In this episode of CinemaNerdz: The Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Mike Tyrkus asserts that it eventually becomes obvious that the heart of Dìdi the film lies in a boy’s relationship with his mother and how exactly that shapes and directs his life.
Check out the full CinemaNerdz review of Dìdi here!
Subscribe to CinemaNerdz: The Podcast here!
The post Podcast Ep. 89: “Dìdi” first appeared on CinemaNerdz.
Check out the full CinemaNerdz review of Dìdi here!
Subscribe to CinemaNerdz: The Podcast here!
The post Podcast Ep. 89: “Dìdi” first appeared on CinemaNerdz.
- 9/22/2024
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
Lloyd Lee Choi’s feature adaptation “Lucky Lu” will begin filming in New York City later this year.
Based on Choi’s live-action short, “Same Old,” “Lucky Lu” tells the story of a Chinese delivery driver in New York City who discovers his e-bike has been stolen. With his family en route after many years apart, Lu must contend with a community that has turned its back on him while he tries to replace the only thing promising to keep his family afloat.
Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (“Dune”) has been cast to play the titular character. Nina Yang Bongiovi, Destin Daniel Cretton, Ron Najor, Jeyun Munford, Asher Goldstein and Tony Yang are on board as producers.
Speaking at Gold House’s A Filmmaker’s Creative & Financing Journey during Sundance Film Festival Asia, Bongiovi discussed the financial journey behind “Lucky Lu.” She said, “Navigating film financing is always an emotional roller coaster.
Based on Choi’s live-action short, “Same Old,” “Lucky Lu” tells the story of a Chinese delivery driver in New York City who discovers his e-bike has been stolen. With his family en route after many years apart, Lu must contend with a community that has turned its back on him while he tries to replace the only thing promising to keep his family afloat.
Taiwanese actor Chang Chen (“Dune”) has been cast to play the titular character. Nina Yang Bongiovi, Destin Daniel Cretton, Ron Najor, Jeyun Munford, Asher Goldstein and Tony Yang are on board as producers.
Speaking at Gold House’s A Filmmaker’s Creative & Financing Journey during Sundance Film Festival Asia, Bongiovi discussed the financial journey behind “Lucky Lu.” She said, “Navigating film financing is always an emotional roller coaster.
- 9/5/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar Sound Winner of Gravity and Joker’s Cinematographer
Director of Game of Thrones and Blue Eye Samurai Makes First Appearance in Taiwan for Talks
14 Panels: From IP Character Creation to AI Storytelling, Sharing the Latest Filmmaking Technologies and Trends
All Filmmakers and Invited Guests are Gathered and Ready to Celebrate Together!
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival: Asia held its opening press conference today (August 20) in Taipei, announcing that the event will take place from August 21 to August 25. Over 40 Hollywood professionals will gather in Taipei for this five-day event, which will feature the premieres of 15 award-winning films, 6 short films competing in the competition, and a series of prestigious master panels and workshops. This year, the number of panels and workshops has expanded from last year’s 4 to 14. Highlights include a “Sound Workshop” featuring Skip Lievsay, known as the father of Atmos, in conversation with Taiwan’s top sound designer Tu Duu-chih.
Director of Game of Thrones and Blue Eye Samurai Makes First Appearance in Taiwan for Talks
14 Panels: From IP Character Creation to AI Storytelling, Sharing the Latest Filmmaking Technologies and Trends
All Filmmakers and Invited Guests are Gathered and Ready to Celebrate Together!
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival: Asia held its opening press conference today (August 20) in Taipei, announcing that the event will take place from August 21 to August 25. Over 40 Hollywood professionals will gather in Taipei for this five-day event, which will feature the premieres of 15 award-winning films, 6 short films competing in the competition, and a series of prestigious master panels and workshops. This year, the number of panels and workshops has expanded from last year’s 4 to 14. Highlights include a “Sound Workshop” featuring Skip Lievsay, known as the father of Atmos, in conversation with Taiwan’s top sound designer Tu Duu-chih.
- 8/22/2024
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Sundance Asia has officially kicked off in Taipei, Taiwan.
Over the next five days, 15 feature films and six shorts will screen at the Sundance Film Festival Asian edition, with Taiwanese American filmmaker Sean Wang’s “Didi” as the opening night selection.
Before Wang’s film (which won the audience award and a special jury prize for its ensemble at the Park City festival) made its Taiwan premiere, the Legacy Taipei played host to the opening ceremony gala. Hollywood creatives mingled with local filmmakers and actors: “Fancy Dance” producer Nina Yang Bongiovi, “Joker 2” cinematographer Lawrence Sher, “Porcelain War” director Brendan Bellomo, “Your Monster” director Caroline Lindy and producer Kayla Foster, Wang and Esther Liu, Chen Yi-Wen, Hank Chen and Aviis Zhong were just some of those in attendance.
With many having flown in from Toronto or Los Angeles, attendees swapped tips on jetlag survival. Wang and “Little Death” director Jack Begert...
Over the next five days, 15 feature films and six shorts will screen at the Sundance Film Festival Asian edition, with Taiwanese American filmmaker Sean Wang’s “Didi” as the opening night selection.
Before Wang’s film (which won the audience award and a special jury prize for its ensemble at the Park City festival) made its Taiwan premiere, the Legacy Taipei played host to the opening ceremony gala. Hollywood creatives mingled with local filmmakers and actors: “Fancy Dance” producer Nina Yang Bongiovi, “Joker 2” cinematographer Lawrence Sher, “Porcelain War” director Brendan Bellomo, “Your Monster” director Caroline Lindy and producer Kayla Foster, Wang and Esther Liu, Chen Yi-Wen, Hank Chen and Aviis Zhong were just some of those in attendance.
With many having flown in from Toronto or Los Angeles, attendees swapped tips on jetlag survival. Wang and “Little Death” director Jack Begert...
- 8/22/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
As the summer begins to wind down, we got what might end up being the last big summer movie, although it also performed on the lower side of expectations. Read on for the weekend box office report.
20th Century released Fede Álvarez‘s “Alien: Romulus,” starring Cailee Spaeny, into 3,885 theaters on Friday, the first movie in the long-standing sci-fi horror franchise to be distributed by Disney. After receiving decent reviews with 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, the sci-fi horror film made $6.5 million in Thursday previews, just slightly less than the $7 million opening for “It Ends with Us” a week earlier. It then made $18 million on Friday, including those previews, which already pointed to the fact that the movie would probably open under $50 million.
Sure enough, it raked in an estimated $41.5 million, which is the second-best opening for the franchise after the $51 million weekend for 2012’s “Prometheus.” The “B+” that “Romulus” received on...
20th Century released Fede Álvarez‘s “Alien: Romulus,” starring Cailee Spaeny, into 3,885 theaters on Friday, the first movie in the long-standing sci-fi horror franchise to be distributed by Disney. After receiving decent reviews with 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, the sci-fi horror film made $6.5 million in Thursday previews, just slightly less than the $7 million opening for “It Ends with Us” a week earlier. It then made $18 million on Friday, including those previews, which already pointed to the fact that the movie would probably open under $50 million.
Sure enough, it raked in an estimated $41.5 million, which is the second-best opening for the franchise after the $51 million weekend for 2012’s “Prometheus.” The “B+” that “Romulus” received on...
- 8/18/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
On Sunday August 18 2024, CBS broadcasts Made in Hollywood!
Dìdi; My Penguin Friend; One Fast Move Season 19 Episode 47 Episode Summary
The upcoming episode of “Made in Hollywood,” titled “Dìdi; My Penguin Friend; One Fast Move,” promises an exciting lineup of guests and engaging discussions. This episode features a mix of well-known actors, including Nick Jonas, Eric Dane, Alexandra Shipp, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Arquette, Joan Chen, and Edward James Olmos. Each guest brings their unique experiences and insights from their careers in the entertainment industry.
Nick Jonas, known for his music career and acting roles, will likely share stories about his latest projects and what inspires him as an artist. Eric Dane, famous for his work on popular television series, may discuss his journey in Hollywood and the challenges he has faced along the way. Alexandra Shipp, who has gained recognition for her diverse roles, might talk about her experiences in film...
Dìdi; My Penguin Friend; One Fast Move Season 19 Episode 47 Episode Summary
The upcoming episode of “Made in Hollywood,” titled “Dìdi; My Penguin Friend; One Fast Move,” promises an exciting lineup of guests and engaging discussions. This episode features a mix of well-known actors, including Nick Jonas, Eric Dane, Alexandra Shipp, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Arquette, Joan Chen, and Edward James Olmos. Each guest brings their unique experiences and insights from their careers in the entertainment industry.
Nick Jonas, known for his music career and acting roles, will likely share stories about his latest projects and what inspires him as an artist. Eric Dane, famous for his work on popular television series, may discuss his journey in Hollywood and the challenges he has faced along the way. Alexandra Shipp, who has gained recognition for her diverse roles, might talk about her experiences in film...
- 8/18/2024
- by US Posts
- TV Regular
Although Dìdi may initially start to play out as a coming-of-age type story focusing on a young man overcoming cultural barriers, it becomes obvious quite quickly that the heart of the film lies in the boy’s relationship with his mother and how exactly that shapes and directs his life.
Set during the summer of 2008, the film follows the exploits of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who is coming to terms with his adolescence as well as an often confrontational relationship with his mother.
Director Sean Wang makes his narrative feature directorial debut – he previously helmed numerous shorts and a pair of feature-length documentaries with A Marble Travelogue (2021) and Lady of the Harbour (2017) – with this film. Given the emotional impact the film carries and the depth with which the story is handled, it portends more quality work from Wang as he continues to hone and define his narrative voice. Working from his own script,...
Set during the summer of 2008, the film follows the exploits of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy who is coming to terms with his adolescence as well as an often confrontational relationship with his mother.
Director Sean Wang makes his narrative feature directorial debut – he previously helmed numerous shorts and a pair of feature-length documentaries with A Marble Travelogue (2021) and Lady of the Harbour (2017) – with this film. Given the emotional impact the film carries and the depth with which the story is handled, it portends more quality work from Wang as he continues to hone and define his narrative voice. Working from his own script,...
- 8/16/2024
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
I’m not sure anyone I knew made a single original joke in 2004.I wasn’t innocent. As a child, my parents coaxed me into doing Honeymooners bits, filming them gleefully onto VHS tapes that would be screened for every significant other I was unfortunate enough to bring home. My...
- 8/16/2024
- by Jacob Oller
- avclub.com
August continues with one more franchise film that stands the best chance at making money before the month ends. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
It has been 45 years since filmmaker Ridley Scott first got attention with his horror-sci-fi film “Alien” and seven years since his last movie in that franchise, 2017’s “Alien: Covenant.” Sir Ridley is still involved as a producer with “Alien: Romulus,” the first movie produced under 20th Century since being bought by Disney. For this latest reboot, they’ve brought on Fede Álvarez, best known for the “Don’t Breathe” movies and the 2013 remake of Sam Raimi‘s “Evil Dead.”
It’s been a long time since Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley was leading these things, but for this one, they’ve brought on Cailee Spaeny of “Civil War” and “Priscilla,” as well as Isabela Merced from “Transformers: The Last Knight” and “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
It has been 45 years since filmmaker Ridley Scott first got attention with his horror-sci-fi film “Alien” and seven years since his last movie in that franchise, 2017’s “Alien: Covenant.” Sir Ridley is still involved as a producer with “Alien: Romulus,” the first movie produced under 20th Century since being bought by Disney. For this latest reboot, they’ve brought on Fede Álvarez, best known for the “Don’t Breathe” movies and the 2013 remake of Sam Raimi‘s “Evil Dead.”
It’s been a long time since Sigourney Weaver‘s Ripley was leading these things, but for this one, they’ve brought on Cailee Spaeny of “Civil War” and “Priscilla,” as well as Isabela Merced from “Transformers: The Last Knight” and “Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
- 8/14/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
Motion City Soundtrack jumps back in time to usher in their new era. The Minnesota pop-punk rockers shared their first taste of music in 10 years with the thrashing track “Stop Talking.” Not only could the song fit perfectly on 2007’s Even If It Kills Me, but the music video’s aesthetic is also plucked from the same era.
Written and directed by Sean Wang, the brain behind the new coming-of-age film Dìdi, the “Stop Talking” visual extends the universe of the movie, which is set in 2008, with a haphazardly-edited YouTube...
Written and directed by Sean Wang, the brain behind the new coming-of-age film Dìdi, the “Stop Talking” visual extends the universe of the movie, which is set in 2008, with a haphazardly-edited YouTube...
- 8/9/2024
- by Maya Georgi
- Rollingstone.com
The popular phrase may be “Good things should come to those who wait,” but that doesn’t mean they will. Especially in the movie business. Whether you are trying to sell your first screenplay to a studio or shepherded an indie feature to financing, patience usually only works for those with the talent to back it up. Considering the year Sean Wang is having, he clearly has both.
Read More: “Dìdi” Review: Sean Wang bares his heart and soul in a crowd-pleasing coming-of-age tale [Sundance]
In January, the 30-year-old filmmaker saw his narrative feature debut, “Didi,” premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews.
Continue reading ‘Didi’: Sean Wang Could “Never Have Imagined” His Breakout Year [Interview] at The Playlist.
Read More: “Dìdi” Review: Sean Wang bares his heart and soul in a crowd-pleasing coming-of-age tale [Sundance]
In January, the 30-year-old filmmaker saw his narrative feature debut, “Didi,” premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews.
Continue reading ‘Didi’: Sean Wang Could “Never Have Imagined” His Breakout Year [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 8/7/2024
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars in Daina O Pusić’s complex, delightfully odd tale of grief. Here’s our Tuesday review.
Films about death tend to be about coming to terms with the fate that waits for us all. Films like The Fault In Our Stars, Five Feet Apart, Meet Joe Black and Me And Earl And The Dying Girl all find characters accepting death, either their own or a loved one’s, as part of life and are able to move on.
Daina O Pusić’s directorial debut Tuesday is different. The only word I can think to describe it is “weird”. Thoroughly, unapologetically weird. While the film’s trailer seemingly promises a traditional, life-affirming weepy, Pusić isn’t interested in offering a gentle look at death.
Instead, death takes the form of a bird, a macaw to be exact. It flies from person to person, granting them death whether they...
Films about death tend to be about coming to terms with the fate that waits for us all. Films like The Fault In Our Stars, Five Feet Apart, Meet Joe Black and Me And Earl And The Dying Girl all find characters accepting death, either their own or a loved one’s, as part of life and are able to move on.
Daina O Pusić’s directorial debut Tuesday is different. The only word I can think to describe it is “weird”. Thoroughly, unapologetically weird. While the film’s trailer seemingly promises a traditional, life-affirming weepy, Pusić isn’t interested in offering a gentle look at death.
Instead, death takes the form of a bird, a macaw to be exact. It flies from person to person, granting them death whether they...
- 8/7/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
For more than 15 years studios have done their best to avoid releasing their new movies on the second weekend of a Marvel movie. This weekend we learned the reason why. Read on for the weekend box office report.
As expected, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman‘s “Deadpool and Wolverine” won its second weekend in a row, topping the box office with an estimated $97 million, down 54% from its record-setting opening weekend. Not only did “Deadpool and Wolverine” cross the $300 million milestone domestically this past weekend, but with $395.6 million grossed in North America, it’s only a day away from hitting the $400 million benchmark, so the race is on to see if it can catch up to Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”
Globally, the movie has passed the $800 million mark, adding another $110.5 million overseas this weekend for an international total of $428.5 million. With $824.1 million global, it has already passed the worldwide grosses...
As expected, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman‘s “Deadpool and Wolverine” won its second weekend in a row, topping the box office with an estimated $97 million, down 54% from its record-setting opening weekend. Not only did “Deadpool and Wolverine” cross the $300 million milestone domestically this past weekend, but with $395.6 million grossed in North America, it’s only a day away from hitting the $400 million benchmark, so the race is on to see if it can catch up to Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.”
Globally, the movie has passed the $800 million mark, adding another $110.5 million overseas this weekend for an international total of $428.5 million. With $824.1 million global, it has already passed the worldwide grosses...
- 8/4/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
We chat to director Sean Wang about his autobiographical Sundance hit Dìdi, in UK cinemas now.
When I caught up with director Sean Wang in London in early June, he was severely jet lagged but also, he admitted, “over-caffeinated”. It’s safe to say that Wang has had a busy year: after his feature debut, Dìdi premiered at Sundance in January, he’s since been nominated for an Oscar for his short film Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó.
Ahead of our interview, Wang had flown in to attend the UK premiere of Dìdi at Sundance London, where the film got a warm, even rapturous reception at the Picturehouse Central. Wang says that, although he never stays for the whole film, he does stick around for a few minutes at the beginning to catch the audience’s first reactions to a story that so closely mimics his own upbringing.
“I pinch myself every time,...
When I caught up with director Sean Wang in London in early June, he was severely jet lagged but also, he admitted, “over-caffeinated”. It’s safe to say that Wang has had a busy year: after his feature debut, Dìdi premiered at Sundance in January, he’s since been nominated for an Oscar for his short film Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó.
Ahead of our interview, Wang had flown in to attend the UK premiere of Dìdi at Sundance London, where the film got a warm, even rapturous reception at the Picturehouse Central. Wang says that, although he never stays for the whole film, he does stick around for a few minutes at the beginning to catch the audience’s first reactions to a story that so closely mimics his own upbringing.
“I pinch myself every time,...
- 8/2/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
Thirty-seven years after her Hollywood breakthrough in The Last Emperor, Chen is back in new drama Dìdi. She discusses her roots in China, objectification and the protective power of creativity
Joan Chen is talking about her busier-than-ever work schedule, her face lit up with excitement, when she mentions being “in the winter of my career”. After decades in the film industry, she sees this as the final chapter. But the Chinese American actor never expected there could be new beginnings, too: at 63, she has been earning glowing reviews for her moving performance in the indie film Dìdi (弟弟).
After her breakout role in 1987’s sumptuous historical epic The Last Emperor, Chen became a huge star in the 90s, until she got tired of being typecast as the exotic, seductive temptress and started making her own films. She has continued to work quietly and consistently as an actor and director, in Hollywood and China,...
Joan Chen is talking about her busier-than-ever work schedule, her face lit up with excitement, when she mentions being “in the winter of my career”. After decades in the film industry, she sees this as the final chapter. But the Chinese American actor never expected there could be new beginnings, too: at 63, she has been earning glowing reviews for her moving performance in the indie film Dìdi (弟弟).
After her breakout role in 1987’s sumptuous historical epic The Last Emperor, Chen became a huge star in the 90s, until she got tired of being typecast as the exotic, seductive temptress and started making her own films. She has continued to work quietly and consistently as an actor and director, in Hollywood and China,...
- 8/1/2024
- by Ann Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
Sean Wang’s Sundance sensation Dìdi is a gorgeously told tale of growing up in the late noughties. Here’s our review.
Sean Wang’s Dìdi does something rather miraculous. It manages to capture a sense of a very specific time with its details while also telling a universal coming-of-age story from a unique point of view. If you grew up in the 2000s, listened to Paramore and spent your afternoons watching Youtube videos, this is a film for you.
Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) is a teenager growing up in California in 2008. He spends his free time skateboarding and causing mayhem with his friends while harbouring a crush on schoolmate Madi and worrying about how to kiss girls. Coming from a Taiwanese-American family, Chris is constantly pulled in different directions by the two cultures and identities.
In many ways, Dìdi feels almost like a prequel to Bo Burnham’s excellent Eight Grade.
Sean Wang’s Dìdi does something rather miraculous. It manages to capture a sense of a very specific time with its details while also telling a universal coming-of-age story from a unique point of view. If you grew up in the 2000s, listened to Paramore and spent your afternoons watching Youtube videos, this is a film for you.
Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) is a teenager growing up in California in 2008. He spends his free time skateboarding and causing mayhem with his friends while harbouring a crush on schoolmate Madi and worrying about how to kiss girls. Coming from a Taiwanese-American family, Chris is constantly pulled in different directions by the two cultures and identities.
In many ways, Dìdi feels almost like a prequel to Bo Burnham’s excellent Eight Grade.
- 7/31/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
The online hyper-specificity of Sean Wang’s portrait of a Taiwanese-American teen in 2008 makes it a triumphant coming-of-age tale
Dìdi, the feature debut from writer-director Sean Wang and one of the best new films of the year, risks cliche from the jump by zooming in on a literal calendar on the wall. The movie begins almost exactly 16 years ago, on 29 July 2008, and ends a few weeks later. Fourteen-year-old Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) – “Dìdi” to his Taiwanese-American family, “Wang Wang” to his childhood friends in suburban Fremont, California, “bigwang510” to his handful of YouTube viewers – is frittering away the summer between eighth and ninth grade the way most kids did then: part online, part hanging out, and everywhere a minefield of hot and sticky feelings.
Wang knows this period well, and the semi-autobiographical film is chock-full of specifically 2008 references – Livestrong bracelets, Motorola Krzr phones, Paramore Riot posters. Chris’s headstrong older...
Dìdi, the feature debut from writer-director Sean Wang and one of the best new films of the year, risks cliche from the jump by zooming in on a literal calendar on the wall. The movie begins almost exactly 16 years ago, on 29 July 2008, and ends a few weeks later. Fourteen-year-old Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) – “Dìdi” to his Taiwanese-American family, “Wang Wang” to his childhood friends in suburban Fremont, California, “bigwang510” to his handful of YouTube viewers – is frittering away the summer between eighth and ninth grade the way most kids did then: part online, part hanging out, and everywhere a minefield of hot and sticky feelings.
Wang knows this period well, and the semi-autobiographical film is chock-full of specifically 2008 references – Livestrong bracelets, Motorola Krzr phones, Paramore Riot posters. Chris’s headstrong older...
- 7/30/2024
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
As anticipated on Friday, Nicolas Cage starring Longlegs, pushing a $6.7 million weekend on 2,730 screens — for a cume of $58.6 million in week 3 — has surpassed Parasite’s $53.37 million to become the indie distributor’s highest grossing film ever.
Now in week 3, the Osgood Perkins pic is also the top grossing R-rated horror of 2024 and the highest grossing indie horror film of the last ten years, topping A24’s Talk To Me, Insidious Chapter 3 from Universal’s Focus, and A24’s Hereditary. It’s no. 5 at the domestic box office.
Also in wide release, Bleecker Street is estimating The Fabulous Four will gross just over $1 million in its opening weekend on 1,045 screens. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, its stars Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph as a group of lifelong friends who travel to Key West to be bridesmaids in the surprise wedding of their best college girlfriend, played by Bette Midler.
Now in week 3, the Osgood Perkins pic is also the top grossing R-rated horror of 2024 and the highest grossing indie horror film of the last ten years, topping A24’s Talk To Me, Insidious Chapter 3 from Universal’s Focus, and A24’s Hereditary. It’s no. 5 at the domestic box office.
Also in wide release, Bleecker Street is estimating The Fabulous Four will gross just over $1 million in its opening weekend on 1,045 screens. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, its stars Susan Sarandon, Megan Mullally and Sheryl Lee Ralph as a group of lifelong friends who travel to Key West to be bridesmaids in the surprise wedding of their best college girlfriend, played by Bette Midler.
- 7/28/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
All coming-of-age movies essentially hit the same beats: the getting of wisdom, the loss of innocence, the passage from childhood to some hard-won form of adulthood. Only the names, regions, eras and cultures change. Trace a through line from The 400 Blows to Lady Bird, however, and you’ll notice the best of these stories don’t just look back — in anger, in sorrow, in a misty cloud of nostalgia — but spark recognition of the good, bad and very ugly of your own formative years. You can add Sean Wang...
- 7/27/2024
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Sean Wang’s coming-of-age film Dìdi follows a Taiwanese American boy named Chris as he experiences the tumult of his early teen years. Set in 2008 in California, it explores the insecurities and cultural clashes that shape adolescence. Director Wang drew from his own experiences growing up to craft a remarkably authentic portrait.
The film’s protagonist is 13-year-old Chris Wang, called “Dìdi” by his family. He finds himself caught between worlds as a Taiwanese child navigating American culture. Chris struggles with his identity among different social circles. At home, his heritage is celebrated, but he downplays it elsewhere, wanting acceptance. This summer, before high school, brings new questions about who he wants to be.
Wang captures it all with keen empathy. The period details from technology to fashion ring true, putting viewers back in the late 2000s. More than nostalgia, though, the film understands the messy dynamics of family, friendship,...
The film’s protagonist is 13-year-old Chris Wang, called “Dìdi” by his family. He finds himself caught between worlds as a Taiwanese child navigating American culture. Chris struggles with his identity among different social circles. At home, his heritage is celebrated, but he downplays it elsewhere, wanting acceptance. This summer, before high school, brings new questions about who he wants to be.
Wang captures it all with keen empathy. The period details from technology to fashion ring true, putting viewers back in the late 2000s. More than nostalgia, though, the film understands the messy dynamics of family, friendship,...
- 7/27/2024
- by Arash Nahandian
- Gazettely
How ‘Dìdi’ Star Joan Chen Channeled the Toughest Parts of Motherhood for Her Deepest Performance Yet
Sean Wang’s “Dìdi” hits where it hurts for any millennial who came of age in middle school in 2008 — on MySpace and AOL Instant Messenger and in the throes of puberty. But it’s especially hard-hitting for Taiwanese-Americans raised in the California Bay Area at the time, as Fremont-hailing writer/director Wang’s big Sundance winner (including an Audience Award) is based on his own youth — one where he was often recalcitrant toward his single mom.
In this frank and affecting dramedy, young actor Izaac Wang plays Chris, a 13-year-old spending the summer before his freshman year of high school surfing the web and making YouTube videos with his pals. Until he falls in with an older crowd he seeks to impress. In the seemingly endless summer between eighth and ninth grade, there’s a crush, too, he’s trying to woo — with embarrassingly dismal results. Back at home, the...
In this frank and affecting dramedy, young actor Izaac Wang plays Chris, a 13-year-old spending the summer before his freshman year of high school surfing the web and making YouTube videos with his pals. Until he falls in with an older crowd he seeks to impress. In the seemingly endless summer between eighth and ninth grade, there’s a crush, too, he’s trying to woo — with embarrassingly dismal results. Back at home, the...
- 7/26/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
If having your first feature premiere at the Sundance Film Festival is an accomplishment, being nominated for an Academy Award the same week is pretty much unheard of. Nonetheless, that’s what writer-director Sean Wang experienced last January when his coming-of-age narrative feature, Dìdi, premiered to glowing reviews (and a distribution deal with Focus Features) while his nonfiction portrait of his two grandmothers, Nai Nai & Wài Pó, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. Still in his 20s, Wang’s career has skyrocketed over the past year, and now Dìdi “younger brother” in Chinese) opens in theaters riding a […]
The post “Everybody Passed on It”: Sean Wang on Dìdi first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Everybody Passed on It”: Sean Wang on Dìdi first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/26/2024
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
If having your first feature premiere at the Sundance Film Festival is an accomplishment, being nominated for an Academy Award the same week is pretty much unheard of. Nonetheless, that’s what writer-director Sean Wang experienced last January when his coming-of-age narrative feature, Dìdi, premiered to glowing reviews (and a distribution deal with Focus Features) while his nonfiction portrait of his two grandmothers, Nai Nai & Wài Pó, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. Still in his 20s, Wang’s career has skyrocketed over the past year, and now Dìdi “younger brother” in Chinese) opens in theaters riding a […]
The post “Everybody Passed on It”: Sean Wang on Dìdi first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Everybody Passed on It”: Sean Wang on Dìdi first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/26/2024
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Today, Focus Features release Dìdi (弟弟) – the 2024 Sundance Film Festival winner of the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast. As part of a Global Press Conference day this week, we got to ask Sean Wang a question about his experience at the Sundance Labs and what he gained from it. The film should be in the running for multiple category noms at the Gotham awards and the Indie Spirits. Here is some of our coverage from Park City and the transcript from the question we asked:
Ioncinema.com: You had the opportunity to workshop Didi at the Sundance Labs, when living with these characters for so long, what was it like to reappraise them and then refine their DNAs by adding or subtracting elements.…...
Ioncinema.com: You had the opportunity to workshop Didi at the Sundance Labs, when living with these characters for so long, what was it like to reappraise them and then refine their DNAs by adding or subtracting elements.…...
- 7/26/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
For a certain subset of very online younger millennials, a film like writer-director Sean Wang’s Dìdi ought to carry a trigger warning. The level of detail is so hyper-specific that the film feels unearthed from a time capsule. Be it through a bookmarked link to Addicting Games or an oversharing Facebook wall post, Wang’s film instantly conjures vivid imagery of being a teenager in the precise time frame of summer 2008.
Wang has glanced back at late-aughts culture nostalgically in his documentary projects like the 2021 short H.A.G.S. (Have a Good Summer), an inventive flip-through of his middle school yearbook. But his feature-length fictional debut, which arrives hot on the heels of his Oscar-nominated short “Nai Nai & Wài Pó,” has much more on its mind.
This coming-of-age story, set in Wang’s suburban northern California hometown of Fremont, follows Chris (Izaac Wang), a 13-year-old aggravated by the...
Wang has glanced back at late-aughts culture nostalgically in his documentary projects like the 2021 short H.A.G.S. (Have a Good Summer), an inventive flip-through of his middle school yearbook. But his feature-length fictional debut, which arrives hot on the heels of his Oscar-nominated short “Nai Nai & Wài Pó,” has much more on its mind.
This coming-of-age story, set in Wang’s suburban northern California hometown of Fremont, follows Chris (Izaac Wang), a 13-year-old aggravated by the...
- 7/26/2024
- by Marshall Shaffer
- Slant Magazine
The director explains how a desire to transcend race and immigrant identity led to his semi-autobiographical tale of an angst-ridden Taiwanese American teenage skater and an Oscar-nominated short about his grandmothers
Sean Wang is jet-lagged. He has been up since 4am after arriving in London late the night before. When he couldn’t get back to sleep, the film-maker headed to the Southbank Centre. Surrounded by the deserted streets of the city, it was just him and his skateboard as he tried out tricks. He has been obsessed with skateboarding since his early teens. “Everything that I love now, whether it’s the music I listen to or the way I dress, it all traces back to skating.”
Wang, 30, has channelled this passion into his debut feature film, Dìdi (弟弟), which means “little brother” in Chinese. The semi-autobiographical tale of Chris (Izaac Wang), an awkward and angst-ridden 13-year-old Taiwanese American...
Sean Wang is jet-lagged. He has been up since 4am after arriving in London late the night before. When he couldn’t get back to sleep, the film-maker headed to the Southbank Centre. Surrounded by the deserted streets of the city, it was just him and his skateboard as he tried out tricks. He has been obsessed with skateboarding since his early teens. “Everything that I love now, whether it’s the music I listen to or the way I dress, it all traces back to skating.”
Wang, 30, has channelled this passion into his debut feature film, Dìdi (弟弟), which means “little brother” in Chinese. The semi-autobiographical tale of Chris (Izaac Wang), an awkward and angst-ridden 13-year-old Taiwanese American...
- 7/26/2024
- by Ann Lee
- The Guardian - Film News
Sometimes I think the best “coming of age” stories are the ones that open old wounds. The older we get, the harder it is to remember exactly what it was like to be young and inexperienced, stepping out into the world for the very first time. But an expertly crafted tale of adolescence reminds us just how painful life was when we knew nothing about it. We thought we were making it all up as we went along, that nobody ever felt the way we felt before and that nobody ever would again. Films like Sean Wang’s “Dìdi” remind us — to our relief and, often, embarrassment — that everyone else pretty much felt the same way.
“Dìdi” is Wang’s feature film debut, after his 2023 Oscar-nominated documentary short “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” about the day-to-day life of his two grandmothers. Do yourself a favor and watch “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,...
“Dìdi” is Wang’s feature film debut, after his 2023 Oscar-nominated documentary short “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,” about the day-to-day life of his two grandmothers. Do yourself a favor and watch “Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó,...
- 7/26/2024
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
In “Dìdi,” writer/director Sean Wang returns to his suburban Northern California hometown of Fremont to tell a semi-autobiographical story of life as a 13-year-old Taiwanese American growing up there in 2008.
For Wang, part of this meant capturing the huge role the late-aughts internet played in his early teenage years, from the early social media experiences of Myspace to texting with Aim (AOL Instant Messenger) and putting his skateboard videos up on an old-school YouTube page. While on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, Wang talked about how he’d never seen this done well in movies.
“When I think about the movies that were made in the late 2000s, they never depicted the internet right, because I think as filmmakers we just didn’t know how to do that,” said Wang.
For “Dìdi,” Wang assembled a team of four animators and graphic artists, working off screenshots, to recreate the now-defunct 2008 internet from scratch.
For Wang, part of this meant capturing the huge role the late-aughts internet played in his early teenage years, from the early social media experiences of Myspace to texting with Aim (AOL Instant Messenger) and putting his skateboard videos up on an old-school YouTube page. While on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, Wang talked about how he’d never seen this done well in movies.
“When I think about the movies that were made in the late 2000s, they never depicted the internet right, because I think as filmmakers we just didn’t know how to do that,” said Wang.
For “Dìdi,” Wang assembled a team of four animators and graphic artists, working off screenshots, to recreate the now-defunct 2008 internet from scratch.
- 7/25/2024
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Any “Twin Peaks” fan worth their garmonbozia won’t forget the tragic fate of Josie Packard. In the Lesli Linka Glatter-directed Episode 16 of Season 2, the Packard Sawmill owner (Joan Chen) dies suddenly after a standoff with FBI agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), her soul appearing to then live inside a wooden drawer knob in a room at the Great Northern hotel.
It’s an unforgettable image, but a bit of a sad, anticlimactic one for Chen, who at that point wanted to be written out of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s show to pursue other opportunities.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed in 2017 how Chen appealed to David Lynch with a letter, asking for Josie Packard to be brought back into the series for Showtime’s “The Return,” or Season 3 of “Twin Peaks.”
“Obviously, it didn’t work out,” Chen told IndieWire during a recent interview discussing her new Sundance...
It’s an unforgettable image, but a bit of a sad, anticlimactic one for Chen, who at that point wanted to be written out of David Lynch and Mark Frost’s show to pursue other opportunities.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed in 2017 how Chen appealed to David Lynch with a letter, asking for Josie Packard to be brought back into the series for Showtime’s “The Return,” or Season 3 of “Twin Peaks.”
“Obviously, it didn’t work out,” Chen told IndieWire during a recent interview discussing her new Sundance...
- 7/24/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Back in 2008, MySpace was cool, flip phones were popular and it kinda sucked to be a 13-year-old boy. Technology has changed a lot since then, but as “Dìdi” — a touching, frequently hilarious coming-of-age story that unfolds in the early aughts — reminds us, the agony and indignity of being a teenager is timeless.
“Boyhood is messy,” says Sean Wang, the film’s 29-year-old writer and director, looking barely out of boyhood himself as he chats on Zoom from his living room. “And the experience of adolescence is pretty consistent across the generations. It’s why I can watch ‘400 Blows’ — a movie made before I was even born — and see myself in it.”
When “Dìdi” premiered at Sundance in January, where it earned some of the festival’s strongest reviews, lots of people saw themselves in Chris Wang, an awkward Taiwanese American kid growing up in the Bay Area. As he struggles to fit in,...
“Boyhood is messy,” says Sean Wang, the film’s 29-year-old writer and director, looking barely out of boyhood himself as he chats on Zoom from his living room. “And the experience of adolescence is pretty consistent across the generations. It’s why I can watch ‘400 Blows’ — a movie made before I was even born — and see myself in it.”
When “Dìdi” premiered at Sundance in January, where it earned some of the festival’s strongest reviews, lots of people saw themselves in Chris Wang, an awkward Taiwanese American kid growing up in the Bay Area. As he struggles to fit in,...
- 7/24/2024
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
A gutshot coming-of-age story aimed directly at those former teenagers who weathered the great transition from MySpace to Facebook, writer/director Sean Wang's Dìdi is—like so many backwards-looking films about youth—almost more painful than poignant. It's not upsetting, nor is it overly invested in tricking tears out of us.
- 7/24/2024
- by Jacob Oller
- avclub.com
Focus Features has set a release date for Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming “Black Bag,” starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. The spy drama will open in theaters on March 14.
Universal Pictures International will handle the international release with Focus Features handling domestic distribution.
Also starring in the high-stakes mystery are Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan. “Jurassic Park” scribe David Koepp, who collaborated with Soderbergh on “Kimi” and his most recent feature “Presence,” wrote the screenplay. Casey Silver and Greg Jacobs are producing.
Two-time Oscar nominee Fassbender previously starred in Soderbergh’s action movie “Haywire,” while Blanchett starred in “The Good German” and “Ocean’s 8.” Blanchett, a two-time Oscar winner, is starring in video game adaptation “Borderlands,” which opens Aug. 9. Fassbender stars in the Irish feature “Kneecap,” opening Aug. 2.
Plot details for Soderbergh’s latest are being kept under wraps. In addition to this year’s “Presence,...
Universal Pictures International will handle the international release with Focus Features handling domestic distribution.
Also starring in the high-stakes mystery are Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan. “Jurassic Park” scribe David Koepp, who collaborated with Soderbergh on “Kimi” and his most recent feature “Presence,” wrote the screenplay. Casey Silver and Greg Jacobs are producing.
Two-time Oscar nominee Fassbender previously starred in Soderbergh’s action movie “Haywire,” while Blanchett starred in “The Good German” and “Ocean’s 8.” Blanchett, a two-time Oscar winner, is starring in video game adaptation “Borderlands,” which opens Aug. 9. Fassbender stars in the Irish feature “Kneecap,” opening Aug. 2.
Plot details for Soderbergh’s latest are being kept under wraps. In addition to this year’s “Presence,...
- 7/23/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Focus Features said Tuesday that it has set Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming spy drama Black Bag for a March 14, 2025 theatrical release.
The high-stakes mystery stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender alongside Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan. Producers are Casey Silver and Greg Jacobs. David Koepp wrote the screenplay.
Focus’ upcoming fall slate includes the Morgan Neville documentary Piece by Piece, which is headed to TIFF, about performing artist Pharrell Williams as told through LEGOs. There’s also Edward Berger’s papal thriller Conclave, also set for TIFF, as well as Robert Eggers’ reimagining of Nosferatu.
Related: ‘Conclave’ Trailer: Ralph Fiennes In Thriller From ‘All Quiet’ Oscar Winner Edward Berger
Focus also has the Sundance-winner DÌDI (弟弟) from Sean Wang, Yorgos Lanthimos’s next film Bugonia starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, and the third feature film installment of Downton Abbey.
Focus has domestic, while...
The high-stakes mystery stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender alongside Regé-Jean Page, Marisa Abela, Naomie Harris, Tom Burke and Pierce Brosnan. Producers are Casey Silver and Greg Jacobs. David Koepp wrote the screenplay.
Focus’ upcoming fall slate includes the Morgan Neville documentary Piece by Piece, which is headed to TIFF, about performing artist Pharrell Williams as told through LEGOs. There’s also Edward Berger’s papal thriller Conclave, also set for TIFF, as well as Robert Eggers’ reimagining of Nosferatu.
Related: ‘Conclave’ Trailer: Ralph Fiennes In Thriller From ‘All Quiet’ Oscar Winner Edward Berger
Focus also has the Sundance-winner DÌDI (弟弟) from Sean Wang, Yorgos Lanthimos’s next film Bugonia starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, and the third feature film installment of Downton Abbey.
Focus has domestic, while...
- 7/23/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
- 7/23/2024
- by Rory Doherty
- avclub.com
With his 2008-set Dìdi, Sean Wang captures the intermingling of adolescent friendship and early social media through the lens of the Asian American diaspora, and with welcome specificity. The importance that a MySpace Top 8 and profile song carries in the world of Chris (Izaac Wang), a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, cannot be overstated, nor can the significance of AOL Instant Messenger in sustaining and expanding his friend circle, nor his YouTube channel in allowing him to express his sense of humor.
When it homes in on the disparities and contradictions between Chris’s online and real-life interactions, emotions, and behavior, Dìdi feels nothing short of truthful. Chris is a typically insecure teen, but to such an extreme that he’s almost preternaturally self-sabotaging. And Wang admirably doesn’t shy away from depicting Chris at his most awkward or abhorrent and the myriad ways his behavior alienates him from family and friends,...
When it homes in on the disparities and contradictions between Chris’s online and real-life interactions, emotions, and behavior, Dìdi feels nothing short of truthful. Chris is a typically insecure teen, but to such an extreme that he’s almost preternaturally self-sabotaging. And Wang admirably doesn’t shy away from depicting Chris at his most awkward or abhorrent and the myriad ways his behavior alienates him from family and friends,...
- 7/21/2024
- by Derek Smith
- Slant Magazine
Since the academy expanded the Best Picture category at the Oscars in 2010, Best Original Screenplay has gone to writers of a wide-range of genres: dramas; comedies (“Midnight in Paris”); biopics; true-life stories (“Spotlight”); memoirs (“Belfast”); period pictures (“Django Unchained”); war movies (“The Hurt Locker”); sci-fi (“Her”), thrillers horror (“Get Out”) and fantasies (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) . (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2025 Oscar predictions for Best Original Screenplay.)
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 15 of the most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And seven of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 18. By comparison, 42 films have done this on the adapted side including the 2022 double dipper “Coda.”
Woody Allen has won this award a record three times for “Annie Hall,...
Regardless of the type of film, a nominee needs broad academy support to win this race. Indeed, all 15 of the most recent Best Original Screenplay winners were, at the least, Best Picture nominees. And seven of them won the big prize, bringing the total number of Best Picture champs with Oscar-winning original screenplays to 18. By comparison, 42 films have done this on the adapted side including the 2022 double dipper “Coda.”
Woody Allen has won this award a record three times for “Annie Hall,...
- 7/12/2024
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
G2Go Entertainment and Sundance Institute have announced the line-up of 10 features and a curated programme of shorts for Sundance Film Festival: Asia in Taipei, Taiwan, running August 21-25 at Spot-Huashan.
The event will open with the Taiwan premiere of Taiwanese-American Sean Wang’s coming-of-age film Dìdi (弟弟); and includes Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language romp Kneecap; winner of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: Next, and Josh Margolin’s action-packed Thelma starring June Squibb.
Among the roster are: India Donaldson’s feature debut Good One; Caroline Lindy’s Your Monster, winner of the Sundance Film Festival: London 2024 Audience Favorite Award...
The event will open with the Taiwan premiere of Taiwanese-American Sean Wang’s coming-of-age film Dìdi (弟弟); and includes Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language romp Kneecap; winner of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: Next, and Josh Margolin’s action-packed Thelma starring June Squibb.
Among the roster are: India Donaldson’s feature debut Good One; Caroline Lindy’s Your Monster, winner of the Sundance Film Festival: London 2024 Audience Favorite Award...
- 7/9/2024
- ScreenDaily
Nominations voting is from January 8-12, 2025, with official Oscar nominations announced January 17, 2025. Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. And finally, the 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Et/ 4:00 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.
The State of the Race
Despite the pessimism around the decline in theater-going the first half of the year, there actually have been plenty of films that have been given enough of a platform to enter the Best Original Screenplay conversation, even at this early juncture.
Diving into the breakout films from Sundance in January and Cannes in May, the two films that received awards for their screenplay specifically were “A Real Pain,” from Oscar-nominated actor turned filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, and Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” respectively. More films that took...
The State of the Race
Despite the pessimism around the decline in theater-going the first half of the year, there actually have been plenty of films that have been given enough of a platform to enter the Best Original Screenplay conversation, even at this early juncture.
Diving into the breakout films from Sundance in January and Cannes in May, the two films that received awards for their screenplay specifically were “A Real Pain,” from Oscar-nominated actor turned filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg, and Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance,” respectively. More films that took...
- 7/2/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Nominations voting is from January 8-12, 2025, with official Oscar nominations announced January 17, 2025. Final voting is February 11-18, 2025. And finally, the 97th Oscars telecast will be broadcast on Sunday, March 2 and air live on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Et/ 4:00 p.m. Pt. We update our picks through awards season, so keep checking IndieWire for all our 2025 Oscar predictions.
The State of the Race
Unlike the other acting categories, it seems like the best is yet to come for the Best Supporting Actress race. So far, two of the few performances that actually have stood out include Cannes winners Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez from musical crime drama “Emilia Pérez” (though Saldaña could possibly move up categories). Then there is Emily Watson, who won an award at the Berlin Film Festival for her role opposite recent Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy in “Small Things Like These,” which Lionsgate is set to distribute.
The State of the Race
Unlike the other acting categories, it seems like the best is yet to come for the Best Supporting Actress race. So far, two of the few performances that actually have stood out include Cannes winners Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez from musical crime drama “Emilia Pérez” (though Saldaña could possibly move up categories). Then there is Emily Watson, who won an award at the Berlin Film Festival for her role opposite recent Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy in “Small Things Like These,” which Lionsgate is set to distribute.
- 6/28/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Now in its 23rd edition, the New York Asian Film Festival has been delivering high-octane thrills, riveting drama, hilarious comedies, and beyond from across Asia and the world for over two decades. This year’s edition is no different, offering highlights from Cannes (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), Sundance (Dìdi (弟弟), Brief History of a Family), and Venice & TIFF, plus world premieres. Ahead of the festival kicking off July 12 at Film at Lincoln Center, we’re pleased to premiere the action-packed exclusive trailer.
“For so many, Asian films start and end with Parasite or Everything Everywhere All At Once (who could blame them?), but the real action is happening in the trenches of Asian cinema, where audacious auteurs and daring debutantes are unleashing a tidal wave of talent that’s about to crash on American shores,” said Samuel Jamier, festival director and president of the New York Asian Film Foundation.
“For so many, Asian films start and end with Parasite or Everything Everywhere All At Once (who could blame them?), but the real action is happening in the trenches of Asian cinema, where audacious auteurs and daring debutantes are unleashing a tidal wave of talent that’s about to crash on American shores,” said Samuel Jamier, festival director and president of the New York Asian Film Foundation.
- 6/28/2024
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Clockwise from top left: Deadpool & Wolverine, Fly Me To The Moon, Twisters, Despicable Me 4, and DIDIPhoto: Focus Features, Melinda Sue Gordon (Universal Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment), Apple
Continuing this year’s running theme, July is light on tentpoles and new releases. It’s still a byproduct...
Continuing this year’s running theme, July is light on tentpoles and new releases. It’s still a byproduct...
- 6/26/2024
- by Matt Schimkowitz
- avclub.com
Focus Features has released the official poster for writer/director Sean Wang’s Didi. You can check the poster out below. The film itself will be in theaters on July 26, 2024!
Synopsis: In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
About The Film
Genre: Comedy, Drama Starring: Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Georgie August and Joan Chen Director: Sean Wang Screenplay: Sean Wang Producer: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush, Sean Wang
Dìdi (弟弟) is in theaters on Friday, July 26, 2024!
For More Information, Please Visit:
Official Site / Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram / #Didi
The post “Dìdi (弟弟)” Official Poster Released first appeared on CinemaNerdz.
Synopsis: In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
About The Film
Genre: Comedy, Drama Starring: Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Georgie August and Joan Chen Director: Sean Wang Screenplay: Sean Wang Producer: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush, Sean Wang
Dìdi (弟弟) is in theaters on Friday, July 26, 2024!
For More Information, Please Visit:
Official Site / Facebook / X (Twitter) / Instagram / #Didi
The post “Dìdi (弟弟)” Official Poster Released first appeared on CinemaNerdz.
- 6/14/2024
- by Editor
- CinemaNerdz
Animation studio Pixar has let go of 175 employees today, roughly 14 percent of its workforce. More on the story below.
We never enjoy writing these kinds of news stories. Pixar is the latest studio to lay off some of its staff as 175 workers were let go today (21st May).
Deadline reported in January that Pixar was looking to cut some of its workforce to reduce costs, but the layoffs still come as an unpleasant surprise, especially to the workers affected. The cuts were rumoured to affect as much as 20 percent of Pixar’s workforce, but the actual number is the equivalent of 14 percent.
Pixar, like many studios, has been struggling since the pandemic. Three Pixar films – Luca, Turning Red and Soul, all excellent – were released directly on Disney+ and audiences have somewhat come to expect quick access to films, especially as cinema ticket prices soar.
Read more: Dìdi | New, heartwarming trailer...
We never enjoy writing these kinds of news stories. Pixar is the latest studio to lay off some of its staff as 175 workers were let go today (21st May).
Deadline reported in January that Pixar was looking to cut some of its workforce to reduce costs, but the layoffs still come as an unpleasant surprise, especially to the workers affected. The cuts were rumoured to affect as much as 20 percent of Pixar’s workforce, but the actual number is the equivalent of 14 percent.
Pixar, like many studios, has been struggling since the pandemic. Three Pixar films – Luca, Turning Red and Soul, all excellent – were released directly on Disney+ and audiences have somewhat come to expect quick access to films, especially as cinema ticket prices soar.
Read more: Dìdi | New, heartwarming trailer...
- 5/21/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
Sean Wang’s new film was the talk of the town at Sundance this year and the film is heading into UK cinemas in August. Watch the Dìdi trailer here.
First-time director took Park City by storm in January with his debut film Dìdi. The heartfelt coming-of-age story received rave reviews from critics and went on to win the U.S Dramatic Audience Awards at the festival. The film also earned the Jury Prize for best U.S Dramatic Ensemble.
Dìdi is gearing up to be released in the US in July, but us UK folk will have to wait a little longer for Dìdi as the film arrives on our screens in August. Thankfully though, there’s a new trailer for the film, which will get us through the next few months of waiting.
Take a look at the Dìdi trailer below.
Taking a page from Lady Bird’s book,...
First-time director took Park City by storm in January with his debut film Dìdi. The heartfelt coming-of-age story received rave reviews from critics and went on to win the U.S Dramatic Audience Awards at the festival. The film also earned the Jury Prize for best U.S Dramatic Ensemble.
Dìdi is gearing up to be released in the US in July, but us UK folk will have to wait a little longer for Dìdi as the film arrives on our screens in August. Thankfully though, there’s a new trailer for the film, which will get us through the next few months of waiting.
Take a look at the Dìdi trailer below.
Taking a page from Lady Bird’s book,...
- 5/21/2024
- by Maria Lattila
- Film Stories
The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards.
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Lexi Carson
- Variety Film + TV
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone on the set of Poor Things. Photo by Atsushi Nishijima. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2023 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Bugonia, the next film from six-time Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe (Element Pictures), Yorgos Lanthimos, Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen (Square Peg), Emma Stone (Fruit Tree), Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko (Cj Enm) has landed at Focus Features. Focus will release Bugonia. with Universal Pictures distributing internationally (exclusively in Korea). The film stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. The film is written by Will Tracy.
Bugonia is based on the South Korean sci-fi comedy, “Save the Green Planet” 2003. This English language version was developed by Cj Enm with Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen at Square Peg. The...
Bugonia, the next film from six-time Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe (Element Pictures), Yorgos Lanthimos, Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen (Square Peg), Emma Stone (Fruit Tree), Miky Lee and Jerry Kyoungboum Ko (Cj Enm) has landed at Focus Features. Focus will release Bugonia. with Universal Pictures distributing internationally (exclusively in Korea). The film stars Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. The film is written by Will Tracy.
Bugonia is based on the South Korean sci-fi comedy, “Save the Green Planet” 2003. This English language version was developed by Cj Enm with Ari Aster and Lars Knudsen at Square Peg. The...
- 5/18/2024
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Just this year, Sean Wang is already a Sundance breakout and an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. Finally, Wang’s feature debut “Dìdi” will be in theaters thanks to Focus Features.
The semi-autobiographical coming of age story of “Dìdi” follows a Taiwanese-American tween (Izaac Wang) in 2008. At 13 years old, he’s just about to begin high school and he learns “how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love his mom,” during the last month of summer, per the film’s synopsis.
Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Georgie August, and Joan Chen also star.
Wang writes, directs, and produces, with Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, and Valerie Bush also producing. The executive producers include Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Dave A. Liu, Jennifer J. Pritzker, Robina Riccitiello, Joan Chen, Chris Quintos Cathcart, and Tyler Boehm.
The semi-autobiographical coming of age story of “Dìdi” follows a Taiwanese-American tween (Izaac Wang) in 2008. At 13 years old, he’s just about to begin high school and he learns “how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love his mom,” during the last month of summer, per the film’s synopsis.
Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman, Sunil Mukherjee Maurillo, Alaysia Simmons, Alysha Syed, Georgie August, and Joan Chen also star.
Wang writes, directs, and produces, with Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, and Valerie Bush also producing. The executive producers include Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Dave A. Liu, Jennifer J. Pritzker, Robina Riccitiello, Joan Chen, Chris Quintos Cathcart, and Tyler Boehm.
- 5/14/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
No matter your background or where you’re from, everyone has experienced being a 13-year-old. That’s usually the time when you might experience heartbreak for the first time. It’s probably the time when you do stupid shit to impress your friends. It’s definitely a time when you thought your family was annoying. This is why it’s always a joy to see a film like “DÌDI.”
Read More: ‘DÌDI’ Review: Sean Wang Bares His Heart & Soul In A Crowd-Pleasing Coming-Of-Age Tale [Sundance]
As seen in the trailer for “DÌDI,” the film tells the story of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy as he navigates the summer before he starts high school.
Continue reading ‘DÌDI’ Trailer: Sean Wang’s Award-Winning Sundance Drama Arrives In Theaters In July at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘DÌDI’ Review: Sean Wang Bares His Heart & Soul In A Crowd-Pleasing Coming-Of-Age Tale [Sundance]
As seen in the trailer for “DÌDI,” the film tells the story of a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy as he navigates the summer before he starts high school.
Continue reading ‘DÌDI’ Trailer: Sean Wang’s Award-Winning Sundance Drama Arrives In Theaters In July at The Playlist.
- 5/14/2024
- by Martin Miller
- The Playlist
It wouldn’t have been Sundance without at least a handful of coming-of-age stories. Sean Wang’s audience award winner Dìdi (弟弟) proves that, with a new perspective, there are still emotions to be mined from a tried-and-true formula. Exploring the everyday life of a Taiwanese-American boy growing up in Fremont, California, wherein issues of friendship and potential crushes can seem to consume every waking moment, the film is most impressive in how it completely nails its 2008 milieu. From trading Aim messages to being obsessed with MySpace Top 8s to looking up how to kiss through YouTube tutorials, it’s remarkable how these nostalgic touches are conveyed with more fondness than cringe.
Ahead of a July 26 release from Focus Features, the first trailer has arrived for the Sundance Audience Award winner. Starring Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman,...
Ahead of a July 26 release from Focus Features, the first trailer has arrived for the Sundance Audience Award winner. Starring Izaac Wang, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua, Raul Dial, Aaron Chang, Mahaela Park, Chiron Cilia Denk, Montay Boseman,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Mexican-us filmmaker Carlos López Estrada will deliver Sundance Film Festival: London’s keynote address at the festival’s third annual industry programme, with further speakers confirmed from Studiocanal, BFI, BBC Film, Film4, Bafta and Sky.
The festival runs at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9.
López Estrada’s director credits include his feature debut Blindpostting which opened Sundance in 2018, and animation Raya And The Last Dragon, which he co-directed with Don Hall.
As a producer, he is founder of Antigravity Academy, a production company specialising in creating opportunities for emerging talent. Antigravity’s first produced project, Dìdi (弟弟), written and directed by Sean Wang,...
The festival runs at London’s Picturehouse Central from June 6-9.
López Estrada’s director credits include his feature debut Blindpostting which opened Sundance in 2018, and animation Raya And The Last Dragon, which he co-directed with Don Hall.
As a producer, he is founder of Antigravity Academy, a production company specialising in creating opportunities for emerging talent. Antigravity’s first produced project, Dìdi (弟弟), written and directed by Sean Wang,...
- 5/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
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