Dubai-based sales outfit Mad World has acquired worldwide sales rights to Nadim Tabet’s upcoming ghost story In This Darkness I See You ahead of the Cannes market
The Lebanese thriller will join the inaugural slate of Mad World, a new sales and distribution company for Arab-language feature films that was launched yesterday by Mad Solutions.
The supernatural story follows strange events that occur at a construction site in a Lebanese village, where tensions between Syrian workers and local villagers come to a head after one labourer becomes convinced that the site is haunted. The screenplay was co-written by Tabet,...
The Lebanese thriller will join the inaugural slate of Mad World, a new sales and distribution company for Arab-language feature films that was launched yesterday by Mad Solutions.
The supernatural story follows strange events that occur at a construction site in a Lebanese village, where tensions between Syrian workers and local villagers come to a head after one labourer becomes convinced that the site is haunted. The screenplay was co-written by Tabet,...
- 5/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
Former WME Independent agent Nelson Mok is launching new investment and sales company Mokster Films with a focus on international sales of Asian titles as well as on project development and financing in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Through the new Singapore-based company, Mok will continue to work with WME Independent as a partner on a slate of titles that he has been handling, including The Cursed Land, which is set to open in Thailand in July, upcoming horror films Red Thread from Vietnam and Dominion Of Darkness from Indonesia, as well as this year’s biggest box office hit in Thailand,...
Through the new Singapore-based company, Mok will continue to work with WME Independent as a partner on a slate of titles that he has been handling, including The Cursed Land, which is set to open in Thailand in July, upcoming horror films Red Thread from Vietnam and Dominion Of Darkness from Indonesia, as well as this year’s biggest box office hit in Thailand,...
- 5/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
Kii Muneyuki, a former head of production at Japan’s Toei, is launching K2 Pictures, a company that aims to upend Japanese filmmaking practices. Its debut slate, with films by Kore-eda Hirokazu, Iwai Shunji and Nishikawa Miwa, will be unveiled in Cannes next week.
A key part of the new company’s strategy is the establishment of a film fund, K2P Film Fund I, that will invest in live action and animations productions. It aims to attract investors from Japan, other parts of Asia and the U.S.
The company explains that “most Japanese films today are made under a system found only in this country of ‘production committees’ formed by such organizations as film companies, TV stations, and publishers. Funding under this system comes only from sources with film-related know-how, making entry difficult and limiting returns to both producers and creators.”
Production committees are notorious for their risk-averse...
A key part of the new company’s strategy is the establishment of a film fund, K2P Film Fund I, that will invest in live action and animations productions. It aims to attract investors from Japan, other parts of Asia and the U.S.
The company explains that “most Japanese films today are made under a system found only in this country of ‘production committees’ formed by such organizations as film companies, TV stations, and publishers. Funding under this system comes only from sources with film-related know-how, making entry difficult and limiting returns to both producers and creators.”
Production committees are notorious for their risk-averse...
- 5/10/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran Japanese film producer Muneyuki Kii has assembled a bold new venture to shake up Japan’s traditionally sclerotic and risk-averse approach to movie financing. The executive, formerly a lead producer at Tokyo-based studio Toei, revealed the launch Thursday of K2 Pictures, a mini-studio that aims to bring a more direct, Hollywood-style model of film funding to Japan’s industry.
The new company will launch a content fund — dubbed the “K2P Film Fund I” — to finance both live-action and animated Japanese features. K2P also has lined up an impressive roster of Japanese directors to collaborate with on its first slate, including Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), local industry mainstay Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, 13 Assassins), Shunji Iwai (Love Letter), Miwa Nishikawa (Sway), Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s Path) and leading anime studio Mappa, known for mega-hits like Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Attack on Titan.
Kii...
The new company will launch a content fund — dubbed the “K2P Film Fund I” — to finance both live-action and animated Japanese features. K2P also has lined up an impressive roster of Japanese directors to collaborate with on its first slate, including Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), local industry mainstay Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, 13 Assassins), Shunji Iwai (Love Letter), Miwa Nishikawa (Sway), Kazuya Shiraishi (The Devil’s Path) and leading anime studio Mappa, known for mega-hits like Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Attack on Titan.
Kii...
- 5/10/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Animation studio Mappa will begin a partnership with K2 Pictures , a newly-launched film company based in Tokyo, to produce films for the global market, following an announcement on the company's official website . K2 Pictures was established by Japanese producer Muneyuki Kii , a former head producer at Toei. The company's official website describes its purpose as follows: The company aims to create a new funding ecosystem for Japanese films to enrich local productions by returning profits traditionally accruing to film companies to both investors and creators, and it will also produce projects with emerging and established creators. Additionally, as part of the initiative, K2 Pictures is launching a new content fund – K2P Film Fund I – which will provide support for Japanese features across both animation and live-action and will enable investors, creators and crew members to profit from the Japanese film industry. The Fund is aiming to collaborate with from investors in Japan,...
- 5/10/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
K2 Pictures, a Japanese production company launched by former Toei producer Muneyuki Kii, is to introduce a new film fund at Cannes and a slate that includes upcoming projects from Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda, acclaimed genre director Takashi Miike and top animation studio Mappa.
The K2P Film Fund I aims to support live-action and animated Japanese features, collaborating with local and international investors from the US, Asia and beyond. Profits from productions will be funnelled back to investors, creators and crew.
Announcing the fund, K2 Pictures revealed it will collaborate with leading Japanese directors and creators on...
The K2P Film Fund I aims to support live-action and animated Japanese features, collaborating with local and international investors from the US, Asia and beyond. Profits from productions will be funnelled back to investors, creators and crew.
Announcing the fund, K2 Pictures revealed it will collaborate with leading Japanese directors and creators on...
- 5/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Former Toei producer Muneyuki Kim has launched K2 Pictures, which will work with major directors such as Hirokazu Kore-eda and aim to create a new funding ecosystem for Japanese animated and live-action features.
The plan is to return profits that would traditionally go to film companies to investors and creators, which its founder says closely follows approaches used in Hollywood and elsewhere. Creators who team with K2 will be able to participate on projects as shareholders.
Kii, who will be K2’s CEO, says most Japanese films are produced through a system of ‘production committees’ with industry know-how formed through film companies, TV networks and publishers, which it believes makes entry into the market difficult and limits returns to producers and creators.
To this end, company has launched the K2P Film Fund I, which will provide support for animated and live-action features and enable to “investors, creators and crew...
The plan is to return profits that would traditionally go to film companies to investors and creators, which its founder says closely follows approaches used in Hollywood and elsewhere. Creators who team with K2 will be able to participate on projects as shareholders.
Kii, who will be K2’s CEO, says most Japanese films are produced through a system of ‘production committees’ with industry know-how formed through film companies, TV networks and publishers, which it believes makes entry into the market difficult and limits returns to producers and creators.
To this end, company has launched the K2P Film Fund I, which will provide support for animated and live-action features and enable to “investors, creators and crew...
- 5/9/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
The San Sebastian Film Festival will fete Cate Blanchett with its honorary Donostia Award at its forthcoming 72nd edition.
Blanchett, the second Australian actor to receive San Sebastian’s highest honorary award after Hugh Jackman, will also serve as the image for the festival’s main poster. Check out the poster below.
Blanchett will receive the award in person in San Sebastian and it will be her first visit to the festival. But she has had several films screen at the fest, including Babel and Veronica Guerin.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Blanchett has racked up more than 200 awards, including two Oscars, two Volpi Cups at the Venice Festival, four Baftas and four Golden Globes, an honorary César, and Goya for lifetime achievement. Her credits include collaborations with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg,...
Blanchett, the second Australian actor to receive San Sebastian’s highest honorary award after Hugh Jackman, will also serve as the image for the festival’s main poster. Check out the poster below.
Blanchett will receive the award in person in San Sebastian and it will be her first visit to the festival. But she has had several films screen at the fest, including Babel and Veronica Guerin.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Blanchett has racked up more than 200 awards, including two Oscars, two Volpi Cups at the Venice Festival, four Baftas and four Golden Globes, an honorary César, and Goya for lifetime achievement. Her credits include collaborations with filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Terrence Malick, Steven Soderbergh, Steven Spielberg,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Meryl Streep is set to receive the highest honor at the Cannes 2024 ceremony.
The Oscar winner has been announced to be feted with the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th annual festival; Variety first reported the news. Streep has not been to Cannes in exactly 35 years, since winning best actress for 1989’s “Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark” directed by Fred Schepisi.
Michael Douglas received the opening ceremony honorary Palme d’Or award in 2023.
Streep’s career has ranged from Academy Award-nominated turns in dramas such as “Sophie’s Choice” to musicals like “Into the Woods.” Streep’s rom-com efforts have marked collaborations with Nancy Meyers and other iconic filmmakers. She most recently starred in Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” following her former “Big Little Lies” TV role. Streep was recently honored by the Academy Museum Gala in 2023 for her career achievements.
As previously announced,...
The Oscar winner has been announced to be feted with the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th annual festival; Variety first reported the news. Streep has not been to Cannes in exactly 35 years, since winning best actress for 1989’s “Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark” directed by Fred Schepisi.
Michael Douglas received the opening ceremony honorary Palme d’Or award in 2023.
Streep’s career has ranged from Academy Award-nominated turns in dramas such as “Sophie’s Choice” to musicals like “Into the Woods.” Streep’s rom-com efforts have marked collaborations with Nancy Meyers and other iconic filmmakers. She most recently starred in Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” following her former “Big Little Lies” TV role. Streep was recently honored by the Academy Museum Gala in 2023 for her career achievements.
As previously announced,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
South Korea’s M-Line Distribution has secured world sales rights to Walking In The Movies, a documentary about Korean film industry pioneer Kim Dong-ho, ahead of its premiere at Cannes.
The film, which will screen as part of the Cannes Classics strand of the upcoming festival, is a portrait of a man often called the godfather of the Korean film industry who has spent his life and career serving cinema.
Kim was a co-founder of Busan International Film Festival and spent 15 years there as festival director, helping it weather periods of political turbulence.
Filmed over a year from February 2023, the...
The film, which will screen as part of the Cannes Classics strand of the upcoming festival, is a portrait of a man often called the godfather of the Korean film industry who has spent his life and career serving cinema.
Kim was a co-founder of Busan International Film Festival and spent 15 years there as festival director, helping it weather periods of political turbulence.
Filmed over a year from February 2023, the...
- 4/30/2024
- ScreenDaily
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival has announced its all-star lineup of jurors to decide this year’s Palme d’Or.
As previously announced, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president. Fellow recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone is part of the jury, as well as writer/director J.A. Bayona, Eva Green, Omar Sy, Pierfrancisco Favino, director Kore-eda Hirokazu, screenwriter Nadine Labaki, and screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan.
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival will take place May 14-25. The jury will have the honor of awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition, with contenders including Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada.”
New films from Paolo Sorrentino (“Parthenope”), Mohammad Rasoulof (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”), Karim Aïnouz (“Motel Destino”), and Andrea Arnold (“Bird”) are also debuting in competition.
As previously announced, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig will serve as jury president. Fellow recent Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone is part of the jury, as well as writer/director J.A. Bayona, Eva Green, Omar Sy, Pierfrancisco Favino, director Kore-eda Hirokazu, screenwriter Nadine Labaki, and screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan.
The 2024 Cannes Film Festival will take place May 14-25. The jury will have the honor of awarding the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition, with contenders including Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Kinds of Kindness,” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada.”
New films from Paolo Sorrentino (“Parthenope”), Mohammad Rasoulof (“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”), Karim Aïnouz (“Motel Destino”), and Andrea Arnold (“Bird”) are also debuting in competition.
- 4/29/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
We’re just two weeks away from the 77th Cannes Film Festival, and this morning the august French institution revealed who will determine the winners of this year’s awards. A cross-section of international talent will join “Barbie” and “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig, who will lead the panel, in an effort to undoubtedly compare apples to oranges and try to make sense of a diverse slate of films from directors like David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Baker, Ali Abbasi, and many others.
Lily Gladstone, who won several Best Actress awards last year (but not the Oscar!) for her revolutionary turn in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is the other American joining Gerwig. The actress, currently seen on FX/Hulu’s “Under the Bridge,” is returning to Cannes one year after Martin Scorsese and Apple Original Films brought “Flower Moon” to the French Riviera festival for its out-of-competition debut.
Lily Gladstone, who won several Best Actress awards last year (but not the Oscar!) for her revolutionary turn in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is the other American joining Gerwig. The actress, currently seen on FX/Hulu’s “Under the Bridge,” is returning to Cannes one year after Martin Scorsese and Apple Original Films brought “Flower Moon” to the French Riviera festival for its out-of-competition debut.
- 4/29/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
Greta Gerwig has her jury. This evening, the Cannes Film Festival revealed the rest of the nine-member jury filled with festival veterans and Academy members. This year’s jury includes screenwriter and director Ebru Ceylan (Turkey), actress Lily Gladstone (United States), actress Eva Green (France), director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki (Lebanon), director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona (Spain), actor Pierfrancisco Favino (Italy), director Kore-eda Hirokazu (Japan), and actor and producer Omar Sy (France).
Continue reading Lily Gladstone, J.A. Bayona, Omar Sy, Eva Green Among 2024 Cannes Film Festival Jury at The Playlist.
Continue reading Lily Gladstone, J.A. Bayona, Omar Sy, Eva Green Among 2024 Cannes Film Festival Jury at The Playlist.
- 4/29/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
The full Cannes Film Festival competition jury has been revealed.
Joining president Greta Gerwig to award this year’s Palme d’Or will be “Killers of the Flower Moon” Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; “The Three Musketeers” star Eva Green; “Lupin” lead Omar Sy; Ebru Ceylan, who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” won the Cannes jury prize in 2018; director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose latest film “Society of the Snow” was Oscar-nominated for best international feature; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who will next appear in Pablo Larraìn’s “Maria” alongside Angelina Jolie; and director Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the 2018 Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.”
The competition lineup for the upcoming festival includes “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia; Sean Baker’s “Anora”; Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” from Ali Abbasi; Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski; “Caught by the Tides...
Joining president Greta Gerwig to award this year’s Palme d’Or will be “Killers of the Flower Moon” Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone; “The Three Musketeers” star Eva Green; “Lupin” lead Omar Sy; Ebru Ceylan, who co-wrote the 2014 Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; director Nadine Labaki, whose “Capernaum” won the Cannes jury prize in 2018; director Juan Antonio Bayona, whose latest film “Society of the Snow” was Oscar-nominated for best international feature; Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino, who will next appear in Pablo Larraìn’s “Maria” alongside Angelina Jolie; and director Kore-eda Hirokazu, director of the 2018 Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters.”
The competition lineup for the upcoming festival includes “All We Imagine as Light” by Payal Kapadia; Sean Baker’s “Anora”; Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice” from Ali Abbasi; Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” starring Barry Keoghan and Franz Rogowski; “Caught by the Tides...
- 4/29/2024
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival has picked its full jury.
Oscar-nominated The Killers of the Flower Moon lead Lily Gladstone, French stars Eva Green and Omar Sy, and Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino are among the A-listers who will join Barbie director Greta Gerwig, this year’s jury president for the 77th Cannes Film Festival, in selecting the winners, including the best film Palme d’Or, from the 2024 competition lineup.
A trio of international Oscar-nominated directors: Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki (Capernaum), Spain’s Juan Antonio Bayona (Society of the Snow) and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), as well as Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, co-writer of 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep (with director husband Nuri Bilge Ceylan), complete the five-woman, four-man jury.
Among the films in the running for this year’s Palme d’Or are Francis Ford Coppola’s long-anticipated Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things follow-up Kinds of Kindness,...
Oscar-nominated The Killers of the Flower Moon lead Lily Gladstone, French stars Eva Green and Omar Sy, and Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino are among the A-listers who will join Barbie director Greta Gerwig, this year’s jury president for the 77th Cannes Film Festival, in selecting the winners, including the best film Palme d’Or, from the 2024 competition lineup.
A trio of international Oscar-nominated directors: Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki (Capernaum), Spain’s Juan Antonio Bayona (Society of the Snow) and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), as well as Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, co-writer of 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep (with director husband Nuri Bilge Ceylan), complete the five-woman, four-man jury.
Among the films in the running for this year’s Palme d’Or are Francis Ford Coppola’s long-anticipated Megalopolis, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things follow-up Kinds of Kindness,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Cannes Film Festival has named the eight members of its main Competition jury who will join previously announced president Greta Gerwig in deciding the Palme d’Or and other key prizes at 77th edition running from May 14 to 25.
They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.
The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).
Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...
They are Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, U.S. actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter J.A. Bayona, Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda and French actor and producer Omar Sy.
The wife and long-time collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan, screenwriter and photographer Ceylan co-wrote 2014 Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep and also took co-writing credits on Cannes selected films Three Monkeys (Best Director Prize 2008), Once upon a time in Anatolia (Grand Prix 2011), The Wild Pear Tree (2018) and About Dry Grasses (2023).
Ceylan also appeared as an actress and took art director credits on her husband’s early films...
- 4/29/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the eight jurors who will be joining jury president Greta Gerwig for the event’s 2024 edition (May 14-25).
They are American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, French actor and producer Omar Sy, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino.
The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition at the closing ceremony on May 25. Anatomy Of A Fall picked up the top prize last year.
They are American actress Lily Gladstone, French actress Eva Green, French actor and producer Omar Sy, Lebanese director and screenwriter Nadine Labaki, Spanish director and screenwriter Juan Antonio Bayona, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter and photographer Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancisco Favino.
The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 22 films in competition at the closing ceremony on May 25. Anatomy Of A Fall picked up the top prize last year.
- 4/29/2024
- ScreenDaily
By the time you’ve inched toward the halfway point of the first episode of Shōgun, the epic new limited series that revisits James Clavell’s 1975 doorstopper of a historical novel about early 1600s Japan, you’ve already seen an eyeful: massive schooners, flashing swords, military processions, political power plays, a father and his infant son sentenced to death, a half-dozen English prisoners awaiting their fate in a pit. And then, out of nowhere, a character rides in on horseback. He’s shot from behind, but there’s something about the way he holds himself,...
- 4/27/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Hong Kong’s biggest ever local hit A Guilty Conscience was named best film at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards (Hkfa), while Mad Fate’s Soi Cheang took best director and The Goldfinger swept six awards including best actor for Tony Leung.
A Guilty Conscience producer Bill Kong received the top award on stage from acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. That was the only win on the night for the courtroom drama, which went into the awards ceremony with 10 nominations.
Scroll down for full winners list
Murder mystery Mad Fate scooped three awards comprising best screenplay, best editing and best director for Cheang.
A Guilty Conscience producer Bill Kong received the top award on stage from acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. That was the only win on the night for the courtroom drama, which went into the awards ceremony with 10 nominations.
Scroll down for full winners list
Murder mystery Mad Fate scooped three awards comprising best screenplay, best editing and best director for Cheang.
- 4/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Filipino director Sheron Dayoc’s The Gospel Of The Beast won the top Golden Star Award for best Southeast Asian film at the first Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (Hiff) in Vietnam, which also saw several titles dropped from the final programme due to censorship by local authorities.
The Gospel Of The Beast marks the first feature in seven years from Dayoc and tells the story of a teenage boy who accidentally kills his classmate and runs away with an older man he barely knows, forming a unique father-son relationship. It premiered at Tokyo in October.
Scroll down...
The Gospel Of The Beast marks the first feature in seven years from Dayoc and tells the story of a teenage boy who accidentally kills his classmate and runs away with an older man he barely knows, forming a unique father-son relationship. It premiered at Tokyo in October.
Scroll down...
- 4/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Rights to “I, The Executioner,” which will premiere as a Midnight Screening at the Cannes Film Festival this year, have been picked up by South Korea’s Cj Enm.
The crime-action film directed by Ryu Seung-wan (also written Ryoo Seung-wan) is a sequel to Ryu’s 2015 hit “Veteran” and in Korea goes by the title “Veteran 2.”
Few details of the story have yet been disclosed, but Cj describes the film as “combining Ryu’s trademark action with observations and messages about social change.” Ryu last year enjoyed major box office success with crime comedy “Smugglers.”
Hwang Jung-min, who recently enjoyed box office success in “12.12: The Day,” reprises his role from “Veteran.” He is joined in the sequel by Jung Hae-in (“Tune in for Love”) as a new member of the film’s Violent Crime Investigation Squad.
“I, The Executioner” was produced by Filmmaker R & K, the production shingle owned...
The crime-action film directed by Ryu Seung-wan (also written Ryoo Seung-wan) is a sequel to Ryu’s 2015 hit “Veteran” and in Korea goes by the title “Veteran 2.”
Few details of the story have yet been disclosed, but Cj describes the film as “combining Ryu’s trademark action with observations and messages about social change.” Ryu last year enjoyed major box office success with crime comedy “Smugglers.”
Hwang Jung-min, who recently enjoyed box office success in “12.12: The Day,” reprises his role from “Veteran.” He is joined in the sequel by Jung Hae-in (“Tune in for Love”) as a new member of the film’s Violent Crime Investigation Squad.
“I, The Executioner” was produced by Filmmaker R & K, the production shingle owned...
- 4/12/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Veteran Japanese character actor Tadanobu Asano is having a very overdue breakthrough moment. The chameleonic film star has been a mainstay of Japanese cinema for nearly three decades, while also regularly appearing in prominent supporting parts in big Hollywood productions. But his irresistible performance in FX’s period series Shōgun is giving him an all-new level of global recognition.
Asano co-stars in Shōgun as Kashigi Yabushige, the scheming lord of Izu, a rugged region of feudal Japan where much of the series takes place. Playing the character with lived-in swagger and a fatalistic sense of humor, Asano has become one of the show’s clear fan favorites, with Reddit and Twitter threads popping up to revel in his character’s antics. Asano announced himself early in Shōgun‘s run: As many have marveled, Yabushige makes his entrance to the show by boiling a man alive but then wins the audience...
Asano co-stars in Shōgun as Kashigi Yabushige, the scheming lord of Izu, a rugged region of feudal Japan where much of the series takes place. Playing the character with lived-in swagger and a fatalistic sense of humor, Asano has become one of the show’s clear fan favorites, with Reddit and Twitter threads popping up to revel in his character’s antics. Asano announced himself early in Shōgun‘s run: As many have marveled, Yabushige makes his entrance to the show by boiling a man alive but then wins the audience...
- 4/10/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The question of who will continue the legacy of the 4Ks and particularly their successes on the international movie scene is one of the most dominant in the discussions among critics and scholars of Japanese cinema. Following the 2016 Un Certain Regard Jury Prize for “Harmonium”, one of the names that provides an answer to the aforementioned question is that of Koji Fukada. In the following text, we will take a closer and more thorough look at all the elements that make the 1980 born filmmaker a worthy successor of the aforementioned masters, starting from the very beginning of his life.
Born in Tokyo in Tokyo on January 5, 1980, Koji Fukada had a father who was a film buff, which resulted in him growing up in an environment surrounded with hundreds of VHS tapes, and subsequently, to become a cineaste, just like his old man. He watched the movies that inspired him to...
Born in Tokyo in Tokyo on January 5, 1980, Koji Fukada had a father who was a film buff, which resulted in him growing up in an environment surrounded with hundreds of VHS tapes, and subsequently, to become a cineaste, just like his old man. He watched the movies that inspired him to...
- 3/30/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Since the beginning of his career, Hirokazu Koreeda became recognized for his films representing the family cinema genre—intrinsically linked with the favorite of Western critics among Japanese filmmakers: Yasujiro Ozu. This was already the case with Koreeda's 1995 debut film, “Maboroshi no hikari”, a visual meditation on loss and the passing of time, told through the eyes of a single mother who has just lost her beloved husband. Since the early 1960s and the death of Yasujiro Ozu, Western critics seemed to be engaged in an excruciating quest to find a new ancestor to Ozu's poetics of cinema—and finally, there was one; Koreeda became the new Ozu.
The similarity is there—a contemplative approach towards the mundane which translates to something more transcendental; a patient gaze onto the bonds of the family set against the backdrop of a modernizing world and changing traditions; or a talent to put...
The similarity is there—a contemplative approach towards the mundane which translates to something more transcendental; a patient gaze onto the bonds of the family set against the backdrop of a modernizing world and changing traditions; or a talent to put...
- 3/27/2024
- by Lukasz Mankowski
- AsianMoviePulse
RankFilm (distributor)Three-day gross (Mar 22-24)Total gross to dateWeek 1. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony) £4.1m £4.1m 1 2. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros) £2.6m £30.7m 4 3. Immaculate (Black Bear) £491,000 £522,000 1 4. Wicked Little Letters (Studiocanal) £373,413 £8.2m 5 5. Migration (Universal) £370,415 £19.5m 8
Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire topped the UK-Ireland box office with a £4.1m opening weekend, ending the three-week run of Dune: Part Two atop the chart.
Opening in 687 sites, Frozen Empire took a £5,904 location average. Its opening was up 7.7% on the £3.8m start of 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the first in a reboot of the franchise in 2021, with that film taking a £5,721 location average.
It is also...
Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire topped the UK-Ireland box office with a £4.1m opening weekend, ending the three-week run of Dune: Part Two atop the chart.
Opening in 687 sites, Frozen Empire took a £5,904 location average. Its opening was up 7.7% on the £3.8m start of 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the first in a reboot of the franchise in 2021, with that film taking a £5,721 location average.
It is also...
- 3/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
The inaugural Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (Hiff) in Vietnam has unveiled its line-up of about 100 films, including 12 each for the Southeast Asia competition and for the first or second film competition, with directors Anne Fontaine and Hirokazu Kore-eda among its guests.
Scroll down for line-up
The Asian premiere of French biopic Bolero will open the festival on April 6. Director Fontaine and leading actor Raphaël Personnaz will be present for the film’s Asian premiere, which will take place at the city’s historic Opera House.
Further notable festival guests include acclaimed Japanese director Kore-eda who will receive...
Scroll down for line-up
The Asian premiere of French biopic Bolero will open the festival on April 6. Director Fontaine and leading actor Raphaël Personnaz will be present for the film’s Asian premiere, which will take place at the city’s historic Opera House.
Further notable festival guests include acclaimed Japanese director Kore-eda who will receive...
- 3/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Japanese director of Shoplifters uses different takes on a single story to tell the fraught tale of two troubled boys
A frazzled widowed mother, Saori (Sakura Andô), suspects that all is not well with her preteen son, Minato (Soya Kurokawa). The boy seems subdued and withdrawn; she catches him hacking inches from his mop of hair. He asks odd, troubling questions: if the brain of a pig was transplanted into a human, what would the resulting creature be, human or pig? Or some kind of monster? And then there are the injuries – an ear yanked so brutally that it bleeds; a livid facial bruise. Saori soon deduces that her son’s new teacher, Michitoshi Hori (Eita Nagayama), at his provincial Japanese elementary school, is responsible for her son’s brooding disquiet. She confronts the school principal (a confounding reflecting prism of a performance from veteran actor Yūko Tanaka), but...
A frazzled widowed mother, Saori (Sakura Andô), suspects that all is not well with her preteen son, Minato (Soya Kurokawa). The boy seems subdued and withdrawn; she catches him hacking inches from his mop of hair. He asks odd, troubling questions: if the brain of a pig was transplanted into a human, what would the resulting creature be, human or pig? Or some kind of monster? And then there are the injuries – an ear yanked so brutally that it bleeds; a livid facial bruise. Saori soon deduces that her son’s new teacher, Michitoshi Hori (Eita Nagayama), at his provincial Japanese elementary school, is responsible for her son’s brooding disquiet. She confronts the school principal (a confounding reflecting prism of a performance from veteran actor Yūko Tanaka), but...
- 3/17/2024
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
Ready to head back to the Wasteland and experience another outlandish post-apocalyptic vision from George Miller? Well, step this way – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is revving up its engine, set to unleash a fresh batch of mayhem on the multiplexes. And the new issue of Empire is a world-exclusive deep-dive into the madness, speaking to Miller and his stars – including Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth – about their all-new action epic.
The issue hits newsstands on Thursday 14 March – but before then, take a sneak peek below at what’s inside.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Fire. Blood. Oil. Chrome. The world of Mad Max is exploding back onto the screen with the tale of the one and only Imperator Furiosa. We speak to filmmaker George Miller, stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth and more, getting the lowdown on Furiosa’s vengeful saga, the mind-blowing action, and Hemsworth’s wild new villain Dementus.
The issue hits newsstands on Thursday 14 March – but before then, take a sneak peek below at what’s inside.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Fire. Blood. Oil. Chrome. The world of Mad Max is exploding back onto the screen with the tale of the one and only Imperator Furiosa. We speak to filmmaker George Miller, stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth and more, getting the lowdown on Furiosa’s vengeful saga, the mind-blowing action, and Hemsworth’s wild new villain Dementus.
- 3/13/2024
- by Ben Travis
- Empire - Movies
Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” continued its reign at the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second weekend in a row with £5.9 million ($7.5 million), according to numbers released by Comscore.
Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated sequel has an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem reprising their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux joining them. After two weekends, the film’s total stands at £19.4 million in the territory.
In second place, Studiocanal’s “Wicked Little Letters” collected £898,390 in its third weekend for a total of £6 million. In its fourth weekend, Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” earned £830,382 in third position for a total of £15.1 million. In fourth place, Universal’s “Migration” took in £671,666 in its sixth weekend for a total of £18.3 million.
Lionsgate’s “Imaginary” debuted in fifth...
Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated sequel has an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem reprising their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux joining them. After two weekends, the film’s total stands at £19.4 million in the territory.
In second place, Studiocanal’s “Wicked Little Letters” collected £898,390 in its third weekend for a total of £6 million. In its fourth weekend, Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” earned £830,382 in third position for a total of £15.1 million. In fourth place, Universal’s “Migration” took in £671,666 in its sixth weekend for a total of £18.3 million.
Lionsgate’s “Imaginary” debuted in fifth...
- 3/13/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Japan Academy Film Prize Association held the 47th edition of its awards ceremony on March 8, 2024. The nominees are selected by the Nippon Academy-Sho Association of industry professionals from the pool of film releases between January 1 and December 31, 2023 which must have screened in Tokyo cinemas.
Following its success at the recent Blue Ribbon Awards and leading with 12 nominations, Toho Studios' and Takashi Yamazaki's kaiju cinema masterpiece “Godzilla Minus One” takes top honours winning Picture of the Year and a slew of technical awards. Sakura Ando cements her place as one of Japan's top actresses securing both awards for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (for “Monster”) as well as Supporting Role (for “Godzilla Minus One”).
The full list of winners is described below.
Picture of the Year
Monster
Godzilla Minus One
Mom, Is That You?!
September 1923
Perfect Days
Animation of the Year
Kitaro Tanjo – GeGeGe no...
Following its success at the recent Blue Ribbon Awards and leading with 12 nominations, Toho Studios' and Takashi Yamazaki's kaiju cinema masterpiece “Godzilla Minus One” takes top honours winning Picture of the Year and a slew of technical awards. Sakura Ando cements her place as one of Japan's top actresses securing both awards for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (for “Monster”) as well as Supporting Role (for “Godzilla Minus One”).
The full list of winners is described below.
Picture of the Year
Monster
Godzilla Minus One
Mom, Is That You?!
September 1923
Perfect Days
Animation of the Year
Kitaro Tanjo – GeGeGe no...
- 3/12/2024
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
The 17th 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 10, 2024. Sixteen competitive prizes and six honorary prizes were given out.
A total of thirty-five films from 24 countries and regions were nominated for 16 prizes at the 17th Afa. From Japan, Ryusuke Hamaguchi 's Evil Does Not Exist received the Best Film Award and Best Original Music (Eiko Ishibashi), marking the second year in a row that Hamaguchi and Ishibashi have received Afa Awards; and Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Best Director Award with Monster, following last year's wins with his Korean film Broker. Koji Yakusho won the Best Actor Award for Perfect Days, his second such Afa Award following his win at the 13th Afa in 2019 for The Blood of Wolves. Perfect Days won the Best Director Award at the Japan...
A total of thirty-five films from 24 countries and regions were nominated for 16 prizes at the 17th Afa. From Japan, Ryusuke Hamaguchi 's Evil Does Not Exist received the Best Film Award and Best Original Music (Eiko Ishibashi), marking the second year in a row that Hamaguchi and Ishibashi have received Afa Awards; and Hirokazu Kore-eda won the Best Director Award with Monster, following last year's wins with his Korean film Broker. Koji Yakusho won the Best Actor Award for Perfect Days, his second such Afa Award following his win at the 13th Afa in 2019 for The Blood of Wolves. Perfect Days won the Best Director Award at the Japan...
- 3/11/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
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,...
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,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
The maker of Shoplifters and I Wish talks about Monster, his dark new film about our dangerously fragmented world – and the movie he’s planning about his dad, who endured horrors as a PoW in Russia
Film sets are like families, says Hirokazu Kore-eda. They are loose social structures, nominally hierarchical and ideally geared towards a common goal. While the Japanese director accepts that this puts him in the role of the father, he disputes the suggestion that this automatically makes him the boss. He supposes the cast are the children – often literally so. “The time we all spend together,” he says, “is very intense. The cast and crew become very important to me.” But at the end of each shoot, the unit collapses, the family members disperse and all that’s left are memories, mementoes and of course the actual movie itself.
This idea of the makeshift, sometimes impermanent...
Film sets are like families, says Hirokazu Kore-eda. They are loose social structures, nominally hierarchical and ideally geared towards a common goal. While the Japanese director accepts that this puts him in the role of the father, he disputes the suggestion that this automatically makes him the boss. He supposes the cast are the children – often literally so. “The time we all spend together,” he says, “is very intense. The cast and crew become very important to me.” But at the end of each shoot, the unit collapses, the family members disperse and all that’s left are memories, mementoes and of course the actual movie itself.
This idea of the makeshift, sometimes impermanent...
- 3/11/2024
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist was named best film at the Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong on Sunday evening (March 10).
The Japanese drama, which premiered in competition at Venice where it won five awards including the grand jury prize, also picked up best original music for composer Eiko Ishibashi.
Scroll down for full list of winners
While Hamaguchi was not at the ceremony, held in the Grand Theatre of the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, the top prize was accepted in-person by Ishibashi, cinematographer Yoshio Kitagawa and co-editor Azusa Yamzaki – presented by...
The Japanese drama, which premiered in competition at Venice where it won five awards including the grand jury prize, also picked up best original music for composer Eiko Ishibashi.
Scroll down for full list of winners
While Hamaguchi was not at the ceremony, held in the Grand Theatre of the Xiqu Centre in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, the top prize was accepted in-person by Ishibashi, cinematographer Yoshio Kitagawa and co-editor Azusa Yamzaki – presented by...
- 3/10/2024
- ScreenDaily
Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s formalist arthouse drama Evil Does Not Exist won the best film prize Sunday night at the Asia Film Awards in Hong Kong.
The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.
In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...
The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.
In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...
- 3/10/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” was Sunday evening named as the best picture at the Asian Film Awards.
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...
- 3/10/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist won Best Film at the Asian Film Awards (AFAs) this evening in Hong Kong. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
This is the second year running that a film helmed by Hamaguchi has picked up the award. He won the top prize last year with Drive My Car. This year, however, the director was not in attendance to accept the award due to what he described as “work commitments” in a video message played at the top of the ceremony.
Evil Does Not Exist, which also picked up an award for original music, debuted at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
This is the second year running that a film helmed by Hamaguchi has picked up the award. He won the top prize last year with Drive My Car. This year, however, the director was not in attendance to accept the award due to what he described as “work commitments” in a video message played at the top of the ceremony.
Evil Does Not Exist, which also picked up an award for original music, debuted at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
- 3/10/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
And the Razzie Goes to . . .
As much as we hate to give Razzies any sort of promotion, The Criterion Channel has a new series to show just how wrong the execrable organization has been over the past decades. Launching today, they are spotlighting comedic gems like Tom Green’s Freddy Got Fingered, Elaine May’s Ishtar, and Neil Labute’s The Wicker Man, alongside Cruising, Heaven’s Gate, Xanadu, Querelle, Under the Cherry Moon, Cocktail, Showgirls, Barb Wire, The Blair Witch Project, Swept Away and Gigli.
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
BlackBerry (Matt Johnson)
In BlackBerry, the rise of a blue-chip tech company sets the stage for the dissolution of a longstanding friendship. Sound familiar? Just wait ‘til you hear the score.
And the Razzie Goes to . . .
As much as we hate to give Razzies any sort of promotion, The Criterion Channel has a new series to show just how wrong the execrable organization has been over the past decades. Launching today, they are spotlighting comedic gems like Tom Green’s Freddy Got Fingered, Elaine May’s Ishtar, and Neil Labute’s The Wicker Man, alongside Cruising, Heaven’s Gate, Xanadu, Querelle, Under the Cherry Moon, Cocktail, Showgirls, Barb Wire, The Blair Witch Project, Swept Away and Gigli.
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
BlackBerry (Matt Johnson)
In BlackBerry, the rise of a blue-chip tech company sets the stage for the dissolution of a longstanding friendship. Sound familiar? Just wait ‘til you hear the score.
- 3/1/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For regular updates, sign up for our weekly email newsletter and follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSHard Truths.Mike Leigh’s forthcoming Hard Truths will reunite him with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, star of Secrets and Lies (1996). It will be the British director’s first film set in the present day since Another Year (2010).Jia Zhangke has divulged some details of We Shall Be All, now in the early stages of post-production. In production off and on since 2001, the film will be his first feature since Ash Is Purest White (2018). “I travelled with actors and a cameraman to shoot, without a script, without any obvious story,” the director told Variety. “This is a work of fiction, but I have applied many documentary methods.”Robert Bresson’s rarely seen Four Nights of a Dreamer is being restored by MK2 Films, set for a spring release.
- 2/28/2024
- MUBI
The family/social drama has always been a staple within the Japanese film industry with directors such as Yasujiro Ozu or Kenji Mozoguchi having shaped it during the course of their career. At the same time, while delving into family issues, these directors have taken a lesson from early works within the cinematic landscape of their culture as well as Italien Neo-realism, adding “a slice of life” to their works. In the last couple of years perhaps no other director has influenced (and to certain extent perfected) this formula than Hirokazu Koreeda. His debut feature “Maborosi” already showed the family as a mirror image of a society caught in between tradition and progress, family values and individualism. With his fourth feature “Nobody Knows”, inspired by a true case, Koreeda would not only reach international fame, but also manifest his take on the aforementioned formula which many have copied (or tried to) over the years.
- 2/23/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont will preside over this year’s Queer Palm jury at Cannes.
The director won the award himself in 2015 with his debut feature Girl as well as picking up the Camera d’Or. His second feature Close was nominated when it premiered at the festival in 2022 and went on to win the grand prix.
As previously announced, Dhont will mentor the inaugural Queer Palm Lab later this year where five young filmmakers participate in a year-long residency with their first queer feature film. Applications open next month.
Last year, the Queer Palm was presented to Hirokazu Kore-eda...
The director won the award himself in 2015 with his debut feature Girl as well as picking up the Camera d’Or. His second feature Close was nominated when it premiered at the festival in 2022 and went on to win the grand prix.
As previously announced, Dhont will mentor the inaugural Queer Palm Lab later this year where five young filmmakers participate in a year-long residency with their first queer feature film. Applications open next month.
Last year, the Queer Palm was presented to Hirokazu Kore-eda...
- 2/21/2024
- ScreenDaily
Considering the ignorant comments we read throughout the web (to say the least) after the release of “Monster”, we decided to take a vote regarding the ranking of the movies of the Japanese, in order to come up with an informed ‘top 16'. The only condition was for the people who vote to have watched at least 10 films by the director, which resulted in the following Amp members voting: Panos Kotzathanasis, Rouven Linnarz, Andrew Thayne, Tobiasz Dunin, Sean Barry, Adriana Rosati and Lukasz Mankowski. The result, which includes his 16 fiction features but not his documentaries, is as follows.
16. Distance (2001)
Koreeda directs a film filled with subtle melancholy, as he tries to present the reasons people join cults and commit horrendous attacks. Through flashbacks and dialogue, he depicts the alienation and emotional isolation the perpetrators had from their families as they succumbed to the cult's dogma. However, his efforts do not prove very fruitful,...
16. Distance (2001)
Koreeda directs a film filled with subtle melancholy, as he tries to present the reasons people join cults and commit horrendous attacks. Through flashbacks and dialogue, he depicts the alienation and emotional isolation the perpetrators had from their families as they succumbed to the cult's dogma. However, his efforts do not prove very fruitful,...
- 2/20/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Known for his exploration of universal themes including family, happiness and memories, Japanese director, producer, screenwriter and editor Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s newest feature Monster (2023) has received acclaim from critics and fans alike. Monster follows mother Saori whose son Minato (Soya Kurokawa) starts behaving strangely, leading her to think that something must be wrong. Soon discovering that a teacher is responsible, she storms into the school and demands to know what’s been happening to her son. However, as the story unfolds and the truth gradually emerges, it may not be anything close to what Saori imagined. Using clever storytelling methods to keep us intrigued, fantastic performances from the young leads and beautifully explored complex themes, Monster fits tidily into Kore-eda’s filmography as a heartbreaking study of childhood, growing up, and the harrowing idea that we may not know our children as deeply as we think we do.
The storytelling...
The storytelling...
- 2/19/2024
- by Becca Johnson
- Talking Films
Feast, the new Filipino entry on Netflix, seems like a film that is heavily inspired by the works of the legendary Hirokazu Koreeda. It lacks the subtlety and finesse that are usually seen in Koreeda’s film, which makes it just about a decent watch and nothing more. But the film hinges on a (literally) killer twist in the end, if you know what I mean. And despite providing us with enough breadcrumbs throughout the story, Feast pulls it off pretty well. We’re going to look into the twist and what it really means for the characters.
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: Who Is Responsible For The Accident?
Nita’s birthday gets ruined when her husband Matias and younger daughter Kat suffer a freak accident. Kat recovers, as her injury was minor, but Matias wasn’t that lucky and ended up dying. In a very unfortunate turn of events, restauranter...
Spoilers Ahead
Plot Synopsis: Who Is Responsible For The Accident?
Nita’s birthday gets ruined when her husband Matias and younger daughter Kat suffer a freak accident. Kat recovers, as her injury was minor, but Matias wasn’t that lucky and ended up dying. In a very unfortunate turn of events, restauranter...
- 2/9/2024
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
Netflix has revealed that its Japanese slate for the year ahead includes three films and a seven new and returning series.
The features include Drawing Closer by Takahiro Miki, a director well-known for romantic dramas such as Love Me, Love Me Not and Your Eyes Tell. It follows a young man with a terminal illness who falls for a woman who is also living on borrowed time. The cast is led by Ren Nagase and Natsuki Deguchi.
It is based on a best-selling novel by Ao Morita and is scripted by Tomoko Yoshida, whose collaborations with Miki go back to...
The features include Drawing Closer by Takahiro Miki, a director well-known for romantic dramas such as Love Me, Love Me Not and Your Eyes Tell. It follows a young man with a terminal illness who falls for a woman who is also living on borrowed time. The cast is led by Ren Nagase and Natsuki Deguchi.
It is based on a best-selling novel by Ao Morita and is scripted by Tomoko Yoshida, whose collaborations with Miki go back to...
- 2/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
It is not every day that we come across a cinematic masterpiece like Monster, or 怪物 (Kai-butsu) by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Pursuing a triptych arrangement previously seen in Nolan’s Dunkirk, the movie unfolds its central plot through the narratives of three different characters, conveying the utter disparity in their perspectives and the backgrounds that lead to their conclusions about each other. Within this beautifully complex structure, Monster conceals a deceptively simple yet endearing and poignant story, compelling enough to sweep us into this emotional rollercoaster while we find ourselves demonizing and empathizing with the characters at the same time. This movie also presents itself as a spectacle of the socio-political bureaucracy in Japan, heteronormative conservatism in modern Japanese society, neurodiversity, and the innate curiosity and queer identity in children. Using subtle motifs, Kore-eda’s commentary on Japanese society provokes a sense of bitter-sweet nostalgia in the viewer.
Spoilers Ahead
Who Is Michitoshi Hori?...
Spoilers Ahead
Who Is Michitoshi Hori?...
- 2/1/2024
- by Shrey Ashley Philip
- Film Fugitives
While it is far from easy to broach topics relating to sexual assault in a still-conservative Japan, actor-turned-director Urara Matsubayashi felt it was vital to channel the pain and frustrations of her own experience as a survivor into her craft. Such a process led to “Blue Imagine,” Matsubayashi’s directorial debut about a young actor who finds refuge in a safe house in the wake of a violent assault.
The safe house, in this case, is the titular Blue Imagine, a group that meets at a local restaurant to support each other as they go through the traumatizing aftermath of sexual violence. “The starting point was my own experience,” Matsubayashi tells Variety ahead of the film’s world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. “But I also wanted to portray camaraderie between women, and show how #MeToo is not restricted to one country, but the entire world.”
The director...
The safe house, in this case, is the titular Blue Imagine, a group that meets at a local restaurant to support each other as they go through the traumatizing aftermath of sexual violence. “The starting point was my own experience,” Matsubayashi tells Variety ahead of the film’s world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. “But I also wanted to portray camaraderie between women, and show how #MeToo is not restricted to one country, but the entire world.”
The director...
- 1/30/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
The 66th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards, presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, has announced its winners on January 24, 2024. The nominees are selected from movies released in 2023. The trifecta wins for “Godzilla Minus One” come as no surprise, sweeping the Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories. Yuya Ishii picks up the Best Director award for both his movies “The Moon” and “Masked Hearts”.
Best Film
Masked Hearts
Ichiko
Egoist
Monster
The Dry Spell
Godzilla Minus One
Mom, Is That You?!
(Ab)normal Desire
The Moon
One Last Bloom
Perfect Days
Bad Lands
September 1923
Do Unto Others
As Long as We Both Shall Live
Best Director
Yuya Ishii – The Moon, Masked Hearts
Hirokazu Koreeda – Monster
Daishi Matsunaga – Egoist
Takashi Yamazaki – Godzilla Minus One
Yoji Yamada – Mom, Is That You?!
Best Actor
Goro Inagaki – (Ab)normal Desire
Ryunosuke Kamiki – Godzilla Minus One, We're Broke, My Lord!
Best Film
Masked Hearts
Ichiko
Egoist
Monster
The Dry Spell
Godzilla Minus One
Mom, Is That You?!
(Ab)normal Desire
The Moon
One Last Bloom
Perfect Days
Bad Lands
September 1923
Do Unto Others
As Long as We Both Shall Live
Best Director
Yuya Ishii – The Moon, Masked Hearts
Hirokazu Koreeda – Monster
Daishi Matsunaga – Egoist
Takashi Yamazaki – Godzilla Minus One
Yoji Yamada – Mom, Is That You?!
Best Actor
Goro Inagaki – (Ab)normal Desire
Ryunosuke Kamiki – Godzilla Minus One, We're Broke, My Lord!
- 1/25/2024
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
It’s that time of the year again. The Academy Award nominations for the year 2024 are finally out. 2023 has seen a variety of great films and a slew of spectacular performances, some of which will get duly rewarded in the iconic Dolby Theater, LA, on March 10th. There are films and performances that didn’t make it to the nominations, even though they were no less than the ones nominated—at least quality-wise. We’re going to look into this year’s nominations category-wise, as well as the snubs and surprises. Here we go.
Original Score, Original Song, And Sound
We can all agree upon one thing: Ludwig Göransson is going to pick up the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his phenomenal work in Oppenheimer. Anything other than that would be a major surprise. Nonetheless, congratulations to all the other nominees. Oppenheimer is also the clear favorite to win in the Sound category,...
Original Score, Original Song, And Sound
We can all agree upon one thing: Ludwig Göransson is going to pick up the Academy Award for Best Original Score for his phenomenal work in Oppenheimer. Anything other than that would be a major surprise. Nonetheless, congratulations to all the other nominees. Oppenheimer is also the clear favorite to win in the Sound category,...
- 1/25/2024
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
I am not a “spiritual person.” I only believe in God during bumpy flights and New York Rangers playoff games, I only go to temple to make my mother happy, and I only believe in life after death because the movies — photographs and video of any kind, really — allow us to summon our most beloved ghosts at will. In that light, it should come as no surprise that I’ve never placed much faith in the work of psychics or seers, even though New York seems to have two storefront fortune tellers for every Starbucks. And yet, I suppose it should also come as no surprise that only a movie could have the power to convince me otherwise, or at least to make me better appreciate the nature of what psychics do and the mutual need they share with the people who turn to them for peace of mind.
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- 1/23/2024
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
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