In his deut feature “Locust”, a gangster drama set up in one of Taipei's precarious districts, Taiwanese director Keff puts his troubled youth with speech impairment into lots of trouble. It is a film that doesn't used the flashy camera work or special effects to manipulate the story, but focuses on the youngest members of the gangs who, empowered by the sense of being “somebody” cause a lot of mayhem in their town.
The film has celebrated its world premiere in Cannes prestigious Semaine de la Critique program, and we took he opportunity to speak to the helmer about his interestingly plotted film, which lets the news about the demonstrations in Hong Kong constantly running in the background. “Locust” is in no sense a political film, but it raises awareness of what was happening during the time when the world was mainly occupied with news surrounding the pandemic.
Your lead actor,...
The film has celebrated its world premiere in Cannes prestigious Semaine de la Critique program, and we took he opportunity to speak to the helmer about his interestingly plotted film, which lets the news about the demonstrations in Hong Kong constantly running in the background. “Locust” is in no sense a political film, but it raises awareness of what was happening during the time when the world was mainly occupied with news surrounding the pandemic.
Your lead actor,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
New U.A.E.-based distribution and production studio The Plot Pictures is headed for the Cannes Marche du Film after snapping up Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (Menat) rights to a slew of indie titles across different genres.
They include “Locust,” a first feature film from Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist Keff that is playing in Critics Week, and Nick Hamm’s epic “William Tell.”
The Plot Pictures CEO Pratixa Shah and head of sales Ozge Conduroglu – who was previously with Starz Play Arabia – are assembling a slate spanning “different genres, regions, and languages,” as Shah put it in statement. “We are agnostic to language and country of origin,” she said, noting that “the hyper local is often what global audiences are looking for, even if it is not local to them.”
The studio, which officially launched in Dubai in March, are co-producers on “Locust.” The film is set in Taiwan where,...
They include “Locust,” a first feature film from Taiwanese American multidisciplinary artist Keff that is playing in Critics Week, and Nick Hamm’s epic “William Tell.”
The Plot Pictures CEO Pratixa Shah and head of sales Ozge Conduroglu – who was previously with Starz Play Arabia – are assembling a slate spanning “different genres, regions, and languages,” as Shah put it in statement. “We are agnostic to language and country of origin,” she said, noting that “the hyper local is often what global audiences are looking for, even if it is not local to them.”
The studio, which officially launched in Dubai in March, are co-producers on “Locust.” The film is set in Taiwan where,...
- 5/8/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Following the main lineups for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, a handful of sidebar slates have been unveiled, featuring Directors Fortnight, Critics Week, and Acid. Notable highlights include the Sundance favorite Good One (read our review here), Tyler Taormina’s Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point starring Michael Cera, the first film in over a decade from James White director Josh Mond, the Christopher Abbott-led It Doesn’t Matter, Eat the Night from Jessica Forever duo Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel, Carson Lund’s Eephus, Patricia Mazuy’s Visting Hours, The Hyperboreans, a new film from The Wolf House directors Cristobal Leo & Joaquin Cocina, Matthew Rankin’s The Twentieth Century follow-up Universal Language, and more.
Check out the lineups below.
Cannes Directors Fortnight
Feature films:
“Ma Vie Ma Gueule,” Sophie Fillieres (France) – opening film
“A Son Image,” Thierry de Peretti (France)
“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” Tyler Taormina (USA)
“Desert of Namibia,...
Check out the lineups below.
Cannes Directors Fortnight
Feature films:
“Ma Vie Ma Gueule,” Sophie Fillieres (France) – opening film
“A Son Image,” Thierry de Peretti (France)
“Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” Tyler Taormina (USA)
“Desert of Namibia,...
- 4/16/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Cannes Critics’ Week, spotlighting first and second features, has unveiled the competition and special screenings selection for its 63rd edition running May 15-23.
Scroll down for full list of titles
Artistic director Ava Cahen, now in her third year in the position, announced the selection of 11 features chosen from 1,050 films screened. Seven films will vie for four top prizes in competition, chosen by a jury led by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. Nine are first films that will vie for the Camera d’Or and three are directed or co-directed by women.
The sidebar will open with French director Jonathan Millet...
Scroll down for full list of titles
Artistic director Ava Cahen, now in her third year in the position, announced the selection of 11 features chosen from 1,050 films screened. Seven films will vie for four top prizes in competition, chosen by a jury led by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen. Nine are first films that will vie for the Camera d’Or and three are directed or co-directed by women.
The sidebar will open with French director Jonathan Millet...
- 4/15/2024
- ScreenDaily
Cannes Critics’ Week, the sidebar dedicated to first and second films, will open with Jonathan Millet’s psychological thriller “Ghost Trail” and wrap with Emma Benestan’s genre film “Animale.”
“Ghost Trail” and “Animale” are two of the 11 features slated for Critics’ Week, which runs alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
The sole U.S. film of the selection is Constance Tsang’s “Blue Sun Palace,” a bittersweet film about two Chinese immigrants living in Queens who bond following a tragic death and find meaning in each other’s company. “As humble and dignified as its characters, this first, realistic and intimate, film sheds light on a community that is little seen,” said Ava Cahen, Critics’ Week’s artistic director. “Blue Sun Palace” stars Lee Kang-sheng whose recent credits include “Twisted Strings.”
Besides the opening and closing films, the Special Screenings section will comprise of Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s “Across the...
“Ghost Trail” and “Animale” are two of the 11 features slated for Critics’ Week, which runs alongside the Cannes Film Festival.
The sole U.S. film of the selection is Constance Tsang’s “Blue Sun Palace,” a bittersweet film about two Chinese immigrants living in Queens who bond following a tragic death and find meaning in each other’s company. “As humble and dignified as its characters, this first, realistic and intimate, film sheds light on a community that is little seen,” said Ava Cahen, Critics’ Week’s artistic director. “Blue Sun Palace” stars Lee Kang-sheng whose recent credits include “Twisted Strings.”
Besides the opening and closing films, the Special Screenings section will comprise of Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s “Across the...
- 4/15/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes Critics’ Week championing work by emerging filmmakers has unveiled the line-up for its 63rd edition running from May 15 to 23.
The traditionally compact parallel selection will showcase 11 features, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films, selected from 1,050 features and 2,150 short films. (scroll down for full list)
The 2024 edition marks Artistic Director Ava Cahen’s third at the helm, with buzzy discoveries under her directorship to date including Tiger Stripes, The Rapture, Aftersun and Love According To Dalva.
Opening and closing films
French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes) will open the section. It marks his first feature after half a dozen shorts including Tell Me About The Stars.
Adam Bessa, who won the Un Certain Regard prize for his performance in Harka in 2022, stars as a man in pursuit of his former torturer. He never saw his oppressor’s face, but knows his smell,...
The traditionally compact parallel selection will showcase 11 features, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films, selected from 1,050 features and 2,150 short films. (scroll down for full list)
The 2024 edition marks Artistic Director Ava Cahen’s third at the helm, with buzzy discoveries under her directorship to date including Tiger Stripes, The Rapture, Aftersun and Love According To Dalva.
Opening and closing films
French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes) will open the section. It marks his first feature after half a dozen shorts including Tell Me About The Stars.
Adam Bessa, who won the Un Certain Regard prize for his performance in Harka in 2022, stars as a man in pursuit of his former torturer. He never saw his oppressor’s face, but knows his smell,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
When it comes to getting rid of cultural stereotypes, art plays an important role in teaching people about cultures, the way(s) they are perceived and how some of these ideas may be wrong and therefore worth correcting. Interestingly, being or even living in a new culture oftentimes coincides with the fact people suppress that part of themselves in order to not cause any attention due to the aforementioned stereotypes. Taiwanese-American director Kevin Wong, also known under the acronym Keff, explained in a Q&a about his 2019 short feature “Secret Lives of Asians”, that he tried to keep the Asian part of himself hidden because the neighborhood his family had moved in was predominantly white. His short is therefore not just a play on the kind of movies which Asian cinema, Hong Kong, Chinese and Japanese especially, have become famous for, but in a way also the conclusion of his...
- 5/1/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
By Nigel Goh
With incisive framing, and wit so acerbic you could charm the coat off a hotel clerk, Taiwanese director Keff has accomplished something wonderful with his film, “Taipei Suicide Story”. As a 45-minute expose of dystopic reality, “Taipei Suicide Story” chronicles the travails of a mercurial hotel concierge clerk whose demeanour cracks when the suicide hotel he works at has an overstaying guest. This takes place in a dystopian reality where guests check in for one night to have the option of suicide. In the morning, janitors arrive to clean up the mess, regardless of whether the guest has chosen that option or not. If you’ve changed your mind, sure, you can leave.
Now before I lose your attention for what might appear as a review of a Hotel California knock-off, especially so soon after Hungry Ghost Festival, I will qualify it with the fact that in just 45 minutes,...
With incisive framing, and wit so acerbic you could charm the coat off a hotel clerk, Taiwanese director Keff has accomplished something wonderful with his film, “Taipei Suicide Story”. As a 45-minute expose of dystopic reality, “Taipei Suicide Story” chronicles the travails of a mercurial hotel concierge clerk whose demeanour cracks when the suicide hotel he works at has an overstaying guest. This takes place in a dystopian reality where guests check in for one night to have the option of suicide. In the morning, janitors arrive to clean up the mess, regardless of whether the guest has chosen that option or not. If you’ve changed your mind, sure, you can leave.
Now before I lose your attention for what might appear as a review of a Hotel California knock-off, especially so soon after Hungry Ghost Festival, I will qualify it with the fact that in just 45 minutes,...
- 9/20/2022
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
International projects already have at least 70 of funding in place.
The Venice Film Festival’s Gap-Financing Market has selected 33 international feature and documentary projects for its ninth edition this year, which runs from September 2-4.
The international projects nearing completion will have the chance to close their financing through one-to-one meetings at the Market, which is part of the Venice Production Bridge.
Each of the feature and documentary projects has at least 70 of its funding in place.
The countries in focus at this year’s event are France and Taiwan, with a number of projects from each country receiving a special invite to the Market.
The Venice Film Festival’s Gap-Financing Market has selected 33 international feature and documentary projects for its ninth edition this year, which runs from September 2-4.
The international projects nearing completion will have the chance to close their financing through one-to-one meetings at the Market, which is part of the Venice Production Bridge.
Each of the feature and documentary projects has at least 70 of its funding in place.
The countries in focus at this year’s event are France and Taiwan, with a number of projects from each country receiving a special invite to the Market.
- 7/1/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The 44th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF44) announced the award winners of this year. Sinophone – especially Taiwanese – films did especially well this year. The award of Emerging Director – Narrative Feature went to Keff, director of “Taipei Suicide Story”, and the award of Emerging Director – Documentary Feature went to Wei Deng, director of “Father”. The full list of award winners and nominees is highlighted below. A hybrid festival combining in-person events with online screenings, AAIFF44 took place from Aug. 11-22.
AAIFF44 celebrated storytelling by the Aapi community with 102 feature and short films, in-person events such as Comedy Night Out and Music Video Showcase, as well as in-person and livestreamed panels including Americanish: A Case Study in American-Muslim Representation, 35 Years of Taipei Stories, and A Paradise Lost: Hollywood’s Effect on Hawai’i. 13 jury prize award winners were determined by leading industry professionals including Isabel Sandoval, director/producer/screenwriter of “Lingua Franca”, Bao Tran,...
AAIFF44 celebrated storytelling by the Aapi community with 102 feature and short films, in-person events such as Comedy Night Out and Music Video Showcase, as well as in-person and livestreamed panels including Americanish: A Case Study in American-Muslim Representation, 35 Years of Taipei Stories, and A Paradise Lost: Hollywood’s Effect on Hawai’i. 13 jury prize award winners were determined by leading industry professionals including Isabel Sandoval, director/producer/screenwriter of “Lingua Franca”, Bao Tran,...
- 8/24/2021
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The CAAMFest presented among its short film program also the second film by Taiwanese director Keff. As in “Secret Lives of Asians at Night” (2019), he focuses again on characters living in the shadow of society. “Taipei Suicide Story” is a love story and, at the same time, a cynical reflection on contemporary times. The middle-length short won the Grand Jury Prize Award and the Audience Award at this year’s Slamdance Festival.
The entrance of the hotel is not spectacular. No one can tell what kind of place it is exactly. Yet, its concept is unique. People come here to die. They book a room and have the choice between several suicide methods. The staff provides the necessary tools, be it razor blades, drugs for an overdose or a rope for a hanging. Some of the methods are more popular than others, also for the staff that needs to clean up after the guest.
The entrance of the hotel is not spectacular. No one can tell what kind of place it is exactly. Yet, its concept is unique. People come here to die. They book a room and have the choice between several suicide methods. The staff provides the necessary tools, be it razor blades, drugs for an overdose or a rope for a hanging. Some of the methods are more popular than others, also for the staff that needs to clean up after the guest.
- 5/15/2021
- by Teresa Vena
- AsianMoviePulse
The Slamdance Film Festival unveiled winners for its 27th edition Thursday, with the compact drama Taipei Suicide Story directed by Keff taking both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for narrative features and the best actor prize during a virtual awards ceremony.
The drama is about a receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei who forms a friendship over the course of one night with a guest who can’t decide if she wants to live or die. The pic, which also was in the official Cinéfondation selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, runs 45 minutes.
Tender Huang, who plays the hotel receptionist, was named best actor during the ceremony wrapping this year’s edition, which ran as a virtual edition February 12-25.
“A film that is concise and emotionally effective as it portrays isolation with humanity and complex pathos,” the jury said in its comments about the pic today.
The drama is about a receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei who forms a friendship over the course of one night with a guest who can’t decide if she wants to live or die. The pic, which also was in the official Cinéfondation selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, runs 45 minutes.
Tender Huang, who plays the hotel receptionist, was named best actor during the ceremony wrapping this year’s edition, which ran as a virtual edition February 12-25.
“A film that is concise and emotionally effective as it portrays isolation with humanity and complex pathos,” the jury said in its comments about the pic today.
- 2/26/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
More than just about any existing film festival, Slamdance was started with an eye toward inclusion. In the case of the Park City festival, which was founded as a more freewheeling alternative to Sundance back in 1995, that sense of inclusion largely pertained to the filmmakers themselves: first-timers, experimentalists and enterprising directors without much in the way of resources to have their films shown in a proper theatrical environment. For Slamdance’s president and co-founder Peter Baxter, however, the ongoing pandemic provided an opportunity to consider how its open-door policy ought to work both ways.
“Independent film should be seen as inclusive, but in a lot of ways it’s been very exclusive,” Baxter says. “You look at film festivals, you look at Park City — you’re in a privileged situation if you’re able to go to Park City and experience Sundance and Slamdance. The travel, accommodations, time away from...
“Independent film should be seen as inclusive, but in a lot of ways it’s been very exclusive,” Baxter says. “You look at film festivals, you look at Park City — you’re in a privileged situation if you’re able to go to Park City and experience Sundance and Slamdance. The travel, accommodations, time away from...
- 2/12/2021
- by Andrew Barker
- Variety Film + TV
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