Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing delivered an electrifying masterclass to a sold-out ballroom full of screaming fans at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands on Friday.
The in-conversation event was part of the 34th Singapore International Film Festival where Fan is the recipient of this year’s Cinema Icon Award. The festival is screening three of Fan’s films, curated by her – the recent “Green Night,” “Buddha Mountain” and “Double Xposure” – and the star walked the red carpet on opening night, Nov. 30.
Fan spoke frankly – in Mandarin, which was translated live to English by an interpreter – on a range of topics including an in-depth analysis of Han Shuai’s “Green Night,” which comes to Singapore after Berlin and Busan. In the film, Fan plays a Chinese woman, trapped in an oppressive life with her Korean husband, and sets out on an adventure with a mysterious green-haired girl, played by Lee Joo-young (“Broker...
The in-conversation event was part of the 34th Singapore International Film Festival where Fan is the recipient of this year’s Cinema Icon Award. The festival is screening three of Fan’s films, curated by her – the recent “Green Night,” “Buddha Mountain” and “Double Xposure” – and the star walked the red carpet on opening night, Nov. 30.
Fan spoke frankly – in Mandarin, which was translated live to English by an interpreter – on a range of topics including an in-depth analysis of Han Shuai’s “Green Night,” which comes to Singapore after Berlin and Busan. In the film, Fan plays a Chinese woman, trapped in an oppressive life with her Korean husband, and sets out on an adventure with a mysterious green-haired girl, played by Lee Joo-young (“Broker...
- 12/2/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Five competitive local titles have announced as of Monday that they will be vying for box office supremacy in China over the May 1 Labor Day weekend, a public holiday.
They include a long-anticipated video game adaptation, an omnibus pandemic film helmed by three different female big shots from China, Hong Kong and the U.S., a sleek Aaron Kwok-starring thriller, a TV series adaptation and the first title from helmer Li Yu not to star the now-disgraced Fan Bingbing in 14 years.
Their sales will be worth tracking, as holiday periods tend to be the most money-making in the world’s largest film market, where the February Chinese New Year box office set world records with an impressive $1.2 billion in sales in just six days.
In years past, Labor Day was considered a less significant holiday for movie-going than Chinese New Year, the summer holidays, October’s weeklong National Day holiday in October,...
They include a long-anticipated video game adaptation, an omnibus pandemic film helmed by three different female big shots from China, Hong Kong and the U.S., a sleek Aaron Kwok-starring thriller, a TV series adaptation and the first title from helmer Li Yu not to star the now-disgraced Fan Bingbing in 14 years.
Their sales will be worth tracking, as holiday periods tend to be the most money-making in the world’s largest film market, where the February Chinese New Year box office set world records with an impressive $1.2 billion in sales in just six days.
In years past, Labor Day was considered a less significant holiday for movie-going than Chinese New Year, the summer holidays, October’s weeklong National Day holiday in October,...
- 3/8/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The Tribeca Film Festival has the stars. The New York Film Festival has the award winners. But the New York Asian Film Festival has the coolest, boldest, and strangest genre movies, and that's why it holds a special place in my heart. While most festivals specialize in quote-unquote arthouse fare, Nyaff brings the Asian mainstream -- the stuff that would almost never play here otherwise -- to America.
We're big fans of the Nyaff at IFC and we're looking forward to another excellent edition this year. The lineup was just announced and it looks stacked. It includes a few superb films I saw at last year's Fantastic Fest, including the entertaining exploitation documentary "Machete Maidens Unleashed" from "Not Quite Hollywood" director Mark Hartley. The stuff I'm jazzed to see for the first time includes the world premiere of Takashi Miike's "Ninja Kids!!!" (their exclamation points, not mine), "Ocean Heaven,...
We're big fans of the Nyaff at IFC and we're looking forward to another excellent edition this year. The lineup was just announced and it looks stacked. It includes a few superb films I saw at last year's Fantastic Fest, including the entertaining exploitation documentary "Machete Maidens Unleashed" from "Not Quite Hollywood" director Mark Hartley. The stuff I'm jazzed to see for the first time includes the world premiere of Takashi Miike's "Ninja Kids!!!" (their exclamation points, not mine), "Ocean Heaven,...
- 5/31/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
If you go into Li Yu's Buddha Mountain wanting more of the crude two fingers at mainland Chinese censors that was her earlier Lost In Beijing, you'll probably walk away disappointed. Buddha Mountain is still a raw, down and dirty little drama trailing a group of troubled urbanites while they try to sort their lives out, but it's considerably more restrained. It's an awkward film, showy and occasionally contrived with technical chops all over the place, and you've seen the general premise before, but there's much less in it that's gratuitous, the protagonists feel worth rooting for and the big moments are surprisingly subtle.Nan Feng (Fan Bingbing, Shaolin, Sacrifice), Ding Bo (Wilson Chen, My Airhostess Roommate, Waiting in the Dark) and Soap (Fei Long) are...
- 5/8/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Chen Kaige is nothing if not enigmatic. Having directed one of the all time greatest films about Chinese modern history and culture in the classic “Farewell My Concubine”, he went on to helm the risible and environmentally destructive “The Promise”, all but squandering his reputation in the process. Having edged his way back towards form a couple of years ago with the Chinese opera biopic “Forever Enthralled”, he returns again with “Sacrifice”, a character driven historical epic based upon the Yuan Dynasty play The Orphan of Zhao. The film stars top Mainland actor Ge You in the lead, backed by an illustrious supporting cast including Wang Xue Qi (“Bodyguards and Assassins”), Huang Xiao Ming (“The Message”), Fan Bing Bing (“Lost in Beijing”), and Zhang Feng Yi (“Red Cliff”). The film was a definite comeback hit for Chen, beating off fierce competition to become one of the highest earning Chinese productions...
- 3/23/2011
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Dragon Dynasty has announced that it will be releasing Jacob’s Cheung’s 2006 period epic A Battle Of Wits on DVD September 8th under the name A Battle Of Warriors. The film, starring Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs, House Of Flying Daggers) and Fan Bingbing (Lost In Beijing, Shinjuku Incident) is based on a popular Japanese manga about China during the Warring States Period.
- 7/23/2009
- 24framespersecond.net
- Ioncinema.com presents: Best of FestsTRIBECA Film Festival When: April.25 to May.6, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('April 25, 2007'); Where: New York City, New York - United States Official Website: tribecafilmfestival.org/What: In 2002, the Tribeca Film Institute successfully launched the First Annual Tribeca Film Festival. Created by Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro, the mission of the Tribeca Film Festival is to enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film by redefining the film festival experience. The Tribeca Film Festival was founded to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking center and to contribute to the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan. Accreditation: Academy Award ® accreditation World Narrative Feature CompetitionBorn and Bred (Nacido y Criado) - Pablo TraperoGardener of Eden - Kevin ConnollyHalf Moon - Bahman Ghobadi Lady Chatterley - Pascale FerranThe Last Man (Atlal/Le dernier homme) - Ghassan Salhab Lost In Beijing
- 5/4/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- The Tribeca Film Festival have announced their World Narrative and World Documentary Feature Film Competition line-ups and the films named for its Spotlight category today and the better programming, better category labeling, familiar directors and a slight decrease in volume makes the 6th edition perhaps the young fest’s strongest edition yet.Here is a quick copy and paste of all the three sections and individual briefing on each film.:… World Narrative Feature CompetitionBorn and Bred (Nacido y Criado), directed by Pablo Trapero, written by Pablo Trapero and Mario Rulloni. (Argentina) – U.S. Premiere. When his life is shattered by a terrifying accident, a successful interior designer winds up in the desolate extremes of Patagonia, trying to find himself among other lost, disaffected men. Pablo Trapero's haunting film demonstrates why he is at the cutting edge of Argentina's most exciting cinema.Gardener of Eden, directed by Kevin Connolly,
- 3/13/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
After weeks of wrangling with the Chinese censors, the producer of Li Yu's competition entry Lost in Beijing finally screened the uncut version to Berlin audiences on Friday, despite lacking explicit approval from Beijing.
A print of the film with the 15 minutes of cuts requested by the censors had arrived in the German capital ahead of the first press screening. But producer Fang Li said he simply ran out of time to finish the subtitling in both English and German and so had to hand the director's cut to festival organizers.
Fang said Sunday he had so far received no reaction from Beijing over screening the uncut version, ostensibly in violation of the authorities there. "It's a big holiday in China (for Chinese New Year), and that may help us," he said.
He added that he didn't expect that either he or director Li would receive any ban or other punishment for defying the censors' wishes. "I really don't think so."...
A print of the film with the 15 minutes of cuts requested by the censors had arrived in the German capital ahead of the first press screening. But producer Fang Li said he simply ran out of time to finish the subtitling in both English and German and so had to hand the director's cut to festival organizers.
Fang said Sunday he had so far received no reaction from Beijing over screening the uncut version, ostensibly in violation of the authorities there. "It's a big holiday in China (for Chinese New Year), and that may help us," he said.
He added that he didn't expect that either he or director Li would receive any ban or other punishment for defying the censors' wishes. "I really don't think so."...
- 2/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BERLIN -- "Lost in Beijing" might have the Chinese censors trying to wield their scissors, but Li Yu's muddled sex drama is unlikely to cause an uproar, or make much of a stir, anywhere else.
Film Distribution, which is handling world sales, apparently screened the same uncut version to critics Friday as had been shown to buyers at the Berlin Market earlier in the week. The film, which is In Competition here, deals with the rape of a young woman by her boss, her subsequent pregnancy and a tussle over who ends up with the baby.
It's easy to imagine a repressive society not wanting to flaunt such matters, including a planned abortion, but filmgoers elsewhere will have seen much worse. Curiosity based on the censorship controversy might boost interest in the film, but otherwise it will linger mostly at festivals and art houses.
If "Beijing" shows a modern slice of Chinese life, then it's dismaying to see that things never change. Liu Ping Guo (Fan Bingbing) is a young foot masseuse with a good job and a husband, An Kun (Tong Da Wei), who works as a window cleaner on high-rise buildings.
At an office party, she gets drunk, and her even drunker boss, Lin Dong (Tony Leung), makes a heavy pass that leads to rape. The young woman's husband sees it happen from his window-cleaning platform outside.
Furious, the husband attacks the boss but ends up taking out his anger on his wife. When Liu finds she is pregnant, she immediately opts for an abortion, but An decides it would be a better idea to claim that the rapist fathered the child and they should blackmail him.
This dramatic leap doesn't appear to shock anyone and nor does the boss' reaction. Long married to the elegant, beautiful Wang Mei (Elaine Jin), Lin is desperate to be a father and so makes a deal with the young couple that he will pay a lot of money in order to keep the child.
The script by first-time director Li Yu and producer Fang Li introduces some degree of subtlety in the responses of the four principals, but the plot doesn't really hold up. The young husband is the only one who knows that he is really the father of the child, but by the time he changes his mind and decides he is willing to spurn the money for the baby, things have gotten out of hand.
The cast does well, though the demands of sudden changes of emotion are a bit overwhelming. Jin creates a calm center with her poised performance as the childless and betrayed older woman.
Beijing itself is not made to look very attractive, but perhaps that's the mood the young filmmaker wishes to establish -- and perhaps that has not eased her run-in with the Chinese authorities.
LOST IN BEIJING
Laurel Films
Credits:
Director: Li Yu
Screenwriters: Fang Li, Li Yu
Producer: Fang Li
Cinematographer: Wang Yu
Art director: Liu Weixin
Editor: Zeng Jian
Music: Peyman Yazdanian
Cast:
Lin Dong: Tony Leung
Liu Ping Guo: Fan Bingbing
An Kun: Tong Da Wei
Wang Mei: Elaine Jin
Xiao Mei: Zeng Mei Hui Zi
Running time -- 112 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Film Distribution, which is handling world sales, apparently screened the same uncut version to critics Friday as had been shown to buyers at the Berlin Market earlier in the week. The film, which is In Competition here, deals with the rape of a young woman by her boss, her subsequent pregnancy and a tussle over who ends up with the baby.
It's easy to imagine a repressive society not wanting to flaunt such matters, including a planned abortion, but filmgoers elsewhere will have seen much worse. Curiosity based on the censorship controversy might boost interest in the film, but otherwise it will linger mostly at festivals and art houses.
If "Beijing" shows a modern slice of Chinese life, then it's dismaying to see that things never change. Liu Ping Guo (Fan Bingbing) is a young foot masseuse with a good job and a husband, An Kun (Tong Da Wei), who works as a window cleaner on high-rise buildings.
At an office party, she gets drunk, and her even drunker boss, Lin Dong (Tony Leung), makes a heavy pass that leads to rape. The young woman's husband sees it happen from his window-cleaning platform outside.
Furious, the husband attacks the boss but ends up taking out his anger on his wife. When Liu finds she is pregnant, she immediately opts for an abortion, but An decides it would be a better idea to claim that the rapist fathered the child and they should blackmail him.
This dramatic leap doesn't appear to shock anyone and nor does the boss' reaction. Long married to the elegant, beautiful Wang Mei (Elaine Jin), Lin is desperate to be a father and so makes a deal with the young couple that he will pay a lot of money in order to keep the child.
The script by first-time director Li Yu and producer Fang Li introduces some degree of subtlety in the responses of the four principals, but the plot doesn't really hold up. The young husband is the only one who knows that he is really the father of the child, but by the time he changes his mind and decides he is willing to spurn the money for the baby, things have gotten out of hand.
The cast does well, though the demands of sudden changes of emotion are a bit overwhelming. Jin creates a calm center with her poised performance as the childless and betrayed older woman.
Beijing itself is not made to look very attractive, but perhaps that's the mood the young filmmaker wishes to establish -- and perhaps that has not eased her run-in with the Chinese authorities.
LOST IN BEIJING
Laurel Films
Credits:
Director: Li Yu
Screenwriters: Fang Li, Li Yu
Producer: Fang Li
Cinematographer: Wang Yu
Art director: Liu Weixin
Editor: Zeng Jian
Music: Peyman Yazdanian
Cast:
Lin Dong: Tony Leung
Liu Ping Guo: Fan Bingbing
An Kun: Tong Da Wei
Wang Mei: Elaine Jin
Xiao Mei: Zeng Mei Hui Zi
Running time -- 112 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
BEIJING -- Director Li Yu's Lost in Beijing will open the Hong Kong International Film Festival in March, its producer and mainland China distributor said Wednesday.
The announcement follows a demand earlier in the week by government censors that director Li cut 15 minutes from her film about rape and class conflict in China's capital before it goes overseas or screens on the mainland.
But a festival spokesman said that more than eight films are in the running for the opening spot in Hong Kong. He added that Beijing is eligible because it was financed partly through its participation in the 2006 Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, a part of the HKIFF.
Also, Peter Tsi, HKIFF executive director, said he would not comment on producer Fang Li's claim that Beijing was tapped for the opening slot, saying that the roster would be announced Feb. 22.
Fang's claim that Beijing would open the 31st HKIFF beginning March 20 was repeated by Yu Dong, CEO of Beijing Poly Bona Film Distribution, the leading distributor of Hong Kong films on the mainland.
The announcement follows a demand earlier in the week by government censors that director Li cut 15 minutes from her film about rape and class conflict in China's capital before it goes overseas or screens on the mainland.
But a festival spokesman said that more than eight films are in the running for the opening spot in Hong Kong. He added that Beijing is eligible because it was financed partly through its participation in the 2006 Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, a part of the HKIFF.
Also, Peter Tsi, HKIFF executive director, said he would not comment on producer Fang Li's claim that Beijing was tapped for the opening slot, saying that the roster would be announced Feb. 22.
Fang's claim that Beijing would open the 31st HKIFF beginning March 20 was repeated by Yu Dong, CEO of Beijing Poly Bona Film Distribution, the leading distributor of Hong Kong films on the mainland.
- 57th Berlin Film FestivalFebruary 8 to 18, 2007Countdown: updateCountdownClock('February 8, 2007'); Berlin, Germany Festival LinkOn February 8 the curtain will rise in Berlinale Palast for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. Throughout the following ten days, the festival will show 373 films on some 50 cinema screens all over the city. At the growing European Film Market, the festival's business fair, more than 700 films will be presented to the industry. International guests, stars on the red carpet, packed theaters, hot debates, and wild parties - the Berlinale will play Berlin like no other event on the calendar does. Yet, it is a festival not only of the masses, but also of the many: of the many who in months of hard work organized the programme and provided the infrastructure, and of the many who are busy behind the scenes to keep the festival buzzing. Of course, it will again be a festival of stars,
- 2/7/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
In a rare compromise, Chinese government censors gave Lost in Beijing -- a movie they banned just last week -- "conditional approval" to go to the Berlin International Film Festival if director Li Yu cuts 15 minutes dealing with rape and class conflict from her film, producer Fang Li said Tuesday.
But Paris-based Films Distribution, which is selling the title at the European Film Market, said it will screen the movie uncut to buyers in Berlin whatever happens.
"The director, producer and seller confirm that there will be a screening of the director's cut (for buyers in Berlin)," said Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, co-chief of Films Distribution. "We hope by then there will be approval of the censor," he added, which would mean festival audiences could see the uncut version without the director running the risk of a working ban. Berlin organizers have said they will run with whichever version the producer decides on.
The $1.6 million film, starring Tony Leung and Fan Bingbing, is as-yet unseen by any buyers and all territories remain available.
Censors convened by the Film Bureau to pass or fail films based on their adherence to an image of a clean and stable China ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics asked for 53 cuts to the 112-minute Lost, Fang said in a telephone interview.
Cuts would include the depiction of a love affair between a migrant window-washer and a rich man's wife and the descent into prostitution of a country girl fired from her big-city job as a foot masseuse, Fang said.
But Paris-based Films Distribution, which is selling the title at the European Film Market, said it will screen the movie uncut to buyers in Berlin whatever happens.
"The director, producer and seller confirm that there will be a screening of the director's cut (for buyers in Berlin)," said Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, co-chief of Films Distribution. "We hope by then there will be approval of the censor," he added, which would mean festival audiences could see the uncut version without the director running the risk of a working ban. Berlin organizers have said they will run with whichever version the producer decides on.
The $1.6 million film, starring Tony Leung and Fan Bingbing, is as-yet unseen by any buyers and all territories remain available.
Censors convened by the Film Bureau to pass or fail films based on their adherence to an image of a clean and stable China ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics asked for 53 cuts to the 112-minute Lost, Fang said in a telephone interview.
Cuts would include the depiction of a love affair between a migrant window-washer and a rich man's wife and the descent into prostitution of a country girl fired from her big-city job as a foot masseuse, Fang said.
BEIJING -- Hoping to avoid the controversy that embroiled Summer Palace at May's Festival de Cannes, the producer of Berlin-bound Lost in Beijing said Friday that he has struck a compromise with Beijing's censors.
After seven days spent re-editing the adult drama Lost in Beijing, producer Fang Li said that he and director Li Yu have agreed on 65% of the cuts requested by China's Film Bureau.
"We have good communication with the Film Bureau this time," Fang said, speaking via phone from his San Francisco home.
In May, Fang drew the censors' heat and worldwide media attention by taking Summer Palace to the Cannes festival without Beijing's approval, resulting in the blacklisting of director Lou Ye in China.
Fang said that he and Li, one of China's few rising female directors, resubmitted Lost for its final content review Friday.
Lost tells the story of a sexually charged relationship between a Beijing massage parlor boss, played by Hong Kong star Tony Leung, and his employee, played by mainland starlet Fan Bingbing.
Some of the 15 cuts requested by Beijing's censors could affect the structure of Lost -- called Pinguo (Apple) in Chinese, after Fan's character -- and change its characters' development and the meaning of certain scenes, Fang said.
After seven days spent re-editing the adult drama Lost in Beijing, producer Fang Li said that he and director Li Yu have agreed on 65% of the cuts requested by China's Film Bureau.
"We have good communication with the Film Bureau this time," Fang said, speaking via phone from his San Francisco home.
In May, Fang drew the censors' heat and worldwide media attention by taking Summer Palace to the Cannes festival without Beijing's approval, resulting in the blacklisting of director Lou Ye in China.
Fang said that he and Li, one of China's few rising female directors, resubmitted Lost for its final content review Friday.
Lost tells the story of a sexually charged relationship between a Beijing massage parlor boss, played by Hong Kong star Tony Leung, and his employee, played by mainland starlet Fan Bingbing.
Some of the 15 cuts requested by Beijing's censors could affect the structure of Lost -- called Pinguo (Apple) in Chinese, after Fan's character -- and change its characters' development and the meaning of certain scenes, Fang said.
- 1/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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