taiwan’s Wu Kang-Ren and Malaysia’s Jack Tan, one of whom is a deaf-mute and whose relationship is upset after an accident.

Ong attended the festival and collected the top prize as well as the White Mulberry for best debut feature and a further award voted by the festival’s Black Dragon season pass holders.

Malaysian social drama “Abang Adik” was named best film and winner of the Golden Mulberry prize on Sunday at the Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine.

The film is a story of two undocumented and orphaned men, who may or may not be real brothers, but who lift each other up. The film’s director Jin Ong collected the White Mulberry prize for best debut feature and “Abang Adik” added a third prize decided by the festival’s season pass holders.

Second place on the podium went to South Korea with Chang Hang-jun’s “Rebound,” while third place went to “Yudo,” by Japan’s Suzuki Masayuki.

Other prizes included a Mulberry for best screenplay which went to “Day Off” by Taiwanese director Fu Tien-Yu and the prize from the readers of MYmovieswhich went to Janchivdorj Sengedorj’s Mongolian comedy “The Sales Girl.”

The previously-announced Golden Mulberry lifetime achievement...

Considering that the majority of South and South East Asian countries are quite conservative when it comes to the presentation of eroticism on cinema (even more so regarding nudity), the number of films that have sensualism as their key element is not exactly huge, at least when compared to European cinema for example. However, Japan and S. Korea do produce a number of this type of movies, even within their censhorship laws, while a number of other countries also have their entries in the category. Also of note is a recent trend that has begun within the Japanese movie industry, of presenting erotic films that try to cater to the aesthetics of both men and women, while abiding by the MeToo rules, with the result being interesting as much as ambitious.

In this list, we tried to focus on titles where the erotic is one of the key elements, while...

Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the work of the late children’s book author, said it will stop publishing and licensing six books because they contain racist and insensitive images.

The decision was announced on the official Dr. Seuss website Tuesday, March 2nd, which also marks the author’s birthday. The six books are And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it came to...

Udine – After the revolutionary digital edition last summer, the Far East Film Festival in Udine goes back to its origins, compatibly – it does not even need to be emphasized – with the dynamics, priorities and rules of the health emergency. From 11 to 19 June, therefore, the Teatro Nuovo “Giovanni da Udine” will reopen its doors to the best of Asian popular cinema. And the second historic venue of the festival will also reopen its doors to the East: the Visionary cinema, newly restored and expanded.

In short: we can officially trigger the countdown for a new, precious and (certainly) adventurous full immersion in the heart of cinematic Asia: Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia! Feff 23 chosed to match the announcement with a splendid illustration by Martina Sobacchi. It is a frame from In the “Mood for Love”, a legendary love story – the one told by Wong...

Hong Kong director Derek Tsang's Better Days won the top prizes at the first—and perhaps only—virtual edition of Italy's Far East Film Festival (Feff).

Tsang's romantic crime drama, starring Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee, took the overall audience award, the Golden Mulberry, as well as the Black Mulberry, voted on by the Shogun pass holders. The film, a huge critical and financial hit in China, tells the story of two teens, one a bully the other bullied, who meet and change each others lives.

The win for Tsang, son of legendary actor and ...

Hong Kong director Derek Tsang's Better Days won the top prizes at the first—and perhaps only—virtual edition of Italy's Far East Film Festival (Feff).

Tsang's romantic crime drama, starring Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee, took the overall audience award, the Golden Mulberry, as well as the Black Mulberry, voted on by the Shogun pass holders. The film, a huge critical and financial hit in China, tells the story of two teens, one a bully the other bullied, who meet and change each others lives.

The win for Tsang, son of legendary actor and ...

Actress Cara Delevingne ("Carnival Row") poses for the UK's "Sunday Times Style Magazine", photographed by Ellen von Unwerth:

Delevingne started her performance career by signing with 'Storm Model Management' in 2009.

She won 'Model of the Year' at the 'British Fashion Awards' (2012 and 2014), followed by shows for fashion houses 'Burberry', 'Mulberry', 'Dolce & Gabbana' and 'Jason Wu'.

She started her acting career with a minor role in the film adaptation of "Anna Karenin" (2012).

She played 'Margo Roth Spiegelman' in the romantic mystery "Paper Towns" (2015).

Delevingne also appeared in "Kids in Love", followed by the role of 'Henrietta' in the period romance "Tulip Fever"...

...and as 'Kath Talent' in the feature "London Fields"...

...based on the 1989 novel of the same name...

...followed by the role of a mermaid in the fantasy feature "Pan" (2015).

Delevingne co-starred as 'Enchantress' in the DC Entertainment superhero feature...

Actress Cara Delevingne ("Carnival Row") poses for the UK's "Sunday Times Style Magazine", photographed by Ellen von Unwerth:

Delevingne started her performance career when she signed with 'Storm Model Management' in 2009.

She won a 'Model of the Year' award at the 'British Fashion Awards' (2012 and 2014), followed by shows for fashion houses 'Burberry', 'Mulberry', 'Dolce & Gabbana' and 'Jason Wu'.

Delevingne started her acting career with a minor role in the film adaptation of "Anna Karenin" (2012).

She played 'Margo Roth Spiegelman' in the romantic mystery "Paper Towns" (2015).

Delevingne also appeared in "Kids in Love", followed by the role of 'Henrietta' in the period romance "Tulip Fever"...

...and as 'Kath Talent' in the feature "London Fields"...

...based on the 1989 novel of the same name...

...followed by the role of a mermaid in the fantasy feature "Pan" (2015).

Delevingne co-starred as 'Enchantress' in the DC Entertainment...

Take a look at new images of model/actress Cara Delevingne, aka 'Enchantress' in "Suicide Squad", posing for "Vogue" (Korea) magazine, photographed by Ahn Jooyoung:

Delevingne started her performance career when she signed with 'Storm Model Management' in 2009.

She won a 'Model of the Year' award at the 'British Fashion Awards' (2012 and 2014), followed by shows for fashion houses 'Burberry', 'Mulberry', 'Dolce & Gabbana' and 'Jason Wu'.

Delevingne started her acting career with a minor role in the film adaptation of "Anna Karenin" (2012).

She played 'Margo Roth Spiegelman' in the romantic mystery "Paper Towns" (2015).

Delevingne also appeared in "Kids in Love", followed by the role of 'Henrietta' in the period romance "Tulip Fever"...

...and as 'Kath Talent' in the feature "London Fields"based on the 1989 novel of the same name, followed by the role of a mermaid in the fantasy feature "Pan" (2015) and as 'Enchantress' in the DC Entertainment...

Take another look at model/actress Cara Delevingne aka 'Enchantress' in "Suicide Squad", posing for the UK's "Sunday Times Style Magazine", photographed by Ellen von Unwerth:

Delevingne started her performance career when she signed with 'Storm Model Management' in 2009.

She won a 'Model of the Year' award at the 'British Fashion Awards' (2012 and 2014), followed by shows for fashion houses 'Burberry', 'Mulberry', 'Dolce & Gabbana' and 'Jason Wu'.

Delevingne started her acting career with a minor role in the film adaptation of "Anna Karenin" (2012).

She played 'Margo Roth Spiegelman' in the romantic mystery "Paper Towns" (2015).

Delevingne also appeared in "Kids in Love", followed by the role of 'Henrietta' in the period romance "Tulip Fever"...

...and as 'Kath Talent' in the feature "London Fields"...

...based on the 1989 novel of the same name...

...followed by the role of a mermaid in the fantasy feature "Pan" (2015).

Delevingne co-starred as 'Enchantress'...

Sneak Peek "Suicide Squad" actress Cara Delevingne aka 'Enchantress', in the UK's "Sunday Times Style Magazine", photographed by Ellen von Unwerth:

Delevingne started her performance career when she signed with 'Storm Model Management' 2009.

She then won the 'Model of the Year' award at the 'British Fashion Awards' in 2012 and 2014, followed by appearances in shows for fashion houses 'Burberry', 'Mulberry', 'Dolce & Gabbana' and 'Jason Wu'.

She started her acting career with a minor role in the 2012 film adaptation of "Anna Karenin".

She then played 'Margo Roth Spiegelman' in the romantic mystery "Paper Towns" (2015).

Delevingne appeared in "Kids in Love", a British coming of age drama, followed by the role of 'Henrietta' in the period romance "Tulip Fever".

She also played the character 'Kath Talent' in the film "London Fields"...

...based on the 1989 novel of the same name by author Martin Amis...

...followed by playing a mermaid in the...

Karl Howman has joined 'EastEnders'. The former 'Brush Strokes' actor has been snapped up by bosses on the popular BBC soap to play an East End thug. The 61-year-old will appear as a shaven-headed hardman, who is set to take on resident Walford tough guy Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Expected to hit screens in November, Karl has hinted that his character will be causing some trouble among Albert Square's current residents. The 80s sitcom star - who also appeared as the title character in the BBC situation comedy 'Mulberry' - said: ''It is an honour to have joined such an iconic show...

Karl Howman has joined 'EastEnders'. The former 'Brush Strokes' actor has been snapped up by bosses on the popular BBC soap to play an East End thug. The 61-year-old will appear as a shaven-headed hardman, who is set to take on resident Walford tough guy Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Expected to hit screens in November, Karl has hinted that his character will be causing some trouble among Albert Square's current residents. The 80s sitcom star - who also appeared as the title character in the BBC situation comedy 'Mulberry' - said: ''It is an honour to have joined such an iconic show...

Trailer and clips for Babylon, directed by Franco Rosso (Dread Beat an' Blood), co-written (with Rosso) by Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia; Defence Of The Realm; For Queen And Country), photographed by two-time Oscar winner Chris Menges (The Mission; The Killing Fields) and starring celebrated reggae star and Aswad frontman Brinsley Forde (Here Come The Double Deckers), Karl Howman (Brush Strokes; Mulberry) and Trevor Laird (Doctor Who; Quadrophenia).

The film is available on DVD from Italian distributor Raro Video and UK based Icon Home Entertainment.

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tags: cult film, reggae...

One of the most highly regarded cult British films of the 1980s, Babylon comes to DVD for the first time ever in the UK this October courtesy of Icon Home Entertainment, boasting fully restored and remastered image and audio (personally overseen by Chris Menges) plus Audio Commentaries, Interviews and feature on the restoration.

Directed by Franco Rosso (Dread Beat an' Blood), co-written (with Rosso) by Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia; Defence Of The Realm; For Queen And Country), photographed by two-time Oscar winner Chris Menges (The Mission; The Killing Fields) and starring celebrated reggae star and Aswad frontman Brinsley Forde (Here Come The Double Deckers), Karl Howman (Brush Strokes; Mulberry) and Trevor Laird (Doctor Who; Quadrophenia), Babylon is a raw and incendiary film employing an effective mix of music and social commentary to recount the everyday experiences of a small group of working class black youths living in South London in the early 1980s.