The Taiwan International Documentary Festival (Tidf), organized by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (Tfai), scheduled for May 10-19, 2024, has unveiled its Focus Programme titled “Metaphors of the Times: The Reality Named Myanmar.” This segment will showcase 26 cross-genre films from Myanmar, spanning mood diaries, frontline documentaries, futuristic fantasies, audio-visual experiments, and more. These works capture real-world situations or articulate inner experiences, collectively portraying Myanmar's distinctive reality. Selected films include IDFA selection, The Clinic by Midi Z, Midwives, the winner of Special Jury Award at the 2022 Sundance Ff, and Ten Years Myanmar screened at the 2023 Busan Iff.
The independent film scene in Myanmar has been closely linked to the country's democratic development, where visual storytelling not only serves as a means of recording reality, but also provides a medium for filmmakers to voice their perspectives. Despite facing substantial challenges such as military coups and film censorship, Myanmar has steadily fostered a...
The independent film scene in Myanmar has been closely linked to the country's democratic development, where visual storytelling not only serves as a means of recording reality, but also provides a medium for filmmakers to voice their perspectives. Despite facing substantial challenges such as military coups and film censorship, Myanmar has steadily fostered a...
- 3/15/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Paramount Global is selling a 13% stake in Viacom18 to Indian mogul Mukesh Ambani’s majority owner Reliance Industries in a transaction valued at $517m.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Paramount Global will continue to license its film and TV series to Viacom18.
The Viacom18 stable encompasses streaming platform JioCinema, a big platform on the subcontinent, as well as 38 channels of film, series, sports and music.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Paramount Global, led by Bob Bakish (pictured), is looking to cut costs. The media congomerate carries significant debt and streaming losses as it attempts to build up the Paramount+ platform.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Paramount Global will continue to license its film and TV series to Viacom18.
The Viacom18 stable encompasses streaming platform JioCinema, a big platform on the subcontinent, as well as 38 channels of film, series, sports and music.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Paramount Global, led by Bob Bakish (pictured), is looking to cut costs. The media congomerate carries significant debt and streaming losses as it attempts to build up the Paramount+ platform.
- 3/13/2024
- ScreenDaily
Indian animated feature Heirloom won two awards at the closing of this year’s Hkiff Industry Project Market (March 11-13) in Hong Kong, where 21 cash and in-kind awards worth $223,000 were handed out.
Heirloom, which will be the feature debut of Upamanyu Bhattacharyya and is produced by Arya A Menon and Shubham Karna, won the Wip award for a non-Hong Kong project as well as being one of five films selected for the Haf goes to Cannes programme.
It centres on a married couple who come into conflict when the husband inherits a handloom trade and wants to maintain traditions while...
Heirloom, which will be the feature debut of Upamanyu Bhattacharyya and is produced by Arya A Menon and Shubham Karna, won the Wip award for a non-Hong Kong project as well as being one of five films selected for the Haf goes to Cannes programme.
It centres on a married couple who come into conflict when the husband inherits a handloom trade and wants to maintain traditions while...
- 3/13/2024
- ScreenDaily
While the concept of the docudrama is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in festival circles, it is good to remember that Midi Z has been shooting films that top the category since 2016 and “City of Jade” and “Road to Mandalay”. His prowess in shooting documentaries in a way that they look like dramas continues with another captivating story in “The Clinic”.
The Clinic is screening at Museum of the Moving Image, as part of the First Look 2024 program
In Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, a doctor-couple, Aung Ming and San San Oo, operate a neighborhood clinic, providing low-cost treatments and therapies for a wide variety of ailments, mostly ailing alcoholics, drug addicts, and in general people who live on the edge of society. The initial scene, where Aung Ming treats a chronic alcoholic who has left a wound in his wound fester so much that it has filled with worms and the leg needs to be cut,...
The Clinic is screening at Museum of the Moving Image, as part of the First Look 2024 program
In Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, a doctor-couple, Aung Ming and San San Oo, operate a neighborhood clinic, providing low-cost treatments and therapies for a wide variety of ailments, mostly ailing alcoholics, drug addicts, and in general people who live on the edge of society. The initial scene, where Aung Ming treats a chronic alcoholic who has left a wound in his wound fester so much that it has filled with worms and the leg needs to be cut,...
- 3/12/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Taiwan International Co-Funding Program (Ticp) from Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca) continues to make an impact at the 74th Berlinale. Black Tea and Shambhala enter the main competition, while Sleep With Your Eyes Open competes at Encounters. Festival veteran Tsai Ming-Liang scored two official selections with his latest documentary Abiding Nowhere in Berlinale Special and The Wayward Cloud at Berlinale Classics Special.
Black Tea is Abderrahmane Sissako's follow up feature after Timbuktu with Taiwan as a key location and two Taiwanese actors Chang Han from A Brighter Summer Day and Wu Ke-Xi of Nina Wu playing alongside Nina Mélo in this cross-cultural romance. The film also received investment from Kaohsiung Film Fund.
Also in the main competition is Shambhala, the second feature from Nepal's Min Bahadur Bham, which sees a woman journey across the Himalayas to prove her innocence. Liao Ching-Sung and Roger Huang are two executive producers from...
Black Tea is Abderrahmane Sissako's follow up feature after Timbuktu with Taiwan as a key location and two Taiwanese actors Chang Han from A Brighter Summer Day and Wu Ke-Xi of Nina Wu playing alongside Nina Mélo in this cross-cultural romance. The film also received investment from Kaohsiung Film Fund.
Also in the main competition is Shambhala, the second feature from Nepal's Min Bahadur Bham, which sees a woman journey across the Himalayas to prove her innocence. Liao Ching-Sung and Roger Huang are two executive producers from...
- 2/16/2024
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
The annual Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look Festival has given IndieWire an exclusive “first look” at the lineup.
The 13th annual event, which takes place March 13 through 17 in Astoria, Queens, opens with the New York premiere of Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez’s “Sujo,” which recently took home the Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The First Look Festival focuses on emerging talents and international voices, with the fest premiering 46 works, including 20 features that represent 21 countries. Highlights include Farhad Delaram’s “Achilles,” Graham Swon’s “An Evening Song (for three voices), and the U.S. premiere of Lois Patiño’s “Samsara.” Zhang Mengqi’s “Self-Portrait: 47 Km 2020,” which won the Award of Excellence winner at the 2023 Yamagata Documentary Festival, will also screen along with Shoghakat Vardanyan’s 2023 IDFA grand prize winner “1489,” the debut for the filmmaker. Returning First Look directors like Michaël Andrianaly...
The 13th annual event, which takes place March 13 through 17 in Astoria, Queens, opens with the New York premiere of Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez’s “Sujo,” which recently took home the Grand Jury Prize, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
The First Look Festival focuses on emerging talents and international voices, with the fest premiering 46 works, including 20 features that represent 21 countries. Highlights include Farhad Delaram’s “Achilles,” Graham Swon’s “An Evening Song (for three voices), and the U.S. premiere of Lois Patiño’s “Samsara.” Zhang Mengqi’s “Self-Portrait: 47 Km 2020,” which won the Award of Excellence winner at the 2023 Yamagata Documentary Festival, will also screen along with Shoghakat Vardanyan’s 2023 IDFA grand prize winner “1489,” the debut for the filmmaker. Returning First Look directors like Michaël Andrianaly...
- 2/12/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (Hkiffs) has added 15 work-in-progress projects to the 22nd Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), rounding up a bumper line-up of the new Hkiff Project Market.
This year, Haf joins the inaugural Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg) to create the new Hkiff Industry Project Market, which will showcase 47 projects, including 26 previously announced in-development Haf projects and six Hcg projects.
The Wip section will introduce the latest works by notable filmmakers such as Chang Tso-Chi, Lav Diaz, Mark Gill, Midi Z, Tan Chui Mui, and Yang Chao as well as by prominent and emerging actors,...
This year, Haf joins the inaugural Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg) to create the new Hkiff Industry Project Market, which will showcase 47 projects, including 26 previously announced in-development Haf projects and six Hcg projects.
The Wip section will introduce the latest works by notable filmmakers such as Chang Tso-Chi, Lav Diaz, Mark Gill, Midi Z, Tan Chui Mui, and Yang Chao as well as by prominent and emerging actors,...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
Leading Asian filmmakers including Chang Tso-Chi, Lav Diaz, Midi Z, Tan Chui Mui and Yang Chao are poised to make appearances next month at the Work-in-Progress section of the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) project market.
Haf organizers Thursday added 15 Wip projects, having previously selected 26 in-development projects and six genre film projects in the CAA China Genre Initiative.
The 47-project Hkiff Industry Project Market will run March 11-13, alongside the 2024 edition of the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FilMart), which operates March 11-14..
Highlights include: “The Land is Our Navel,” directed by Zhang Zhongchen (“The White Cow”) and produced by Midi Z (director of 2019’s “Nina Wu” and the upcoming “The Unseen Sister”), depicting the surreal journey of a six-year-old girl and a ghost;
“The Wind is Unstoppable,” by Huo Meng (“Crossing the Border – Zhaoguan”), about small-town family life before China’s rural-urban migration; “Deep Quiet Room,...
Haf organizers Thursday added 15 Wip projects, having previously selected 26 in-development projects and six genre film projects in the CAA China Genre Initiative.
The 47-project Hkiff Industry Project Market will run March 11-13, alongside the 2024 edition of the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FilMart), which operates March 11-14..
Highlights include: “The Land is Our Navel,” directed by Zhang Zhongchen (“The White Cow”) and produced by Midi Z (director of 2019’s “Nina Wu” and the upcoming “The Unseen Sister”), depicting the surreal journey of a six-year-old girl and a ghost;
“The Wind is Unstoppable,” by Huo Meng (“Crossing the Border – Zhaoguan”), about small-town family life before China’s rural-urban migration; “Deep Quiet Room,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Midi Z, the Taiwan-based Myanmar-born director whose career has expanded from no-budget documentaries and dramas to 2019 Cannes title “Nina Wu,” has wrapped “The Unseen Sister,” his first mainstream film in Mainland China.
As with “Nina Wu,” the protagonist is an actress successfully enduring various pressures and humiliations at work. But in “Unseen Sister” her artifice is threatened by an anonymous attempt to extort her and the sudden reappearance of her long-lost sister. The sister, who had been in Myanmar, brings with her incidents and revelations from the past as well as hints of a larger crisis linking the seemingly coincidental events of her return and the blackmail.
For the dual lead roles Z secured the services of rising Chinese actor Zhao Liying in the role of the actress and Xin Zhilei (“The Rescue” and Wong Kar-wai’s TV series “Blossoms Shanghai”) as her sister.
Production, which wrapped earlier this month,...
As with “Nina Wu,” the protagonist is an actress successfully enduring various pressures and humiliations at work. But in “Unseen Sister” her artifice is threatened by an anonymous attempt to extort her and the sudden reappearance of her long-lost sister. The sister, who had been in Myanmar, brings with her incidents and revelations from the past as well as hints of a larger crisis linking the seemingly coincidental events of her return and the blackmail.
For the dual lead roles Z secured the services of rising Chinese actor Zhao Liying in the role of the actress and Xin Zhilei (“The Rescue” and Wong Kar-wai’s TV series “Blossoms Shanghai”) as her sister.
Production, which wrapped earlier this month,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary’s gatekeepers are playing it awfully safe lately, in the estimation of Orwa Nyrabia, artistic director of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest documentary film festival.
In conversation with Deadline before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Nyrabia assessed the landscape of nonfiction film, finding streaming platforms and other distributors inordinately risk averse.
“I think post pandemic especially, it seems like everybody in the distribution space is really striving to make up lost money,” he told Deadline. “And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses. So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP. I mean, they don’t say so. But when I look at what it is that is really working [for them], it is all about celebrities who have their audience predefined, and when that’s not possible, then relying on preset formats such as serial killers and crime.
In conversation with Deadline before the start of the 36th edition of the festival, Nyrabia assessed the landscape of nonfiction film, finding streaming platforms and other distributors inordinately risk averse.
“I think post pandemic especially, it seems like everybody in the distribution space is really striving to make up lost money,” he told Deadline. “And this is translating into really only betting on very, very clearly winning horses. So, everybody is looking for films with preexisting IP. I mean, they don’t say so. But when I look at what it is that is really working [for them], it is all about celebrities who have their audience predefined, and when that’s not possible, then relying on preset formats such as serial killers and crime.
- 11/13/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
This year’s edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open with the world premiere of “A Picture to Remember” by Olga Chernykh. The film, which received the support of the IDFA Bertha Fund in 2022, is a deeply personal account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women.
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
The full program for the festival’s 36th edition was announced earlier today by IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia, who stated the festival’s opening film is “both personal and political,” adding that “the director does not shy away from trying to build a cinematic world with fragile elements. The courage and originality of the film’s approach opens up to a much larger worldview.”
Before announcing this year’s full lineup, Nyrabia took a moment to acknowledge the current Israel-Hamas war: “To us, respecting the human...
- 10/18/2023
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety Film + TV
Olga Chernykh’s A Picture To Remember explores the war in Ukraine through three generations.
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will open with the world premiere of Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh’s A Picture To Remember as the festival unveils the line-ups for the international and Envision competitions.
A Picture To Remember explores the war in Ukraine through three generations of women, including the director herself, and is a co-production between Ukraine, France and Germany. The film is screening in Envision and has received backing from the IDFA Bertha Support fund.
The international competition features 11 titles, seven of which are world premieres,...
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam will open with the world premiere of Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh’s A Picture To Remember as the festival unveils the line-ups for the international and Envision competitions.
A Picture To Remember explores the war in Ukraine through three generations of women, including the director herself, and is a co-production between Ukraine, France and Germany. The film is screening in Envision and has received backing from the IDFA Bertha Support fund.
The international competition features 11 titles, seven of which are world premieres,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam revealed its opening night film and announced competition lineups in two main categories today, completing the program for the upcoming 36th edition of the world’s largest documentary festival.
At a press conference in Amsterdam, A Picture to Remember, directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh, was announced as IDFA’s opening night film on November 8. The festival, which includes more than 250 films total, runs from Nov. 8-19.
“[A Picture to Remember] presents a deeply personal and essay-style account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women: Chernykh herself, her mother, and her grandmother,” IDFA said in a release. “In a bid for connection and intimacy, the filmmaker uses old family films, recordings of conversations, and news reports to bridge the distance between her and her grandmother. The result is a kaleidoscopic and personal film that travels through time fluidly.
At a press conference in Amsterdam, A Picture to Remember, directed by Ukrainian filmmaker Olga Chernykh, was announced as IDFA’s opening night film on November 8. The festival, which includes more than 250 films total, runs from Nov. 8-19.
“[A Picture to Remember] presents a deeply personal and essay-style account of the ongoing war in Ukraine and its violent history, seen through the prism of three generations of women: Chernykh herself, her mother, and her grandmother,” IDFA said in a release. “In a bid for connection and intimacy, the filmmaker uses old family films, recordings of conversations, and news reports to bridge the distance between her and her grandmother. The result is a kaleidoscopic and personal film that travels through time fluidly.
- 10/18/2023
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
Living in the West, it occasionally becomes easy to forget that in various corners of the world, people are living very different and essentially much worse lives. Suman Ghosh focuses on a family that survives by picking up garbage in “The Scavenger of Dreams”, highlighting this rather ignored type of life in India.
The Scavenger of Dreams is screening at Busan International Film Festival
Birju and Shona live in the slums with their daughter Muni. Together they navigate Kolkata’s affluent neighborhoods every morning, collecting trash from the rich houses, on a handcart. Expectedly, they make a meager living, and the lockdown that was imposed the previous years did not make anyone’s life easier, also due to Muni not being able to attend school. Their only leisure seems to be making up stories out of the discarded materials they bring home every night, along with their daughter. Things get...
The Scavenger of Dreams is screening at Busan International Film Festival
Birju and Shona live in the slums with their daughter Muni. Together they navigate Kolkata’s affluent neighborhoods every morning, collecting trash from the rich houses, on a handcart. Expectedly, they make a meager living, and the lockdown that was imposed the previous years did not make anyone’s life easier, also due to Muni not being able to attend school. Their only leisure seems to be making up stories out of the discarded materials they bring home every night, along with their daughter. Things get...
- 10/6/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Ceremony will take place on November 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast.
Hong Kong filmmaker Clara Law will head the international jury for the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa).
Law, who is based in Australia, will preside over a five-person jury, alongside Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann, German producer Anna Katchko, Japanese cinematographer Hideho Urata, and Saudi executive Faisal Baltyuor.
The full list of nominations for the 16th Apsa will be announced on October 4; alongside the programme for the fifth Asia Pacific Screen Forum, which will run from November 1-4.
Both the Forum and the ceremony on November 3 will take place...
Hong Kong filmmaker Clara Law will head the international jury for the 2023 Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa).
Law, who is based in Australia, will preside over a five-person jury, alongside Malaysian actress Yeo Yann Yann, German producer Anna Katchko, Japanese cinematographer Hideho Urata, and Saudi executive Faisal Baltyuor.
The full list of nominations for the 16th Apsa will be announced on October 4; alongside the programme for the fifth Asia Pacific Screen Forum, which will run from November 1-4.
Both the Forum and the ceremony on November 3 will take place...
- 9/21/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Rule Of Law
Director Clara Law (“The Goddess of 1967”) has been set as president of the jury which will discern this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She will be joined by Malaysia’s Yeo Yann Yann, German producer Anna Katchko, and Faisal Baltyuor, producer and CEO of Muvi Studios in Saudi Arabia.
A separate jury for documentaries and animation will be headed by Taiwan-based Myanmar director Midi Z, India’s Rima Das and Japanese documentary maker Toda Hikaru.
The APSAs will be presented at a ceremony in Gold Coast, Queensland on Nov. 4 and be preceded by three days of seminars and screenings. The awards and forum are presented by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, the City of Gold Coast, Screen Queensland, the Motion Picture Association and Griffith Film School, Griffith University. Nominations will be announced on Oct. 4.
Law, who has previously been based in Hong Kong and Macau,...
Director Clara Law (“The Goddess of 1967”) has been set as president of the jury which will discern this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards. She will be joined by Malaysia’s Yeo Yann Yann, German producer Anna Katchko, and Faisal Baltyuor, producer and CEO of Muvi Studios in Saudi Arabia.
A separate jury for documentaries and animation will be headed by Taiwan-based Myanmar director Midi Z, India’s Rima Das and Japanese documentary maker Toda Hikaru.
The APSAs will be presented at a ceremony in Gold Coast, Queensland on Nov. 4 and be preceded by three days of seminars and screenings. The awards and forum are presented by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy, the City of Gold Coast, Screen Queensland, the Motion Picture Association and Griffith Film School, Griffith University. Nominations will be announced on Oct. 4.
Law, who has previously been based in Hong Kong and Macau,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Debuting as an actor back in 2011 with Giddens Ko's “You Are the Apple of My Eye”, Kai Ko has since gone on to become a formidable name in modern Taiwanese cinema, even winning a Golden Horse Award for Best New Performer and a Taipei Film Award for Best Actor over the years. In 2022, he took over the directorial chair from Giddens Ko for “Bad Education”, a script written by Giddens that he was supposed to direct but ended up being Kai Ko's debut behind the camera. In addition to the support of his first director, Kai Ko also had the support of Midi Z, who he worked with on “The Road to Mandalay” and who acts as a producer on “Bad Education”.
Bad Education is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
On the night of their graduation from high school, three drunk best friends Chang, Wang and Han decide that,...
Bad Education is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
On the night of their graduation from high school, three drunk best friends Chang, Wang and Han decide that,...
- 3/14/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Bad Education
Director: Kai Ko
Producers: Ko Yao-zong, Lu Wei-chun, Giddens Ko, Midi Z, Molly Fang
Key cast: Berant Zhu, Kent Tsai, Edison Song
Actor Kai Ko’s directorial debut revolves around three young men who decide to bond with each other as sworn brothers as they graduate from high school by sharing dark secrets. The film’s Berant Zhu won the supporting actor prize at the 2022 Golden Horse Awards.
Sales: Harvest 9 Road Entertainment
COO-coo 043
Director: Chan Ching-Lin
Producers: Lin I-ling, Lin Shih-ken
Key cast: Yu An-Shun, Hu Jhih-Ciang, Yang Li-Yin, Rimong Ihwar
Haunting family drama set against the world of pigeon racing in Taiwan. Winner of 59th Golden Horse Awards’ narrative feature in 2022 and the Golden Horse Film Festival’s Fipresci prize.
Sales: Distribution Workshop
In The Morning Of LA Petite Morte
Director: Wang Yu-lin
Producers: Patrick Mao Huang, Jan Yi-ting
Key cast: Fukuchi Yusuke, Wang Yun-zhi, Ivy Yin,...
Director: Kai Ko
Producers: Ko Yao-zong, Lu Wei-chun, Giddens Ko, Midi Z, Molly Fang
Key cast: Berant Zhu, Kent Tsai, Edison Song
Actor Kai Ko’s directorial debut revolves around three young men who decide to bond with each other as sworn brothers as they graduate from high school by sharing dark secrets. The film’s Berant Zhu won the supporting actor prize at the 2022 Golden Horse Awards.
Sales: Harvest 9 Road Entertainment
COO-coo 043
Director: Chan Ching-Lin
Producers: Lin I-ling, Lin Shih-ken
Key cast: Yu An-Shun, Hu Jhih-Ciang, Yang Li-Yin, Rimong Ihwar
Haunting family drama set against the world of pigeon racing in Taiwan. Winner of 59th Golden Horse Awards’ narrative feature in 2022 and the Golden Horse Film Festival’s Fipresci prize.
Sales: Distribution Workshop
In The Morning Of LA Petite Morte
Director: Wang Yu-lin
Producers: Patrick Mao Huang, Jan Yi-ting
Key cast: Fukuchi Yusuke, Wang Yun-zhi, Ivy Yin,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Vivienne Chow
- Variety Film + TV
Laha Mebow became the first woman from Taiwan to win the best director prize for ‘Gaga’.
Taiwanese family drama Coo-Coo 043 won best film and Hong Kong crime drama Limbo picked up the most prizes at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan on Saturday night (November 19) as Hong Kong cinema made a grand return winning nine awards.
The prizes were quite evenly distributed this year, with no single film sweeping the 59th edition of the annual ceremony, which was held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.
Scroll down for list of winners
Chan Ching-lin’s feature debut Coo-Coo 043, set...
Taiwanese family drama Coo-Coo 043 won best film and Hong Kong crime drama Limbo picked up the most prizes at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan on Saturday night (November 19) as Hong Kong cinema made a grand return winning nine awards.
The prizes were quite evenly distributed this year, with no single film sweeping the 59th edition of the annual ceremony, which was held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.
Scroll down for list of winners
Chan Ching-lin’s feature debut Coo-Coo 043, set...
- 11/20/2022
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
High school student drama has received four nominations at the Golden Horse Awards.
Taiwanese actor Kai Ko’s directorial debut Bad Education, which has received four nominations at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards, is being launched by Harvest 9 Road Entertainment at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm).
Ko, who shot to fame through his role in You’re The Apple Of My Eye, which earned him the best new performer prize at the Golden Horse Awards in 2011, was most recently seen in last year’s Till We Meet Again. Both hit films were directed by novelist-turned-director Giddens Ko...
Taiwanese actor Kai Ko’s directorial debut Bad Education, which has received four nominations at the upcoming Golden Horse Awards, is being launched by Harvest 9 Road Entertainment at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm).
Ko, who shot to fame through his role in You’re The Apple Of My Eye, which earned him the best new performer prize at the Golden Horse Awards in 2011, was most recently seen in last year’s Till We Meet Again. Both hit films were directed by novelist-turned-director Giddens Ko...
- 10/9/2022
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Mubi’s U.S. lineup for next month has been unveiled, including some essential recent releases, notably James Vaughan’s Friends and Strangers, Radu Muntean’s Întregalde, Alice Diop’s We (Nous), the Isabel Sandoval-led short The Actress, Ougie Pak’s Clytaemnestra, and the new restoration of Hong Sangsoo’s Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors.
As part of Pride month and fitting as his latest film arrives, Andrew Ahn’s Spa Night is among the selections, alongside And Then We Danced, Being 17, and Lilting. Lee Chang-dong’s Burning, a pair of films by Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Kim Bora’s House of Hummingbird are also in the lineup.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
June 1 – Wet Sand, directed by Elene Naveriani | Viewfinder | Pride
June 2 – And Then We Danced, directed by Levan Akin | Pride Unprejudiced: LGBTQ+ Cinema
June 3 – Friends and Strangers, directed by James Vaughan | Mubi Spotlight
June 4 – Final Set,...
As part of Pride month and fitting as his latest film arrives, Andrew Ahn’s Spa Night is among the selections, alongside And Then We Danced, Being 17, and Lilting. Lee Chang-dong’s Burning, a pair of films by Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Kim Bora’s House of Hummingbird are also in the lineup.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
June 1 – Wet Sand, directed by Elene Naveriani | Viewfinder | Pride
June 2 – And Then We Danced, directed by Levan Akin | Pride Unprejudiced: LGBTQ+ Cinema
June 3 – Friends and Strangers, directed by James Vaughan | Mubi Spotlight
June 4 – Final Set,...
- 5/24/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Matthieu Laclau is a French editor who has been working in China since 2008. He studied Film Theory in Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle and received his Master’s degree in 2008. He’s currently living in Taipei. In 2013, he won the Golden Horse Best Editing for ‘A Touch Of Sin’ directed by Jia Zhang-ke and in 2017, the American Chlotrudis Awards Best Editing for ‘Mountains May Depart’ directed by Jia Zhang-ke. Both films were selected in Cannes Film Festival (Competition) and ‘A Touch Of Sin’ won the Best Screenplay.
Since then, he edited ‘Ash Is Purest White’ by Jia Zhang-ke (Cannes Film Festival / Competition), “The Wild Goose Lake” directed by Diao Yinan (Cannes Film Festival / Competition), “Nina Wu” directed by Midi Z (Cannes Film Festival / Un Certain Regard), “The Best Is Yet to Come” directed by Wang Jing (Venice Film Festival / Orrizonti).
We speak with him about the path that led him to edit film in China,...
Since then, he edited ‘Ash Is Purest White’ by Jia Zhang-ke (Cannes Film Festival / Competition), “The Wild Goose Lake” directed by Diao Yinan (Cannes Film Festival / Competition), “Nina Wu” directed by Midi Z (Cannes Film Festival / Un Certain Regard), “The Best Is Yet to Come” directed by Wang Jing (Venice Film Festival / Orrizonti).
We speak with him about the path that led him to edit film in China,...
- 5/12/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Actor Kai Ko, the mournful star of Un Certain Regard film “Moneyboys,” declined to jump the queue for vaccinations in his native Taiwan, and so couldn’t walk the red carpet in person at Cannes this year.
Nevertheless, his performance in first-time director C.B. Yi’s exploration of Chinese hustlers balancing the pressures of love, family and financial stability has cemented him as formidable talent to watch.
The film will likely prove a helpful boost to his now decade-long career, which was derailed despite a rapid rise after an infamous 2014 marijuana bust in Beijing alongside Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee Chan.
Ko points out that he never intended his subsequent break with entertainment world to last. “I never left! I took a break for a while, but I don’t know why people keep using the phrase ‘comeback,’” he said. Taiwan is too small a market for actors to...
Nevertheless, his performance in first-time director C.B. Yi’s exploration of Chinese hustlers balancing the pressures of love, family and financial stability has cemented him as formidable talent to watch.
The film will likely prove a helpful boost to his now decade-long career, which was derailed despite a rapid rise after an infamous 2014 marijuana bust in Beijing alongside Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee Chan.
Ko points out that he never intended his subsequent break with entertainment world to last. “I never left! I took a break for a while, but I don’t know why people keep using the phrase ‘comeback,’” he said. Taiwan is too small a market for actors to...
- 7/16/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Phnom Penh and particularly the reality of the young people today is a theme very rarely (if ever) explored in cinema. French director Jesse Miceli decided to fill this gap through an approach that shares many similarities with Midi Z’s work on Myanmar, although in a more polished fashion.
Coalesce is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
The story revolves around three young men. Songsa, the youngest, comes to Phnom Penh with his father, from the village he is living, in order to sell clothes on the street from a tuk-tuk, where the two of them also sleep during the night. However, the boy is repeatedly left by himself, as his father sells clothes on another location. The result is that he is robbed, almost assaulted by a man who seems to like young boys, while a number of blunders bring the rage of their partner on his head and...
Coalesce is screening at Helsinki Cine Aasia
The story revolves around three young men. Songsa, the youngest, comes to Phnom Penh with his father, from the village he is living, in order to sell clothes on the street from a tuk-tuk, where the two of them also sleep during the night. However, the boy is repeatedly left by himself, as his father sells clothes on another location. The result is that he is robbed, almost assaulted by a man who seems to like young boys, while a number of blunders bring the rage of their partner on his head and...
- 4/16/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Under the guise of a topical film detailing a #Metoo experience, Myanmar-born Taiwanese director Midi Z investigates the broader point of view of an actress in the contemporary film industry, focusing on the pressure, micro-aggressions and tension in her relationship with the director, other actors, and the media. It’s a weird and incisive portrait that owes a lot to actress Ke-Xi Wu, a frequent collaborator of Midi Z who wrote and conceived the project based on her own experience, and approached the director to bring it to the screen in addition to playing the main role.
Midi Z was previously known for social realism dramas such as Ice Poison (2014) and The Road to Mandalay (2016), from which Nina Wu (selected in the Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section) is a sleek, symbolically complex departure.…...
Midi Z was previously known for social realism dramas such as Ice Poison (2014) and The Road to Mandalay (2016), from which Nina Wu (selected in the Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section) is a sleek, symbolically complex departure.…...
- 3/27/2021
- by Tommaso Tocci
- IONCINEMA.com
Taipei actress Nina Wu — played by screenwriter Wu Ke-Xi in a steel-jawed dagger of a performance — hasn’t landed a movie role in the six years since she’s trickled down to the big city from the rural farm town where she was raised. In lieu of acting gigs, she pays the bills by working as a cam girl from her drab apartment, but most of the time she’s just another face in the bustling crowds.
Then: A chance to stand out. Nina’s agent dangles an audition for a risqué part in an erotic spy thriller from a hot young director, and while the thirtysomething actress is hesitant about exposing herself on screen (and to the vulnerability that shooting those scenes would require from her), her shit-eating agent makes it clear that this is less of a choice than a crucible. “I doubt any real professional would turn...
Then: A chance to stand out. Nina’s agent dangles an audition for a risqué part in an erotic spy thriller from a hot young director, and while the thirtysomething actress is hesitant about exposing herself on screen (and to the vulnerability that shooting those scenes would require from her), her shit-eating agent makes it clear that this is less of a choice than a crucible. “I doubt any real professional would turn...
- 3/26/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
This year the Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh dedicates a small homage to Midi Z aka Te-yin Chao. Among the three films shown is also his short film “The Palace on the Sea” from 2014.
“The Palace on the Sea“ is screening at Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh
A woman walks around hastily. She looks around as if she is looking for someone or something. Her step is fast and she doesn’t slow down when other women keep coming up to her and try to persuade her: She should think it over carefully and not leave Taiwan. Here it is much better than at home in Burma or Indonesia. The woman is not impressed and goes on until she comes to an abandoned temple by the sea. This temple looks like a romantic ruin. On the walls still hang golden and red carpets and other decorations, which point to a past glorious time.
“The Palace on the Sea“ is screening at Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh
A woman walks around hastily. She looks around as if she is looking for someone or something. Her step is fast and she doesn’t slow down when other women keep coming up to her and try to persuade her: She should think it over carefully and not leave Taiwan. Here it is much better than at home in Burma or Indonesia. The woman is not impressed and goes on until she comes to an abandoned temple by the sea. This temple looks like a romantic ruin. On the walls still hang golden and red carpets and other decorations, which point to a past glorious time.
- 9/28/2020
- by Teresa Vena
- AsianMoviePulse
Several titles looking to follow in the wake of ‘Tenet’.
France, opening Wednesday September 2
The biggest opener in France this week is Anne Fontaine’s Police, first seen at the Berlinale in February. Released by Studiocanal, the drama (also known as Night Shift) centres on three Parisian police officers – played by Omar Sy, Virginie Efira and Grégory Gadebois – who debate whether to deport an illegal immigrant (Payman Maadi) while transporting him to the airport.
Sophie Letourneur’s Enormous will also receive a wide release through Memento Films Distribution. First screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) in January, the...
France, opening Wednesday September 2
The biggest opener in France this week is Anne Fontaine’s Police, first seen at the Berlinale in February. Released by Studiocanal, the drama (also known as Night Shift) centres on three Parisian police officers – played by Omar Sy, Virginie Efira and Grégory Gadebois – who debate whether to deport an illegal immigrant (Payman Maadi) while transporting him to the airport.
Sophie Letourneur’s Enormous will also receive a wide release through Memento Films Distribution. First screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) in January, the...
- 9/4/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Michael Rosser¬Martin Blaney¬Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
What | Taiwan Creators Night: Bridging Taiwan and the World
A 2020 Networking Cocktail Party, including 3 panels around creative industry topics
Cannes Cinefondacion nominated director Keff chatting with director John Hsu and actress/ screenwriter Wu Ke Xi
Who | Leehom Wang, Sylvia Chang, Midi Z, Eddie Huang, Janet Hsieh and George Young; and companies including HBO Asia, Line TV, Kakao (Korea), Catchplay, KKBox, and MM2
Hosted By | Kindred Spirit’s Anita Gou
When | August 21st, 2020 from 6pm-10pm
Where | TripMoment VR, Taipei City, Da’an District
Youtube Co-Founder Steve Chen discusses the future of tech and content with international superstar Leehom Wang...
A 2020 Networking Cocktail Party, including 3 panels around creative industry topics
Cannes Cinefondacion nominated director Keff chatting with director John Hsu and actress/ screenwriter Wu Ke Xi
Who | Leehom Wang, Sylvia Chang, Midi Z, Eddie Huang, Janet Hsieh and George Young; and companies including HBO Asia, Line TV, Kakao (Korea), Catchplay, KKBox, and MM2
Hosted By | Kindred Spirit’s Anita Gou
When | August 21st, 2020 from 6pm-10pm
Where | TripMoment VR, Taipei City, Da’an District
Youtube Co-Founder Steve Chen discusses the future of tech and content with international superstar Leehom Wang...
- 8/29/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
After his debut feature “Return to Burma” director Midi Z followed with an even more ambitious second effort, in which he aimed to portray the living conditions of Burma’s ethnic Chinese population as well as other themes he already showed in his first film. Its screening at many international festivals such as Rotterdam and Hong Kong manifested his status as one of the most promising talents within the Taiwanese film industry. Indeed, Midi Z’s second movie has a lot to offer, founded on a similar aesthetic approach as “Return to Burma”, but this time connecting two narratives which, when combined, give the viewer a thorough picture of the themes the director explores. At the same time, “Poor Folk” also suffers from a few of the flaws of its predecessor, too.
“Poor Folk” is screening at CineCina iFest
At the center of the first narrative strand, we follow A-fu...
“Poor Folk” is screening at CineCina iFest
At the center of the first narrative strand, we follow A-fu...
- 8/1/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Midi Z was born in 1982 in Burma as a son of a cook and a doctor. At the age of 16, he moved to Taiwan and in 2011 he renounced his Burmese citizenship. In the same year he shot, directed and produced his first feature film “Return to Burma”, a story about the shift in his home country after the presidential elections of 2010. Over the course of his career, he has made five feature films and three documentaries, which have screened at international festivals. Among the awards Midi Z has received are a Taipei Film Award for Best Director and the Fedeora Award for Best Film at the Venice International Film Festival for his fourth feature “Road to Mandalay”. His most recent feature “Nina Wu” has received much critical acclaim and has been released in many countries.
On the occasion of the cinematic release of “Nina Wu” in Germany in September 2020 we...
On the occasion of the cinematic release of “Nina Wu” in Germany in September 2020 we...
- 8/1/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
As one of the final steps of the “roadmap to democracy”, as announced by General Khin Nyunt in 2003, the 2010 presidential elections in Myanmar resulted in a victory of the Union Solidariy and Development Party (Usdp). The election, already criticized by the United Nations for its lack of fairness, sparked controversy and riots among the Burmese citizens. During that tumultuous time in his home country, director Midi Z shot his first feature “Return to Burma”, a portrayal of the rural areas of Burma, the living conditions and especially the attitudes of the young people with regard to the elections’ promise for a better future for them. In the end, Midi Z has managed to make a rather sobering blend of feature and documentary that, even though it lacks structure, shows a country’s divide between the realities of everyday life and the stories of progress or unity expressed in the government-friendly media.
- 7/31/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
After his second feature “Poor Folk” had received much critical acclaim within the international festival circuit, Midi Z’s follow-up “Ice Poison” further manifested his reputation as one of the most promising directors from Taiwan. “Ice Poison” was thus featured in the 64th edition of the Berlin Film Festival and was Taiwan’s entry as Best Foreign Language Film, but in the end was not considered for the final selection by the Academy. Besides representing a continuation of Midi Z’s success as an artist, it is also a story deeply embedded within the themes and aesthetics of his former two efforts, exploring the cycle of Burmese refugees in Taiwan, especially the younger generation, as they struggle to make a living and find their identity.
“Ice Poison” is screening at CineCina iFest
At the center of the film, we follow the stories of two characters, a young man (Wang Shin-hong...
“Ice Poison” is screening at CineCina iFest
At the center of the film, we follow the stories of two characters, a young man (Wang Shin-hong...
- 7/28/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
After his second feature “Poor Folk” had received much critical acclaim within the international festival circuit, Midi Z’s follow-up “Ice Poison” further manifested his reputation as one of the most promising directors from Taiwan. “Ice Poison” was thus featured in the 64th edition of the Berlin Film Festival and was Taiwan’s entry as Best Foreign Language Film, but in the end was not considered for the final selection by the Academy. Besides representing a continuation of Midi Z’s success as an artist, it is also a story deeply embedded within the themes and aesthetics of his former two efforts, exploring the cycle of Burmese refugees in Taiwan, especially the younger generation, as they struggle to make a living and find their identity.
“Ice Poison” is screening at CineCina iFest
At the center of the film, we follow the stories of two characters, a young man (Wang Shin-hong...
“Ice Poison” is screening at CineCina iFest
At the center of the film, we follow the stories of two characters, a young man (Wang Shin-hong...
- 7/28/2020
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
CineCina teams with Smart Cinema USA for the first CineCina iFest available to the public from now through August 31. Available for viewing exclusively on mobile devices via The SmartCinema USA app. Highlighted by Oliver Mays’ drama Bitter Flowers, Lou Ye’s The Shadow Play, and a mini retrospective of director Midi Z’s work, the CineCina iFest, is the organization’s latest foray into exploring new exhibition methods following the Covid-19 pandemic’s disruption of audiences attending screening events and viewing films in theaters.
CineCina, which has quickly made a name for itself in New York championing Chinese and world cinema, recently concluded its first Online Film Festival, and has received notice for projecting iconic film scenes set in New York City on buildings in Manhattan to celebrate the gradual reopening of the state. CineCina has steadfastly continued its mission to celebrate film and promote filmmaking in the city during...
CineCina, which has quickly made a name for itself in New York championing Chinese and world cinema, recently concluded its first Online Film Festival, and has received notice for projecting iconic film scenes set in New York City on buildings in Manhattan to celebrate the gradual reopening of the state. CineCina has steadfastly continued its mission to celebrate film and promote filmmaking in the city during...
- 7/16/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
The article was initially published in Asian Film Vault, back in 2017
Since these three countries enjoy the lion’s share of the global attention towards Asian cinema, I decided to highlight some 2016 (more or less) films from other Asian countries that definitely deserve some attention. Here are 7 of them, most of which I watched on Five Flavours FIlm Festival
1. Jagat
“Jagat” is a very important film for Tamil cinema in Malaysia, since, apart from taking over a decade to overcome issues with funding, due to its theme, it also changed the competition rules at the Malaysia Film Festival awards, which did not previously allowed films from minorities’ languages to compete.
The script is set in the 90’s and revolves around two parallel axes that occasionally intermingle: The first one concerns Appoy, a 12-year old boy who prefers to watch TV and listen to Michael Jackson than studying. His father, Maniam...
Since these three countries enjoy the lion’s share of the global attention towards Asian cinema, I decided to highlight some 2016 (more or less) films from other Asian countries that definitely deserve some attention. Here are 7 of them, most of which I watched on Five Flavours FIlm Festival
1. Jagat
“Jagat” is a very important film for Tamil cinema in Malaysia, since, apart from taking over a decade to overcome issues with funding, due to its theme, it also changed the competition rules at the Malaysia Film Festival awards, which did not previously allowed films from minorities’ languages to compete.
The script is set in the 90’s and revolves around two parallel axes that occasionally intermingle: The first one concerns Appoy, a 12-year old boy who prefers to watch TV and listen to Michael Jackson than studying. His father, Maniam...
- 6/25/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Both dramas to release on home entertainment and digital platforms after virtual cinema debut.
Film Movement has picked up all North American rights to female-directed coming-of-age dramas Once Upon A River and Carmilla and will release both through its virtual cinema initiative this year.
Feature debutante Haroula Rose’s Once Upon A River is based on Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Midwestern novel of the same name.
The story takes place in 1970s rural Michigan as a traumatised young woman (newcomer Kenadi DelaCerna) embarks on a river odyssey to find her estranged mother. Film Movement acquired the film from the producers.
Film Movement has picked up all North American rights to female-directed coming-of-age dramas Once Upon A River and Carmilla and will release both through its virtual cinema initiative this year.
Feature debutante Haroula Rose’s Once Upon A River is based on Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Midwestern novel of the same name.
The story takes place in 1970s rural Michigan as a traumatised young woman (newcomer Kenadi DelaCerna) embarks on a river odyssey to find her estranged mother. Film Movement acquired the film from the producers.
- 5/15/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Psychological thriller “Nina Wu” by Taiwan-based Burmese writer and director Midi Z, was premiered in the “Un Certain Regard” section of Cannes Film Festival. Midi Z has proven before to be a fine and meticulous storyteller, enriching his narration with nuances, planting small significant details. This personal style well fits “Nina Wu” and its Hitchkockian development.
Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu) left Taichung 8 years ago following, like many girls, her dream of an acting career in the big city of Taipei. Despite her efforts, in all those years Nina has collected only a handful of minor roles as extra in indie movies or commercials and she’s resorted to moonlighting as a cam-girl. One day, the long-awaited audition arrives; it’s for a Cold War era spy-noir movie, “Romance of the Spies” and Nina’s agent warns her that she must be prepared to perform a full frontal nudity and explicit sex scenes.
Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu) left Taichung 8 years ago following, like many girls, her dream of an acting career in the big city of Taipei. Despite her efforts, in all those years Nina has collected only a handful of minor roles as extra in indie movies or commercials and she’s resorted to moonlighting as a cam-girl. One day, the long-awaited audition arrives; it’s for a Cold War era spy-noir movie, “Romance of the Spies” and Nina’s agent warns her that she must be prepared to perform a full frontal nudity and explicit sex scenes.
- 3/28/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Nina Wu Film Movement Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Midi Z Screenwriters: Ke-Xi Wu, MidiZ Cast: Ke-Xi Wu, Yu-Hua Sung, Yu-Chiao Hsia, Ming-Shuai Shih Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 3/10/20 Opens: Tbd Could it be that even in faraway Taiwan, the people who make films are inspired […]
The post Nina Wu Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Nina Wu Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 3/15/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSJean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol at the Cahiers du Cinéma offices in 1959. (Photo by Jack Garofalo)Seven out of nine of the editorial staff of Cahiers du cinéma, which recently announced its new ownership by a group of "bankers, tech entrepreneurs, and film producers," have resigned. The writers have cited a conflict of interest regarding the publication of critical reviews. This year's Berlinale has come to an end. A complete catalog of coverage can be found here, along with a list of the festival's winners. Recommended VIEWINGNetflix has released a teaser for Damien Chazelle's Paris-set miniseries, The Eddy.Václav Marhoul's The Painted Bird, an adaptation of the controversial Jerzy Kosiriski novel, follows the wanderings of a young boy in Eastern Europe at the end of World War I. Read our review of the film here.
- 3/4/2020
- MUBI
Fyzal Boulifa’s Lynn + Lucy, Hamish Bennett’s Bellbird and Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy were also among the winners at the Asian gathering. Us-based Russian writer-director Kirill Mikhanovsky’s feature Give Me Liberty has emerged as the big winner of the Best Film Award at the fourth International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao (Iffam). Headed up by Iffam artistic director Mike Goodridge, the festival ran from 5-10 December and wrapped with the awards ceremony held at the Macao Cultural Centre. The Official Competition jury, chaired by Chinese director-producer-screenwriter Peter Chan Ho-sun, and comprising president and CEO of Vrega Ellen Eliasoph, Indonesian actress Dian Sastrowardoyo, Myanma director Midi Z and British actor Tom Cullen, handed the $60,000 award to Give Me Liberty, saying about their decision: “This is a farcical and poignant portrait of a day in the life of America’s challenged and disenfranchised. The film starts with hilarious, inexhaustible energy, and then weaves.
- 12/11/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Fyzal Boulifa won best director for UK title ‘Lynn + Lucy’.
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) closed on Tuesday night (10) with the top award going to Us film Give Me Liberty directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky.
Stars such as Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche were on the red carpet for the festival, which showed 43 films including 10 in International Competition and six in the New Chinese Cinema Competition. It ran from December 5-10 in and around the Macau Cultural Centre.
Chinese filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun headed the jury for first and second-time directors in the international competition. He was joined...
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) closed on Tuesday night (10) with the top award going to Us film Give Me Liberty directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky.
Stars such as Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche were on the red carpet for the festival, which showed 43 films including 10 in International Competition and six in the New Chinese Cinema Competition. It ran from December 5-10 in and around the Macau Cultural Centre.
Chinese filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun headed the jury for first and second-time directors in the international competition. He was joined...
- 12/10/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
Kirill Mikhanovsky’s “Give Me Liberty” and Gu Xiaogang’s “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains won the best picture prizes in the international and Chinese cinema sections on Tuesday at the International Film Festival and Awards Macau (Iffam).
“This film shouldn’t have existed because there were so many obstacles. Everything was a miracle. Us being here is an utter miracle,” said Mikhanovsky, who took the stage with his producer Alice Austen to describe the frenzy of trying to shoot their film for a quarter of their original budget.
“If someone had asked us a year ago if we’d like to show our film in Macau, we’d have said man, you’re out of your mind,” he laughed, before thanking the festival. “This is such a gathering of minds and intellects and true lovers of cinema, which is very rare. You’ve truly crafted a one-of-a-kind global event.
“This film shouldn’t have existed because there were so many obstacles. Everything was a miracle. Us being here is an utter miracle,” said Mikhanovsky, who took the stage with his producer Alice Austen to describe the frenzy of trying to shoot their film for a quarter of their original budget.
“If someone had asked us a year ago if we’d like to show our film in Macau, we’d have said man, you’re out of your mind,” he laughed, before thanking the festival. “This is such a gathering of minds and intellects and true lovers of cinema, which is very rare. You’ve truly crafted a one-of-a-kind global event.
- 12/10/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Across Asia Film Festival (Aaff) in Cagliari, in the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia, is back on the 14th of December with a Programme focused mainly on the Philippines and Taiwan, including collateral events, guests and some interesting gems, like a restored edition of the classic Lino Brocka’s “Manila in the Claws of Light”, a Masterclass with directors Shireen Seno and John Torres and the Italian Premiere of “The Kalampag Tracking Agency” an ongoing curatorial initiative between Shireen Seno of Los Otros and Merv Espina of Generation Loss.
Across Asia Film Festival is focused on most interesting languages of recent cinematographic production from Asia, with the goal of promoting and developing cultural exchanges between Italian and foreigners communities. Stefano Galanti and Maria Paola Zedda are the creators and the artistic directors of the event.
“Nina Wu” by Midi Z
The Festival will kick off with “The Night of the...
Across Asia Film Festival is focused on most interesting languages of recent cinematographic production from Asia, with the goal of promoting and developing cultural exchanges between Italian and foreigners communities. Stefano Galanti and Maria Paola Zedda are the creators and the artistic directors of the event.
“Nina Wu” by Midi Z
The Festival will kick off with “The Night of the...
- 12/6/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Attendees include Peter Chan Ho-sun, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
- 12/5/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
Attendees include Peter Chan Ho-sun, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
- 12/5/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
“Before you watch ‘Nina Wu,’ do not have the mindset that you are about to watch a film about the #MeToo movement,” said “Nina Wu” director Midi Z. “Because if you do, you will be disappointed.”
At a talk session held during the Singapore International Film Festival on Sunday (Nov. 24), the Taiwan-based Burmese director said that many Hollywood critics had understood the film as part of the #MeToo movement, and as a response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood. But those critics had been unfulfilled after watching the film and had criticized it for its lukewarmness.
“But it is true that the current, and final, version of the script as well as was some of the characters in the film were inspired by the #MeToo Movement,” said lead actress Wu Ke-xi, who wrote the screenplay.
Featuring an actress who is humiliated as she achieves her breakthrough role and flees...
At a talk session held during the Singapore International Film Festival on Sunday (Nov. 24), the Taiwan-based Burmese director said that many Hollywood critics had understood the film as part of the #MeToo movement, and as a response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal in Hollywood. But those critics had been unfulfilled after watching the film and had criticized it for its lukewarmness.
“But it is true that the current, and final, version of the script as well as was some of the characters in the film were inspired by the #MeToo Movement,” said lead actress Wu Ke-xi, who wrote the screenplay.
Featuring an actress who is humiliated as she achieves her breakthrough role and flees...
- 11/25/2019
- by Sonia Kil
- Variety Film + TV
“Of course it’s a loss,” commented executive committee chairman, Ang Lee, on the lack of mainland Chinese entries.
Two Taiwanese titles, Chung Mong-hong’s A Sun and John Hsu’s Detention, were the big winners at the 56th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei on Saturday night (November 23), each taking five prizes.
Chung’s drama, about a family torn apart when the youngest son is sent to a juvenile detention centre, won in both the best narrative feature and best director categories and also took prizes for best leading actor (Chen Yi-wen), best supporting actor (Liu Kuan-ting) and best film...
Two Taiwanese titles, Chung Mong-hong’s A Sun and John Hsu’s Detention, were the big winners at the 56th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei on Saturday night (November 23), each taking five prizes.
Chung’s drama, about a family torn apart when the youngest son is sent to a juvenile detention centre, won in both the best narrative feature and best director categories and also took prizes for best leading actor (Chen Yi-wen), best supporting actor (Liu Kuan-ting) and best film...
- 11/24/2019
- by 14¦Screen staff¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
It’s finally time for the prestigious Taiwanese Award Ceremony “Golden Horse Awards” (23rd November 2019) and this is year the event is heavily influenced by the the snowballing effect of director Fu Yue’s cry for independence during her acceptance speech for the documentary “Our Youth In Taiwan” at last year’s edition. The statement caused a stir, ended with China boycotting the Golden Horse and Hong Kong directors being advised to stay away.
On the other hand, China’s Golden Rooster Awards has just opened and announced that from now on it will be held permanently in Xiamen and annually, instead of every two years. Therefore the two events will happened almost at the same time.
The “Golden Horse Awards” lineup is consequently “different” this year and – to stay positive – Taiwanese film-makers will have a greater chance to showcase their work and be awarded.
Leading the competition is the horror movie “Detention” with 12 nominations,...
On the other hand, China’s Golden Rooster Awards has just opened and announced that from now on it will be held permanently in Xiamen and annually, instead of every two years. Therefore the two events will happened almost at the same time.
The “Golden Horse Awards” lineup is consequently “different” this year and – to stay positive – Taiwanese film-makers will have a greater chance to showcase their work and be awarded.
Leading the competition is the horror movie “Detention” with 12 nominations,...
- 11/23/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The New Chinese Cinema section returns for the second year.
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its 2019 programme, including the return of the New Chinese Cinema section with a jury headed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.
Mungiu will oversee a five-person jury watching six films from Chinese-speaking territories. His jury consists of BFI London Film Festival artistic director Tricia Tuttle; former Sffilm (San Francisco Film) executive director Noah Cowan; and filmmakers Kirsten Tan from Singapore and Qiu Yang from China.
Scroll down for the line-up
The films in the section include Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which...
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its 2019 programme, including the return of the New Chinese Cinema section with a jury headed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.
Mungiu will oversee a five-person jury watching six films from Chinese-speaking territories. His jury consists of BFI London Film Festival artistic director Tricia Tuttle; former Sffilm (San Francisco Film) executive director Noah Cowan; and filmmakers Kirsten Tan from Singapore and Qiu Yang from China.
Scroll down for the line-up
The films in the section include Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which...
- 11/6/2019
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
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