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The 18th annual Asian Film Awards (Afa) announced the winners and special award recipients at a ceremony held at the West Kowloon Cultural District’s Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong on March 16, 2025. Sixteen competitive prizes and five honorary prizes were given out. The Afa ceremony featured a glamorous Red Carpet and Award Ceremony attracting participants from all over Asia, and was a great success. At this year’s Afa, the Hong Kong actor-director Sammo Hung served as the jury president leading other jury and voting members composed of filmmakers from around the world in selecting the winners. Daishi Matsunaga, along with fellow director Stanley Kwan, served as presenters.

Here are all the awards and nominees of this year’s edition

Best Film

All We Imagine as Light (India, France, Netherlands, Luxembourg)

Black Dog (Mainland China)

Exhuma (South Korea)

Teki Cometh (Japan)

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Hong Kong)

Best...

Payal Kapadia’s Indian co-production “All We Imagine as Light” won best film at the 18th Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong, capping a remarkable journey that began with a Grand Prix win at Cannes last year.

Yoshida Daihachi won best director for “Teki Cometh,” while Sean Lau won best actor for “Papa” and Shahana Goswami best actress for “Santosh.” Sandhya Suri won best new director for “Santosh,” capping a strong year for Indian co-productions at the awards, where the country has been a bridesmaid in recent years.

Honors were evenly spread otherwise, with “Exhuma,” “Stranger Eyes” and “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” all collecting a brace of awards each.

Proceedings kicked off with a performance featuring the composer of the film that is the toast of Asia at the moment – “Ne Zha 2,” Chu Wan Pin, alongside Jonathan Wong.

During the awards, Dr. Wilfred Wong, chair of the Asian Film Awards Academy,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o89O3m5t7-0

On the occasion of her films, Suk Suk and All Shall Be Well screening at Fica Vesoul, Patra Au talks to Panos Kotzathanasis about her collaboration with Ray Yeung, playing a lesbian in All Shall Be Well, her cooperation with Tai Bo and Maggie Li Lin Lin, her favorite and the most difficult scene, the differences between stage play and cinema, and her future projects...

Anselm Chan’s The Last Dance leads the pack going into the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards (Hkfa) with 18 nominations.

It is followed by Soi Cheang’s Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In with 14 nods and Philip Yung’s Papa with 11 nominations. All three films will face off alongside Adam Wong’s The Way We Talk and Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well, in both the best film and best director categories.

The 18 nominations secured by The Last Dance is the highest in Hkfa’s history since Teddy Chen’s Assassins And Bodyguards received the same number in 2010. Chan...

Acceptance is sometimes nothing but tolerance in sheep’s clothing. The “family comes first” trope holds weight in many cultures, but this may not matter when one fails to conform to a heteropatriarchal understanding of the concept. Ray Yeung‘s newest film, “All Shall Be Well”, takes one such instance of this — the case of an older same-sex Hong Kong couple — and unravels a spool of familial complexities embedded deep in the sociocultural landscape. What if your late partner wished to be buried at sea, but her family believes that doing so will spiritually unsettle them all? Do your partner’s wishes even matter when you, her life partner, are considered nothing but a mere outsider? This is the first hurdle that our protagonist must face in “All Shall Be Well”, which just made its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2024 Berlinale to a sold-out crowd at the Kino International.

Galeca: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics has announced winners for the 2025 Dorian Awards, and it’s great news for genre fare like The Substance, Wicked, and I Saw the TV Glow.

Mubi’s body-horror movie The Substance won a leading five trophies, including Film of the Year, Demi Moore (Best Lead Performance), and Coralie Fargeat (Best Director), while Universal’s film adaptation of the Wicked musical claimed honors for Ariana Grande (Best Supporting Performance), Cynthia Erivo (Lgbtqia+ Film Trailblazer), and Jonathan Bailey (Rising Star).

Other movies with multiple victories were I Saw the TV Glow (LGBTQ Film of the Year and Jane Schoenbrun for LGBTQ Screenplay of the Year), Will & Harper (Documentary of the Year and LGBTQ Documentary of the Year), and Challengers (Justin Kuritzkes for Screenplay of the Year and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for Film Music of the Year).

In addition to her acting triumph, Moore...

The 31st Vesoul International Film Festival Asian Cinema, chaired by the international jury of the great Chinese director Jia Zhang-ke, presents the complete feature films of Jia Zhang-ke, in the presence of his muse, the actress Zhao Tao.

Two honorary Cyclos d’or are awarded to them during the opening ceremony at the Théâtre Edwige Feuillère.

92 films, including 47 unreleased ones, make up the official selection.

The fiction and documentary competitions offer a selection of 17 films from Bhutan, China, Korea, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Malaysia, Yakutia, etc., judged by 7 juries and presented by the film teams:

Bhutan: I The Song by Dechen Roder – French premiere

Burma: Ma – Cry of silence by The Maw Naing – French premiere

China (Hong Kong): To Kill a Mongolian Horse by Jiang Xiaoxuan – French premiere

Korea: The Land of Morning Calm by Park Ri-woong – French premiere

Iran: The Witness by Nader Saeivar – French premiere

Japan:...

I Saw the TV Glow and The Substance led the way at the Dorian Film Award nominations on Friday. The awards are selected by Galeca — the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics comprises more than 500 critics, journalists, and media figures. Winners will be announced on Feb. 13.

SEE2025 Independent Spirit Awards nominations: Full list led by ‘Anora,’ ‘I Saw the TV Glow’

From director Jane Schoenbrun, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow tells the eerie story of two friends (Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine) whose realities start to collapse around their favorite television series. The movie received a leading nine Dorian nominations including Film of the Year, LGBTQ Film of the Year, and Director of the Year, while both Smith and Lundy-Paine were nominated for their performances. The indie feature, hailed as a groundbreaking trans allegory, has mostly flown under the radar this awards season, though it did score three Gotham...

The votes are in for the 2025 Dorian Awards nominations. Galeca: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics said today that Neon’s Anora, Amazon MGM Studios’ Challengers, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow, Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM’s Nickel Boys and Mubi’s The Substance will battle it out for Film of the Year.

Vying for LGBTQ Film of the Year are Challengers, I Saw the TV Glow, Netflix’s Emilia Peréz and A24’s Love Lies Bleeding and Queer.

Nominees for the all-gender Film Performance of the Year prize are Golden Globe winners Adrien Brody (The Brutalist) and Demi Moore (The Substance) along with Daniel Craig (Queer), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Peréz), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Nicole Kidman (Babygirl), Mikey Madison (Anora) and Justice Smith (I Saw the TV Glow).

Jane Schoenbrun’s thought-provoking horror tale I Saw the TV Glow leads...

I consider myself something like a student, autodidact or otherwise, of cinema and––even still, must confess––had not ever grasped the concept of Argentine noir. Credit to Criterion Channel, who’ll expand my horizons with February’s program (concisely titled “Argentine Noir”) that includes one known title––Pierre Chenal’s Native Son, an Argentine film from a French director adapting an American novel about the African-American experience in Chicago––and five I look forward to discovering. Retrospective-wise, their wide-reaching Claudette Colbert program could double as a lesson in Old Hollywood, between Capra, Stahl, DeMille, Lubitsch, Sirk, and Sturges. February, of course, brings Black History Month and Valentine’s Day: the former engenders a series featuring films such as Nothing but a Man, Portrait of Jason, and Losing Ground; the latter brings “New York Love Stories,” from Carol to Crossing Delancey to, curiously, Annie Hall, which likely would not have...

South Korea’s Exhuma has topped the field, earning 11 nominations at the 18th Asian Film Awards, followed by Hong Kong’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In with nine nominations.

Hong Kong martial arts legend Sammo Hung will serve as the jury president for the awards, which feature a selection of 30 films from 25 countries and regions, competing across 16 categories. The awards ceremony will take place on March 16 in Hong Kong.

Directed by Jang Jae-hyun, Exhuma gained nominations for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Newcomer, Best Screenplay, Best Original Music, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.

Adapted from the novel “City of Darkness” by Yuyi, Hong Kong action blockbuster Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In gained nine nominations, including Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Music, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.

South Korean box office hit Exhuma and Hong Kong action blockbuster Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In lead the nominations for the 18th Asian Film Awards, with a jury led by martial arts icon Sammo Hung.

Supernatural thriller Exhuma, directed by Jang Jae-hyun, leads the pack with 11 nods followed by Soi Cheang’s action thriller Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In, which received nine nominations.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

Both titles were named in the best film category alongside Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine As Light; Guan Hu’s Chinese drama Black Dog,...

The 18th Asian Film Awards, the region’s leading cinema honors, unveiled its 2025 nominations Friday, with South Korea’s horror hit Exhuma leading the pack with 11 nods. Directed by Jang Jae-hyun, the supernatural thriller melds feng shui and shamanistic traditions in a haunting narrative about an ominous grave. The movie was both a critical favorite and a huge theatrical sensation in South Korea, becoming the country’s highest-grossing film of the year. Alongside its best film nomination, the film earned recognition across several major categories, including best director, best actor for Choi Min-sik and best actress for Kim Go-eun.

The Asia Film Awards will return to Hong Kong on March 16 with a glitzy ceremony at the city’s Xiqu Centre in the West Kowloon Cultural District. This year’s lineup of honorees includes 30 films from 25 countries and regions, spanning 16 competitive categories.

The Hong Kong throwback action epic Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,...

Martial arts legend Sammo Hung has been tapped as jury president for the 18th Asian Film Awards, while South Korean supernatural thriller “Exhuma” and Hong Kong action pic “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” dominate the nominations.

South Korean supernatural thriller “Exhuma,” helmed by director Jang Jae-hyun and marking the return of veteran actor Choi Min-sik, leads with 11 nods including best film, director, actor and actress. The film weaves elements of feng shui and traditional shamanism in its story of an ominous grave investigation.

Hong Kong action film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” follows with nine nominations. Based on Yuyi’s “City of Darkness” novel and set in the 1980s Kowloon Walled City, the film is competing for best film, supporting actor and multiple technical awards.

Soi Cheang’s Hong Kong action film “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” follows with nine nominations. Based on Yuyi’s “City of Darkness...

Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Rithy Panh’s “Meeting With Pol Pot” which world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and represents Cambodia in the international feature film race.

Sold by Playtime, the film is based on real events chronicled by American war journalist Elizabeth Becker in her book “When the War Was Over: Cambodia and The Khmer Rouge Revolution.”

The film, which stars Irene Jacob as Becker, charts the deadly journey of two journalists and an academic who travel to Democratic Kampuchea in the midst of Pol Pot’s dictatorship after accepting an invitation from the regime. The cast is completed by Gregoire Colin and Cyril Guei.

It marks the fourth collaboration between Panh and Strand Releasing who previously teamed on “The Missing Pictures” which went on to earn an Oscar nomination in 2013, followed by “Exile” and “Irradiated” which premiered at the Berlin International Film...

The nominations for the 61st Golden Horse Awards were announced last week. Considered the “Chinese-language Oscars,” the awards showcase films made in Mandarin, Cantonese, or other Chinese dialects. This year’s nominations included a diverse range of movies from Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and Singapore.

John Hsu’s supernatural comedy “Dead Talents Society” topped the nominations with eleven total nods. The film tells the story of ghosts competing to haunt humans in an imagined afterlife. It received nominations for Best Feature Film, Best Director for John Hsu, and Best Original Screenplay. “Dead Talents Society” has already won audience awards at festivals like Toronto International Film Festival, where it was the runner-up in the Midnight Madness category.

Two other films, Tom Lin’s “Yen And Ai-Lee” and Geng Jun’s “Bel Ami,” followed closely behind with eight nominations each. These movies, along with Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well...

John Hsu’s Taiwanese supernatural comedy Dead Talents Society has scored 11 nominations for the 61st Golden Horse Awards, followed by Tom Lin’s Yen And Ai-Lee and Geng Jun’s Bel Ami, with eight nods each.

Dead Talents Society and Bel Ami are among the five films competing in the best film category, along with Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well, Yeo Siew Hua’s Stranger Eyes and Lou Ye’s An Unfinished Film. The same five films are also running in the best director category.

They reflect the overall representation at this year’s Golden Horse Awards, with the participation of Hong Kong,...

John Hsu’s horror comedy Dead Talents Society heads the race for this year’s Golden Horse Awards with 11 nominations, including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Sandrine Pinna.

The film, set in a fictional underworld where ghosts can linger in the mortal realm by competing to haunt humans, is produced by Taiwan’s Activator Co, Sony Pictures International Productions and several other local companies.

It was followed in the awards race by Tom Lin’s Yen And Ai-Lee and Geng Jun’s Bel Ami, which both received eight nominations.

Dead Talents Society and Bel Ami are both nominated for Best Narrative Feature, along with Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well, Yeo Siew-hua’s Stranger Eyes and Lou Ye’s An Unfinished Film. All five of these films are also nominated for Best Director.

Best Leading Actor nominations include King Jieh-wen (A...

Comedy-horror “Dead Talents Society” picked up 11 nominations for the Golden Horse Film Awards, making it the most acclaimed title among the 169 films in contention for the prestigious Chinese-language prizes.

“Yen and Ai-Lee” and “Bel Ami” both received eight nominations, putting them in a tie for second place. Recent Venice competition film “Stranger Eyes,” from Singapore’s Yeo Siew Hua received six.

Five films compete for the best narrative features award: John Hsu’s “Dead Talents Society,” Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” Lou Ye’s “An Unfinished Film,” Geng Jun’s “Bel Ami” and “Stranger Eyes.” The same five also contest the best director award.

Nominees for best leading actor are: King Jieh-wen (“A Journey in Spring”), Chang Chen (“The Embers”), Yau Hawk-sau (“The Way We Talk”), Wanlop Rungkumjad (“Mongrel”) and Zhang Zhiyong (“Bel Ami”). Chang is a previous winner in the category.

Nominees for best actress are: Patra Au Ga-man...

Fathom Events and Warner Bros.’ DC Studios are blasting off documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, a favorite from Sundance, and Music Box has the festival’s Grand Jury Prize-winner In The Summers among a handful of solid new release including The Featherweight about boxer Willie Pep, and Who’s Afraid Of Nathan Law? a doc following the heroic Hong Kong student activist.

DC, HBO Documentary Films and CNN Films acquired Super/Man out of the festival. It will debut in cinemas across the U.S. on Saturday with an encore presentation Sept. 25, Reeve’s birthday. Reeve’s definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman over four films set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Warner is the home of Superman and the films that shot the unknown actor to stardom before a tragic horseback riding accident left him a quadriplegic dependent on a ventilator to breathe.

Making breakfast. Going to the flower shop. Decorating the house for a holiday. On their own, these things may seem mundane not at all movie-worthy. However, Ray Yeungs All Shall Be Well captures these actions in a way that makes them feel not just compelling but necessary, giving depth, humanity, and a spotlight to characters who rarely ever get one.

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (Tgfm) has revealed the 20 projects selected for financing and development at Tiffcom, the content market of Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).

The 5th edition of Tgfm is set to take place from October 30 to November 1 and includes five more projects than last year due to a special focus on Italy. This follows the signing of a co-production agreement between Italy and Japan in 2023, which came into effect last month.

Scroll down for full list of titles

Several international projects hail from successful producers who have teamed with young directors.

They include family drama 9 Temples To Heaven,...

The 68th BFI London Film Festival has just announced the line-up and – as always – a wide variety of Asian films is included in the vast Programme. Over 12 days, the Lff will showcase 255 works from 80 countries, featuring 64 languages and including 112 projects made by female and non-binary filmmakers.

The London Film Festival, officially called the BFI London Film Festival is organised annually by the British Film Institute (BFI) since 1953. It is the UK’s largest public Festival of its kind and is visited by thousands of film enthusiasts who have the the ability to see films, documentaries and shorts from all over the world. The festival will take place at London’s BFI Southbank and The Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, as well as cinemas and venues across central London, and will run from 9 to 20 October 2024.

All the info about tickets and booking are Here.

And now, let’s browse the...

The Mulan International Film Festival (MulanIFF) is Canada's largest film festival of its kind, dedicated to championing Chinese-language films and pan-Chinese cinemas. At its fifth edition, this year's festival places a special emphasis on emerging talented filmmakers, while continuing to advocate for female filmmakers, LGBTQ+ films, and Hong Kong films. Founded in 2018 by a small group of University of Toronto alumni, the festival is now listed in Telefilm Canada's Development Program, as a qualifying festival for the stream for Black and People of Colour.

The 2024 Mulan International Film Festival will be held from August 9 to August 17, 2024, at Innis Town Hall, University of Toronto St. George.

The festival will open with the Canadian Premiere of Love Is a Gun. Directed by Taiwanese actor and director Lee Hong-Chi, this highly anticipated film has already received acclaim at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Lion of the Future...

The queer romance film Viet and Nam, which premiered at the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, will receive a North American release from Strand Releasing. The news comes after the film earned a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film, according to Variety, has been acquired by Strand Releasing and is set to be released at festivals in North America in early 2025. The film--which is a co-production between Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, France, Netherlands, Italy and Germany--tells the story of two young coal miners who fall in love and dream of a better future, but they are forced to make sacrifices in order to stay together as they face separation. Viet and Nam was directed by Truong Minh Qu, making it his second feature film, and stars Pham Thanh Hai and Dao Duy Bao Dinh. The film was produced by Epicmedia, in co-production with Cinema Inutile,...

Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to “Viet and Nam” which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard.

Directed by Truong Minh Quý, the film tells the passionate love story of two young coal miners who face separation and ultimately make sacrifices to stay together. Represented in international markets by Pyramide International, “Viet and Nam” stars Pham Thanh Hai and Dao Duy Bao Dinh.

“’Viet and Nam’ was one of the most mesmerizing films I’ve seen in awhile, romantic, tragic and tender directed with a unique style that embodies the auteurs we cultivate,” said Marcus Hu of Strand Releasing.

“We are very happy that after its wonderful journey at Cannes in Un Certain Regard, Viet And Nam can now meet the American audience. We are also delighted to collaborate once again with Strand, one of our long-standing partners. We are confident that they...

“Wild Diamond,” the feature debut of Agathe Riedinger which competed at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has been acquired by Strand Releasing for North American rights.

The critically acclaimed film tells the story of Liane, a 19-year old girl whose quick rise to fame in the world of social influencers and media explodes when she gets cast in a reality TV show entitled Miracle Island.

“We’re thrilled to be handling the debut feature by Ms. Riedinger, we were entranced by this directorial new voice appearing in competition at the Cannes main slate,” said Strand Releasing’s Jon Gerrans who negotiated the deal and Agathe Mauruc at Pyramide International. Gerrans added that “Wild Diamond” “will resonate with audiences in North America as the film addresses our fascination and obsession with popularity on social media.”

“Wild Diamond” has sold in the following territories, Baltics, Benelux, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cis, Czech Republic,...

Hot from its multi-territory success with “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies,” Thai film studio GDH559 set out a powerful production and releasing slate for the coming year. Significantly, four of its next five releases have LGBT themes.

Released in April, “Grandma” earned THB339 million ($9.4 million) in Thailand. It has since broken records in five countries for Thai-language film on its way to earning a cumulative THB1.2 billion ($33.3 million) and plays imminently at the New York Asian Film Festival.

Nearest to release, and most accomplished-looking of the new slate, is “The Paradise of Thorns,” a comedy drama about a man who is cut out of his lover’s durian farm inheritance due to a lack of paperwork and hereto-centric laws. A similar theme was explored earlier this year in Ray Yeung’s Teddy Award-winning drama “All Shall Be Well,” which told its story from a lesbian point of view...

"If Pat was still here, she would have agreed with me." Strand Releasing has unveiled an official trailer for an indie film titled All Shall Be Well set in Hong Kong, made by the filmmaker Ray Yeung. This sapphic drama originally premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, and it also played at the Hong Kong, Seattle, and Sydney Film Festivals. Angie & Pat are a lesbian couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over 4 decades. After Pat's unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity as well as the home that they shared for over thirty years. Also starring Tai-Bo, So-Ying Hui, Chung-Hang Leung, Fish Liew, & Rachel Leung. Reviews say that the film takes "the approachable genre of the family drama and [places] it in the context of topical issues in today’s queer Hong Kong.

Exclusive: The 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival aka Frameline48 wrapped over the weekend and presented it awards after a slate of 120 in-person screenings and programs featuring international LGBTQ+ filmmakers and Bay Area artists.

Frameline48 highlights included a 30th anniversary screening of the 4K restoration of Go Fish; the “queer premiere” of Anthony Schatteman’s Young Hearts; the U.S. premiere of Juan Pablo Di Pace and Andrés P. Estrada’s Duino, world premieres of Deborah Craig’s Sally! (co-directed by Jörg Fockele and Ondine Rarey) and Osama Chami’s Una película barata; and screenings of Harrison Xu, Ivan Leung and Katherine Dudas’ Extremely Unique Dynamic, Marco Berger’s The Astronaut Lovers (Los amantes astronautas) and Luke Willis’ Lady Like, which saw the director and Lady Camden, the film’s subject, in attendance.

The Frameline kickoff celebration featured a live performance by singer, songwriter and producer Linda Perry, followed...

The New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center announce the 23rd edition of the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff), running July 12–22 at Film at Lincoln Center, with additional screenings from July 22–28 at the Sva Theatre and July 13–15, 18–21, and 23–25 at Look Cinemas W57, plus a special collaborative presentation of films at the Korean Cultural Center New York.

“For so many, Asian films start and end with Parasite or Everything Everywhere All At Once (who could blame them?), but the real action is happening in the trenches of Asian cinema, where audacious auteurs and daring debutantes are unleashing a tidal wave of talent that's about to crash on American shores,” said Samuel Jamier, festival director and president of the New York Asian Film Foundation. “This year's festival is like sriracha sauce – it's spicy, it's tangy, it's got a kick that'll wake up your senses. And it's hard to find right now!

Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed further deals for Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,”

following the North American deal with Strand Releasing and the first international sales previously announced by Variety.

The film has been acquired by Nour Films in France, One From the Heart in Greece, Mezipatra in Czech Republic and Slovakia, HBO Europe in Eastern Europe, Beta Film in Bulgaria and Falcon in Indonesia, in addition to the already announced deals with Vedette in the Benelux, Karma in Spain, Trigon in Switzerland and Lev in Israel.

Films Boutique is in negotiations with potential buyers in the U.K., Latin America, Germany and Japan.

Additionally, New Voice Film Productions Ltd. secured distribution deals with Golden Scene for Hong Kong and Macau and Flash Forward Entertainment in Taiwan.

“All Shall Be Well” is written and directed by Yeung and was produced by Yeung’s frequent collaborator Michael J. Werner,...

The annual New York Asian Film Festival is about to kick off this summer.

Presented by the New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center, the 23rd edition of the festival will take place from July 12 through 22 at Film at Lincoln Center, with additional screenings from July 22 through 28 at the Sva Theatre and July 13–15, 18–21, and 23–25 at Look Cinemas W57, plus a special collaborative presentation of films at the Korean Cultural Center New York.

This year’s lineup marks the largest list of premieres, with 20 films debuting including the North American premiere of “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” which debuted at Cannes.

The opening night selection is the world premiere of Park Beom-su’s “Victory,” a cheerleading epic that’s billed as “Bring It On” meets “Parasite.” Lee Hye-ri (of 3rd-gen K-pop band Girl’s Day) will be in attendance with co-star Park Se-wan and director Park.

Soi Cheang’s Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In will close out the 23rd edition of the New York Asian Film Festival while Hong Kong actor Tai Bo is set to receive the Star Asia lifetime achievement award.

Tai is best known for 2019Twilight’s Kiss which earned him a Hong Kong film award and a Golden Horse nomination. He won a Golden Horse supporting actor award for 2000’s The Cabbie while his work in 1984’s Gung Buk was also critically well received. Tai’s other credits include Police Story, Back Home and, most recently, Berlin 2024 title All Shall Be Well.

The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards.

The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.

Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.

In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...

Inside Out, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ film festival, has revealed the full program lineup for its 34th edition, including its opening night selection, My Old Ass, from Canadian director Megan Park.

My Old Ass, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival where is was acquired by Amazon MGM, follows an 18 year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) who meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) who warns her about falling in love.

Karen Knox’s sophomore feature We Forgot To Break Up, adapted from the novel Heidegger Stairwell by Canadian author Kayt Burgess, will close the fest. Elsewhere in the lineup is Susie Yankou’s Sisters, which is this year’s 2024 Re:Focus Gala selection and Anthony Schatteman’s debut feature Young Hearts acting as the The Centerpiece Gala film.

“We are thrilled to welcome audiences back for the 34th annual Inside Out 2Slgbtq+ Film Festival,” says Elie Chivi, Co-Head and Executive Director. “As the film festival landscape continues to evolve,...

Strand Releasing has acquired the North American rights to Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which world premiered at this year’s Berlinale and won the Teddy Prize for best film. The movie played last week as the opening film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

“All Shall Be Well” chronicles the lives of two women, Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over 30 years.

A universal tale, the movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t allow same-sex marriage. Patra Au Ga Man and Maggie Li Lin Lin star in the lead roles of Angie and Pat, respectively.

The deal was done...

With four TV and film projects in as many years, few filmmakers right now are more prolific than Hirokazu Kore-eda.

The veteran Japanese filmmaker behind titles like the Palme d’Or-winning Shoplifters and Still Walking continued his hot streak after landing his third directing honor from the Asian Academy Sunday night for his last feature, Monster. Last night’s win was Kore-eda’s second consecutive Best Director win at the Asian Film Awards after nabbing the gong with the Korean-language Broker in 2023.

“I’m in a really good spot right now,” Kore-eda told Deadline shortly before picking up the award on Sunday. “I’m not forcing myself at all. I’m constantly working. I have good stamina.” The filmmaker told us that he has no intentions of slowing down.

“I’m currently working on a streaming drama I shot last autumn. I’m in the editing phase for that now,...

As Filmart gets underway, Hong Kong’s major production companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures (Emp), Media Asia, One Cool Group and Universe Entertainment, will be unveiling their new titles in enormous booths at the front of the trade show floor, some of which will be as elaborate as film sets.

Many of the films they are launching are big-budget Hong Kong-China co-productions, featuring top Hong Kong stars and directors, and aimed at audiences in both China and Hong Kong. Emp has Derek Kwok’s Raging Havoc, starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse; Mandarin Motion Pictures has The Prosecutor, starring and directed by Donnie Yen; and Media Asia is launching four new titles headed by Behind The Scene, produced by Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau. One Cool’s slate includes a trio of action films starring Louis Koo and produced by Soi Cheang.

But behind all the glamour, stars and action,...

This month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will showcase over 190 films from 62 countries and regions, including five world premieres, and 64 Asian premieres.

Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.

The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”

Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”

Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.

This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will open with the Asian premiere of All Shall Be Well, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ray Yeung, which recently won the Teddy Award at Berlin film festival.

Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, the film tells the story of an older lesbian couple and how the surviving partner struggles to retain her home and her dignity when one of them passes away. The film premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale.

Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights, starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which premiered in the Forum section of Berlin, will close the festival on April 8.

Gala screenings also include the world premiere of Hong Kong filmmaker Ho Miu-ki’s Love Lies, starring Sandra Ng, Cheung Tin-fu and Stephy Tang; Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Gift, a collaboration with composer Eiko Ishibashi, which will be...

Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well has been set as the opening film of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which has unveiled its full lineup today.

It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.

Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...

Record market attendance, headline acquisitions by Sony and ongoing interest in starry packages tell only part of the story of a busy European Film Market (EFM).

An event brimming with late-arriving projects gave buyers plenty to consider and the mood was buoyant following what some had cited as the least productive AFM in decades last October.

“People had had a bit of a disappointing AFM in so many different ways, and everyone was ready,” said Ella Field, EVP of international sales at the UK’s Signature Entertainment, who described EFM as the most cost-effective market of the year. “Where there are great films,...

With a title that itself feels like a soothing murmur, Hong Kong director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well” returns to the social and lifestage milieu of his well-received 2019 later-life gay romance “Suk Suk,” and occupies a similarly melancholic, placatory register. But those hoping for a renewal, or maybe even an amping up of “Suk Suk”s restrained interrogation of internalized and externalized homophobia within Hong Kong’s economically advanced but culturally conservative middle class, may be a little disappointed. Although his fourth film revolves around a sixty-something lesbian couple, Yeung’s focus is broader, not sharper. The disappointment will however be mild, not just because there are plenty of other plaintive insights on offer, but because everything here is mild.

Angie (Patra Au Ga-man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin-lin) have been a settled, loving couple for more than 40 years. They are now enjoying the simpler, slower pleasures of...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the winners of this year’s Panorama Audience Awards, voted on by ordinary viewers at the world’s largest public film festival.

Memories of a Burning Body, the second feature film from Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, won the top prize for best fiction film, while No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor took the Panorama Audience Award for best documentary.

Memories of a Burning Body follows a trio of seventy-something women as they discuss their sexuality and their bodies, confronting the taboos and constrictions of living in a sexist and repressive society. Produced by Substance Films in co-production with Playlab Films, Memories of a Burning Body is being worldwide by Bendita Film Sales.

No Other Land, directed by a collective of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, traces the Israeli government’s attempts to expel Palestinians in Masafer Yatta,...

Hong Kong director Ray Yeung ‘s “All Shall Be Well” has sold in several key markets following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

Represented in international markets by Films Boutique, “All Shall Be Well” is playing in the Panorama section at the Berlinale and is eligible for the Teddy Award. The movies follows Angie (Patra Au Ga Man), a lesbian woman in her 60’s trying to save her family from unravelling and her world from crumbling after the abrupt death of her life-long partner Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin). The movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong laws which don’t allow same-sex marriage.

Films Boutique has sold the movie to Spain (Karma), Israel (Lev), Benelux (Vedette) and Switzerland (Trigon). The company is negotiating deals for France, North America and the U.K.

In an interview with Variety on the eve of the Berlinale, Yeung said the...

Boasting a track-record of finely observed and touching films with LGBT themes, Hong Kong director Ray Yeung is back at the Berlin Film Festival after a previous appearance with “Suk Suk” (aka “Twilight’s Kiss” in some markets). It launches in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section and is eligible for the Teddy Award.

Hong Kong society can be tolerant, conservative and pragmatic all at the same time. But, as a place where the pressure is always on, things can snap out of joint quickly. Yeung’s new film, “All Shall Be Well” describes the unravelling of previously-assumed familial relations following the death of one half of a lesbian couple.

Variety spoke to Yeung on the eve of the festival.

The English title of the film changed from ‘Today.. Tomorrow’ to ‘All Shall Be Well.’ What does that reflect?

The Chinese title has constant been throughout. The decision on a...

Acceptance is sometimes nothing but tolerance in sheep's clothing. The “family comes first” trope holds weight in many cultures, but this may not matter when one fails to conform to a heteropatriarchal understanding of the concept. Ray Yeung's newest film, “All Shall Be Well”, takes one such instance of this — the case of an older same-sex Hong Kong couple — and unravels a spool of familial complexities embedded deep in the sociocultural landscape. What if your late partner wished to be buried at sea, but her family believes that doing so will spiritually unsettle them all? Do your partner's wishes even matter when you, her life partner, are considered nothing but a mere outsider? This is the first hurdle that our protagonist must face in “All Shall Be Well”, which just made its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2024 Berlinale to a sold-out crowd at the Kino International.

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during the 2024 Berlin Film Festival. Strand Releasing opens “All Shall We Bell” on Friday, September 20.

Partway into “All Shall Be Well,” the main character meets a lawyer friend in a bar one night. “Why did you wait so long to see me?,” the lawyer asks the other woman sitting across from her, regarding an ongoing dispute over an inheritance. “I thought we were all family,” replies the lead. After a light chuckle, the friend says, “Even mother and son fall out when money’s involved.” Set in Hong Kong, this deeply moving fourth feature from writer-director Ray Yeung tenderly explores the aftermath of unexpected loss, where the uncertainty and chaos of the immediate grieving period is compounded by delicate negotiations that need addressing amid a very specific set of circumstances.

Both in their late sixties, Angie (Patra Au Ga Man) and Pat...

Films Boutique has closed a raft of deals on the Chinese movie “Brief History of a Family,” which will play at the Berlinale in the Panorama section.

Chinese filmmaker Lin Jianjie‘s feature debut, “Brief History of a Family” premiered at Sundance and will be screening for buyers at the EFM as well.

Films Boutique has sold the movie to Benelux (September Films), Italy (Movies Inspired) and Spain (Karma Films).

The drama is set in the aftermath of an incident at the high school attended by Wei, an outgoing only son from a middle-class family, and Shuo, his quiet, perceptive classmate. Wei soon introduces his friend to his father, a cell biologist, and his mother, a former flight attendant. Learning that Shuo comes from a troubled background, Wei’s parents welcome this boy to spend more time in their home. Shuo slowly integrates himself into Wei’s family life and...