Snow In Midsummer, directed by Malaysia’s Chong Keat-aun, leads the race for this year’s Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan with nine nominations, including best narrative feature, best director and best supporting actress (Wan Fang).
The film, which is a collaboration between Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, also has nods for best adapted screenplay, best cinematography, best makeup & costume design, best original film score, best original film song and best sound effects.
Taiwanese features Marry My Dead Body and Eye Of The Storm were not far behind, with eight nominations apiece. Marry My Dead Body, which is also Taiwan’s submission for Best International Feature at the upcoming Oscars, was nominated for best narrative feature, best director, two best leading actors nods (Hsu Kuang-han and Austin Lin), best adapted screenplay, best action choreography, best original film song and best editing.
Eye Of The Storm has nods for best narrative feature,...
The film, which is a collaboration between Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore, also has nods for best adapted screenplay, best cinematography, best makeup & costume design, best original film score, best original film song and best sound effects.
Taiwanese features Marry My Dead Body and Eye Of The Storm were not far behind, with eight nominations apiece. Marry My Dead Body, which is also Taiwan’s submission for Best International Feature at the upcoming Oscars, was nominated for best narrative feature, best director, two best leading actors nods (Hsu Kuang-han and Austin Lin), best adapted screenplay, best action choreography, best original film song and best editing.
Eye Of The Storm has nods for best narrative feature,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
‘Modern Love’ Third Iteration Sets Release
Prime Video has set May 18 for the global release of its upcoming Indian anthology series “Modern Love Chennai.” This is the third Indian adaptation of “Modern Love,” the internationally acclaimed original anthology directed by John Carney, following “Modern Love Mumbai” and “Modern Love Hyderabad.”
Produced under the banner of Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, with Thiagarajan Kumararaja as the creator, the six-episode anthology presents a bouquet of love stories set in the city of Chennai that explore relationships, push boundaries, and open minds.
“Love stories and rom-coms have never been my cup of tea. Thus, ‘Modern Love Chennai’ was an interesting challenge,” said Kumararaja, creator of the series and writer-director of one of the episodes. “With these stories, we have explored and celebrated the old-world charm of the city, which remains rooted in a distinct blend of tradition and modernity.”
Festival Winners
The Jeonju International Film Festival,...
Prime Video has set May 18 for the global release of its upcoming Indian anthology series “Modern Love Chennai.” This is the third Indian adaptation of “Modern Love,” the internationally acclaimed original anthology directed by John Carney, following “Modern Love Mumbai” and “Modern Love Hyderabad.”
Produced under the banner of Tyler Durden and Kino Fist, with Thiagarajan Kumararaja as the creator, the six-episode anthology presents a bouquet of love stories set in the city of Chennai that explore relationships, push boundaries, and open minds.
“Love stories and rom-coms have never been my cup of tea. Thus, ‘Modern Love Chennai’ was an interesting challenge,” said Kumararaja, creator of the series and writer-director of one of the episodes. “With these stories, we have explored and celebrated the old-world charm of the city, which remains rooted in a distinct blend of tradition and modernity.”
Festival Winners
The Jeonju International Film Festival,...
- 5/8/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji’s “Stonewalling” won the Chinese-language section of the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Firebird Young Cinema competition. Lila Aviles’s “Totem” won the equivalent Firebird Award for international films.
The festival began on March 30 and concluded on Sunday evening with a world premier screening of “Vital Sign” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre. The screening was accompanied by cast and crew including Louis Koo, director Cheuk Wan-chi, producer Jacqueline Liu and performers Neo Yao, Angela Yuen, Ng Wing-sze, Tony Wu and So Yuet-yin.
In total, “Stonewalling” picked up three awards. In addition to the best film prize, it also collected the best actress prize for leads Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui and the Fipresci Award. The tale of an unwanted pregnancy, the film premiered at Venice and Toronto last year. The Hkiff jury said it “[reminds] us of the confusion, difficulty and...
The festival began on March 30 and concluded on Sunday evening with a world premier screening of “Vital Sign” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre. The screening was accompanied by cast and crew including Louis Koo, director Cheuk Wan-chi, producer Jacqueline Liu and performers Neo Yao, Angela Yuen, Ng Wing-sze, Tony Wu and So Yuet-yin.
In total, “Stonewalling” picked up three awards. In addition to the best film prize, it also collected the best actress prize for leads Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui and the Fipresci Award. The tale of an unwanted pregnancy, the film premiered at Venice and Toronto last year. The Hkiff jury said it “[reminds] us of the confusion, difficulty and...
- 4/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Stonewalling, co-directed by Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, was the big winner at Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff), taking home three prizes including best film in the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) of the Firebird Awards.
While Hkiff did manage to hold some postponed, but in-theatre, editions during the pandemic, this year was the first time the festival had been able to welcome overseas guests after Hong Kong dropped it strict Covid quarantine requirements towards the end of last year. The festival wraps today (April 10) and held its awards ceremony with a screening of closing film, Cheuk Wan-chi’s Vital Sign, last night.
Part of a trilogy that focuses on the struggles of young women in contemporary China, Stonewalling also won best actress, which was shared by its two female leads, Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui, playing mother and daughter, and also picked up the Fipresci prize.
The Hkiff...
While Hkiff did manage to hold some postponed, but in-theatre, editions during the pandemic, this year was the first time the festival had been able to welcome overseas guests after Hong Kong dropped it strict Covid quarantine requirements towards the end of last year. The festival wraps today (April 10) and held its awards ceremony with a screening of closing film, Cheuk Wan-chi’s Vital Sign, last night.
Part of a trilogy that focuses on the struggles of young women in contemporary China, Stonewalling also won best actress, which was shared by its two female leads, Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui, playing mother and daughter, and also picked up the Fipresci prize.
The Hkiff...
- 4/10/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Lea Grob’s ‘Apolonia, Apolonia’ picked up the top documentary award.
Chinese coming-of-age drama Stonewalling and Mexican feature Totem have won the top prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s (Hkiff) Firebird Awards.
Stonewalling, co-directed by husband-and-wife team Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. It also saw Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui jointly named best actress for their roles as mother and daughter in the film. The feature was also awarded the Fipresci Prize.
The film, which premiered in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori section last September,...
Chinese coming-of-age drama Stonewalling and Mexican feature Totem have won the top prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s (Hkiff) Firebird Awards.
Stonewalling, co-directed by husband-and-wife team Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. It also saw Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui jointly named best actress for their roles as mother and daughter in the film. The feature was also awarded the Fipresci Prize.
The film, which premiered in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori section last September,...
- 4/9/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
More than 60 films to receive their world premieres at the festival.
South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival (April 27-May 6) has unveiled a line-up of 247 films from 42 countries for its 24th edition and will open with Tori And Lokita by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes.
The Belgian filmmaking duo will attend the Korean premiere of their feature, which played in Competition at Cannes last year and won the festival’s special 75th anniversary prize.
Jeonju will close with the world premiere of Kim Hee-Jung’s Where Would You Like To Go?, a Korea-Poland co-production about a woman who travels to Warsaw...
South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival (April 27-May 6) has unveiled a line-up of 247 films from 42 countries for its 24th edition and will open with Tori And Lokita by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes.
The Belgian filmmaking duo will attend the Korean premiere of their feature, which played in Competition at Cannes last year and won the festival’s special 75th anniversary prize.
Jeonju will close with the world premiere of Kim Hee-Jung’s Where Would You Like To Go?, a Korea-Poland co-production about a woman who travels to Warsaw...
- 3/30/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
The drama about two sisters is from first-time feature director Sasha Chuk.
Hong Kong project Fly Me To The Moon won five awards at the closing of this year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Sasha Chuk and is produced by Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan, whose films as a director include Venice 2005 title Everlasting Regret, Cannes 2001 film Lan Yu and Berlin competition titles Center Stage, The Island Tales, Hold You Tight and Red Rose White Rose.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Fly Me To The Moon was among...
Hong Kong project Fly Me To The Moon won five awards at the closing of this year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum.
The film will mark the feature directorial debut of Sasha Chuk and is produced by Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan, whose films as a director include Venice 2005 title Everlasting Regret, Cannes 2001 film Lan Yu and Berlin competition titles Center Stage, The Island Tales, Hold You Tight and Red Rose White Rose.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Fly Me To The Moon was among...
- 3/16/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Hong Kong-based indie sales agent Good Move Media has added Japanese music drama “Plastic” to its FilMart slate.
The film is directed by Miyazaki Daisuke, the Japanese helmer behind “Yamato (California),” which had festival play in 2016, and 2019 slacker youth title “Tourism” in 2019.
The new picture is the story of teenagers Juna and Ibuki, who set out to find the psychedelic rock band Exne Kedy. Exne Kedy is a fictional creation from musician Ide Kensuke, who previously released punky album “Kensuke Ide With His Mothership — Contact From Exne Kedy and the Poltergeists,” but the band is actually credited as performing and providing part of the music track in the film. “Plastic” is recently completed and headed for a theatrical release in Japan in July.
Good Move has a strong track record of handling offbeat but powerful Asian independent films. Its recent titles include “Me and the Cult Leader,” a documentary exploring...
The film is directed by Miyazaki Daisuke, the Japanese helmer behind “Yamato (California),” which had festival play in 2016, and 2019 slacker youth title “Tourism” in 2019.
The new picture is the story of teenagers Juna and Ibuki, who set out to find the psychedelic rock band Exne Kedy. Exne Kedy is a fictional creation from musician Ide Kensuke, who previously released punky album “Kensuke Ide With His Mothership — Contact From Exne Kedy and the Poltergeists,” but the band is actually credited as performing and providing part of the music track in the film. “Plastic” is recently completed and headed for a theatrical release in Japan in July.
Good Move has a strong track record of handling offbeat but powerful Asian independent films. Its recent titles include “Me and the Cult Leader,” a documentary exploring...
- 3/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Shout! Studios presents The Magic Flute by Florian Zigl, executive produced by Roland Emmerich, at 325 theaters with expansion likely. A reimagining of the Mozart opera, it follows a present-day teen sent from London to the Austrian Alps on singing scholarship at the legendary Mozart boarding school. There, he discovers a century old forgotten passageway into the magical world of Mozart’s famed opera.
This Harry Potter-ish adventure fantasy stars Jack Wolfe as Tim Walker, who passes from school into the world of the opera and its many adventures as hero Prince Tamino. Wide releases may be picking up steam and Scream, but in terms of new specialty, and family fare, these isn’t much new competition this weekend.
Melissa Boag, EVP of Family Entertainment at Shout! Studios, hopes it will play with fans of magical adventure, Harry Potter, and classical music. Wolfe is a star of Netflix YA series Shadow & Bone.
This Harry Potter-ish adventure fantasy stars Jack Wolfe as Tim Walker, who passes from school into the world of the opera and its many adventures as hero Prince Tamino. Wide releases may be picking up steam and Scream, but in terms of new specialty, and family fare, these isn’t much new competition this weekend.
Melissa Boag, EVP of Family Entertainment at Shout! Studios, hopes it will play with fans of magical adventure, Harry Potter, and classical music. Wolfe is a star of Netflix YA series Shadow & Bone.
- 3/10/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Asian premiere of Soi Cheang’s “Mad Fate” is just one of three locally-produced movies that have been set as the opening and closing titles of the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival.
“Mad Fate” is joined in the festival opening slot on March 30 by “Elegies,” Ann Hui’s documentary portrayal of the topography of contemporary local poetry, which will have its world premiere. The closing film, another world premiere, is “Vital Sign,” an affecting drama directed by Cheuk Wan-chi and starring Louis Koo, Yau Hawk-sau, and Angela Yuen, which will wrap up proceedings on 10 April.
In total, the festival has programmed some 200 films from 64 countries and territories. These include nine world premieres, six international premieres, and 67 Asian premieres.
“Mad Fate,” an intense examination of murder, local superstition and the lower depths of society, premiered last month at the Berlin festival in a special section. Cheang will be a major feature of the Hkiff,...
“Mad Fate” is joined in the festival opening slot on March 30 by “Elegies,” Ann Hui’s documentary portrayal of the topography of contemporary local poetry, which will have its world premiere. The closing film, another world premiere, is “Vital Sign,” an affecting drama directed by Cheuk Wan-chi and starring Louis Koo, Yau Hawk-sau, and Angela Yuen, which will wrap up proceedings on 10 April.
In total, the festival has programmed some 200 films from 64 countries and territories. These include nine world premieres, six international premieres, and 67 Asian premieres.
“Mad Fate,” an intense examination of murder, local superstition and the lower depths of society, premiered last month at the Berlin festival in a special section. Cheang will be a major feature of the Hkiff,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
“I don’t want to owe people money,” are the words defeatedly uttered by Lynn (Yao Honggui), the protagonist of “Stonewalling,” the forthcoming film from the Beijing-based husband-and-wife team, Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka. The film, focusing on Lynn’s life for a year, finds her at a crossroads: in the midst of her college education and has been training for a career as a flight attendant, everything is overtaken by doubt and disarray when Lynn discovers that she’s pregnant.
Continue reading ‘Stonewalling’ Trailer: Directorial Duo Of Huang Ji & Ryuji Otsuka Bring A Staggering Portrayal Of Contemporary China To Theaters In March at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Stonewalling’ Trailer: Directorial Duo Of Huang Ji & Ryuji Otsuka Bring A Staggering Portrayal Of Contemporary China To Theaters In March at The Playlist.
- 2/14/2023
- by Rosa Martinez
- The Playlist
One of the most heralded films from last fall’s festival circuit––playing at Venice, TIFF, NYFF, and BFI London––came from directors Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, the wife-and-husband team hailing from Beijing. Their strikingly shot, patient drama Stonewalling, which follows the journey of a student flight attendant whose plans to finish college are thrown into doubt when she discovers she’s pregnant, marks the continuation of a trilogy led by Yao Honggui, which also includes Egg and Stone and The Foolish Bird. Now set for a theatrical release from KimStim starting March 10 at Film at Lincoln Center, where they will screen the entire trilogy with the directors in person, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the U.S. trailer and poster.
Here’s the official synopsis: “20-year-old Lynn is told she needs English classes, flight attendant school, and a go getter-attitude. She perseveres along this path of upward...
Here’s the official synopsis: “20-year-old Lynn is told she needs English classes, flight attendant school, and a go getter-attitude. She perseveres along this path of upward...
- 2/13/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSNighthawks.Buenos Aires—1970s Los Angeles—outer space—all of these destinations are contained in Issue 2 of the Notebook print magazine, which will ship out at the end of January. Click here to learn more and subscribe.If you read this New York Times profile of Jennifer Lawrence carefully, you’ll find that she is planning a project with Lynne Ramsay—an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s Die, My Love. In a follow-up tweet, Kyle Buchanan added that Martin Scorsese will produce.X Crucior is the heavy-metal name of the next film project written by Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks—a musical, of course, continuing their momentum with Annette (2021). No director is attached yet, but if it's not too much to ask, a reunion with Guy Maddin would be fun.According to The Times,...
- 11/9/2022
- MUBI
Cinematographer Ed Lachman was meant to reunite with his frequent collaborator and director Todd Haynes on “May December,” starring Natalie Portman, but he broke his hip. “I just came home from Chile doing a film with Pablo Larrain, and I unfortunately, I broke my hip.” Lachman says.
Instead of joining Haynes and Portman in Savannah, Ga., where the film is currently in production, Lachman is doing well and recovering in Mallorca. He spoke with Variety about his recent projects and the surge of shooting on film after being honored at the recent Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival.
The festival presented Lachman with its inaugural Evolution Cinematography Icon Award recognizing his work over four decades across films such as “Carol,” “Far From Heaven” and “Erin Brockovich.”
Your latest project, “Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues” uses a lot of archival images and voiceover to tell this story. What was your approach there?...
Instead of joining Haynes and Portman in Savannah, Ga., where the film is currently in production, Lachman is doing well and recovering in Mallorca. He spoke with Variety about his recent projects and the surge of shooting on film after being honored at the recent Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival.
The festival presented Lachman with its inaugural Evolution Cinematography Icon Award recognizing his work over four decades across films such as “Carol,” “Far From Heaven” and “Erin Brockovich.”
Your latest project, “Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues” uses a lot of archival images and voiceover to tell this story. What was your approach there?...
- 11/7/2022
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
The ebbs and flows of a rather long, deliberately paced narrative can test most viewers. Especially difficult when it seems the movie’s central conflict doesn’t manifest in a few key sequences, instead building piece-by-piece over time, in small gestures. Those with a keen eye and ear, who are willing to soak in commentary on muted malaise of 21st-century youth, will find reward in Huang Ji and Ryûji Otsuka’s Stonewalling. Like the characters, it plays a waiting game: this film bets its outskirt sleepy venues will absorb viewers enough to find deeper meaning. Not only about the modern lives of China’s youth, but also the troubling economic and social inheritances that will come to the generations after.
The camera barely moves. Sequences of still shots play directly to a paced narrative hinging on tension of unmade decisions and half-taken next steps that embody the genuine aimlessness felt by its young protagonist.
The camera barely moves. Sequences of still shots play directly to a paced narrative hinging on tension of unmade decisions and half-taken next steps that embody the genuine aimlessness felt by its young protagonist.
- 10/18/2022
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
Durban — The Durban Int’l. Film Festival opened Thursday night with a celebration of South African womanhood and a commitment to diversity in film, even as it mourned the passing of a festival icon and commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of Nelson Mandela.
The 39th edition opened with Jerome Pikwane’s “The Tokoloshe,” a psychological thriller about a destitute hospital cleaner who’s forced to confront the demons of her past to try to save a child’s life.
In prepared remarks, delivered by a colleague at Thursday’s opening ceremony because she wasn’t able to attend, Diff manager Chipo Zhou described the movie as a parable of womanhood in a country plagued by sexual violence.
“It is a horror film…unveiling the menace that is our everyday burden as women in this country,” she said, adding more hopefully that the movie “sets the scene for a...
The 39th edition opened with Jerome Pikwane’s “The Tokoloshe,” a psychological thriller about a destitute hospital cleaner who’s forced to confront the demons of her past to try to save a child’s life.
In prepared remarks, delivered by a colleague at Thursday’s opening ceremony because she wasn’t able to attend, Diff manager Chipo Zhou described the movie as a parable of womanhood in a country plagued by sexual violence.
“It is a horror film…unveiling the menace that is our everyday burden as women in this country,” she said, adding more hopefully that the movie “sets the scene for a...
- 7/19/2018
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
imdb.1eye.us, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.