It may seem that the golden era of the disaster movies had remained in the 2010’s, with such titles as The Impossible (2012), The Wave (2015) and Deepwater Horizon (2016). However, this assumption is completely wrong, and this thriller proves not only that the disaster films are in great demand, but also that they can be made so well today.
Set in the aftermath of an unexpected earthquake, the movie starts by showing that it has reduced Seoul to rubble. In such catastrophic obstacles only one apartment building, called Hwang Gung Apartments, mysteriously remains untouched.
Its residents, considering themselves to be special as if they were chosen by somebody to stay alive, decide to reconstruct the city. Along the way, they begin to confront each other and, moreover, their common dilemmas challenging their moral principles.
Beginning as a black comedy featuring people who are seemingly free to do what they want with society...
Set in the aftermath of an unexpected earthquake, the movie starts by showing that it has reduced Seoul to rubble. In such catastrophic obstacles only one apartment building, called Hwang Gung Apartments, mysteriously remains untouched.
Its residents, considering themselves to be special as if they were chosen by somebody to stay alive, decide to reconstruct the city. Along the way, they begin to confront each other and, moreover, their common dilemmas challenging their moral principles.
Beginning as a black comedy featuring people who are seemingly free to do what they want with society...
- 5/1/2024
- by info@startefacts.com (Ava Raxa)
- STartefacts.com
Parasite producer Barunson E&a has a new CEO.
Yoonhee Choi has stepped in to take over from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae. She has been with Barunson E&a since 2021, when she was hired as Managing Director and was upped to COO in April last year.
Choi was previously at Cj Enm, serving as head of international sales for films such as the Barunson E&a-produced Oscar winner Parasite and The Spy Gone North and producer of titles such as Seobok, Hard Hit and Nothing Serious.
Barunson E&a’s upcoming slate also includes the next two features from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and as well as projects from directors Kim Sung-hoon and Um Tae-hwa.
Since October 2022, it has been expanding its global footprint by launching International sales and production / financing arms, securing sales rights to its first non-Korean film, Giddens Ko’s Miss Shampoo, and investing in Indonesian thriller 13 Bombs,...
Yoonhee Choi has stepped in to take over from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae. She has been with Barunson E&a since 2021, when she was hired as Managing Director and was upped to COO in April last year.
Choi was previously at Cj Enm, serving as head of international sales for films such as the Barunson E&a-produced Oscar winner Parasite and The Spy Gone North and producer of titles such as Seobok, Hard Hit and Nothing Serious.
Barunson E&a’s upcoming slate also includes the next two features from Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and as well as projects from directors Kim Sung-hoon and Um Tae-hwa.
Since October 2022, it has been expanding its global footprint by launching International sales and production / financing arms, securing sales rights to its first non-Korean film, Giddens Ko’s Miss Shampoo, and investing in Indonesian thriller 13 Bombs,...
- 2/13/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Yoonhee Choi has been named CEO at Barunson E&a, the South Korean sales and production outfit that is heading to this week’s European Film Market with major international expansion ambitions.
Choi joined the company in 2021 as managing director, overseeing domestic and international operations, and was promoted to COO in April 2023. She was previously head of international sales at Cj Enm, where she worked for eight years, leading overseas distribution of films such as Parasite, The Handmaiden and The Spy Gone North.
She takes over the role from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae.
Barunson E&a is...
Choi joined the company in 2021 as managing director, overseeing domestic and international operations, and was promoted to COO in April 2023. She was previously head of international sales at Cj Enm, where she worked for eight years, leading overseas distribution of films such as Parasite, The Handmaiden and The Spy Gone North.
She takes over the role from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae.
Barunson E&a is...
- 2/13/2024
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – There is a thoughtfulness in the top South Korean films that cannot be duplicated in any other cinema culture. Along with now classics like “Oldboy” and “Parasite,” another Korean visionary emerges with a story about humanity … co-writer and director Um Tae-hwa has created a “Concrete Utopia.” The film is in U.S. theaters on December 15th.
Rating: 4.0/5.0
After a massive earthquake, Seoul has swiftly been reduced to rubble. Everything in the city has collapsed, except for one building … Hwang Gung Apartments. Banding together for the sake of their survival, the residents of the apartment elect ‘Yeong-tak’ (Lee Byung-hun) as their Representative. Under his leadership, the building stands as a safe and peaceful utopia for its residents. But amidst the continual threats to their survival unexpected conflicts begin to arise among them, and the closed society is in danger of its own collapse.
Director Um Tae-hwa (inset) of ‘Concrete Utopia...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
After a massive earthquake, Seoul has swiftly been reduced to rubble. Everything in the city has collapsed, except for one building … Hwang Gung Apartments. Banding together for the sake of their survival, the residents of the apartment elect ‘Yeong-tak’ (Lee Byung-hun) as their Representative. Under his leadership, the building stands as a safe and peaceful utopia for its residents. But amidst the continual threats to their survival unexpected conflicts begin to arise among them, and the closed society is in danger of its own collapse.
Director Um Tae-hwa (inset) of ‘Concrete Utopia...
- 12/12/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word “Foreign” to be outdated.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
- 12/11/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Like the Japanese with their Godzilla movies, the Koreans are partial to a bit of post-apocalyptic social satire, and Um Tae-Hwa’s box office hit Concrete Utopia follows a path trailblazed in 2013 by Bong Joon-ho’s cult sci-fi Snowpiercer. Adapted from the popular webtoon Pleasant Outcast by Kim Soong Nyung and partly inspired by British writer J.G. Ballard’s 1975 novel High-Rise, it centers on a Korean apartment block whose residents become lawless after a terrifying earthquake rips through the country.
Although local superstar Lee Byung-hun steals the show as Yeong-tak, a charismatic rebel leader with a sinister secret, the story is seen through the eyes of a young couple — Ming-seong (Park Seo-joon) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) — who wake up one morning to find that their lives, and in fact the whole world, have changed forever.
Related: Deadline’s Contenders International – Full Coverage
Speaking about South Korea’s official Oscar submission...
Although local superstar Lee Byung-hun steals the show as Yeong-tak, a charismatic rebel leader with a sinister secret, the story is seen through the eyes of a young couple — Ming-seong (Park Seo-joon) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) — who wake up one morning to find that their lives, and in fact the whole world, have changed forever.
Related: Deadline’s Contenders International – Full Coverage
Speaking about South Korea’s official Oscar submission...
- 12/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event launches Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Pt, the latest in our series of showcases that this time turns the focus toward global cinema via discussions with the casts and creatives of 12 movies submitted by their countries for the 2024 Academy Awards’ International Feature race.
Click to sign up for and watch today’s livestream.
The 2023 Oscar ceremony was a triumph for international film. Going into the ceremony, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was a winner already, having earned a spectacular seven nominations. If that wasn’t enough, it came away with four statuettes: one for International Feature, and three for Cinematography, Music and Production Design. Clearly this can’t happen every year, but, like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite before it, Berger’s World War I epic proved that boundaries are being broken down, and international film, once synonymous with arthouse,...
Click to sign up for and watch today’s livestream.
The 2023 Oscar ceremony was a triumph for international film. Going into the ceremony, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was a winner already, having earned a spectacular seven nominations. If that wasn’t enough, it came away with four statuettes: one for International Feature, and three for Cinematography, Music and Production Design. Clearly this can’t happen every year, but, like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite before it, Berger’s World War I epic proved that boundaries are being broken down, and international film, once synonymous with arthouse,...
- 12/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Just as Pulp Fiction triggered a wave of inferior gangster flicks with a penchant for witty, fast-paced dialogue and Get Out paved the way for several socially conscious horror efforts, the seeds of Parasite’s widespread influence are beginning to sprout. The disaster movie Concrete Utopia would have still existed were it not for the unprecedented international success of Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar winner, of course, but I doubt producers would have been as eager to give blockbuster funding to a similarly class-conscious satire (which just happens to unfold under near-apocalyptic circumstances) if they didn’t sense similar breakout potential.
It’s not necessarily a criticism that the third film by director Um Tae-hwa follows closely in Bong’s footsteps, marrying his love for the country’s early wave of issue-driven melodramas––as was the case with Parasite, the influence of Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid looms large––with contemporary big-budget spectacle.
It’s not necessarily a criticism that the third film by director Um Tae-hwa follows closely in Bong’s footsteps, marrying his love for the country’s early wave of issue-driven melodramas––as was the case with Parasite, the influence of Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid looms large––with contemporary big-budget spectacle.
- 12/5/2023
- by Alistair Ryder
- The Film Stage
Concrete Utopia
With Concrete Utopia, South Korea has once again hit the sweet spot between making a film of sufficient quality and depth to go for the big awards – it’s the country’s official Oscar submission for 2024 – and making one which is entertaining enough to pull in the crowds. Set in the aftermath of a disaster which sees massive earthquakes shatter the concrete infrastructure of Seoul, it focuses on the inhabitants of the last apartment building standing, and the increasingly extreme decisions they make as they try to survive. Playing the man whom they elect as their leader is one of Korea’s most popular actors, Lee Byung-hun, and the director is Um Tae-hwa. In the run-up to its US release I met the two of them at a press conference where they discussed the film’s satirical themes and its complex characters.
Concrete Utopia director Um Tae-hwa Photo:...
With Concrete Utopia, South Korea has once again hit the sweet spot between making a film of sufficient quality and depth to go for the big awards – it’s the country’s official Oscar submission for 2024 – and making one which is entertaining enough to pull in the crowds. Set in the aftermath of a disaster which sees massive earthquakes shatter the concrete infrastructure of Seoul, it focuses on the inhabitants of the last apartment building standing, and the increasingly extreme decisions they make as they try to survive. Playing the man whom they elect as their leader is one of Korea’s most popular actors, Lee Byung-hun, and the director is Um Tae-hwa. In the run-up to its US release I met the two of them at a press conference where they discussed the film’s satirical themes and its complex characters.
Concrete Utopia director Um Tae-hwa Photo:...
- 12/3/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
In Cormac McCarthy’s 2022 novel The Passenger, a character muses that, when a nuclear bomb set the sky above Hiroshima on fire, those who survived the blast didn’t immediately connect what had happened to the war, but rather assumed that the world had ended. The destruction we see in Um Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia feels similarly apocalyptic: When an earthquake rips through the heart of Seoul, the streets split open and buildings crumble, largely reducing the entire city to rubble in a matter of seconds. From this moment on, we never find out what’s happening outside of the city, with the film effectively keying us to the perspectives of a community of survivors for whom the world is essentially their immediate vicinity.
In the midst of all this destruction, Imperial Palace Apartments is the only building in Seoul left standing. To help them survive their grim new reality,...
In the midst of all this destruction, Imperial Palace Apartments is the only building in Seoul left standing. To help them survive their grim new reality,...
- 12/3/2023
- by Ross McIndoe
- Slant Magazine
“I want to keep moving to bigger units and keep up this apartment lifestyle,” a woman says in the black and white ‘documentary’ which opens South Korea’s submission to the 2024 Oscars. Viewers may think of its 2020 winner, Parasite, and indeed, there are themes in common between the two, but Um Tae-hwa’s work has one marked difference: shortly after the main narrative begins, almost everybody in the world is killed.
We don’t know exactly what happened. Why would we? There are hints, and we see the city shudder, rubble falling everywhere. Somehow, the Hwang Gung apartment building remains standing. A crowd of refugees assembles outside it. It’s icy cold, they have no shelter and don’t know where to get food. As they beg for admittance, the head of the Hwang Gung Women’s Committee gets the residents together inside. What should they do? Some of them protest that the only.
We don’t know exactly what happened. Why would we? There are hints, and we see the city shudder, rubble falling everywhere. Somehow, the Hwang Gung apartment building remains standing. A crowd of refugees assembles outside it. It’s icy cold, they have no shelter and don’t know where to get food. As they beg for admittance, the head of the Hwang Gung Women’s Committee gets the residents together inside. What should they do? Some of them protest that the only.
- 12/3/2023
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Ninety-seven times out of 100, a movie makes its moral judgments for us. Yes, there’s a haunting ambiguity to films like “The Conformist” or “Taxi Driver” or “Tár.” But when was the last time you saw moral ambiguity in a genre movie? Even the “Mad Max” films, in their visionary savagery, draw a clean line between nobility and treachery, speed-demon heroism and outlaw selfishness. But “Concrete Utopia” is a dystopian disaster movie with a difference. This year’s South Korean entry in the Oscar competition for best international feature, it places its characters in a desperate, scary, do-or-die situation and then refuses to tell the audience what to think about them. It’s a fractious, blood-soaked drama about the will to survive that feels like “Earthquake” crossed with “Lord of the Flies.” What’s gripping is that you watch it and think, “If I were in this movie, what would I do?...
- 11/12/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
The London East Asia Film festival came to a close on Sunday night with the UK premiere of Concrete Utopia, Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars. After the event’s Best Film award went to Iron Mask, by Kim Sung Hwan, artistic director Hyejung Jeon presented its Rising Star award to Hong Xa-bin for his performance in Kim Chang-hoon’s Hopeless and its Best Actor award to Concrete Utopia’s Park Bo-young.
Actress Park later returned after the film for a Q&a with director, Um Tae-hwa, to discuss the film’s themes of survival, which suddenly seemed shockingly relevant after recent events in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.
Starring Lee Byung-hun, Um’s film is a dystopian fable that recalls British writer J.G. Ballard in its depiction of a South Korean high-rise that is somehow left unscathed after a terrifying earthquake rips through the country.
Actress Park later returned after the film for a Q&a with director, Um Tae-hwa, to discuss the film’s themes of survival, which suddenly seemed shockingly relevant after recent events in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.
Starring Lee Byung-hun, Um’s film is a dystopian fable that recalls British writer J.G. Ballard in its depiction of a South Korean high-rise that is somehow left unscathed after a terrifying earthquake rips through the country.
- 10/31/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Leaff 2023 brings a diverse programme from East and Southeast Asia, including international and UK premieres. This year, our programme will be showcased through these strands: Retrospective: Director Chung Ji-Young, Leaff’s Official Selection, Competition, Stories of Women, Halloween Horror Special, Cherish the World, Lgbtqia+ and Classics Restored. The festival will open and close at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square. Other screenings and Q&As will take place at Odeon Luxe West End and the Cinema at Selfridges.
For more information about tickets, please visit: https://www.leaff.org.uk/2023tickets
Here is the full programme:
Opening Gala
The Boys + Q&a with the Director | Dir. Chung Ji-Young | Korea | 2023 | 124 mins
Closing Gala
Concrete Utopia + Q&a with Director, Actor Park Bo-young | Dir. Um Tae-hwa | Korea | 2023 | 130 mins
Leaff Official Selection
The Breaking Ice | Dir. Anthony Chen | Singapore | 2022 | 97 mins
Dan Dan | Dir. Song Chuan | China | 2022 | 103 mins
Hidden Blade | Dir. Cheng Er | Hong Kong | 2022 | 128 mins
In Broad Daylight | Dir.
For more information about tickets, please visit: https://www.leaff.org.uk/2023tickets
Here is the full programme:
Opening Gala
The Boys + Q&a with the Director | Dir. Chung Ji-Young | Korea | 2023 | 124 mins
Closing Gala
Concrete Utopia + Q&a with Director, Actor Park Bo-young | Dir. Um Tae-hwa | Korea | 2023 | 130 mins
Leaff Official Selection
The Breaking Ice | Dir. Anthony Chen | Singapore | 2022 | 97 mins
Dan Dan | Dir. Song Chuan | China | 2022 | 103 mins
Hidden Blade | Dir. Cheng Er | Hong Kong | 2022 | 128 mins
In Broad Daylight | Dir.
- 10/15/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Chicago – The After Dark series at the 59th Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) encompasses the “genre” category of films … horror, sci-fi, fantasy and the just plain bizarre. And the programmer behind it is film veteran Raul Benitez. For more info and After Dark line-ups, click After Dark.
After Dark: ’Concrete Utopia,’ on October 14th, Appearance by Director Um Tae-hwa
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Raul Benitez is a veteran curator, programmer and screener for various festivals and film entities, including his third year programming the After Dark series at the 59th Ciff. He is also the Senior Programmer for the Midwest Film Festival, and programs at Comfort Station Logan Square, Full Spectrum Features and Nightingale Cinema. He was honored with an “Esteemed Artist Award” in 2022 by the City of Chicago.
In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Programmer Raul Benitez on everything “After Dark” …
In a Video Clip,...
After Dark: ’Concrete Utopia,’ on October 14th, Appearance by Director Um Tae-hwa
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival
Raul Benitez is a veteran curator, programmer and screener for various festivals and film entities, including his third year programming the After Dark series at the 59th Ciff. He is also the Senior Programmer for the Midwest Film Festival, and programs at Comfort Station Logan Square, Full Spectrum Features and Nightingale Cinema. He was honored with an “Esteemed Artist Award” in 2022 by the City of Chicago.
In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Programmer Raul Benitez on everything “After Dark” …
In a Video Clip,...
- 10/12/2023
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Disaster movies tend to focus on the spectacle of the actual disaster, on the big explosions and debris, and on the sense of awe at seeing big-scale destruction. "Concrete Utopia" is not like that. Instead, director Um Tae-hwa focuses on what comes after the disaster, telling a compelling and gripping human drama about immigration and economic disparity, laying out an allegory for Korea's unique relationship with real estate and class.
Indeed, the first thing to know about "Concrete Utopia," which was announced as Korea's entry to the Oscars, is that the earthquake that decimates Seoul is barely seen. What little we do see of it looks stunning, the VFX work in the movie rather impressively creating an apocalyptic event that decimates the city — but that is not the focus of the film. Rather than build up to it or show us how people survive in the middle of the disaster,...
Indeed, the first thing to know about "Concrete Utopia," which was announced as Korea's entry to the Oscars, is that the earthquake that decimates Seoul is barely seen. What little we do see of it looks stunning, the VFX work in the movie rather impressively creating an apocalyptic event that decimates the city — but that is not the focus of the film. Rather than build up to it or show us how people survive in the middle of the disaster,...
- 9/26/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
The SXSW Sydney festival has set a 75-film screening schedule for its first edition. The selection skews heavily towards music, but is also distinctly international.
Headline titles include re-edited Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense,” “Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles,” an exploration of iconic Australian musical act The Wiggles; drill rap documentary “Onefour: Against All Odds,” directed by Gabriel Gasparinatos; and the widely-acclaimed “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” directed by Neo Sora.
“The first ever SXSW Sydney Screen Festival aims to platform the most exciting new voices, new forms and new ways of creating on screen. We hope to inspire our audiences and industry, by unwrapping the future of screen innovation as it emerges,” said Ghita Loebenstein, the festival’s head of screen. “Like our Austin counterparts, our festival presents global programming from leading creators, and our unique offer is this distinctive Asia Pacific lens. We also thematically lean...
Headline titles include re-edited Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense,” “Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles,” an exploration of iconic Australian musical act The Wiggles; drill rap documentary “Onefour: Against All Odds,” directed by Gabriel Gasparinatos; and the widely-acclaimed “Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus,” directed by Neo Sora.
“The first ever SXSW Sydney Screen Festival aims to platform the most exciting new voices, new forms and new ways of creating on screen. We hope to inspire our audiences and industry, by unwrapping the future of screen innovation as it emerges,” said Ghita Loebenstein, the festival’s head of screen. “Like our Austin counterparts, our festival presents global programming from leading creators, and our unique offer is this distinctive Asia Pacific lens. We also thematically lean...
- 9/21/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Universal’s ‘Oppenheimer’ nears $650m worldwide.
Worldwide box office Aug 11-13, 2023 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) 3-day (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1. No More Bets (various) $87.9m $231.9m $87.9m $231.9m 1 2. Barbie (Warner Bros) $78.8m $1.18bn $45.1m $657.6m 76 3. Meg 2: The Trench (Warner Bros) $56.4m $256.9m $43.7m $202.8m 76 4. Oppenheimer (Universal) $50.7m $649m $31.9m $384.8m 80 5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount) $26.2m $94.7m $10.4m $21.9m 48 6. Creation Of The Gods: Part 1 (various) $23.9m $275.6m $23.9m $275.6m 1 7. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount) $15.6m $522.5m $10.9m $362.9m 68 8. Gran Turismo: Based On A True Story (Sony) $10.7m $10.7m $10.7m...
Worldwide box office Aug 11-13, 2023 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) 3-day (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1. No More Bets (various) $87.9m $231.9m $87.9m $231.9m 1 2. Barbie (Warner Bros) $78.8m $1.18bn $45.1m $657.6m 76 3. Meg 2: The Trench (Warner Bros) $56.4m $256.9m $43.7m $202.8m 76 4. Oppenheimer (Universal) $50.7m $649m $31.9m $384.8m 80 5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount) $26.2m $94.7m $10.4m $21.9m 48 6. Creation Of The Gods: Part 1 (various) $23.9m $275.6m $23.9m $275.6m 1 7. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount) $15.6m $522.5m $10.9m $362.9m 68 8. Gran Turismo: Based On A True Story (Sony) $10.7m $10.7m $10.7m...
- 8/14/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...
- 8/14/2023
- MUBI
Lee Byung-hun-starring disaster movie “Concrete Utopia” topped the South Korean box office over the latest weekend, replacing female led crime caper “Smugglers.”
Directed by Um Tae-hwa, “Concrete Utopia” is set in a Seoul that has been largely destroyed by a massive earthquake. One building stands tall among the wreckage and becomes a refuge for those already inside, but the inhabitants must fend of the unwanted attentions of outsiders.
It opened on Wednesday, earning $8.40 million between Friday and Sunday and fully $11.3 million over its full opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The data showed it has an impressive 53% market share.
“Smugglers” continued to perform strongly. While it slipped from first to second place in its third week, over the weekend it added $3.19 million. That lifted its 19-day cumulative total to $31.5 million. Local media report that it has passed...
Directed by Um Tae-hwa, “Concrete Utopia” is set in a Seoul that has been largely destroyed by a massive earthquake. One building stands tall among the wreckage and becomes a refuge for those already inside, but the inhabitants must fend of the unwanted attentions of outsiders.
It opened on Wednesday, earning $8.40 million between Friday and Sunday and fully $11.3 million over its full opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The data showed it has an impressive 53% market share.
“Smugglers” continued to perform strongly. While it slipped from first to second place in its third week, over the weekend it added $3.19 million. That lifted its 19-day cumulative total to $31.5 million. Local media report that it has passed...
- 8/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Korea’s box office reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels of revenue in the first half of 2023, according to data released by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
Korean action film The Roundup: No Way Out was the highest-grossing film of the period – pulling in $82M from 10.68 million admissions – followed by two Japanese animated features, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk, and U.S. titles Avatar: The Way Of Water and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
Total box office for the period reached $475M (KRW607.8Bn), equivalent to 72.5% of average box office during the January-June period in 2017-2019, before Covid-19 shuttered cinemas and played havoc with release schedules.
As in many other territories, the recovery was partly due to ticket price increases, as admissions totalled 58.39 million, which is only 57.8% of the pre-pandemic average in the same period during 2017-2019.
While the top-grossing film in the first half was Korean, local films achieved only 54% of their pre-pandemic average,...
Korean action film The Roundup: No Way Out was the highest-grossing film of the period – pulling in $82M from 10.68 million admissions – followed by two Japanese animated features, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk, and U.S. titles Avatar: The Way Of Water and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
Total box office for the period reached $475M (KRW607.8Bn), equivalent to 72.5% of average box office during the January-June period in 2017-2019, before Covid-19 shuttered cinemas and played havoc with release schedules.
As in many other territories, the recovery was partly due to ticket price increases, as admissions totalled 58.39 million, which is only 57.8% of the pre-pandemic average in the same period during 2017-2019.
While the top-grossing film in the first half was Korean, local films achieved only 54% of their pre-pandemic average,...
- 7/27/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled its first wave of 60 selections on Monday, July 24. The slate includes 37 world premieres, seven international openings and 12 North American debuts and will be held September 7 – 17, 2023. See the full lineup of films (so far) below.
Among the standouts is “The Holdovers,” a caustic Christmas comedy from “About Schmidt” and “Sideways” writer-director Alexander Payne. Pundits expect the film could emerge from the festival as a major Oscar player in several races, including Best Picture. Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money,” a retelling of the GameStop short squeeze starring Paul Dano, and David Yates’ “Pain Hustlers,” a pharma satire with Emily Blunt, could land two previously overlooked actors their first Oscar spotlight.
See 14 most anticipated movies for July include ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,’ ‘Barbie’ … [Photos]
George C. Wolfe’s “Rustin” is a highly anticipated Civil Rights drama that Gold Derby users currently predict will...
Among the standouts is “The Holdovers,” a caustic Christmas comedy from “About Schmidt” and “Sideways” writer-director Alexander Payne. Pundits expect the film could emerge from the festival as a major Oscar player in several races, including Best Picture. Craig Gillespie’s “Dumb Money,” a retelling of the GameStop short squeeze starring Paul Dano, and David Yates’ “Pain Hustlers,” a pharma satire with Emily Blunt, could land two previously overlooked actors their first Oscar spotlight.
See 14 most anticipated movies for July include ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,’ ‘Barbie’ … [Photos]
George C. Wolfe’s “Rustin” is a highly anticipated Civil Rights drama that Gold Derby users currently predict will...
- 7/25/2023
- by Ronald Meyer
- Gold Derby
The Toronto International Film Festival is back for another big year.
On Monday, TIFF announced a whopping 60 films in its first wave of titles for the 2023 edition of the festival.
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ Is The First Confirmed Title
Spanning both the Gala and Special Presentations sections of the fest, the lineup includes a number of big titles, including 37 world premieres.
“This year’s Galas & Special Presentations showcase a rich tapestry of talent, vision, and storytelling,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “From thought-provoking narratives to breathtaking visuals and stories so unreal they have to be real, each work embodies the power of cinema to inspire, challenge, and move audiences. Get ready to experience an unforgettable celebration of film and a memorable and star-studded festival, showcasing the best of global cinema for film lovers in September.”
Several of the films at this...
On Monday, TIFF announced a whopping 60 films in its first wave of titles for the 2023 edition of the festival.
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: Taika Waititi’s ‘Next Goal Wins’ Is The First Confirmed Title
Spanning both the Gala and Special Presentations sections of the fest, the lineup includes a number of big titles, including 37 world premieres.
“This year’s Galas & Special Presentations showcase a rich tapestry of talent, vision, and storytelling,” said Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “From thought-provoking narratives to breathtaking visuals and stories so unreal they have to be real, each work embodies the power of cinema to inspire, challenge, and move audiences. Get ready to experience an unforgettable celebration of film and a memorable and star-studded festival, showcasing the best of global cinema for film lovers in September.”
Several of the films at this...
- 7/24/2023
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Earthquake thriller stars Lee Byung-hun of ‘Squid Game’.
South Korea’s Lotte Entertainment has pre-sold disaster thriller Concrete Utopia, starring Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game, to 152 countries including France, Italy and a raft of Asian territories among others.
The feature, in which Seoul is demolished by an earthquake, has been acquired for France and French-speaking territories (The Jokers Film), Italy and Italian-speaking territories (Blue Swan Entertainment), Poland (Media4Fun), Cis (Prime Time Media) and Latin America (bf Distribution).
In Asia, the film has pre-sold to Japan (Klockworx), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Hong Kong and Macao (Edko Films), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei...
South Korea’s Lotte Entertainment has pre-sold disaster thriller Concrete Utopia, starring Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game, to 152 countries including France, Italy and a raft of Asian territories among others.
The feature, in which Seoul is demolished by an earthquake, has been acquired for France and French-speaking territories (The Jokers Film), Italy and Italian-speaking territories (Blue Swan Entertainment), Poland (Media4Fun), Cis (Prime Time Media) and Latin America (bf Distribution).
In Asia, the film has pre-sold to Japan (Klockworx), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Hong Kong and Macao (Edko Films), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei...
- 6/14/2023
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
Earthquake thriller stars Lee Byung-hun of ‘Squid Game’.
South Korea’s Lotte Entertainment has pre-sold disaster thriller Concrete Utopia, starring Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game, to 152 countries including France, Italy and a raft of Asian territories among others.
The feature, in which Seoul is demolished by an earthquake, has been acquired for France and French-speaking territories (The Jokers Film), Italy and Italian-speaking territories (Blue Swan Entertainment), Poland (Media4Fun), Cis (Prime Time Media) and Latin America (bf Distribution).
In Asia, the film has pre-sold to Japan (Klockworx), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Hong Kong and Macao (Edko Films), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei...
South Korea’s Lotte Entertainment has pre-sold disaster thriller Concrete Utopia, starring Lee Byung-hun of Squid Game, to 152 countries including France, Italy and a raft of Asian territories among others.
The feature, in which Seoul is demolished by an earthquake, has been acquired for France and French-speaking territories (The Jokers Film), Italy and Italian-speaking territories (Blue Swan Entertainment), Poland (Media4Fun), Cis (Prime Time Media) and Latin America (bf Distribution).
In Asia, the film has pre-sold to Japan (Klockworx), Taiwan (Movie Cloud), Hong Kong and Macao (Edko Films), Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei...
- 6/14/2023
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
It’s that time of the year and here at Asian Film Vault, we decided to have our first ever poll regarding the best films of the year. The votes were cast and counted and we came up with 18 films from 2017, that we consider the best of the year. And although Japan has the lion’s share in the list, we feel that we covered a large portion of Asia with our picks, since the titles include films from India, Thailand, Hong Kong, S. Korea, and Indonesia
Without further ado, here is the countdown.
(By clicking on the title of each movie, you can read the whole article)
Jagga Jasoos
As a musical with younger target audiences in mind, “Jagga Jasoos” lives up to the expectations and ends up as a visual treat through a brilliant performance of the protagonist. (Sankha Ray)
Kodoku Meatball Machine (Yoshihiro Nishimura,...
Without further ado, here is the countdown.
(By clicking on the title of each movie, you can read the whole article)
Jagga Jasoos
As a musical with younger target audiences in mind, “Jagga Jasoos” lives up to the expectations and ends up as a visual treat through a brilliant performance of the protagonist. (Sankha Ray)
Kodoku Meatball Machine (Yoshihiro Nishimura,...
- 12/8/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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