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Sri Lankan auteur Vimukthi Jayasundara, whose “The Forsaken Land” (2005) won the Camera d’Or at Cannes, has started principal photography on his next film “Turtle’s Gaze on Spying Stars.”

One of the producers on the film is India’s Nila Madhab Panda, with whom Jayasundara collaborated to produce Nidhi Saxena’s “Sad Letters of an Imaginary Woman,” which is world premiering this week at the Busan International Film Festival.

“Turtle’s Gaze on Spying Stars,” is currently shooting in and around the hills of central Sri Lanka. It is set in a future ravaged by a mysterious pandemic caused by the over-dependence of mankind on technology. The protagonist is a refugee from Sri Lanka who returns to the country and is forcibly admitted into a valley resort that has been converted into an isolation facility. Once there, memories from his Sri Lankan past haunt him, but, instead of producing fear,...

Sam Manacsa worked as Art Director on award-winning films such as Carlo Francisco Manatad's “Whether the Weather Is Fine”. Her short film, “If People Such as We Cease to Exist” (2016), was selected at Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Competition. “Cross My Heart and Hope To Die”was selected to premiere at the 80th La Biennale Venice International Film Festival in the official Orizzonti Short Films Competition and was later screened in Qcinema. The short has already received a number of awards from all over the world, while it is also worth mentioning that a number of filmmakers are also involved in an all-star production that also includes Yov Moor as colorist.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Die screened at Qcinema

The movie begins with a scene that would be laughably absurd if it was not so shockingly dramatic, essentially setting the tone for the film and justifying a number of...

The dawn of the new decade seems to bring a reconnaissance to Filipino cinema, resulting from both the picking of movies from international festivals, including Sundance, and the always excellent work of Metro Manila Film Festival, locally. In Asian Movie Pulse, we have been following intently the movies of the country these 3,5 years, and we have come up with a list of some of the best movies we saw during this time.

Without further ado, check out some of the best Filipino films of the current decade so far.

1. Fan Girl (2020) by Antoinette Jadaone

Although pretty standard regarding its core premise, “Fan Girl” is an emotional, rather unpleasant and sometimes even shocking viewing experience thanks to the filmmaker's clear vision transformed into the script and directing. Antoinette Jadaone is still a relatively young auteur, but quite a prolific one over the course of the current decade, with more than a dozen titles under her belt.

Prolific Indonesian producer KawanKawan Media, which has Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” in competition at the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons strand, has a raft of projects on its slate.

The company, led by Yulia Evina Bhara, scored a hat trick of wins at Locarno over the last few years with Yosep Anggi Noen’s “The Science of Fictions” (2019), Carlo Francisco Manatad’s “Whether the Weather Is Fine” (2021) and Ming Jin Woo’s “Stone Turtle” (2022), and won an award at Cph:dox for Fanny Chotimah’s documentary “You and I” in 2020.

Noen’s “Gaspar,” which is set in the Javanese city Semarang in 2032 and is an adaptation of Sabda Armandio’s novel “24 Hours of Gaspar,” has just wrapped production. It stars Reza Rahadian, Shenina Cinnamon, Laura Basuki, Sal Priadi, Kristo Immanuel and Dewi Irawan.

Gaspar (Rahadian) is a dilettante detective working on a mass slaughter case involving the government, in which he...

Feature debutant Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography,” which premieres in Venice’s Horizons strand on Saturday, is a deeply personal tale informed by his own experiences.

The film, which is being sold by Alpha Violet, follows young Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), whose father is in prison and whose brother works abroad. He works as the housekeeper in a mansion in a rural Indonesian town belonging to retired general Purna (Arswendy Bening Swara). Purna returns to the town to start his mayoral election campaign and Rakib, whose clan has worked for the general’s family for centuries, serves as his assistant. An act of vandalism during the campaign triggers an escalating chain of violence.

Mubarak, formerly a film critic, made several acclaimed shorts before embarking on the aptly titled “Autobiography,” which he describes an “emotional investigation” into his childhood. He grew up in Indonesia during the latter days of the dictatorship, which lasted...

Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak is making quite a splash with his debut feature “Autobiography,” which is world premiering at Venice’s Horizons strand and then playing at Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section.

The film, which examines the effects of Indonesia’s military dictatorship on the country’s youth, follows a young man torn between loyalty and justice who confronts the truth of his father figure — a retired general — that may destroy them both.

Mubarak, film critic-turned-filmmaker and a Berlinale Talents and Asian Film Academy alumni, previously directed acclaimed short films “The Dog’s Lullaby” (2016), “Malediction” (2017) and “A Plastic Cup of Tea Before Her” (2018).

The cast includes Kevin Ardilova, Arswendy Bening Swara, Yusuf Mahardika, Lukman Sardi and Haru Sandra.

” ‘Autobiography’ is a story very specific to Indonesia because it addresses the legacy of our history, but at the same time, it also addresses the world we are co-existing in now: the heavy price of ignorance,...

Amazon Prime Video has announced its first slate of Southeast Asian local-language originals, including a trio of situational comedy improv shows, Comedy Island, across Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, and projects from local talents including Joko Anwar, Kamila Andini and Banjong Pisanthanakun.

The trio of comedy shows – Comedy Island: Indonesia, Comedy Island: Thailand and Comedy Island: Philippines – all involve famous comedians and other celebrities being stranded on a paradise island and are expected to start streaming in 2023.

In Thailand, the comedians must escape from a mysterious scientist who is trying to reprogram them; in Indonesia, they’re forced to take part in bizarre, role-playing games to amuse the local inhabitants; and in the Philippines, they’re trapped on a lost island that has reappeared and are competing for a life-changing prize. Indonesia’s Base Entertainment is producing the Indonesian and Filipino versions, while Liminal Productions is producing the Thai version.

The prize is connected to the parallel section’s Next Step programme helping directors move from shorts to features.

Lithuanian director Vytautas Katkus has won the fourth Cannes Critics’ Week €5,000 Next Step prize for upcoming feature The Visitor.

It follows a young man as he tries to make a new life for himself in a foreign land where he does not speak the language or know anyone.

The prize was launched in 2019 as an extension of Critics’ Week’s Next Step initiative.

The programme, which is in its eighth edition, is aimed at supporting filmmakers who have debuted shorts in...

Philippines social media platform and online story company Wattpad have joined forces to adapt Jamille Fumah’s Wattpad hit “Kiss Master” as an eight-episode series for multi-platform distribution.

The romantic fantasy currently has 7.7 million reads on Wattpad. It follows five years after Sussie’s heart was broken by bad boy billionaire Arkanghel Wolfgang. When he reappears in her life it is not clear that their differences can be bridged.

Fumah (who also goes by the handle @JFStories) is one of the most successful Wattpad writers in the Philippines, with 1.5 million followers on the platform and more than 30 stories published and more than 336 million total reads. Fumah has also published five books with Bliss Books, Wattpad’s joint imprint with Anvil Publishing in the Philippines.

The production will be realized with the involvement of Black Sheep Productions, known for Philippine cinema hits such as “Exes Baggage,” “Alone/Together,” “Fan Girl” and “Whether the Weather Is Fine.

A sold out official Closing Gala ceremony featuring body-swapping action-packed Korean film ‘Spiritwalker’ made for an energetic, rapturously received eleventh and final day of the London East Asia Film Festival.

Thirty three films from across East Asia played all over London from 21st to 31st October with online industry talks, a young critics programme, Q+A events and more complimenting a diverse, cultural festival selection.

Award Winners

The festival jury was chaired by Nick James (former editor Sight & Sound) with Hannah McGill (former Artistic Director of Edinburgh International Film Festival) and Damon Wise (BFI Festival advisor) joining. Having viewed all eleven festival Competition titles and being pleased to view diverse, stimulating cinema, the jury were in attendance for the Closing Gala ceremony to announce the winners.

A Special Mention was afforded to Ricky Ko for action-drama ‘Time’’s cinephilic opening sequence. The jury were impressed with its joyous tribute to...

The Singapore International Film Festival is to be held as an in-person event this year, after operating as an online-offline hybrid in 2020. It will open with Indonesian filmmaker Edwin’s “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” and run Nov. 25- Dec. 5, 2021.

With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.

The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...

China’s Pingyao International Film Festival got under way on Tuesday with the gala screening of Zhang Lu’s new drama film “Yanagawa.” The festival will unspool Oct. 12-19 with a familiar package of competition screenings a work in progress section, a film lab, a project market and a tribute section dedicated to Tsui Hark.

Organizers announced an ambitious twelve-title competition section (“Crouching Tigers”) for first second and third films from around the world.

These include: “Amparo,” directed by Simón Mesa Soto; “As Far As I Can Walk,” directed by Strahinja Banovic; “Feathers,” directed by Omar El Zohairy; “Mama, I’m Home” directed by Vladimir Bitokov (Russia); “Pedro” directed by Natesh Hegde (India); “Playground” (Un Monde) directed by Laura Wandel (Belgium); “Prayers for the Stolen” (Noche de Fuego) directed by Tatiana Huezo; “Rehana” (Rehana Maryam Noor) directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “The Tale of King Crab” (Re Granchio) directed by...

Festival, which opens today, also annouced its Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons competition sections.

This year’s Pingyao International Film Festival (Octobner 12-19) will open with Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu’s Yanagawa and close with Xu Lei’s The Great Director.

Starring Ni Ni, Zhang Luyi and Xin Baiqing, Yanagawa revolves around two brothers who travel to Japan in search of the woman they both loved in their youth. The film, which is receiving its world premiere at Busan in the Icons section, is produced by Midnight Blur Films and sold internationally by Hishow Entertainment. The Great Director is described...

The London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) celebrates its sixth edition in 2021 with a commitment to diverse, culturally impactful cinema entertainment. After a year of shut cinema doors, Leaff is returning home to London’s big screens with an expanded catalogue to help stimulate the renaissance of cinema and promote cultural empathy.

With cinematic offerings from eight regions – China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam – this year’s programme is an ode to the quiet and independent voices from East Asia. Two international premieres, five European premieres and 18 UK premieres will take place at our state-art-of-the-art venues, Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, The Cinema at Selfridges, as well as the newly opened Odeon Luxe West End and The Chiswick Cinema. The festival is divided into five strands: Official Selection, Competition, Hong Kong Focus, Documentary, and Retrospective.

Opening Gala

The festival opens with a memorial to the late Benny Chan...

Having watched a number of Manatad’s works as an editor (particularly his collaborations with Khavn) and a number of his short films, it had become clear to me that he really has what it takes to become a great filmmaker. “Whether the Weather is Fine” proves the fact in the best fashion.

“Whether the Weather is Fine” is screening in Locarno Film Festival

On November 8th, 2013, the strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded, Typhoon Haiyan, made landfall in Eastern Philippines, destroying most of the director’s hometown, Tacloban. Taking the aftermath of the destruction as his foundation, Manatad revolves his story around Miguel, a desperate young man who has been suffering all his life by his inner demons that usually manifest in the form of dreams, who tries to find his girlfriend Andrea and his mother, Norma. As soon as he finds them both, he tries to convince them to leave the rundown city,...