Exclusive: Paris-based Nour Films has acquired French rights to Saudi director Tawfik Alzaidi’s first feature Norah ahead of its world premiere in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard.
The film will make history as the first ever Saudi feature to play in Cannes’ Official Selection just six years after Saudi Arabia announced the end of its 35-year cinema ban.
“Norah is an elegant film that combines age-old traditions with a desire for emancipation. This emancipation is achieved through art, learning and a desire greater than oneself. Tawfik Akzaidi has beautifully crafted a film that is both powerful and delicate,” said Nour Films’s co-founding director Patrick Sibourd.
The deal was brokered by Sebastien Chesneau under his Cercamon banner which clinched the international sales mandate for the film last week.
Cercamon and Nour previously collaborated on Vietnamese drama Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight...
The film will make history as the first ever Saudi feature to play in Cannes’ Official Selection just six years after Saudi Arabia announced the end of its 35-year cinema ban.
“Norah is an elegant film that combines age-old traditions with a desire for emancipation. This emancipation is achieved through art, learning and a desire greater than oneself. Tawfik Akzaidi has beautifully crafted a film that is both powerful and delicate,” said Nour Films’s co-founding director Patrick Sibourd.
The deal was brokered by Sebastien Chesneau under his Cercamon banner which clinched the international sales mandate for the film last week.
Cercamon and Nour previously collaborated on Vietnamese drama Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell which premiered in Directors’ Fortnight...
- 5/13/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Cercamon has acquired international sales rights for Saudi director Tawfik Alzaidi’s first feature Norah ahead of its world premiere in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard.
Norah will make history in May as the first ever Saudi feature to play in Cannes’ Official Selection. The achievement comes six years after Saudi Arabia announced the end of its 35-year cinema ban and is a sign of the bubbling cinema scene that has sprung up since.
Set in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s when artistic expression was banned, the feature follows rookie teacher and clandestine artist Nader, who is sent to a remote village for his first post where he connects with a young woman, whose life has been stifled by the era of conservatism.
She ignites the creativity inside him and inspires him to paint again. At great risk, they develop a delicate connection and a quiet bond.
Norah will make history in May as the first ever Saudi feature to play in Cannes’ Official Selection. The achievement comes six years after Saudi Arabia announced the end of its 35-year cinema ban and is a sign of the bubbling cinema scene that has sprung up since.
Set in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s when artistic expression was banned, the feature follows rookie teacher and clandestine artist Nader, who is sent to a remote village for his first post where he connects with a young woman, whose life has been stifled by the era of conservatism.
She ignites the creativity inside him and inspires him to paint again. At great risk, they develop a delicate connection and a quiet bond.
- 5/3/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Magnify, the International sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to Taiwanese thriller “Pierce” from first-time feature filmmaker Nelicia Low. An official teaser has now been released for the title ahead of its sales launch at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.
“Pierce” follows Jie, a young fencer reconnecting with his estranged older brother Han, who mysteriously returns after seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition. Jie believes Han’s insistence that he is innocent and decides to help him, defying his mother’s efforts to erase Han from their lives. Han grows close to Jie in training him for the national championships, but his hostile past is triggered after an argument, leaving Jie to begin to question whether his beloved brother might be a violent sociopath after all.
The film stars Ding Ning (who won a...
“Pierce” follows Jie, a young fencer reconnecting with his estranged older brother Han, who mysteriously returns after seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition. Jie believes Han’s insistence that he is innocent and decides to help him, defying his mother’s efforts to erase Han from their lives. Han grows close to Jie in training him for the national championships, but his hostile past is triggered after an argument, leaving Jie to begin to question whether his beloved brother might be a violent sociopath after all.
The film stars Ding Ning (who won a...
- 5/1/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
Four months into 2024, and it’s already shaping up to be an exceptionally strong year for cinematography, with several standout films that represent the art form at its apex. Perhaps what’s most welcome about these films is their variety, not only in terms of genre and tone but also budget and position in the marketplace. From the studio system, we have Greig Fraser’s extraordinary work on “Dune: Part Two,” which doubles down on the ambition and tactile detail of Fraser’s work on its predecessor (for which he justly received an Academy Award) to create one of the most flat-out beautiful epics since the glory days of David Lean. From the world of low-budget, independent filmmaking, we have “I Saw the TV Glow,” where cinematographer Eric Yue designs a meticulous and expressive visual corollary for his protagonist’s inner state.
Somewhere in between “Dune” and “I Saw the TV Glow...
Somewhere in between “Dune” and “I Saw the TV Glow...
- 4/20/2024
- by Jim Hemphill and Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Baloji and Emmanuelle Béart will oversee this year’s Golden Camera jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, organizers said on Tuesday.
Organizers said French actress Béart and director and songwriter Baloji will serve as president of the jury that selects the best first film from across the official selections of the film festival.
“Being a self-taught filmmaker and a filmmaker from the Congolese diaspora, it’s a great honor to be able to witness the vitality of first-time directors, to discover their strong singularities and their inaugural work, which will have a lasting impact on the identity of their filmography,” Baloji said in a statement.
Béart added in her own statement: “A first film is about the impossibility of doing anything other than delving into the depths of one’s being to find out what we can’t keep quiet about. A deeply moving and terribly free birth:...
Organizers said French actress Béart and director and songwriter Baloji will serve as president of the jury that selects the best first film from across the official selections of the film festival.
“Being a self-taught filmmaker and a filmmaker from the Congolese diaspora, it’s a great honor to be able to witness the vitality of first-time directors, to discover their strong singularities and their inaugural work, which will have a lasting impact on the identity of their filmography,” Baloji said in a statement.
Béart added in her own statement: “A first film is about the impossibility of doing anything other than delving into the depths of one’s being to find out what we can’t keep quiet about. A deeply moving and terribly free birth:...
- 4/16/2024
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French actress Emmanuelle Béart and Belgian-Congolese director/songwriter Baloji will co-preside over the Caméra d’Or jury of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The Caméra d’Or is awarded to the best first feature film in Cannes’ Official Selection, or in the parallel Critics Week or Directors’ Fortnight sections.
Béart’s long list of credits include 8 Women (2002), Mission: Impossible (1996), Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995), Heart In Winter (1992), La Belle Noiseuse (1991) and Manon Des Sources (1986).
Baloji won the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard last year for his debut feature Omen.
This year’s Caméra d’Or jury includes director of photography Gilles Porte,...
The Caméra d’Or is awarded to the best first feature film in Cannes’ Official Selection, or in the parallel Critics Week or Directors’ Fortnight sections.
Béart’s long list of credits include 8 Women (2002), Mission: Impossible (1996), Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995), Heart In Winter (1992), La Belle Noiseuse (1991) and Manon Des Sources (1986).
Baloji won the New Voice Prize in Un Certain Regard last year for his debut feature Omen.
This year’s Caméra d’Or jury includes director of photography Gilles Porte,...
- 4/16/2024
- ScreenDaily
Paris-based sales company Alpha Violet has come on board as representative of “Mongrel,” the debut feature of Taiwan-based Singaporean filmmaker Chiang Wei Liang. The film will have its world premiere next month at Cannes in the Directors Fortnight section.
Set in the mountains of Taiwan, “Mongrel” stars Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad as Oom, an undocumented migrant and on-demand caregiver for rural families, who struggles to preserve his humanity as he cares for the elderly and disabled.
Rungkumjad is joined by newcomer Kuo Shu-wei, who plays Hui, a patient with whom Oom develops a bond. On hearing of the film’s Cannes selection, Kuo said, “I never thought this film would have the opportunity to be seen by so many people. As I live with athetoid cerebral palsy, we worked hard to achieve this. Hui is a character whose abilities are weaker than mine, so I thought of the friends I...
Set in the mountains of Taiwan, “Mongrel” stars Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad as Oom, an undocumented migrant and on-demand caregiver for rural families, who struggles to preserve his humanity as he cares for the elderly and disabled.
Rungkumjad is joined by newcomer Kuo Shu-wei, who plays Hui, a patient with whom Oom develops a bond. On hearing of the film’s Cannes selection, Kuo said, “I never thought this film would have the opportunity to be seen by so many people. As I live with athetoid cerebral palsy, we worked hard to achieve this. Hui is a character whose abilities are weaker than mine, so I thought of the friends I...
- 4/16/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes parallel section Directors’ Fortnight has unveiled the line-up for its 56th edition running from May 15 to 23, at a press conference in Paris’ Forum des Images cultural center.
The section, launched in 1969 and overseen by the French Directors Guild, will present 21 feature films and 10 short films.
It is the second line-up overseen by Delegate General Julien Rejl, who took up the role last year.
Discoveries of his inaugural edition included Georgian director Elene Naveriani’s late coming-of-age drama Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry; U.S. indie film Riddle Of Fire by Weston Razooli, as well as Vietnamese filmmaker Phạm Thiên Ân’s 2023 Cannes Caméra d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell.
The 2024 edition will open with late director Sophie Fillières’ final feature This Life of Mine, starring Agnès Jaoui as a woman whose sense of self starts to unravel as she turns 55.
Fillières died shortly after completing the shoot and her...
The section, launched in 1969 and overseen by the French Directors Guild, will present 21 feature films and 10 short films.
It is the second line-up overseen by Delegate General Julien Rejl, who took up the role last year.
Discoveries of his inaugural edition included Georgian director Elene Naveriani’s late coming-of-age drama Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry; U.S. indie film Riddle Of Fire by Weston Razooli, as well as Vietnamese filmmaker Phạm Thiên Ân’s 2023 Cannes Caméra d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell.
The 2024 edition will open with late director Sophie Fillières’ final feature This Life of Mine, starring Agnès Jaoui as a woman whose sense of self starts to unravel as she turns 55.
Fillières died shortly after completing the shoot and her...
- 4/16/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Hong Kong’s Eye Catcher Global (Ecg) will expand into industry screenings and add Asian new director awards for its 2024 edition, following last year’s inaugural event that focused on international pitching.
The second edition is scheduled to run June 20-23 at Soho House in Hong Kong. The new Industry Screening programme will curate up to eight independent film projects from Asia. All will be works-in-progress, with at least a first-cut available for international and local industry delegates to view.
Julien Rejl, artistic director of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, will attend the event as jury president of two new awards created...
The second edition is scheduled to run June 20-23 at Soho House in Hong Kong. The new Industry Screening programme will curate up to eight independent film projects from Asia. All will be works-in-progress, with at least a first-cut available for international and local industry delegates to view.
Julien Rejl, artistic director of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, will attend the event as jury president of two new awards created...
- 3/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
In a busy weekend at the box office, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the Sydney Sweeney horror vehicle “Immaculate,” IFC’s “Late Night with the Devil,” and two animated rereleases (“Luca” and recent Oscar winner “The Boy and the Heron“) will compete for the top spots. Meanwhile, a recent box-office smash is hitting digital platforms.
The contender to watch this week: “Bob Marley: One Love“
Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s biopic about the pioneering reggae singer is still riding its theatrical wave ($170 million worldwide and counting), but “Bob Marley: One Love” is also available to purchase or rent on VOD. Kingsley Ben-Adir shed his Kenergy to play Marley, icon of dorm-room posters and pacifistic chill-out vibes, opposite a supporting cast that includes Lashana Lynch, Tosin Cole, “Happy Valley” breakout James Norton, and Michael Gandolfini. “One Love” is a fairly rote retelling enhanced by its subject’s music, but even the weakest biopic tendencies have a groovy appeal.
The contender to watch this week: “Bob Marley: One Love“
Reinaldo Marcus Green‘s biopic about the pioneering reggae singer is still riding its theatrical wave ($170 million worldwide and counting), but “Bob Marley: One Love” is also available to purchase or rent on VOD. Kingsley Ben-Adir shed his Kenergy to play Marley, icon of dorm-room posters and pacifistic chill-out vibes, opposite a supporting cast that includes Lashana Lynch, Tosin Cole, “Happy Valley” breakout James Norton, and Michael Gandolfini. “One Love” is a fairly rote retelling enhanced by its subject’s music, but even the weakest biopic tendencies have a groovy appeal.
- 3/23/2024
- by Matthew Jacobs
- Gold Derby
One more video recap to enjoy as a last look back at the movies of 2023. Vietnamese film critic Nguyên Lê has revealed his Cinema Montage 2023 video, featuring a look at his Top 25 Best Films from last year (+ 2 extras). Oppenheimer won the Academy Award for Best Picture a few weeks ago, ending the 2023 awards season. Though that doesn't mean we can't still continue to celebrate all the great movies from last year. His video features many of my personal 2023 favorites as well, including: A Thousand and One, American Fiction, Godzilla: Minus One, Past Lives, Perfect Days, The Promised Land, and The Taste of Things. Plus other underrated gems like Polite Society, Sleep, Monster, Knock at the Cabin, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. The video comes in under 3 minutes and is a wonderfully short and sweet reminder of all the beauty cinema offers us every year.
- 3/19/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The fact that both Asia and Europe are finding it more difficult to finance movies following the pandemic may drive the two regions to start working together more closely, despite the huge differences in their funding systems, said a group of leading producers on a two-session Filmart panel.
In the first session, the heads of major European funds including France’s Cnc, the Austrian Film Institute and Berlin Brandenburg Film Commission explained Europe’s complex web of subsidy funding, while Gary Mak, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Film Development Council (Hkfdc) introduced Hong Kong’s new co-production funding scheme.
Called the ‘Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme’ the new programme offers grants of up to $1.15M (Hk$9M) to feature film projects that combine Hong Kong and other Asian and/or European talent. The projects don’t have to shoot in Hong Kong or be filmed in one of the city’s official languages,...
In the first session, the heads of major European funds including France’s Cnc, the Austrian Film Institute and Berlin Brandenburg Film Commission explained Europe’s complex web of subsidy funding, while Gary Mak, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Film Development Council (Hkfdc) introduced Hong Kong’s new co-production funding scheme.
Called the ‘Hong Kong-Europe-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme’ the new programme offers grants of up to $1.15M (Hk$9M) to feature film projects that combine Hong Kong and other Asian and/or European talent. The projects don’t have to shoot in Hong Kong or be filmed in one of the city’s official languages,...
- 3/13/2024
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Dubai-based sales agency Cercamon has acquired worldwide rights for Indonesian film “Crocodile Tears,” it was revealed at Hong Kong rights market FilMart.
The film is a co-production between Indonesia’s Talamedia (producer Mandy Marahimin), Singapore’s Giraffe Pictures (producers Anthony Chen and Teoh Yi Peng), France’s Acrobates Films (producer Claire Lajoumard) and Poetik Film (producer Christophe Lafont) and Germany’s 2Pilots Filmproduction (producers Harry Flöter and Jörg Siepmann).
The deal was negotiated by Sebastien Chesneau at Cercamon, Chen at Giraffe Pictures and Marahimin at Talamedia.
The film, Tumpal Tampubolon’s feature debut, follows Johan, who lives alone with his mother on a crocodile farm in West Java. Mother and son live in voluntary exile with only a white crocodile as their confidant. Their life of isolation is disrupted when Johan falls for a girl in town, Arumi, setting off a chain of events that threatens the delicate balance of their lives.
The film is a co-production between Indonesia’s Talamedia (producer Mandy Marahimin), Singapore’s Giraffe Pictures (producers Anthony Chen and Teoh Yi Peng), France’s Acrobates Films (producer Claire Lajoumard) and Poetik Film (producer Christophe Lafont) and Germany’s 2Pilots Filmproduction (producers Harry Flöter and Jörg Siepmann).
The deal was negotiated by Sebastien Chesneau at Cercamon, Chen at Giraffe Pictures and Marahimin at Talamedia.
The film, Tumpal Tampubolon’s feature debut, follows Johan, who lives alone with his mother on a crocodile farm in West Java. Mother and son live in voluntary exile with only a white crocodile as their confidant. Their life of isolation is disrupted when Johan falls for a girl in town, Arumi, setting off a chain of events that threatens the delicate balance of their lives.
- 3/12/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s formalist arthouse drama Evil Does Not Exist won the best film prize Sunday night at the Asia Film Awards in Hong Kong.
The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.
In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...
The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.
In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...
- 3/10/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” was Sunday evening named as the best picture at the Asian Film Awards.
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...
- 3/10/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
This month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will showcase over 190 films from 62 countries and regions, including five world premieres, and 64 Asian premieres.
Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.
The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”
Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”
Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.
Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.
The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”
Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”
Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.
- 3/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Much is open-ended about this realist yet dreamlike exploration of midlife crisis and regret set in Vietnam
The question of what the title means, or what the movie means, remain open; even so, this is a quietly amazing feature debut from 34-year-old Thien An Pham, born in Vietnam and based in Houston, Texas. It’s a jewel of slow cinema set initially in Saigon and then the mountainous, lush central highlands far from the city; it is a zero-gravity epic quest, floating towards its strange narrative destiny and then maybe floating up over that to something else. It’s compassionate, intimate, spiritual and mysterious in ways that reminded me of Tsai Ming-liang or Edward Yang.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is presented in a calm, unforced realist style with many long, unbroken middle-distance shots, with closeups a rarity. There is a flashback and a dream-sequence presented in exactly the same way,...
The question of what the title means, or what the movie means, remain open; even so, this is a quietly amazing feature debut from 34-year-old Thien An Pham, born in Vietnam and based in Houston, Texas. It’s a jewel of slow cinema set initially in Saigon and then the mountainous, lush central highlands far from the city; it is a zero-gravity epic quest, floating towards its strange narrative destiny and then maybe floating up over that to something else. It’s compassionate, intimate, spiritual and mysterious in ways that reminded me of Tsai Ming-liang or Edward Yang.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is presented in a calm, unforced realist style with many long, unbroken middle-distance shots, with closeups a rarity. There is a flashback and a dream-sequence presented in exactly the same way,...
- 3/5/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Growing up, Vietnamese writer and director Pham Thien An didn’t envision becoming a filmmaker. Eventually, the prospect of capturing moving images as a career path did reveal itself to him, but in unexpected fashion: as a trade. Only later did his professional dream evolve into a transcendent, creed-affirming artistic endeavor.
That’s already started to pay off for the budding star. An’s transfixing, three-hour film “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” won the Camera D’Or, an award honoring the best first feature, at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. For An, who was raised Catholic, the creation of this imposing debut intertwined with the strengthening of his religious beliefs.
“It was faith that guided me through the process of taking filmmaking seriously,” An told IndieWire during a recent video interview speaking via an interpreter. “It was a blessing to get the chance to direct a film like this.
That’s already started to pay off for the budding star. An’s transfixing, three-hour film “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” won the Camera D’Or, an award honoring the best first feature, at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. For An, who was raised Catholic, the creation of this imposing debut intertwined with the strengthening of his religious beliefs.
“It was faith that guided me through the process of taking filmmaking seriously,” An told IndieWire during a recent video interview speaking via an interpreter. “It was a blessing to get the chance to direct a film like this.
- 2/6/2024
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Indiewire
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell.All too frequently, the reception of recent Asian arthouse films at international festivals showcases an ambiguous predicament. When encountering new films—usually in the sidebars of Cannes, Venice, or the Berlinale—Western critics tend to resort to a repetitious discourse, conveniently labeling the films and making easy comparisons to the canon of the 1990s and 2000s. The pattern goes like this: meditative sonic sequences or notions of reincarnation become instant echoes of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s work, any neon extravaganza immediately points to Wong Kar Wai, and Tsai Ming-liang is a recurring reference whenever a film abounds in still long shots. In a sense, these touchstones and comparisons are all valid—these older filmmakers conceived cinematic miracles and attempted to redefine the boundaries of film art, and therefore have influenced many artists of the next generation.However, it isn’t difficult to find this labeling tendency to be ectypal Orientalization.
- 1/30/2024
- MUBI
Vietnamese director Pham Thien An’s debut feature Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell juxtaposes moments of great importance with the moment-by-moment stasis of everyday life. An has a terrific eye: the film’s colors are bright and vivid, popping off the screen. Using very long takes, he reframes the image so that a character can appear both in close-up and long shot.
In its opening scene, Thien (Le Phang Vu) watches a soccer game with two friends while debating the meaning of life. As costumed mascots and women selling beer walk by, the stakes seem pretty low, but the scene ends with a sudden motorbike crash. Thien’s sister-in-law is killed, while her 5-year-old daughter survives. (All of this is filmed in one take, with the camera moving to take in the street where this accident happens.) He’s tasked with taking care of the girl, returning from Saigon to...
In its opening scene, Thien (Le Phang Vu) watches a soccer game with two friends while debating the meaning of life. As costumed mascots and women selling beer walk by, the stakes seem pretty low, but the scene ends with a sudden motorbike crash. Thien’s sister-in-law is killed, while her 5-year-old daughter survives. (All of this is filmed in one take, with the camera moving to take in the street where this accident happens.) He’s tasked with taking care of the girl, returning from Saigon to...
- 1/18/2024
- by Steve Erickson
- The Film Stage
“Mongrel,” a Taiwan-set drama film that has done the round of project markets, will appear at the International Film Festival Rotterdam as a work in progress.
In addition to the screening of 15 minutes of footage, Taiwan-based Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang has confirmed the film’s cast as being headed by Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad alongside Taiwanese female actor Lu Yi-ching and rapper Hong Yu-hong from Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One. Other key cast include Atchara Suwan (“By the Time It Gets Dark”), and Guo Shu-wei in his debut role.
Set in the mountains of Taiwan, the film follows Rungkumjad’s character Oom, an undocumented migrant and on-demand caregiver for rural families, who struggles to preserve his humanity as he cares for the elderly and disabled.
The project, which represents Chiang’s debut feature film, was previously developed at TorinoFilmLab ScriptLab, Talents Tokyo and the Cannes Residence, where it received the Cnc Development Award.
In addition to the screening of 15 minutes of footage, Taiwan-based Singaporean director Chiang Wei Liang has confirmed the film’s cast as being headed by Thai actor Wanlop Rungkumjad alongside Taiwanese female actor Lu Yi-ching and rapper Hong Yu-hong from Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One. Other key cast include Atchara Suwan (“By the Time It Gets Dark”), and Guo Shu-wei in his debut role.
Set in the mountains of Taiwan, the film follows Rungkumjad’s character Oom, an undocumented migrant and on-demand caregiver for rural families, who struggles to preserve his humanity as he cares for the elderly and disabled.
The project, which represents Chiang’s debut feature film, was previously developed at TorinoFilmLab ScriptLab, Talents Tokyo and the Cannes Residence, where it received the Cnc Development Award.
- 1/18/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
A total of 35 films from 24 countries and regions have been shortlisted to compete for 16 awards at this year's Asian Film Awards.
Renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi will serve as the Jury President for this year's Awards. As the first Japanese director to hold this position, Kurosawa Kiyoshi is deeply honored. He will lead the Jury and over 200 Voting Members in selecting the winners for this year's Asian Film Awards.
The winners of other Afa awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, Afa Next Generation Award, and Rising Star Award, will be announced later.
The 17th Asian Film Awards Nomination List
Best Film
12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Paradise
Perfect Days (Japan)
Snow Leopard (Mainland China)
Best Director
Kim Sung-soo | 12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Gu Xiaogang | Dwelling by the West Lake (Mainland China)
Hamaguchi Ryusuke | Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Kore-eda Hirokazu...
Renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi will serve as the Jury President for this year's Awards. As the first Japanese director to hold this position, Kurosawa Kiyoshi is deeply honored. He will lead the Jury and over 200 Voting Members in selecting the winners for this year's Asian Film Awards.
The winners of other Afa awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, Afa Next Generation Award, and Rising Star Award, will be announced later.
The 17th Asian Film Awards Nomination List
Best Film
12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Paradise
Perfect Days (Japan)
Snow Leopard (Mainland China)
Best Director
Kim Sung-soo | 12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Gu Xiaogang | Dwelling by the West Lake (Mainland China)
Hamaguchi Ryusuke | Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Kore-eda Hirokazu...
- 1/12/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
‘Snow Leopard’, ‘Paradise’, ‘The Goldfinger’ and ‘Godzilla Minus One’ also land multiple nods.
South Korean box office hit 12.12: The Day and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist lead the nominations for the 17th Asian Film Awards, with six nods each including best film.
Also up for best film is Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise from Sri Lanka-India, Wim Wenders Perfect Days from Japan and Chinese feature Snow Leopard by the late Pema Tseden.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong on March 10 and will be decided by a...
South Korean box office hit 12.12: The Day and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist lead the nominations for the 17th Asian Film Awards, with six nods each including best film.
Also up for best film is Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise from Sri Lanka-India, Wim Wenders Perfect Days from Japan and Chinese feature Snow Leopard by the late Pema Tseden.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong on March 10 and will be decided by a...
- 1/12/2024
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
We don’t want to overwhelm you, but while you’re catching up with our top 50 films of 2023, more cinematic greatness awaits in 2024. Ahead of our 100 most-anticipated films (all of which have yet to premiere), we’re highlighting 30 titles we’ve enjoyed on the festival circuit this last year that either have confirmed 2024 release dates or await a debut date from its distributor. There’s also a handful of films seeking distribution that we hope will arrive in the next 12 months, as can be seen here.
As an additional note, a number of 2023 films that had one-week qualifying runs will also get expanded releases in 2023, including Origin (Jan. 19), Tótem (Jan. 26), Perfect Days (Feb. 7), The Taste of Things (Feb. 9), About Dry Grasses (Feb. 23), Shayda (March 1), La Chimera (March 29), and Robot Dreams.
The Settlers (Felipe Gálvez; Jan. 12)
The barbaric, bloody sins of the past come to define what entities govern certain land today,...
As an additional note, a number of 2023 films that had one-week qualifying runs will also get expanded releases in 2023, including Origin (Jan. 19), Tótem (Jan. 26), Perfect Days (Feb. 7), The Taste of Things (Feb. 9), About Dry Grasses (Feb. 23), Shayda (March 1), La Chimera (March 29), and Robot Dreams.
The Settlers (Felipe Gálvez; Jan. 12)
The barbaric, bloody sins of the past come to define what entities govern certain land today,...
- 1/3/2024
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
There was much to be thankful for in 2023. Besides new works by several legendary directors, there were personal opportunities that allowed me to spread a larger net and take stock of the cinema landscape from a more privileged vantage point. I got to attend the Cannes and Toronto film festivals for the first time and also became a voter for some key year-end awards. The experience of thus watching films, before most of my cinephile brethren, allowed me to contemplate how much campaigns and narratives can alter a film’s reception and trajectory.
What has come into sharper relief, and what is evident from the list below too, is that Cannes has the lock on much of the best product of the year––at least anything not...
There was much to be thankful for in 2023. Besides new works by several legendary directors, there were personal opportunities that allowed me to spread a larger net and take stock of the cinema landscape from a more privileged vantage point. I got to attend the Cannes and Toronto film festivals for the first time and also became a voter for some key year-end awards. The experience of thus watching films, before most of my cinephile brethren, allowed me to contemplate how much campaigns and narratives can alter a film’s reception and trajectory.
What has come into sharper relief, and what is evident from the list below too, is that Cannes has the lock on much of the best product of the year––at least anything not...
- 12/27/2023
- by Ankit Jhunjhunwala
- The Film Stage
by Vedant Srinivas
Epic in both length and scope, “Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell”, Vietnamese writer-director Thien An Pham's debut feature, and the winner of this year's Camera d'Or prize at Cannes, offers a striking meditation on faith, love, and the beguiling nature of earthly existence.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is screening at Qcinema
The very first scene in “Yellow Cocoon”' sets up the encounter between spiritual and corporeal existence: sandwiched between a believer and an atheist, Thien voices his agnostic thoughts about the existence of a higher power (“I want to believe but I can't”). As if on cue, a sudden gust of wind blows across, and their discussion is interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle collision. Later, it will turn out that the person who died in the freak accident was none other than Thien's sister-in-law Hanh, while his five-old nephew, Dhao, remained miraculously unharmed.
Epic in both length and scope, “Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell”, Vietnamese writer-director Thien An Pham's debut feature, and the winner of this year's Camera d'Or prize at Cannes, offers a striking meditation on faith, love, and the beguiling nature of earthly existence.
Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is screening at Qcinema
The very first scene in “Yellow Cocoon”' sets up the encounter between spiritual and corporeal existence: sandwiched between a believer and an atheist, Thien voices his agnostic thoughts about the existence of a higher power (“I want to believe but I can't”). As if on cue, a sudden gust of wind blows across, and their discussion is interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle collision. Later, it will turn out that the person who died in the freak accident was none other than Thien's sister-in-law Hanh, while his five-old nephew, Dhao, remained miraculously unharmed.
- 12/23/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
No One can fully Empathize with the Soul…It is beyond Human Comprehension
Old Woman in the Film
Some films take you on a journey whether you like it or not and then there are films that slowly invite you to join in as the main character embarks on a journey. The latter is more powerful as we are choosing to do so. Thien An Pham‘s directorial feature debut Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell falls into this space. An Pham takes us on a spiritual journey by exploring rural Vietnam with themes relating to life, death, love, desire, loss, and regrets as he beautifully captures the tone, atmosphere, and environment with his observational directing style. The story is simple and at times takes a back seat but the stunning visuals and the experiences that change the main character can be very reflective to the audience.
The film kicks off...
Old Woman in the Film
Some films take you on a journey whether you like it or not and then there are films that slowly invite you to join in as the main character embarks on a journey. The latter is more powerful as we are choosing to do so. Thien An Pham‘s directorial feature debut Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell falls into this space. An Pham takes us on a spiritual journey by exploring rural Vietnam with themes relating to life, death, love, desire, loss, and regrets as he beautifully captures the tone, atmosphere, and environment with his observational directing style. The story is simple and at times takes a back seat but the stunning visuals and the experiences that change the main character can be very reflective to the audience.
The film kicks off...
- 12/19/2023
- by Prem
- Talking Films
It’s year two for the prix André Bazin by les Cahiers du Cinéma folks and the jury of Albert Serra, Marion Cotillard, Flora Fishbach, Jeanne Lapoirie, Fernando Ganzo, Olivia Cooper-Hadjian and one reader of the magazine have bestowed the honor on Pham Thiên Ân‘s Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell. The dreamy debut feature (my second favorite Cannes film after Glazer’s masterwork) was a Directors’ Fortnight selection and won the Camera d’Or prize in Cannes. Kino Lorber release this 177-minute gem on January 19th at the Film Linc. Here is how the jury responded to the film:
“It’s a trip we wanted to highlight tonight.…...
“It’s a trip we wanted to highlight tonight.…...
- 12/15/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Singapore producer Jeremy Chua, who produced this year’s Cannes Camera d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, has been appointed general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
Chua takes up the post on January 1, 2024, and will jointly lead the festival with Programme Director Thong Kay Wee. Emily J Hoe is stepping down after delivering four editions of the festival, including two that were severely impacted by the pandemic.
Founder of Singapore-based production outfit Potocol, Chua also produced or co-produced Nicole Midori Woodford’s Last Shadow At First Light, Jow Zhi Wei’s Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography and Bui Thac Chuyen’s Glorious Ashes.
He was presented with the Fiapf Award for outstanding contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia.
Sgiff wrapped on December 10 with Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An,...
Chua takes up the post on January 1, 2024, and will jointly lead the festival with Programme Director Thong Kay Wee. Emily J Hoe is stepping down after delivering four editions of the festival, including two that were severely impacted by the pandemic.
Founder of Singapore-based production outfit Potocol, Chua also produced or co-produced Nicole Midori Woodford’s Last Shadow At First Light, Jow Zhi Wei’s Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography and Bui Thac Chuyen’s Glorious Ashes.
He was presented with the Fiapf Award for outstanding contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia.
Sgiff wrapped on December 10 with Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Prominent local producer Jeremy Chua has been appointed as general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival. He takes up the post from Jan. 1, 2024.
Emily J. Hoe, who led the festival for the past four years as its executive director, is stepping down and is understood to be relocating to Australia.
Thong Kay Wee will remain in place as the Sgiff’s programming director.
Chua is the founder of production firm Potocol and is among a small group of Singaporean producers who are using Asia’s burgeoning project market and development labs and dollops of grant in aid funding from Singapore authorities to turn the wealthy Southeast Asian state into a hub for regional co-productions.
Potocol was co-producer of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the Vietnamese debut feature that won the best film prize at Sgiff’s closing event on Sunday. Earlier, the film won the Camera d’Or for...
Emily J. Hoe, who led the festival for the past four years as its executive director, is stepping down and is understood to be relocating to Australia.
Thong Kay Wee will remain in place as the Sgiff’s programming director.
Chua is the founder of production firm Potocol and is among a small group of Singaporean producers who are using Asia’s burgeoning project market and development labs and dollops of grant in aid funding from Singapore authorities to turn the wealthy Southeast Asian state into a hub for regional co-productions.
Potocol was co-producer of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the Vietnamese debut feature that won the best film prize at Sgiff’s closing event on Sunday. Earlier, the film won the Camera d’Or for...
- 12/13/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Chua was lead producer on ‘Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell’.
Jeremy Chua, producer of Cannes award-winning feature Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, has been appointed general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
The announcement coincided with the closing of a bumper edition of Sgiff, where Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell was named best Asian feature film at the Silver Screen Awards.
Chua will assume the role on January 1 and jointly lead the festival with Thong Kay Wee, who has been programme director since 2021. Emily J Hoe is stepping down as executive director after delivering four editions since 2020.
Chua...
Jeremy Chua, producer of Cannes award-winning feature Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, has been appointed general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
The announcement coincided with the closing of a bumper edition of Sgiff, where Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell was named best Asian feature film at the Silver Screen Awards.
Chua will assume the role on January 1 and jointly lead the festival with Thong Kay Wee, who has been programme director since 2021. Emily J Hoe is stepping down as executive director after delivering four editions since 2020.
Chua...
- 12/12/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Pham Thien An’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” which previously won the Golden Camera at Cannes, has won the Asian Feature Film Competition at the 34th Singapore International Film Festival.
Yoon Eun-Kyung won best director for “The Tenants,” which also won the Fipresci award. “Dreaming & Dying,” by Singaporean director Nelson Yeo earned a special mention. Yu Yi-Hsun won best screenplay for “A Journey in Spring” and the film also won best performance for Yang Kuei-Mei.
The Audience Choice Award went to “Goodbye Julia” by Mohamed Kordofani.
In the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition, the best Southeast Asian short film was awarded to “The River That Never Ends” by J.T. Trinidad, which also scored a special mention for actor Emerald Romero. “I Look Into the Mirror and Repeat to Myself” by Giselle Lin won best Singapore short film. Best director went to Sam Manacsa for “Cross My Heart and...
Yoon Eun-Kyung won best director for “The Tenants,” which also won the Fipresci award. “Dreaming & Dying,” by Singaporean director Nelson Yeo earned a special mention. Yu Yi-Hsun won best screenplay for “A Journey in Spring” and the film also won best performance for Yang Kuei-Mei.
The Audience Choice Award went to “Goodbye Julia” by Mohamed Kordofani.
In the Southeast Asian Short Film Competition, the best Southeast Asian short film was awarded to “The River That Never Ends” by J.T. Trinidad, which also scored a special mention for actor Emerald Romero. “I Look Into the Mirror and Repeat to Myself” by Giselle Lin won best Singapore short film. Best director went to Sam Manacsa for “Cross My Heart and...
- 12/11/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Sight and Sound have unveiled their top 50 films of 2023, led by Killers of the Flower Moon and, somewhat humorously, featuring a tie between Barbie and Oppenheimer for the number five spot. Voted for by the magazine’s international pool of more than 100 critics, the top 50 features some of the more adventurous selections, with The Beast, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Close Your Eyes, Trenque Lauquen, The Human Surge 3, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, Afire, and Evil Does Not Exist all taking a spot.
When it comes to his win, Martin Scorsese said: “I’ve been so heartened by the response to Killers of the Flower Moon. To have been able to make this picture, at this time in my life, and to see it so appreciated by so many, and by the Osage community in particular. . . for me, it’s grace.
“When I was told that it had...
When it comes to his win, Martin Scorsese said: “I’ve been so heartened by the response to Killers of the Flower Moon. To have been able to make this picture, at this time in my life, and to see it so appreciated by so many, and by the Osage community in particular. . . for me, it’s grace.
“When I was told that it had...
- 12/8/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"The existence of faith is ambiguous." Kino Lorber has revealed the official US trailer for an indie film from Vietnam titled Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, which won the Camera d'Or award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for Best First Film. Marking the feature directorial debut of Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham, this premiered in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar at Cannes & played at many prestigious festivals throughout the year. It already opened in Vietnam in August. A man returns to his hometown, where he's haunted by past memories and desires. The film is three hours long and heralded by critics as a new voice in the "slow cinema" genre. "This enthralling debut from Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham is a reverie on faith, loss, and nature expressed with uncommon invention and depth." As Thien battles with the existential question of what is worth living for, the film interrogates the persistence and complexity of faith,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
One of the most shocking debut features I saw this year––in the sense that it was more accomplished than most other films of 2023––was that of Phạm Thiên Ân, whose Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell is an evocative, beautiful tale. Winner of the Camera d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, as well as a TIFF and NYFF selection, the film will now arrive in theaters on January 19 from Kino Lorber. Ahead of the release, the first U.S. trailer and poster have been released.
Here’s the synopsis: “The sudden death of his sister-in-law brings unexpected responsibilities to Thien (Le Phong Vu), who is reluctantly tasked with bringing his five-year-old nephew Dao to their countryside hometown. On the road, Thien is drawn into a search for his long-missing older brother, haunted and spurred forward by a series of sublime dreams that reignite suppressed memories, forbidden desires, and specters of his own youth.
Here’s the synopsis: “The sudden death of his sister-in-law brings unexpected responsibilities to Thien (Le Phong Vu), who is reluctantly tasked with bringing his five-year-old nephew Dao to their countryside hometown. On the road, Thien is drawn into a search for his long-missing older brother, haunted and spurred forward by a series of sublime dreams that reignite suppressed memories, forbidden desires, and specters of his own youth.
- 12/7/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Singapore is launching a new fund to support international coproduction of TV series. It will also expand government investment into virtual production (VP).
The two moves were announced on Wednesday by senior minister of state for communications and information Tan Kiat How at the opening ceremony of the Asia Television Forum and Market (Atf).
Tan said that the S$30 million ($22.4 million) co-production fund will be open to Singapore-based companies with a track record in long-form content production. It aims to support productions with local flavor and international appeal. An initial call for project submissions will be open until the end of January.
The new funding for VP sees S$25 million ($18.7 million) allocated over the next three years and top up an initial S$5 million of seed funding established this time last year. Both funds will be administered by the InfoComm Media Development Authority.
Some 20 projects tapped into the initial VP...
The two moves were announced on Wednesday by senior minister of state for communications and information Tan Kiat How at the opening ceremony of the Asia Television Forum and Market (Atf).
Tan said that the S$30 million ($22.4 million) co-production fund will be open to Singapore-based companies with a track record in long-form content production. It aims to support productions with local flavor and international appeal. An initial call for project submissions will be open until the end of January.
The new funding for VP sees S$25 million ($18.7 million) allocated over the next three years and top up an initial S$5 million of seed funding established this time last year. Both funds will be administered by the InfoComm Media Development Authority.
Some 20 projects tapped into the initial VP...
- 12/6/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“Tiger Stripes”, the opening film of this year’s Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff), was “kind of a joke that became something very, very close to me and ended up being this film,” Malaysian filmmaker, Amanda Nell Eu, said during Thursday night’s opening ceremony.
Speaking to a packed theatre before the screening, Eu said her inspiration had been puberty mixed with her sense of humor.
“I love playing with horror. I love playing with comedy and I was like, I want to make a film about a girl who literally turns into a monster because I felt like a monster as a kid,” she said. “ ‘Tiger Stripes’ is really a story that fights for the people who feel like they don’t fit in society.”
Opening the festival, Singapore filmmaker and Sgiff chairperson, Boo Junfeng, talked about the event’s “sense of community” and a “collective sense of purpose.
Speaking to a packed theatre before the screening, Eu said her inspiration had been puberty mixed with her sense of humor.
“I love playing with horror. I love playing with comedy and I was like, I want to make a film about a girl who literally turns into a monster because I felt like a monster as a kid,” she said. “ ‘Tiger Stripes’ is really a story that fights for the people who feel like they don’t fit in society.”
Opening the festival, Singapore filmmaker and Sgiff chairperson, Boo Junfeng, talked about the event’s “sense of community” and a “collective sense of purpose.
- 11/30/2023
- by Janine Stein
- Variety Film + TV
Garry Keane and Stephen Gerard Kelly’s documentary In The Shadow Of Beirut, which is Ireland’s Oscar category this year, is headed to the Red Sea International Film Festival, running November 30 to December 9 in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.
The work, which is executive produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton as well as Siobhan Sinnerton under their HiddenLight Productions banner, is an immersive work capturing life in the slum neighborhoods of Sabra and Shatila neighborhoods outside Beirut, three decades after they hit world headlines following the infamous massacre of 1982.
The documentary is among six titles selected for the New Vision line-up alongside Jurgen Buedts and Sahim Omar Kalifa biodoc The Iraq’s Invisible Beauty about Iraqi photographer Latif Al Ani, which world premieres at the Red Sea, and Thien An Pham’s first feature Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell which won Camera d’Or at Cannes this year.
The work, which is executive produced by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton as well as Siobhan Sinnerton under their HiddenLight Productions banner, is an immersive work capturing life in the slum neighborhoods of Sabra and Shatila neighborhoods outside Beirut, three decades after they hit world headlines following the infamous massacre of 1982.
The documentary is among six titles selected for the New Vision line-up alongside Jurgen Buedts and Sahim Omar Kalifa biodoc The Iraq’s Invisible Beauty about Iraqi photographer Latif Al Ani, which world premieres at the Red Sea, and Thien An Pham’s first feature Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell which won Camera d’Or at Cannes this year.
- 11/22/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
“Auto-bio Pamphlet,” a Marathi-language film that is both a love story and a rage against class divisions, will open the 18th edition of the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival later this month. The festival will close with the world premiere of spy thriller “13 Bombs in Jakarta.”
Jaff run Nov. 25 – Dec. 2 and include 205 films from 25 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific.
Directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko, “13 Bombs in Jakarta” (aka “13 Bom di Jakarta”) tells of a group of terrorists who launch their attack with the threat of bombs scattered throughout the Indonesian capital. Sasongko is also the founder of local studio Visenema, which has four films at the festival.
“As the opening film for this year’s edition, we choose something light-hearted, which is ‘Autobio Pamphlet’ from India. Its coming-of-age story will be perfect to set the festival’s spirited and entertaining mood,” said Alexander Matius, Jaff program director. The film had...
Jaff run Nov. 25 – Dec. 2 and include 205 films from 25 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific.
Directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko, “13 Bombs in Jakarta” (aka “13 Bom di Jakarta”) tells of a group of terrorists who launch their attack with the threat of bombs scattered throughout the Indonesian capital. Sasongko is also the founder of local studio Visenema, which has four films at the festival.
“As the opening film for this year’s edition, we choose something light-hearted, which is ‘Autobio Pamphlet’ from India. Its coming-of-age story will be perfect to set the festival’s spirited and entertaining mood,” said Alexander Matius, Jaff program director. The film had...
- 11/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The projects will receive a combined $140,000 in production and post-production grants.
The Philippines dominates the autumn 2023 selection of Bangkok-based film fund Purin Pictures, which will give a combined $140,000 in production grants to five upcoming projects.
The titles from Southeast Asia comprise John Torres’ The Remotes, Rafael Manuel’s Filipinana, Dean Colin Marcial’s Jaguar and documentaries Bariles by Sheryl Rose Andes and Planet Of Love by Ika Wulandari.
“This session, half of all the submissions we received were from the Philippines,” said Purin Pictures co-director Anocha Suwichakornpong. “Because of various local support schemes and a just-do-it mentality, Filipino filmmakers continue...
The Philippines dominates the autumn 2023 selection of Bangkok-based film fund Purin Pictures, which will give a combined $140,000 in production grants to five upcoming projects.
The titles from Southeast Asia comprise John Torres’ The Remotes, Rafael Manuel’s Filipinana, Dean Colin Marcial’s Jaguar and documentaries Bariles by Sheryl Rose Andes and Planet Of Love by Ika Wulandari.
“This session, half of all the submissions we received were from the Philippines,” said Purin Pictures co-director Anocha Suwichakornpong. “Because of various local support schemes and a just-do-it mentality, Filipino filmmakers continue...
- 11/1/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke is relieved that the festival he founded in the ancient walled city of Pingyao in China’s Shanxi province is back on track after a tricky few years during the pandemic.
Now in its seventh edition, Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff) takes place in a purpose built festival centre, with five screening rooms, exhibition halls and other facilities, inside the stunning Unesco world heritage site of Pingyao. Lin Xudong, a critic, academic and documentary filmmaker, is artistic director of the festival, with veteran festival director Marco Mueller as chief artistic consultant.
The festival managed to keep going through the pandemic era, last year shifting its dates from October to January, but the centre was often closed for months at a time due to China’s strict Covid regulations. “We had some difficult days – we had to shut down completely for 18 months in the middle of the...
Now in its seventh edition, Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff) takes place in a purpose built festival centre, with five screening rooms, exhibition halls and other facilities, inside the stunning Unesco world heritage site of Pingyao. Lin Xudong, a critic, academic and documentary filmmaker, is artistic director of the festival, with veteran festival director Marco Mueller as chief artistic consultant.
The festival managed to keep going through the pandemic era, last year shifting its dates from October to January, but the centre was often closed for months at a time due to China’s strict Covid regulations. “We had some difficult days – we had to shut down completely for 18 months in the middle of the...
- 10/25/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Co-production Protocol
Dynamic Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua is to receive the Fiapf Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) on Nov. 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast. In the nine years since founding his company Potocol, Chua has focused on international co-production of Asian films and telling Asia stories.
Two of his most recent films, Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” and Vietnamese feature debutant Thien An Pham’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” are their country’s respective Oscar contenders. In 2021 Chua produced Bangladesh’s first film in Cannes “Rehana,” while at the most recent Busan International Film Festival he premiered Singapore-Japan co-venture “Last Shadow at First Light” and Thailand’s “Doi Boy.” At Busan’s Asian Project Market, his Philippines-set “Filipinana” was the outstanding development work, walking away with three prizes.
At Apsa, Chua will take part in a producers’ round...
Dynamic Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua is to receive the Fiapf Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) on Nov. 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast. In the nine years since founding his company Potocol, Chua has focused on international co-production of Asian films and telling Asia stories.
Two of his most recent films, Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” and Vietnamese feature debutant Thien An Pham’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” are their country’s respective Oscar contenders. In 2021 Chua produced Bangladesh’s first film in Cannes “Rehana,” while at the most recent Busan International Film Festival he premiered Singapore-Japan co-venture “Last Shadow at First Light” and Thailand’s “Doi Boy.” At Busan’s Asian Project Market, his Philippines-set “Filipinana” was the outstanding development work, walking away with three prizes.
At Apsa, Chua will take part in a producers’ round...
- 10/17/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon East-West Award
Huang Jianxin
International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award
Norman Wang
Fei Mu Awards
Fei Mu Awards: Best Film
“Only the River Flows” Dir. Wei Shujun.
Fei Mu Awards: Best Director
Geng Zihan for “A Song Sung Blue”
Film Review: A Song Sung Blue (2023) by Zihan Geng
Fei Mu Awards: Best Actress
Lyu Xingchen for “Carefree Days” (dir. Xu Lingling)
Fei Mu Awards: Best Actor
Zhang Yu for “Records Without Words” (dir. Li Lizhong)
Fei Mu Awards: Jury Award
“Dance Still” Dirs. Qin Muqiu, Zhan Hanqi
Fei Mu Awards: Special Mention (joint winners)
“The Night Rain South Township” Dir. Li Binbin.
“Undoing Time” Dir. Li Pu
Fei Mu Awards: Best Short Film
“Questions to Heaven” Dirs. Wenqi, Zheng Ziyi.
Roberto Rossellini Awards
Roberto Rossellini Awards: Best Film
“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” Dir. Pham Thien An
Roberto Rossellini Awards: Best Director
Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir for “City of Wind...
Huang Jianxin
International Contribution to Chinese Cinema Award
Norman Wang
Fei Mu Awards
Fei Mu Awards: Best Film
“Only the River Flows” Dir. Wei Shujun.
Fei Mu Awards: Best Director
Geng Zihan for “A Song Sung Blue”
Film Review: A Song Sung Blue (2023) by Zihan Geng
Fei Mu Awards: Best Actress
Lyu Xingchen for “Carefree Days” (dir. Xu Lingling)
Fei Mu Awards: Best Actor
Zhang Yu for “Records Without Words” (dir. Li Lizhong)
Fei Mu Awards: Jury Award
“Dance Still” Dirs. Qin Muqiu, Zhan Hanqi
Fei Mu Awards: Special Mention (joint winners)
“The Night Rain South Township” Dir. Li Binbin.
“Undoing Time” Dir. Li Pu
Fei Mu Awards: Best Short Film
“Questions to Heaven” Dirs. Wenqi, Zheng Ziyi.
Roberto Rossellini Awards
Roberto Rossellini Awards: Best Film
“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell” Dir. Pham Thien An
Roberto Rossellini Awards: Best Director
Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir for “City of Wind...
- 10/17/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Two titles which debuted at Cannes this year were named as the major prize-winners at the seventh edition of the Pingyao International Film Festival in China.
Wei Shujun’s black comedy-thriller “Only the River Flows” won the festival’s Fei Mu prize for best Chinese film. “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” by Vietnamese feature film debutant Pham Thien An, won the Roberto Rossellini prize for best international film. The picture is a Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain co-production and won Cannes’ Camera d’Or for best first film.
Other prizes went to Hong Kong-based Norman Wang, a veteran consultant, marketeer and festival scout, and to Huang Jianxin, a leading mainland Chinese director-screenwriter and producer whose directing career has ranged from satire to propaganda. He also produced Sun Zhou’s Gong Li- and Tony Leung-starring “Zhou Yu’s Train.”
The festival, originally conceived by Jia Zhangke and Marco Mueller, is held in the Unesco-heritage,...
Wei Shujun’s black comedy-thriller “Only the River Flows” won the festival’s Fei Mu prize for best Chinese film. “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” by Vietnamese feature film debutant Pham Thien An, won the Roberto Rossellini prize for best international film. The picture is a Vietnam, Singapore, France, Spain co-production and won Cannes’ Camera d’Or for best first film.
Other prizes went to Hong Kong-based Norman Wang, a veteran consultant, marketeer and festival scout, and to Huang Jianxin, a leading mainland Chinese director-screenwriter and producer whose directing career has ranged from satire to propaganda. He also produced Sun Zhou’s Gong Li- and Tony Leung-starring “Zhou Yu’s Train.”
The festival, originally conceived by Jia Zhangke and Marco Mueller, is held in the Unesco-heritage,...
- 10/17/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows was presented with Best Film in the Fei Mu Awards at this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival (Pyiff), while Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An, won Best Film in the festival’s Roberto Rossellini Awards.
The Fei Mu Awards recognise up-and-coming Chinese filmmakers selected in the festival’s Hidden Dragons section. The Roberto Rossellini Awards are presented to films in the Crouching Tigers section for emerging international filmmakers.
Both Only The River Flows and Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival, the former in Un Certain Regard and the latter in Directors Fortnight where it won the Camera d’Or.
Geng Zihan won Best Director in the Fei Mu Awards for A Song Sung Blue, which also premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight. Luc Besson, who was in Pingyao with Dogman,...
The Fei Mu Awards recognise up-and-coming Chinese filmmakers selected in the festival’s Hidden Dragons section. The Roberto Rossellini Awards are presented to films in the Crouching Tigers section for emerging international filmmakers.
Both Only The River Flows and Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival, the former in Un Certain Regard and the latter in Directors Fortnight where it won the Camera d’Or.
Geng Zihan won Best Director in the Fei Mu Awards for A Song Sung Blue, which also premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight. Luc Besson, who was in Pingyao with Dogman,...
- 10/16/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The 26th edition of the project market wrapped ram for four days from October 7-10.
Rafael Manuel’s Filipinana and Jiang Xiaoxuan’s To Kill A Mongolian Horse won multiple prizes at the Asian Project Market (Apm), while the top Busan Award went to Ahmed Yassin Al Daradj’s Madness And Honey Days.
The 26th edition of the project market wrapped yesterday after running for four days from October 7-10 alongside the Asian Contents & Film Market (Afcm).
Filipinana was presented with a trio of awards at the closing ceremony of Apm: the Taicca Award, ArteKino International Award and Kongchak Studio Award.
Rafael Manuel’s Filipinana and Jiang Xiaoxuan’s To Kill A Mongolian Horse won multiple prizes at the Asian Project Market (Apm), while the top Busan Award went to Ahmed Yassin Al Daradj’s Madness And Honey Days.
The 26th edition of the project market wrapped yesterday after running for four days from October 7-10 alongside the Asian Contents & Film Market (Afcm).
Filipinana was presented with a trio of awards at the closing ceremony of Apm: the Taicca Award, ArteKino International Award and Kongchak Studio Award.
- 10/11/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
China’s Pingyao International Film Festival has announced the line-up for its seventh edition (October 11-18), which will open with Wei Shujun’s Only The River Flows and close with the world premiere of Fei Yu’s Football On The Roof.
Wei’s 1990s-set noir thriller, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes film festival, is also one of 11 titles competing in Pingyao’s Hidden Dragons competition for emerging Chinese filmmakers. Football On The Roof tells the story of a female soccer team fighting against the odds in the remote mountains of Yunnan province.
The Hidden Dragons line-up also includes Geng Zihan’s A Song Sung Blue, which premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight, along with world premieres including Hao Feihuan’s Records Without Words, Li Binbin’s The Night Rain South Township and Yang Pingdao’s A Romantic Fragment (see full line-up below).
Pingyao has also...
Wei’s 1990s-set noir thriller, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes film festival, is also one of 11 titles competing in Pingyao’s Hidden Dragons competition for emerging Chinese filmmakers. Football On The Roof tells the story of a female soccer team fighting against the odds in the remote mountains of Yunnan province.
The Hidden Dragons line-up also includes Geng Zihan’s A Song Sung Blue, which premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight, along with world premieres including Hao Feihuan’s Records Without Words, Li Binbin’s The Night Rain South Township and Yang Pingdao’s A Romantic Fragment (see full line-up below).
Pingyao has also...
- 10/8/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Celebrated Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua and emerging Philippines talent Rafael Manuel have teamed on “Filipinana,” a selection at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market this year.
The film will follow 17-year-old girl Isabel, who spends her whole day teeing-up balls for golfers at a country club. She feels strangely drawn to club president Dr. Palanca, but as she starts to piece together a more violent picture of what lies behind the club’s pristine facade, she comes to realize that what began as an innocent infatuation is rooted in a more sinister, shared history.
“Filipinana” is based on the short film of the same name that won the Silver Bear for best short at the 2020 Berlinale. The project began life as a feature film script that Manuel wrote when he was at film school in London in 2018. Manuel ultimately decided it would be better to build a...
The film will follow 17-year-old girl Isabel, who spends her whole day teeing-up balls for golfers at a country club. She feels strangely drawn to club president Dr. Palanca, but as she starts to piece together a more violent picture of what lies behind the club’s pristine facade, she comes to realize that what began as an innocent infatuation is rooted in a more sinister, shared history.
“Filipinana” is based on the short film of the same name that won the Silver Bear for best short at the 2020 Berlinale. The project began life as a feature film script that Manuel wrote when he was at film school in London in 2018. Manuel ultimately decided it would be better to build a...
- 10/6/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Japan heads the nominations, followed by China.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist heads the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with nods in four categories including best film, best director, best screenplay and best cinematography.
The Japanese feature premiered at Venice where it picked up both the jury and Fipresci prize, and centres on a father and daughter in a rural village, whose peaceful lives are disrupted by proposals to build a camping site in their area.
Hamaguchi’s latest film, following Oscar-winner Drive My Car, was just ahead of China’s Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden,...
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist heads the nominations for the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with nods in four categories including best film, best director, best screenplay and best cinematography.
The Japanese feature premiered at Venice where it picked up both the jury and Fipresci prize, and centres on a father and daughter in a rural village, whose peaceful lives are disrupted by proposals to build a camping site in their area.
Hamaguchi’s latest film, following Oscar-winner Drive My Car, was just ahead of China’s Snow Leopard by the late Tibetan director Pema Tseden,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, leads this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) with four nods, including the gong for Best Film.
Hamaguchi’s nominations haul includes Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography for Yoshio Kitagawa. The film is Hamaguchi’s first film since his Oscar-winning Drive My Car and debuted at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature, threatens to endanger the ecological balance of the area and the local people’s way of life.
Also nominated in the Best Film category are Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days, Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden,...
Hamaguchi’s nominations haul includes Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography for Yoshio Kitagawa. The film is Hamaguchi’s first film since his Oscar-winning Drive My Car and debuted at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The pic follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house, offering city residents a comfortable “escape” to nature, threatens to endanger the ecological balance of the area and the local people’s way of life.
Also nominated in the Best Film category are Wim Wenders’s Perfect Days, Snow Leopard by Pema Tseden,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
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