Lou Ye's docufiction hybrid “Unfinished Film” is one of the best films made about life during pandemic, even though it wasn't originally planned to be that. It was the new circumstances that forced Ye to change his plans, when he and his crew were caught in the lockdown in a place near Wuhan to make a completely different kind of movie. What came out of it is a captivating act of genius which captures the exact moment when normality got squashed by the unpredictable chain of events: first the pandemic, and then a complete lockdown. Shot by multiple cameras, “Unfinished Film” is a movie within a movie, showing people in front and behind the camera, each absorbed in their own line of duty. But the actors and crew members are also caught off-guard, and at one point even Ye himself uexpectedly appears on screen, doing his directing job. In the movie,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
It was more than a little heartening to see Roger Corman paid tribute by Quentin Tarantino at Cannes’ closing night. By now the director-producer-mogul’s imprint on cinema is understood to eclipse, rough estimate, 99.5% of anybody who’s touched the medium, but on a night for celebrating what’s new, trend-following, and manicured it could’ve hardly been more necessary. Thus I’m further heartened seeing the Criterion Channel will host a retrospective of Corman’s Edgar Allan Poe adaptations running eight films and aptly titled “Grindhouse Gothic,” though I might save the selections for October.
Centerpiece, though, is a hip hop series including Bill Duke’s superb Deep Cover, Ghost Dog, and numerous documentaries––among them Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, making Michael Rapaport a Criterion-approved auteur. Ten films starring Kay Francis and 21 Eurothrillers round out series; streaming premieres include the Dardenne brothers’ Tori and Lokita,...
Centerpiece, though, is a hip hop series including Bill Duke’s superb Deep Cover, Ghost Dog, and numerous documentaries––among them Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest, making Michael Rapaport a Criterion-approved auteur. Ten films starring Kay Francis and 21 Eurothrillers round out series; streaming premieres include the Dardenne brothers’ Tori and Lokita,...
- 7/19/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
‘Saturday Fiction’ Film Review: Gong Li Period Piece Falls Short as Spy Thriller and Backstage Drama
History struggles to come alive in the mainland Chinese WWII spy thriller “Saturday Fiction,” a poorly lit memory play about a doomed espionage mission involving a famous Chinese actress (Gong Li) and a prominent Japanese military official (Joe Odagiri).
Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this sleepy and visually murky black-and-white drama belabors the same banal truisms about memory and role-playing during wartime –basically, it’s impossible to maintain your autonomy when you’re only a pawn in a complicated game — and tends to be more interesting to think about than to watch.
Filmed with stifling hand-held photography, many scenes plod along in real time without a momentous or compelling pace. The sound design’s focus on background noises, instead of a musical score, also soon becomes more irritating than intriguing. Gong and Odagiri do what they can with a generally thin scenario, inspired by...
Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this sleepy and visually murky black-and-white drama belabors the same banal truisms about memory and role-playing during wartime –basically, it’s impossible to maintain your autonomy when you’re only a pawn in a complicated game — and tends to be more interesting to think about than to watch.
Filmed with stifling hand-held photography, many scenes plod along in real time without a momentous or compelling pace. The sound design’s focus on background noises, instead of a musical score, also soon becomes more irritating than intriguing. Gong and Odagiri do what they can with a generally thin scenario, inspired by...
- 4/20/2022
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Alain Guiraudie’s “Nobody’s Hero” which is handled by Films du Losange and world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival.
The movie, which opened the Berlinale Panorama section, is set in Clermont-Ferrand revolves around Frederic, a 35 year-old man who falls in love with with a middle-aged sex worker who is married.
“Nobody’s Hero” marks the third collaboration between Strand and Guiraudie which began with the helmer’s most successful film “Stranger By The Lake,” followed by his Cannes Competition title, “Staying Vertical.”
“Alain has been a dear colleague to our company, and we are so happy to be working with him again on this wonderfully exuberant comedy that is not only funny, but humane and completely original,” said Strand Releasing’s Jon Gerrans who negotiated the deal with Alice Lesort for Films du Losange. Guiraudie previously contributed to Strand Releasing’s...
The movie, which opened the Berlinale Panorama section, is set in Clermont-Ferrand revolves around Frederic, a 35 year-old man who falls in love with with a middle-aged sex worker who is married.
“Nobody’s Hero” marks the third collaboration between Strand and Guiraudie which began with the helmer’s most successful film “Stranger By The Lake,” followed by his Cannes Competition title, “Staying Vertical.”
“Alain has been a dear colleague to our company, and we are so happy to be working with him again on this wonderfully exuberant comedy that is not only funny, but humane and completely original,” said Strand Releasing’s Jon Gerrans who negotiated the deal with Alice Lesort for Films du Losange. Guiraudie previously contributed to Strand Releasing’s...
- 4/4/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to “Marx Can Wait” by Italian film master Marco Bellocchio, who received the honorary Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Represented in international markets by The Match Factory, “Marx Can Wait” is a moving and personal family tale exploring how the suicide of his twin brother Camillo shaped Bellocchio’s life and body of work. The documentary played at New York Film Festival and is eligible for this year’s Academy Awards.
In “Marx Can Wait,” Bellocchio tackles the trauma of Camillo’s death and invites family members to present their memories of his twin brother. The narrative and observational documentary shows how this loss has loomed over Bellocchio’s work like an unexpressed taboo marked by guilt, remorse and longing.
“We’re so thrilled to be partnering once again with The Match Factory and with Bellocchio on this beautiful,...
Represented in international markets by The Match Factory, “Marx Can Wait” is a moving and personal family tale exploring how the suicide of his twin brother Camillo shaped Bellocchio’s life and body of work. The documentary played at New York Film Festival and is eligible for this year’s Academy Awards.
In “Marx Can Wait,” Bellocchio tackles the trauma of Camillo’s death and invites family members to present their memories of his twin brother. The narrative and observational documentary shows how this loss has loomed over Bellocchio’s work like an unexpressed taboo marked by guilt, remorse and longing.
“We’re so thrilled to be partnering once again with The Match Factory and with Bellocchio on this beautiful,...
- 11/22/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“The Battle at Lake Changjin” is on course to become one of the top three films of all time in China after dominating proceedings at the mainland Chinese box office for a third successive weekend.
A patriotic war film, “Changjin” earned $73 million between Friday and Sunday to extend its cumulative total to $769 million since being released on Sept. 30, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.
In second place, “My Country, My Parents” earned $14.6 million, to extend its running total past $200 million to $210 million.
The film is already the fourth biggest film in Chinese history. Giant screen theater supplier, Imax said that the $2.7 million earned on its screens this weekend extended its Imax cumulative to $34.6 million, the fourth highest score by a non-English-language film.
Forecasts from Chinese ticketing agency Maoyan point to “Changjin” reaching RMB5.43 billon or $843 million (at current exchange rates) over its lifetime. If it were to achieve that total,...
A patriotic war film, “Changjin” earned $73 million between Friday and Sunday to extend its cumulative total to $769 million since being released on Sept. 30, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.
In second place, “My Country, My Parents” earned $14.6 million, to extend its running total past $200 million to $210 million.
The film is already the fourth biggest film in Chinese history. Giant screen theater supplier, Imax said that the $2.7 million earned on its screens this weekend extended its Imax cumulative to $34.6 million, the fourth highest score by a non-English-language film.
Forecasts from Chinese ticketing agency Maoyan point to “Changjin” reaching RMB5.43 billon or $843 million (at current exchange rates) over its lifetime. If it were to achieve that total,...
- 10/18/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Chinese New Year is the biggest, most lucrative and brashest season of the year in mainland China cinemas. It is a time for big-budget tentpoles and fun films that are pitched as family entertainment.
Having reserved their place in the releasing calendar for months or even a year, seven films open simultaneously on Friday (Feb. 12). A further two open on Sunday, Valentine’s Day.
Among those with the highest hopes is “A Writer’s Odyssey” a modern day fantasy directed by “Brotherhood of Blades” helmer Lu Yang.
“Odyssey” tells the story of Lu Kongwen (Dong Zijian), the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, who is on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor (Guo Jingfei). But through a strange twist of fate, the fantasy world of the novel begins to impact life in the real world, leading...
Having reserved their place in the releasing calendar for months or even a year, seven films open simultaneously on Friday (Feb. 12). A further two open on Sunday, Valentine’s Day.
Among those with the highest hopes is “A Writer’s Odyssey” a modern day fantasy directed by “Brotherhood of Blades” helmer Lu Yang.
“Odyssey” tells the story of Lu Kongwen (Dong Zijian), the author of a fantasy novel series following a heroic teenager, who is on a quest to end the tyrannical rule of Lord Redmane, under the guidance of a Black Armor (Guo Jingfei). But through a strange twist of fate, the fantasy world of the novel begins to impact life in the real world, leading...
- 2/10/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Global streaming giant Netflix has acquired rights to “The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity,” a period fantasy action film by the ferociously talented and divisive director Guo Jingming. The film is set for a major theatrical release in mainland China on Dec. 25.
Netflix, which acquired rights excluding China, will release it in the rest of the world on Feb. 5, 2021, shortly before the Lunar New Year holiday celebrations.
Adapted from the popular 2001 novel “Onmyoji” by Japanese writer Baku Yumemakura, the story sees the four best Yin-Yang Masters in the country called to the capital to slay the serpent demon, which awakens only every 100 years. In the meantime, a princess and the head of the royal guard conspire to end the serpent’s eternal life.
It stars a young and attractive cast headed by Mark Chao (“Saturday Fiction”), Allen Deng (“Ashes of Love”), Jessie Li (“Port of Call”) and Wang Ziwen (“The...
Netflix, which acquired rights excluding China, will release it in the rest of the world on Feb. 5, 2021, shortly before the Lunar New Year holiday celebrations.
Adapted from the popular 2001 novel “Onmyoji” by Japanese writer Baku Yumemakura, the story sees the four best Yin-Yang Masters in the country called to the capital to slay the serpent demon, which awakens only every 100 years. In the meantime, a princess and the head of the royal guard conspire to end the serpent’s eternal life.
It stars a young and attractive cast headed by Mark Chao (“Saturday Fiction”), Allen Deng (“Ashes of Love”), Jessie Li (“Port of Call”) and Wang Ziwen (“The...
- 12/16/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The directing debut of Chinese screenwriter Cao Jinling, the film is premiering at Cairo film festival next week.
Fortissimo Films has picked up worldwide rights, excluding China, to Anima (Moerdaoga), the debut feature of Chinese screenwriter Cao Jinling.
The film, which stars Wang Chuanjun and Qi Xi, is scheduled to have its world premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival on December 8, with the director in attendance.
Filmed on location in the Moerdaoga National Forest in Inner Mongolia, the film is set in the 1980s when China had just launched its programme of economic opening and development.
The coming-of-age story follows a young man,...
Fortissimo Films has picked up worldwide rights, excluding China, to Anima (Moerdaoga), the debut feature of Chinese screenwriter Cao Jinling.
The film, which stars Wang Chuanjun and Qi Xi, is scheduled to have its world premiere at the Cairo International Film Festival on December 8, with the director in attendance.
Filmed on location in the Moerdaoga National Forest in Inner Mongolia, the film is set in the 1980s when China had just launched its programme of economic opening and development.
The coming-of-age story follows a young man,...
- 12/2/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” has been pulled from China’s Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, where it had been given pride of place as the opening film. Political sensitivity over historical events, once again, appears to have led to the decision.
This is the second time that “One Second” has been yanked by Chinese authorities from a prominent slot at a major festival. In February 2019, it was removed at short notice from the Berlin Film Festival, where it had been scheduled to play in competition.
It is also the second year in succession that the Golden Rooster Festival has lost its opening film at short notice. Last year, Lou Ye’s “Saturday Fiction” was pulled from the lineup the day before opening. The Gong Li-starrer still hasn’t received a theatrical release in China, though last year it premiered in Venice and played several other autumn festivals in Europe.
This is the second time that “One Second” has been yanked by Chinese authorities from a prominent slot at a major festival. In February 2019, it was removed at short notice from the Berlin Film Festival, where it had been scheduled to play in competition.
It is also the second year in succession that the Golden Rooster Festival has lost its opening film at short notice. Last year, Lou Ye’s “Saturday Fiction” was pulled from the lineup the day before opening. The Gong Li-starrer still hasn’t received a theatrical release in China, though last year it premiered in Venice and played several other autumn festivals in Europe.
- 11/24/2020
- by Rebecca Davis and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Li’s third film premiered in competition at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival.
Beijing-based sales agent Rediance has picked up international rights to Li Xiaofeng’s Back To The Wharf, which premiered in competition at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival.
Executive produced by leading actor/producer Huang Bo, the film revolves around a former top high school student returning to the hometown he left 15 years ago following an accident. After meeting an old classmate, he decides to face the wounds of the past and take back control of his life.
Starring Zhang Yu (An Elephant Sitting Still...
Beijing-based sales agent Rediance has picked up international rights to Li Xiaofeng’s Back To The Wharf, which premiered in competition at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival.
Executive produced by leading actor/producer Huang Bo, the film revolves around a former top high school student returning to the hometown he left 15 years ago following an accident. After meeting an old classmate, he decides to face the wounds of the past and take back control of his life.
Starring Zhang Yu (An Elephant Sitting Still...
- 9/28/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
At 30, and already an accomplished novelist, Guo Jingming deftly turned himself into one of China’s top film directors when he unleashed bratty, aspirational comedy-drama “Tiny Times” on an eager public in June 2013. Then he showed his understanding of marketing strategy by releasing a sequel barely six weeks later.
Guo’s upcoming action fantasy “The Yin Yang Master” is already billed as a two-parter, so he will not be able to pull off the surprise sequel trick a second time. But there is every reason to expect the movie pair to be among the biggest Chinese films of the next 12 months.
The story involves a snake dragon, and a cabal of Yin-Yang masters, a scheming princess and a well-placed palace guard who each have other plans for the power of the demon than the one they advertise.
The films, being pitched this week in the online version of the Cannes Market,...
Guo’s upcoming action fantasy “The Yin Yang Master” is already billed as a two-parter, so he will not be able to pull off the surprise sequel trick a second time. But there is every reason to expect the movie pair to be among the biggest Chinese films of the next 12 months.
The story involves a snake dragon, and a cabal of Yin-Yang masters, a scheming princess and a well-placed palace guard who each have other plans for the power of the demon than the one they advertise.
The films, being pitched this week in the online version of the Cannes Market,...
- 6/24/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Strand Releasing has scooped all North American rights to Lou Ye’s Second World War-set spy thriller “Saturday Fiction” from Wild Bunch. The film world premiered in competition at Venice last year and played at the New York Film Festival.
“Saturday Fiction” stars Gong Li as a famous actress who has returned to Japanese-occupied Shanghai to act in a play directed by and co-starring her old flame. But it turns out she has ulterior motives, functioning as a double agent gathering intelligence for the Allies leading up to Japan’s upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor.
Written by Ma Yingli (“Summer Palace”), the lavishly shot black-and-white movie also stars Mark Chao, Pascal Greggory and Tom Wlaschiha.
Strand Releasing, one of the key purveyors of upscale foreign-language cinema in the U.S., previously distributed Ye’s critically-acclaimed 2000 drama “Suzhou River,” as well as “Spring Fever,” which had won the screenplay award at...
“Saturday Fiction” stars Gong Li as a famous actress who has returned to Japanese-occupied Shanghai to act in a play directed by and co-starring her old flame. But it turns out she has ulterior motives, functioning as a double agent gathering intelligence for the Allies leading up to Japan’s upcoming attack on Pearl Harbor.
Written by Ma Yingli (“Summer Palace”), the lavishly shot black-and-white movie also stars Mark Chao, Pascal Greggory and Tom Wlaschiha.
Strand Releasing, one of the key purveyors of upscale foreign-language cinema in the U.S., previously distributed Ye’s critically-acclaimed 2000 drama “Suzhou River,” as well as “Spring Fever,” which had won the screenplay award at...
- 5/5/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“Mulan” fans in mainland China on Friday welcomed the news that Disney will postpone the global release of the new live-action blockbuster, happy that they’ll likely now get the chance to see the film in theaters in sync with the rest of the world.
The new “Mulan” was scheduled to release worldwide outside of China, one of Disney’s most crucial overseas markets, on March 27. Chinese cinemas have been closed since late January due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Disney’s potentially costly decision to move ahead without China came despite the firm’s efforts to specifically cater to mainland audiences in its new retelling of the classic Chinese ballad, particularly in the decision to cast popular China-born starlet Liu Yifei as the titular heroine.
Chinese fans took to social media on Friday to express their relief that the film had been pulled — both for health reasons, and out of...
The new “Mulan” was scheduled to release worldwide outside of China, one of Disney’s most crucial overseas markets, on March 27. Chinese cinemas have been closed since late January due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Disney’s potentially costly decision to move ahead without China came despite the firm’s efforts to specifically cater to mainland audiences in its new retelling of the classic Chinese ballad, particularly in the decision to cast popular China-born starlet Liu Yifei as the titular heroine.
Chinese fans took to social media on Friday to express their relief that the film had been pulled — both for health reasons, and out of...
- 3/14/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
New mini-theatre complex will mark Uplink’s third arthouse cinema in Japan.
Japanese specialist distributor-exhibitor Uplink Co is gearing up to open a four-screen cinema in the city of Kyoto, marking its third arthouse cinema opening in Japan.
Scheduled to open on April 16, the cinema will show arthouse films from around the world, as well as Japanese films with English subtitles for English-speaking residents and tourists in Kyoto. Each screening room will have a different design concept, colours and style.
The cinema will be located in the Shinpukan cultural and shopping complex, a redevelopment based on a historic building that...
Japanese specialist distributor-exhibitor Uplink Co is gearing up to open a four-screen cinema in the city of Kyoto, marking its third arthouse cinema opening in Japan.
Scheduled to open on April 16, the cinema will show arthouse films from around the world, as well as Japanese films with English subtitles for English-speaking residents and tourists in Kyoto. Each screening room will have a different design concept, colours and style.
The cinema will be located in the Shinpukan cultural and shopping complex, a redevelopment based on a historic building that...
- 3/5/2020
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company is also stepping into Asian TV series sales with Horizon Tower.
Fortissimo Films is launching sales at the Efm on two Chinese titles – fantasy action film The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity and arthouse drama Hot Soup, directed by Zhang Ming, whose 2018 The Pluto Moment premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight.
The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company is also stepping into Asian TV series sales with Horizon Tower, produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures. All three titles are currently in post-production and scheduled for delivery later in 2020.
Directed by Guo Jingming (Tiny Times franchise), The Yin-Yang Master:...
Fortissimo Films is launching sales at the Efm on two Chinese titles – fantasy action film The Yin-Yang Master: Dream Of Eternity and arthouse drama Hot Soup, directed by Zhang Ming, whose 2018 The Pluto Moment premiered in Cannes Directors Fortnight.
The Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company is also stepping into Asian TV series sales with Horizon Tower, produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures. All three titles are currently in post-production and scheduled for delivery later in 2020.
Directed by Guo Jingming (Tiny Times franchise), The Yin-Yang Master:...
- 2/18/2020
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Zhao Shuzhen has been acting in her native China since she was 16. In the U.S., she became an overnight sensation at age 76.
Until last year, she was a successful television actor in her homeland — then came her U.S. debut in “The Farewell,” writer-director Lulu Wang’s autobiographical drama about traveling to China to visit her grandmother after the family decides not to tell her that she’s been diagnosed with cancer. Awkwafina portrays Wang (named Billi in the movie), a role that earned her a lead actress trophy at the Golden Globes. Zhao takes on the role of her grandmother, affectionately known as Nai Nai.
The $3 million film, which A24 bought out of Sundance for $7 million, is a certified indie box office hit. It brought in $17.6 million in the U.S. and an additional $2 million internationally.
But can it crack the Chinese market? The film opens in China on Jan.
Until last year, she was a successful television actor in her homeland — then came her U.S. debut in “The Farewell,” writer-director Lulu Wang’s autobiographical drama about traveling to China to visit her grandmother after the family decides not to tell her that she’s been diagnosed with cancer. Awkwafina portrays Wang (named Billi in the movie), a role that earned her a lead actress trophy at the Golden Globes. Zhao takes on the role of her grandmother, affectionately known as Nai Nai.
The $3 million film, which A24 bought out of Sundance for $7 million, is a certified indie box office hit. It brought in $17.6 million in the U.S. and an additional $2 million internationally.
But can it crack the Chinese market? The film opens in China on Jan.
- 1/9/2020
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Diao Yinan-directed film grosses $23m, while Giuseppe Tornatore classic The Legend Of 1900 is now on $20m.
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
- 12/11/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Diao Yinan-directed film grosses $23m, while Giuseppe Tornatore classic The Legend Of 1900 is now on $20m.
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
Chinese filmmaker Diao Yinan’s Cannes competition title The Wild Goose Lake has had an impressive opening in mainland China, grossing $19.4m (RMB136.2m) on its opening weekend (Dec 6-9).
As of December 11 morning, the crime drama – about a gangster who crosses paths with a prostitute while on the run – had grossed $23.4m (RMB165m), coming in second only to Sony’s Jumanji 2: The Next Level, which scored $24.6m (RMB172.9m) on its opening weekend.
The Wild Goose Lake, which stars Hu...
- 12/11/2019
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Hollywood films and local arthouse led the Chinese box office this weekend, with “Jumanji: The Next Level” taking the lead with a $24.7 million debut, while Lou Ye’s Venice title “Saturday Fiction” was abruptly yanked from the lineup of releases.
Remarkably, Diao Yinan’s stylish and bloody neo-noir “Wild Goose Lake” did almost as well as “Jumanji” in its opening weekend, taking $19.4 million to come in second. Starring Hu Ge, Gwei Lun Mei, and Liao Fan, the crime thriller debuted in competition at Cannes in May, but appears to have undergone four minutes of cuts, given the listed 113-minute runtime of the version screening in China.
Disney’s “Frozen 2” came in third with $9.6 million, bringing its cumulative box office in China up to $105 million.
Local crime thriller “The Whistleblower” made $4.3 million in its debut. The film features Tang Wei, the starlet who was once banned from mainland filmmaking for her...
Remarkably, Diao Yinan’s stylish and bloody neo-noir “Wild Goose Lake” did almost as well as “Jumanji” in its opening weekend, taking $19.4 million to come in second. Starring Hu Ge, Gwei Lun Mei, and Liao Fan, the crime thriller debuted in competition at Cannes in May, but appears to have undergone four minutes of cuts, given the listed 113-minute runtime of the version screening in China.
Disney’s “Frozen 2” came in third with $9.6 million, bringing its cumulative box office in China up to $105 million.
Local crime thriller “The Whistleblower” made $4.3 million in its debut. The film features Tang Wei, the starlet who was once banned from mainland filmmaking for her...
- 12/9/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
This weekend sees a showdown between two of the Chinese-speaking film world’s major awards events, with both the Golden Rooster Awards, held on the China mainland, and Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards taking place on Saturday (November 23).
Ahead of the ceremonies, it was announced this week that the state-approved Golden Roosters will be held annually from this year, moving from the biannual schedule it has operated since 2005.
The move will be viewed as part of an effort to establish the Roosters as the primary awards ceremony of the Chinese-speaking movie world, ahead of the Golden Horses, which have routinely been referred to as the ‘Chinese Oscars.’
Earlier this year, China’s authorities put the blockers on Chinese actors, directors and producers submitting to this year’s Golden Horses, significantly restricting the ceremony’s nominations pool.
The decision was made after the political fallout from last year’s Golden Horses,...
Ahead of the ceremonies, it was announced this week that the state-approved Golden Roosters will be held annually from this year, moving from the biannual schedule it has operated since 2005.
The move will be viewed as part of an effort to establish the Roosters as the primary awards ceremony of the Chinese-speaking movie world, ahead of the Golden Horses, which have routinely been referred to as the ‘Chinese Oscars.’
Earlier this year, China’s authorities put the blockers on Chinese actors, directors and producers submitting to this year’s Golden Horses, significantly restricting the ceremony’s nominations pool.
The decision was made after the political fallout from last year’s Golden Horses,...
- 11/21/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Just a day before its scheduled China debut, director Lou Ye’s latest film, “Saturday Fiction,” has been pulled from its slot as the opener of the mainland’s Golden Rooster Film Festival because of unspecified “internal production problems,” according to Chinese film website Mtime. Speculation has been spreading online that it will also be yanked from its currently scheduled Dec. 7 nationwide theatrical release.
The film by Chinese “Sixth Generation” director Lou competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in September. It has been replaced on opening night of the Golden Rooster festival by an innocuous music documentary about shakuhachi – long, traditional bamboo flutes that originated from China and spread to Japan – called “One Sound, One Life.” Directed by Helen Yu, the film grossed just $500,000 in mainland theaters in May.
“Saturday Fiction” is now at least the fifth Chinese film to run into trouble this year at...
The film by Chinese “Sixth Generation” director Lou competed for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in September. It has been replaced on opening night of the Golden Rooster festival by an innocuous music documentary about shakuhachi – long, traditional bamboo flutes that originated from China and spread to Japan – called “One Sound, One Life.” Directed by Helen Yu, the film grossed just $500,000 in mainland theaters in May.
“Saturday Fiction” is now at least the fifth Chinese film to run into trouble this year at...
- 11/18/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Above: JokerWas it really that big a surprise—for some even a sensation—that the main awards of the 76ª Mostra internazionale d'arte cinematografica di Venezia went to Todd Phillips' Joker (Golden Lion) and Roman Polański's An Officer and a Spy (Grand Jury Prize)? For weren't these the films most talked about before—and among the most widely discussed cum (mainly) celebrated during the festival proper? This was arguably one of the better jury decisions in years, a decision decidedly in favor of cinema as an art for and of the masses with the potential of making serious amounts of people ponder, maybe look differently at what they thought and believed (in) so far—though film did not have all the answers.Besides: This pair perfectly sums up the main themes and concerns addressed in the competition as well as some of the outstanding films to be found in the...
- 11/17/2019
- MUBI
Taika Waititi’s provocative Nazi comedy “Jojo Rabbit” has been set as the opening night gala screening at the fourth edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao.
The festival packs together a competition section that includes recent festival favorites Gitanjali Rao’s animation “Bombay Rose,” and barely fictionalize modern-day slavery drama “Buoyancy,” by Rodd Rathjen, alongside gala screenings of “Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon,” and Japan’s “Dance With Me,” by Shinobu Yaguchi.
A strong Chinese presence includes “Better Days,” by Derek Tsang; Cannes Critics Week film “Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains,” by Gu Xiaogang; “To Live To Sing,” by Johnny Ma; and Singaporean director Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season.”
The World Panorama strand films by celebrated directors, includes “The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmao,” winner of Un Certain Regard, “Little Joe,” for which Emily Beecham won best actress in Cannes, and “Proxima,” for which director Alice Winocour won...
The festival packs together a competition section that includes recent festival favorites Gitanjali Rao’s animation “Bombay Rose,” and barely fictionalize modern-day slavery drama “Buoyancy,” by Rodd Rathjen, alongside gala screenings of “Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon,” and Japan’s “Dance With Me,” by Shinobu Yaguchi.
A strong Chinese presence includes “Better Days,” by Derek Tsang; Cannes Critics Week film “Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains,” by Gu Xiaogang; “To Live To Sing,” by Johnny Ma; and Singaporean director Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season.”
The World Panorama strand films by celebrated directors, includes “The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmao,” winner of Un Certain Regard, “Little Joe,” for which Emily Beecham won best actress in Cannes, and “Proxima,” for which director Alice Winocour won...
- 11/5/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
For its 30th edition the Singapore International Film Festival has avoided programming novelty and instead focused on assembling excellence – mostly indie titles — from Asia and further afield.
The festival, which previously announced local filmmaker Anthony Chen’s second feature “Wet Season” as its opening night gala presentation, announced the balance of its programming on Tuesday. Other galas are set to include “Downton Abbey,” and “Nina Wu.” Hirokazu Koreeda’s “The Truth” was named as the closing film. The festival runs Nov. 21 – Dec. 1.
The nine-film competition section includes: “Dwelling in The Fuchun Mountains”; Indian animation, “Bombay Rose”; Indonesia’s “The Science of Fictions,” and “Verdict,” all of which have received favorable reception elsewhere on the festival circuit.
Prizes for the competition will be decided by a jury that includes India’’s Anurag Kashyap, Indonesia’s Nia Dinata, Singapore’s Amir Muhammad, and Hong Kong’s Pang Ho-cheung.
One sidebar section includes Asia-Pacific festival favorites including “Balloon,...
The festival, which previously announced local filmmaker Anthony Chen’s second feature “Wet Season” as its opening night gala presentation, announced the balance of its programming on Tuesday. Other galas are set to include “Downton Abbey,” and “Nina Wu.” Hirokazu Koreeda’s “The Truth” was named as the closing film. The festival runs Nov. 21 – Dec. 1.
The nine-film competition section includes: “Dwelling in The Fuchun Mountains”; Indian animation, “Bombay Rose”; Indonesia’s “The Science of Fictions,” and “Verdict,” all of which have received favorable reception elsewhere on the festival circuit.
Prizes for the competition will be decided by a jury that includes India’’s Anurag Kashyap, Indonesia’s Nia Dinata, Singapore’s Amir Muhammad, and Hong Kong’s Pang Ho-cheung.
One sidebar section includes Asia-Pacific festival favorites including “Balloon,...
- 10/22/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The 57th annual New York Film Festival started off strong, with Martin Scorsese’s interrogation of time in his mob masterpiece The Irishman. So it is perhaps rather fitting that the whirlwind two weeks of prestige films will end with a movie displaced out of time. Edward Norton’s noir passion project Motherless Brooklyn was a somewhat baffling capper […]
The post New York Film Festival 2019 Week 2 Recap: ‘Varda by Agnes,’ ‘Saturday Fiction,’ ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ appeared first on /Film.
The post New York Film Festival 2019 Week 2 Recap: ‘Varda by Agnes,’ ‘Saturday Fiction,’ ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ appeared first on /Film.
- 10/14/2019
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
Top Picksdaniel KASMAN1. 2008 (Blake Williams)2. State Funeral (Sergei Loznitsa)3. About Endlessness (Roy Andersson)4. Seven Years in May (Affonso Uchôa)5. Uncut Gems (Josh & Benny Safdie)6. Crazy World (Nabwana I.G.G.)7. Austrian Pavilion (Philipp Fleischmann)8. Transcript (Erica Sheu)9. Collective (Alexander Nanau)10. Book of Hours (Annie MacDonell)Fernando F. CROCE1. The Traitor (Marco Bellocchio)2. The Cordillera of Dreams (Patricio Guzmán)3. Uncut Gems (Josh & Benny Safdie)4. Bacurau (Kleber Mendonça Filho & Juliano Dornelles)5. The Wild Goose Lake (Diao Yinan)6. First Love (Takashi Miike)7. Anne at 13,000 ft (Kazik Radwanksi)8. The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão (Karim Aïnouz)9. Sound of Metal (Darius Marder)10. It Must Be Heaven (Elia Suleiman)Kelley DONG1. To the Ends of the Earth (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)2. Jordan River Anderson, the Messenger (Alanis Obomsawin)3. The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn)4. Liberté (Albert Serra)5. How to Build a Girl (Coky Gieroyc), Saint Maud (Rose Glass)Correspondences#1 Daniel Kasman...
- 9/18/2019
- MUBI
After Ye Lou was the subject of controversy regarding his previous film, “Shadow Play”, he is back with another effort that recently premiered at the official competition of the 76th edition of Venice International Film Festival. It seems that he is back in mercy with his country’s cultural establishment and why shouldn’t he, since “Saturday Fiction” is a handsome spy noir set in the “Solitary Island” period of Shanghai’s history and is not even a bit controversial.
“Saturday Fiction” screened at
Venice International Film Festival 2019
“Solitary Island” refers to the early period of Japanese occupation of the city between 1937 and 1941. The city was occupied by the Japanese army, but the British and French concessions (business and cultural institutions) maintained the widest form of autonomy. Needless to say, it made Shanghai into a major spy hub at the beginning of the World War Two.
The plot of the film,...
“Saturday Fiction” screened at
Venice International Film Festival 2019
“Solitary Island” refers to the early period of Japanese occupation of the city between 1937 and 1941. The city was occupied by the Japanese army, but the British and French concessions (business and cultural institutions) maintained the widest form of autonomy. Needless to say, it made Shanghai into a major spy hub at the beginning of the World War Two.
The plot of the film,...
- 9/17/2019
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
A filmmaker perhaps too prolific for his own good, Lou Ye takes his latest spin ‘round the festival circuit with Saturday Fiction, a movie stuffed to bursting with sumptuous movie-movie atmosphere, the swoony charge of ideas about art, love, and espionage, and good-enough storytelling solutions.
Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai over the first seven days of December, 1941, Saturday Fiction begins with the heralded return of Jean Yu (Gong Li) after several years in Hong Kong. She’s back to star in a new play about love and underground intrigue opposite its director, her one-time lover; their intimate dialogue scenes, both at the Lyceum Theater’s barroom set and Shanghai’s shipyard bar, are tantalizing autobiographical, and delivered in whispers that definitely won’t make it for the cheap seats. The line between acting and reality blurs further as Lou enters (and moves beyond) the play’s barroom set with his snaking handheld camera.
Set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai over the first seven days of December, 1941, Saturday Fiction begins with the heralded return of Jean Yu (Gong Li) after several years in Hong Kong. She’s back to star in a new play about love and underground intrigue opposite its director, her one-time lover; their intimate dialogue scenes, both at the Lyceum Theater’s barroom set and Shanghai’s shipyard bar, are tantalizing autobiographical, and delivered in whispers that definitely won’t make it for the cheap seats. The line between acting and reality blurs further as Lou enters (and moves beyond) the play’s barroom set with his snaking handheld camera.
- 9/14/2019
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Few Chinese actresses have had as much worldwide success as Gong Li, who has captivated art house audiences worldwide with starring roles in films such as Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Qiu Ju and Farewell My Concubine. Those led to turns in Hollywood with Memoirs of a Geisha and Miami Vice, among others.
Gong has been out of the spotlight for a while, making just five films this decade, none of which had the commercial, or critical, resonance of her earlier work. But her upcoming slate shows that she’s primed for a comeback, as she stars in two high-profile films that play ...
Gong has been out of the spotlight for a while, making just five films this decade, none of which had the commercial, or critical, resonance of her earlier work. But her upcoming slate shows that she’s primed for a comeback, as she stars in two high-profile films that play ...
The Venice Film Festival draws to a close this evening, when prizes will be handed out by Lucrecia Martel’s jury. It’s been a hot 10 days on the Lido, and not just because the mercury was stifling throughout. We expected controversy coming in, and certainly the inclusion of Roman Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy in competition caused a stir at the outset — Martel on opening day seemed to suggest she might not give the film a fair shake, only to clarify her remarks 24 hours later.
It was relatively smooth sailing from then on, with pictures vying for the Golden Lion generally well-received. Much attention focused on Warner Bros’ Joker and Netflix’s Marriage Story which both got extended standing ovations.
It ain’t over til it’s over, however, and early this morning a protest broke out on the red carpet. About 200 people from the No Large...
It was relatively smooth sailing from then on, with pictures vying for the Golden Lion generally well-received. Much attention focused on Warner Bros’ Joker and Netflix’s Marriage Story which both got extended standing ovations.
It ain’t over til it’s over, however, and early this morning a protest broke out on the red carpet. About 200 people from the No Large...
- 9/7/2019
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
From 1937 to 1941, Shanghai was dubbed a “solitary island” in that, alone in China after the Japanese invasion, there were areas within it that were under international control, namely the French and British Concessions. They were, undoubtedly, teeming with spies and collaborators and double agents, but it strains credibility that they could have been anything like as fraught and riven as the French-administered enclave in the 1941 of Sixth Generation Chinese director Lou Ye’s grandiloquently incoherent misfire “Saturday Fiction.” Starring/wasting the luminous Gong Li, the black and white film strays further away from the observational art-house calm of Lou’s 2014 “Blind Massage,” and plows deeper into the tangled thickets of dubious motivation and incomprehensible behavior that marred his last film, police procedural “The Shadow Play.”
It takes some time to work out what on earth is going on, largely because of Lou’s most confusing and counterproductive decision, which is...
It takes some time to work out what on earth is going on, largely because of Lou’s most confusing and counterproductive decision, which is...
- 9/4/2019
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Lou Ye — one of the most famous and least consistent of the so-called “Sixth Generation” of Chinese filmmakers — has been compelled by a Hitchcockian notions of romantic obsession ever since 2000’s “Suzhou River,” in which the actress Zhou Xun played two different women who the unseen narrator ultimately conflates with each other. The “Saturday Fiction” unfolds like a luminous new riff on the same idea, as Lou is clearly still fascinated by the various roles that we play, and the notion that people are often so enamored by what they want that they can lose sight of who they want it from.
“Ultimately it is the desire, not the desired, that we love,” Nietzsche wrote, and “Saturday Fiction” puts those words right on the screen as it pulls them apart. Only this time, they carry much, much deadlier consequences, as Lou has upped the stakes from a little story about...
“Ultimately it is the desire, not the desired, that we love,” Nietzsche wrote, and “Saturday Fiction” puts those words right on the screen as it pulls them apart. Only this time, they carry much, much deadlier consequences, as Lou has upped the stakes from a little story about...
- 9/4/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
"All the world’s a stage," as Jacques so memorably says in As You Like It, and this world very much includes the 1941 Shanghai depicted in Lou Ye’s Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan). It tells the story of famous actress Jean Yu — portrayed by arguably the most famous of all Chinese actresses, Gong Li — who ostensibly returns to the French Concession in Shanghai to be directed by a former lover in a play called Saturday Fiction at the Lyceum Theater (the film’s Chinese title). But is she acting only onstage?
Her ex-husband has been ...
Her ex-husband has been ...
"All the world’s a stage," as Jacques so memorably says in As You Like It, and this world very much includes the 1941 Shanghai depicted in Lou Ye’s Saturday Fiction (Lan Xin Da Ju Yuan). It tells the story of famous actress Jean Yu — portrayed by arguably the most famous of all Chinese actresses, Gong Li — who ostensibly returns to the French Concession in Shanghai to be directed by a former lover in a play called Saturday Fiction at the Lyceum Theater (the film’s Chinese title). But is she acting only onstage?
Her ex-husband has been ...
Her ex-husband has been ...
Eager as ever to attend Tiff, a festival I have missed only once in the last 29 years, because a cat bite sent me to the hospital, I am looking forward to discoveries and have booked my calendar tight with films!
I am lucky to have seen three films already, two in Cannes, both wonderful, memorable funny and absurd films, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, So. Korea’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and a likely winner, as well as So. Korea’s first-ever Palm d’Or winner in Cannes this year; and Elia Suleiman’s This Must Be Heaven, sweetly surreal, as funny as a Jacques Tati film, wryly observing our human race and with a funny little cameo with Gael Garcia Bernal introducing Suleiman to his agent. The third, Synonyms, won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear. A coproduction of France, Israel and Germany, it...
I am lucky to have seen three films already, two in Cannes, both wonderful, memorable funny and absurd films, Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, So. Korea’s submission for Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and a likely winner, as well as So. Korea’s first-ever Palm d’Or winner in Cannes this year; and Elia Suleiman’s This Must Be Heaven, sweetly surreal, as funny as a Jacques Tati film, wryly observing our human race and with a funny little cameo with Gael Garcia Bernal introducing Suleiman to his agent. The third, Synonyms, won this year’s Berlinale Golden Bear. A coproduction of France, Israel and Germany, it...
- 9/3/2019
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Rising Chinese specialty distributor and production outfit Road Pictures has unveiled a slew of recent deals and ambitions at the start of the Venice International Film Festival, where it is expected to be a busy buyer.
Most relevant to Venice, the company has boarded Chinese auteur Lou Ye's black-and-white period thriller Saturday Fiction as the film's official marketing partner in China. The pic, which stars Gong Li, is competing for the Golden Lion in Venice.
Road Pictures also revealed that it has acquired China distribution rights to two high-profile animated features: Japanese cult director Tomohiko Itō's latest anime ...
Most relevant to Venice, the company has boarded Chinese auteur Lou Ye's black-and-white period thriller Saturday Fiction as the film's official marketing partner in China. The pic, which stars Gong Li, is competing for the Golden Lion in Venice.
Road Pictures also revealed that it has acquired China distribution rights to two high-profile animated features: Japanese cult director Tomohiko Itō's latest anime ...
- 8/29/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Rising Chinese specialty distributor and production outfit Road Pictures has unveiled a slew of recent deals and ambitions at the start of the Venice International Film Festival, where it is expected to be a busy buyer.
Most relevant to Venice, the company has boarded Chinese auteur Lou Ye's black-and-white period thriller Saturday Fiction as the film's official marketing partner in China. The pic, which stars Gong Li, is competing for the Golden Lion in Venice.
Road Pictures also revealed that it has acquired China distribution rights to two high-profile animated features: Japanese cult director Tomohiko Itō's latest anime ...
Most relevant to Venice, the company has boarded Chinese auteur Lou Ye's black-and-white period thriller Saturday Fiction as the film's official marketing partner in China. The pic, which stars Gong Li, is competing for the Golden Lion in Venice.
Road Pictures also revealed that it has acquired China distribution rights to two high-profile animated features: Japanese cult director Tomohiko Itō's latest anime ...
- 8/29/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The film explores themes of female independence in contemporary Tunisia.
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
- 8/27/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The film explores themes of female independence in contemporary Tunisia.
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
Wild Bunch has acquired world sales rights to Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa’s female rights drama Noura’s Dream ahead of its premiere in Tiff’s discovery section next month.
Popular Tunisian-Egyptian actress Hend Sabri (aka Hend Sabry) plays the titular Noura, an independent woman, who has raised her three children alone with little support from her absent, petty criminal husband.
While her husband is serving time in jail, she falls in love with another man. Noura applies for a divorce but the imminent release of her husband threatens to...
- 8/27/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The New York Film Festival has announced its main slate of programming for its 2019 edition, which features films from 17 different countries, including new titles from Nyff regulars and favorites from the international festival circuit as well as some newcomers. Standouts include Bong Joon-ho’s Palme d’Or winner “Parasite,” Céline Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow,” and the late Agnes Varda’s final film, “Varda by Agnes.”
Nine Nyff picks screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, including Mati Diop’s “Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory.” Berlin offerings include Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner “Synonyms” and Angela Schanelec’s “I Was at Home, But…,” which won the Silver Bear for Best Director.
Other filmmakers with new films screening at the festival include Olivier Assayas, Bertrand Bonello, Pedro Costa, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Arnaud Desplechin,...
Nine Nyff picks screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, including Mati Diop’s “Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory.” Berlin offerings include Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner “Synonyms” and Angela Schanelec’s “I Was at Home, But…,” which won the Silver Bear for Best Director.
Other filmmakers with new films screening at the festival include Olivier Assayas, Bertrand Bonello, Pedro Costa, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Arnaud Desplechin,...
- 8/6/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Brad Pitt space odyssey “Ad Astra,” Noah Baumbach’s untitled new project, “Joker” with Joaquin Phoenix, Tom Harper’s “The Aeronauts,” Fernando Meirelles’ “The Pope,” the new “Rambo” installment, and heist thriller “The Burnt Orange Heresy,” starring Mick Jagger as a reclusive art dealer, all look bound for the Venice Film Festival, sources tell Variety.
The fest is scheduled to unveil its initial lineup July 25. With just six weeks before the festival kicks off, director Alberto Barbera is scrambling to firm up his official selection, a process more down to the wire than usual.
At the moment, this year’s U.S. studio presence on the Lido does not look as if it will be as dominant as in recent editions, possibly because the Disney-Fox merger has slowed down the Hollywood pipeline a bit. But where the majors might be pulling back, the streamers are stepping in.
Netflix looks set...
The fest is scheduled to unveil its initial lineup July 25. With just six weeks before the festival kicks off, director Alberto Barbera is scrambling to firm up his official selection, a process more down to the wire than usual.
At the moment, this year’s U.S. studio presence on the Lido does not look as if it will be as dominant as in recent editions, possibly because the Disney-Fox merger has slowed down the Hollywood pipeline a bit. But where the majors might be pulling back, the streamers are stepping in.
Netflix looks set...
- 7/16/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Slate also includes four new festival title acquisitions and five previously announced Palme d’Or contenders.
Wild Bunch will launch sales on eight new titles at Cannes this year including Sylvie Verheyde’s Madame Claude about an infamous French brothel owner and Lou Ye’s upcoming black and white thriller Saturday Fiction.
The slate also features two recent acquisitions out of the Official Selection as well as two new Cannes Critics’ Week films alongside the five previously announced Palme d’Or contenders.
Verheyde’s Madame Claude stars Karole Rocher as the real-life, late Paris brothel owner whose clients allegedly included John F.
Wild Bunch will launch sales on eight new titles at Cannes this year including Sylvie Verheyde’s Madame Claude about an infamous French brothel owner and Lou Ye’s upcoming black and white thriller Saturday Fiction.
The slate also features two recent acquisitions out of the Official Selection as well as two new Cannes Critics’ Week films alongside the five previously announced Palme d’Or contenders.
Verheyde’s Madame Claude stars Karole Rocher as the real-life, late Paris brothel owner whose clients allegedly included John F.
- 5/9/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Slate also includes four new festival title acquisitions and five previously announced Palme d’Or contenders.
Wild Bunch will launch sales on eight new titles at Cannes this year including Sylvie Verheyde’s Madame Claude about an infamous French brothel owner and Lou Ye’s upcoming black and white thriller Saturday Fiction.
The slate also features two recent acquisitions out of the Official Selection as well as two new Cannes Critics’ Week films alongside the five previously announced Palme d’Or contenders.
Verheyde’s Madame Claude stars Karole Rocher as the real-life, late Paris brothel owner whose clients allegedly included John F.
Wild Bunch will launch sales on eight new titles at Cannes this year including Sylvie Verheyde’s Madame Claude about an infamous French brothel owner and Lou Ye’s upcoming black and white thriller Saturday Fiction.
The slate also features two recent acquisitions out of the Official Selection as well as two new Cannes Critics’ Week films alongside the five previously announced Palme d’Or contenders.
Verheyde’s Madame Claude stars Karole Rocher as the real-life, late Paris brothel owner whose clients allegedly included John F.
- 5/9/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Cannes has chosen two mainland Chinese titles for its official selection: Diao Yinan’s “Wild Goose Lake,” in competition, and Zu Feng’s “Summer of Changsha,” for Un Certain Regard. Both films appear to have received the necessary official approvals from Chinese authorities to premiere overseas. But their journey to the Cote d’Azur is by no means a certainty.
After two mainland Chinese films were withdrawn at the last minute from the Berlin Film Festival in February, it takes a determined – or brave – selector to program Chinese movies in prominent festival positions. Until the film actually screens, there is an ever-present risk of an embarrassing cancellation.
Veteran producer Shen Yang told Variety that “Wild Goose Lake” has cleared all the formalities in China ahead of its Cannes premiere next month, including receipt of its so-called Dragon Seal from China’s top movie-industry regulator, the National Film Administration. She said...
After two mainland Chinese films were withdrawn at the last minute from the Berlin Film Festival in February, it takes a determined – or brave – selector to program Chinese movies in prominent festival positions. Until the film actually screens, there is an ever-present risk of an embarrassing cancellation.
Veteran producer Shen Yang told Variety that “Wild Goose Lake” has cleared all the formalities in China ahead of its Cannes premiere next month, including receipt of its so-called Dragon Seal from China’s top movie-industry regulator, the National Film Administration. She said...
- 4/19/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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