Asian Film Festivals and Awards [Archive]

GeneChing

11-05-2007, 11:41 AM

Most notable for us here would be Banquet (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43584), Flashpoint (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46000) and Invisible Target.

hmm, where's our Invisible Target thread? doug?

Asian Film Festival expands (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/04/PKDGSVE05.DTL&type=movies)
G. ALLEN JOHNSON
Sunday, November 4, 2007

As long as it has existed, the 4 Star's annual San Francisco Asian Film Festival has been an upstart event on the city's film festival calendar - no corporate advertising, an eclectic lineup of movies and perennially confused in many moviegoers' minds with the bigger, better-funded Asian American Film Festival that takes place in March.

For the 10th festival, 4 Star owner Frank Lee decided to think bigger. For the first time, the event will open and close at the Castro Theatre, beginning Thursday with a pre-film party and a movie that will need every inch of the Castro's big screen to do it justice: "Genghis Khan: To the Ends of Earth and Sea," a Japanese take on the Mongol warrior that was filmed on location in Mongolia and cost $30 million (which means it would have cost more than $100 million in Hollywood). It topped the box office earlier this year in Japan.

"It's about time to expand," says Lee, whose festival runs through Nov. 18. "The time was right. We've been around for 10 years now, and we wanted to try something different."

Part of Lee's new muscle comes from his partnership with the San Francisco Korean American Film Festival, which contributed 21 Korean films to the mix and is marking this festival as its fifth edition. Ten of those films will be shown for free at the Coppola Theatre on the San Francisco State campus.

But Korean films are just part of the equation. There are 40 movies in all, from seven countries. With titles such as the Japanese for-mature-audiences-only "The Strange Saga of Hiroshi the Freeloading Sex Machine," the Thai horror film "Sick Nurses" and the Korean comedy "200 Pound Beauty," it's obvious that, despite the new trappings, the festival hasn't lost its edge.

Some other highlights:

-- "Confession of Pain": This Hong Kong police drama-action movie reunites Tony Leung, currently burning up the art-house screen in "Lust, Caution," with his "Infernal Affairs" directors, Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Like "Infernal Affairs," which was remade by Martin Scorsese as the best-picture Oscar winner "The Departed," Hollywood is negotiating for the remake rights to "Confession." Another Lau-Mak action film, "Initial D," also shows in this festival.

-- "Tuya's Marriage": Although it played in October at the Mill Valley Film Festival, it's good to see this Chinese-Mongolian co-production on the schedule. The winner of the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival in February, it's about a woman, married to a disabled man, who starts across the desert to find a new husband who can support her - and her first husband.

-- "The Banquet": Considering the star power of Ziyi Zhang and the impressive production values of this martial-arts fantasy, it's amazing this Chinese film, co-starring San Francisco native Daniel Wu, has yet to receive American distribution. It was nominated for seven awards at the Hong Kong version of the Oscars, and it is deservedly the closing-night film at the Castro.

-- "Nanking": Co-directed by Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman and headed for a U.S. release, this American film looks at the 1937 rape-and-murder rampage of occupying Japanese forces in Nanking and the Westerners who tried to help the Chinese victims. It stars Hugo Armstrong, Rosalind Chao and Woody Harrelson.

-- "Barking Dogs Never Bite": Although made in 2000, this irresistible comedy about one man's extreme quest to silence a neighbor's dog is on the schedule because of the sudden popularity of director Bong Joon-ho. Since this film, he made "Memories of Murder" and "The Host," and, like the latter film, "Barking Dogs" contains a satisfyingly oddball performance by actress Bae Doo-na, who plays a sort of apartment vigilante.

-- "A Flower in Hell" and "Marines Who Never Returned": These two films, from 1958 and 1962, respectively, provide an invaluable look at Korean society during and just after the Korean War. "Flower" is about a black marketeer and a prostitute, who will do anything to survive; and "Marines" details a South Korean platoon that must hold off advancing Chinese troops.

Other highlights: Two new Hong Kong action movies, one starring Donnie Yen ("Flash Point"), the other a film by Benny Chan ("Invisible Target"), in which the director insisted that all the stunt work be done by the actors; rare screenings of the 1934 Chinese silent "The Goddess" (starring Ruan Lingyu) and "Sopyonje," a 1993 film about Pansori singers (directed by Im Kwon-taek) that is considered one of the great Korean films of all time; and the Peter Chan musical "Perhaps Love," which opened last year's San Francisco International Film Festival.

"The films obtained for this festival are more genre pictures," says Lee, who is also restoring his Presidio Theater in the Marina district and will reopen it in December. "Most of these films were box-office hits in their own countries."

In other words, lower the brow and pass the popcorn. That upstart festival is back.

10th Annual San Francisco Asian Film Festival: Movies will screen Thursday through Nov. 18 at the Castro, 4 Star and Coppola theaters in San Francisco. $6-$18. (415) 666-3488, eastraordinary-cinema.com, brownpapertickets.com.

doug maverick

11-05-2007, 12:05 PM

i'm working on it its been sitting on top of my dvd player along with fatal contact. i just saw dog bite dig give me a chance gene **** lol.

GeneChing

01-17-2008, 01:07 PM

Man, I'm waaaay behind. I haven't seen any of these...

'Lust, Caution,' 'The Warlords' lead Asian Film Awards nominations (http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jhZSn8APKcce9tHC3gHvBJIHsPNQ)

HONG KONG - Ang Lee's spy thriller "Lust, Caution" and Peter Chan's historical epic "The Warlords" led with six nominations each in the shortlist for the second Asian Film Awards announced Thursday.

Other top contenders include Jiang Wen's "The Sun Also Rises," with five nominations. The Japanese movie "I Just Didn't Do it" and South Korea's "Secret Sunshine" each had four in the event organized by the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

"Lust, Caution," about the affair between an undercover student activist and the Japanese-allied spy chief in Second World War-era Shanghai, and "The Warlords" are both up for best film and best director.

The lead actors from "Lust, Caution," Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Tang Wei, also were nominated for top acting awards.

"The Warlords" star Jet Li is also competing for best actor along with South Korean Song Kang-ho from "Secret Sunshine," who won in the same category last year for the monster thriller "The Host," and Ryo Kase from "I Just Didn't Do It," about a young man fighting sexual harassment charges.

Song's co-star from "Secret Sunshine," Jeon Do-yeon, is up for best actress, along with Korean-American actress Kim Yun-jin from the hit U.S. TV. show "Lost" and veteran Chinese actress Joan Chen.

Jeon already won Cannes best actress last year for "Secret Sunshine," in which she portrays a woman's mental breakdown after moving to her husband's hometown following his death in a traffic accident, only to face the kidnapping and murder of her son.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Hong Kong March 17.

The Hong Kong film festival launched the Asian Film Awards last year in an attempt to add lustre to the event, which is facing growing competition from other film festivals in the region, most notably the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea.

The awards ceremony was one of two pan-Asian film awards that debuted last year, along with the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, organized by Australia's Queensland state government, the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, broadcaster CNN and UNESCO.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Chairman Wilfred Wong said the budget for the Asian Film Awards was increased by about one million Hong Kong dollars (US$128,000) from last year to about HK$10 million ($1.3 million) this year.

The Asian Film Awards also added best supporting actor categories this year.

Wong said the budget for the overall Hong Kong Film Festival increased by several million Hong Kong dollars to HK$40 million (US$5 million). For comparison, the Pusan International Film Festival was budgeted at 7.4 billion Korean won ($7.8 million) last year.

Asked about Pusan's bigger budget, Wong said he welcomed more Hong Kong government funding but that "even though we have less money, we work very efficiently."

The Hong Kong film festival will run from March 17 to April 6.

List of nominees for the 2nd Asian Film Awards

HONG KONG - A list of nominees in top categories at the 2nd Asian Film Awards announced Thursday in Hong Kong:

Best film: "Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame" (Iran), "I Just Didn't Do It" (Japan), "Lust, Caution" (Taiwan-China-United States), "Secret Sunshine" (South Korea), "The Sun Also Rises" (China-Hong Kong), "The Warlords" (China-Hong Kong).

Best director: Peter Chan ("The Warlords"), Jiang Wen ("The Sun Also Rises"), Ang Lee ("Lust, Caution"), Lee Chang-dong ("Secret Sunshine"), Masayuki Suo ("I Just Didn't Do It"), Zhang Lu ("Desert Dream").

Best actor: Jack Kao ("God Man Dog"), Ryo Kase ("I Just Didn't Do It"), Tony Leung Chiu-wai ("Lust, Caution"), Jet Li ("The Warlords"), Song Kang-ho ("Secret Sunshine"), Joe Odagiri ("Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad").

Best actress: Joan Chen ("The Home Song Stories"), Jeon Do-yeon ("Secret Sunshine"), Kirin Kiki ("Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad"), Kim Yun-jin ("Seven Days"), Deepika Padukone ("Om Shanti Om"), Tang Wei ("Lust, Caution").

冠木侍

01-17-2008, 11:37 PM

Asian Film Festivals have been on the rise in America. One of the leading Asian Film Festivals has been The San Francisco International Asian Film Festival (http://www.asianamericanfilmfestival.org/), which has been going now for a quarter century. We've discussed Taipei's Golden Horse Film Festival (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46108) and UK's Dragon Den Film Festival (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44872) here in the past. Now our martial media columnist, Dr. Craig Reid is at the 8th San Diego Asian Film Festival. (http://www.sdaff.org/) Check out his coverage of the event in his new article SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL: The See-World of Festivals (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=731), exclusively on KungFuMagazine.com (http://www.kungfumagazine.com).

Brings a smile to my face Gene. :) And a frown at the same time :(

While I was in the Bay Area before, I was fortunate enough to catch it at the Kabuki 8 in Japan Town. I remember watching Jeff Adachi's The Slanted Screen. Mr. Adachi had a little Q&A session before and after. He's very personable and was open to suggestions.

I don't remember any martial art flicks in the line up back then...

Unfortunately I won't be able to make it this year as I am not there at the moment. (Reason for the frown)

Do you plan to attend? The line up looks like it would be enjoyable.

GeneChing

01-22-2008, 10:50 AM

And not the Asian Film Awards. Funny how the SFIAAFF site rolled over, updated for the new year. That keeps the opening post pretty current. I wish I could attend both, of course, but it's unlikely I'll attend either. I haven't been to SFIAAFF in years. I almost went when they showcased Finishing the Game (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=733), but something came up at the last minute.

冠木侍

01-24-2008, 07:54 PM

Yes, that was the one I was referring to...because out of all the ones you mentioned, it is the only one I was familiar with. :D Even having been in the Bay Area, San Diego was still a trek for me.

I was just wondering if you were going to cover any screenings. Of course I realize that you have a busy schedule. Thanks for replying.

GeneChing

03-10-2008, 09:26 AM

Not to be confused with the 11th San Francisco Asian Film Festival coming later this year, we presume...

SF's Asian American Film Festival starts this week.

26th Asian American Film Festival (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/09/BAI5VBQ7O.DTL)
G. ALLEN JOHNSON

It's fitting that Wayne Wang is the main honoree at the 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The director made his name with Asian-themed films such as "Chan Is Missing" and "The Joy Luck Club," but has shifted effortlessly to Hollywood, where he directed Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes in "Maid in Manhattan" and Queen Latifah in "Last Holiday."

And yet, to get his passion projects made, such as his opening-night film, "A Thousand Years of Good Prayers" - about an Americanized daughter whose father visits, disapprovingly so, from China - he must join forces with Asia for valuable partnerships.

"After working in Hollywood, it was like I had to relearn how to make films," Wang said at a festival news conference at the Sundance Kabuki last month. "I hadn't made an Asian-themed film in 15 years, or an independent film in quite a while (2001's "The Center of the World")."

That kind of re-education is becoming more commonplace. Across the United States, Asian filmmakers and actors are not banking solely on Hollywood enlightenment or American money to realize their dreams.

Actress Joan Chen, like Wang a San Francisco resident, has acted alongside Peter O'Toole, Rutger Hauer, Christopher Walken, Tommy Lee Jones, Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine. Twenty years after "The Last Emperor" won best picture and established her as a star in the United States, she's logging frequent-flier miles to Asia and beyond - her performance in the festival's closing-night film, "The Home Song Stories," was turned in Down Under for Australian Chinese director Tony Ayres.

"It is more vibrant now," Chen said of the Asian film business. "And hopefully, in China, the censorship will become a rating system."

And Hollywood? Most of Chen's stateside work has come in the independent arena.

"I did turn a couple of (American) independent films down, but there aren't a lot of big studio offers at all," she said.

Daniel Wu can relate. Born and raised in the Bay Area and a graduate of the University of Oregon, Wu has become an A-list star in Asia. His Hong Kong-Chinese film "Blood Brothers," a big-budget gangster saga, plays at the festival.

"Having lived there for 10 years, I feel more Hong Kong than American," said Wu, who is scheduled to appear at a panel discussion at the festival called "Crossing Over: Asian Americans and Asia." "Because basically my maturing years have been spent in Hong Kong. ... You see it from a third-party perspective, and you see it differently than we do."

Perhaps most striking about the latest trend is the cooperation between independent filmmakers and Asia. Korean companies in particular are jumping into the fray; they have poured significant money into two New York-shot American independent films with Korean themes being shown at the festival: Michael Kang's "West 32nd" and Gina Kim's "Never Forever."

"Never Forever" especially shows the dichotomy between Asians and Asian Americans. Caucasian actress Vera Farmiga ("The Departed") plays a character who is married to a Korean American businessman and is unable to get pregnant. To get the baby she thinks will save their marriage, she enlists the help of a Korean illegal immigrant, hoping to pass off any offspring as her husband's.

"It was a big plus to see something so daring - if I may say - to see explicit sex scenes between a Caucasian woman and an East Asian man," said Kim, who was born in South Korea, taught at Harvard and is now based in New York. Kim got her script to noted Korean director Lee Chang-dong, which proved to be a stroke of good fortune.

"We got some money from Prime Entertainment, one of the biggest studios in Korea, and also got substantive money from the government - grant money from the Korean Film Council," Kim said.

Other examples of East-West collaborations include a fascinating documentary about kamikaze pilots, "Wings of Defeat," in which Japanese American Risa Morimoto is able to draw some surprising revelations from former kamikaze-trained pilots. That Morimoto is American and female might have helped the men - who live in a society that does not encourage frankness - to open up.

Anthony Gilmore might have had a similar advantage when he spoke to former Korean sex slaves in his "Behind Forgotten Eyes," narrated by Yunjin Kim - an actress who has bounced from Korea ("Shiri") to Hollywood (the TV series "Lost").

No wonder festival director Chi-hui Yang said at the news conference that he and his crew had thought better of dropping the "international" from the festival's official name, even though "it's one of the longer festival names out there."

Assistant festival director Taro Goto is even going so far as saying Asian Americans now have an advantage in some aspects of the entertainment field, thanks to the new paradigm. As he writes in an essay published in the festival program, "Their cross-cultural perspective gives them versatility and the ability to transcend national borders, which translates into both cultural and commercial value."

Lest you think this is a new phenomenon, consider the festival's retrospective programs.

Once again the festival is visited by Anna May Wong, the patron saint of Asian American crossover film artists. The Los Angeles-born actress who became a noted star in American silent films and shot to larger fame working in German and British silent films is the subject of a new documentary, Elaine Mae Woo's "Anna May Wong: Frosted Yellow Willows."

But most fascinating is the case of Sacramento-born singer-dancer Betty Inada, one of a wave of Japanese American jazz artists who became stars in Japan in the 1930s.

"Whispering Sidewalks" (1936), which plays Saturday at the Castro, was Japan's first musical.

Inada plays an American singer-dancer who goes on tour in Japan but is swindled by her managers. Penniless, she casts her lot with a group of struggling musicians, singing songs such as "La Cucaracha" and "Blue Moon" along the way.

More than 70 years later, going global is noble once again for Asian American artists.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival: Thurs.-March 23. Sundance Kabuki, Castro and Clay theaters in San Francisco; Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley; and Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose. (415) 865-1588, asianamericanmedia.org/2008. For G. Allen Johnson's festival picks, go to sfgate.com.

GeneChing

03-18-2008, 11:24 AM

Haven't heard about Secret Sunshine, but it doesn't sound like my kind of flick... :rolleyes:

SKorea shines at Asian film awards (http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hXrTJhuo1CAkETC5bgAZ4XruXWuA)
12 hours ago

HONG KONG (AFP) — South Korea dominated the Asian Film Awards for the second year running, with "Secret Sunshine", a tragic movie about death and faith, taking home three top prizes including best picture.

"Secret Sunshine" -- the story of a widow who moves to her dead husband's hometown with her son, and then turns to evangelical Christianity when her child is abducted and murdered -- also won for best director and actress.

South Korean actress Jeon Do-Yeon, who won the top acting prize at last year's Cannes film festival for her performance as the suffering woman, again took home top honours in Hong Kong late Monday.

"This is beyond my expectations," she said.

"Secret Sunshine" director Lee Chang-dong bested Taiwan's Ang Lee, whose erotic World War II spy thriller "Lust, Caution" went home with just one award -- a best actor trophy for Hong Kong veteran Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

The South Korean director said he had come to the gala event in Hong Kong to celebrate Jeon's work, and never expected to take home the awards for best film and director.

"I'm a very happy man now," he said.

The Asian Film Awards, organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, are aimed at showcasing the depth of talent in the region.

At last year's inaugural event, South Korea also blitzed the field, with smash hit monster flick "The Host" -- the story of a mutant monster spawned by toxic waste released from a US military morgue -- winning four prizes.

On Monday, Chinese-American veteran Joan Chen won best supporting actress honours for "The Sun Also Rises", while China's Sun Honglei was named best supporting actor for his work in "Mongol", about the life of Genghis Khan.

Best screenwriting honours went to Au Kin-yee and Wai Ka-fai for "Mad Detective", another cop flick from prolific Hong Kong director Johnnie To.

Liao Pen-jung won the trophy for best cinematography for "Help Me Eros", while Cao Jiuping, Zhang Jianqun won for best production design for "The Sun Also Rises".

India's Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani were named best composers for "Om Shanti Om", David Richardson was crowned best editor for "Eye In the Sky" and the prize for best visual effects went to Ng Yuen-fai for "The Warlords".

More than 30 films from across the region vied for the 12 prizes.

Veteran Japanese director Yoji Yamada, best known for the light-hearted human dramas of his "Otoko wa Tsurai yo" ("Tough to be a man") series that started in 1969, took home the Special Lifetime Achievement Award.

The series features iconic character Torajiro Kuruma, a warm-hearted but hapless travelling salesman who is constantly falling in love with women and getting his heart broken.

Yamada, 76, made 48 movies about the salesman, played by late film legend Kiyoshi Atsumi, until 1995.

GeneChing

03-27-2008, 09:33 AM

Still haven't seen The Assembly yet...

"Assembly," "CJ7" up for Students' Favorites (http://english.cri.cn/3086/2008/03/27/1261@338422.htm)
2008-03-27 08:27:10 CRIENGLISH.com
Lucrative Chinese films of the past year, such as "The Assembly," "The Warlords," and "CJ7," are among the 36 final competitors for this year's Beijing Student Film Festival.

The films not only include box-office leaders, but also small-budget films that have not had as big an influence in the theaters, Xinhua news agency on Thursday quoted the festival committee as saying.

The 36 candidates were selected from a record-setting 104 submissions, according to the festival's Web site. Genres span action, war, comedy and art-house films.

Other notable nominations include "In Love We Trust," "Ganglamedo," and "My Left Hand."

The 15th annual Beijing Student Film Festival will run from April 6 to 26. Nominated films will be screened in several local universities, where students will choose their favorite film, director, actor and actress.

Other major awards for Best Film, Director, Actor and Actress will be decided by a judge panel of professionals and students.

The Beijing Student Film Festival is growing in popularity as filmmakers are seeing a potential market among college students.

Lucas

03-27-2008, 11:23 AM

An event my friend is organizing. If you are in the Portland area, feel free to PM me and I will keep you updated. We will be having a fundraiser dinner to help get this off the ground, if you are interested I will let you know when and where.

"About the organization that I am with it's called Thymos, and it is created to give more awareness of Asian Americans in the media and the misrepresentations they show as being accurate. Well that is part of what we do, the other part is helping to improve the status of Asian Americans by showing that we are a multi-ethnic group and not just a monolithic entity. A way to do this is to have an event showing how Asian Americans have overcame certain difficulties but still reach a glass ceiling whether it be in social or academic events. A way to break this ceiling is spthe event that Thymos is going to put on in June. The event will have two main parts, the first is to show the progression of Asian American studies over the last forty years , since this is the 40 year anniversary of Asian American Studies. The second part is having two speakers here to actually talk about the progression of Asian American Studies and also the independent film arena. The speakers are Frank chin and Curtis Choy. I will attach you some links so that you have a better idea of who they are. So far we have a some success in gathering support and fundraising however we still need more help.

The event will most likely take place at OHSU because we have a contact there. We are expecting to have a full attendance and the room can hold up to 150 people.

Here are some links to the people who are coming.
Frank Chin
- http://www.enotes.com/drama-criticism/chin-frank
- http://www.bestwebbuys.com/Frank_Chin-mcid_2106707.html?isrc=b-authorsearch (these are the books he has written)
Curtis Choy
- http://www.chonkmoonhunter.com/ (this is his production company and the films/documentaries he had made)

Curtis Choy made a documentary about Frank Chin talking about Frank Chin called "What's wrong with Frank Chin?" and that film will also be another part of the selling point."

GeneChing

03-28-2008, 09:56 AM

The Asian Excellence Awards (http://www.asianexcellenceawards.com/) will be held on 4/23/2008 at Royce Hall at UCLA

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION ACTRESS
Yunjin Kim Lost ABC
Lucy Liu Cashmere Mafia ABC
Parminder Nagra ER NBC
Sandra Oh Grey’s Anatomy ABC
Lindsay Price Lipstick Jungle NBC
Navi Rawat Numb3rs CBS
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION ACTOR
Naveen Andrews Lost ABC
Daniel Dae Kim Lost ABC
Masi Oka Heroes NBC
Sendhil Ramamurthy Heroes NBC
B.D. Wong Law & Order: SVU NBC
SUPPORTING TELEVISION ACTRESS
Moon Bloodgood Journeyman NBC
Michaela Conlin Bones Fox
Janina Gavankar The L Word Showtime
Mindy Kaling The Office NBC
Michelle Krusiec Dirty Sexy Money ABC
Sonja Sohn The Wire HBO
SUPPORTING TELEVISION ACTOR
James Kyson Lee Heroes NBC
Rex Lee Entourage HBO
Will Yun Lee Bionic Woman NBC
Ken Leung Lost ABC
Kal Penn House M.D. Fox
James Saito Eli Stone ABC
OUTSTANDING FILM ACTRESS
Devon Aoki War
Joan Chen Lust, Caution
Vanessa Hudgens High School Musical 2
Sharon Leal This Christmas
Maggie Q Balls of Fury
Tang Wei Lust, Caution
OUTSTANDING FILM ACTOR
Naveen Andrews The Brave One
Jackie Chan Rush Hour 3
Chow Yun-Fat Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Tony Leung Lust, Caution
Jet Li War
Lee-Hom Wang Lust, Caution
OUTSTANDING FILM
Finishing the Game Dir Justin Lin
Lust, Caution Dir Ang Lee
Rush Hour 3 Dir Brett Ratner
War Dir Philip G. Atwell
VIEWERS CHOICE AWARDS brought to you by
FAVORITE TV PERSONALITY (Internet Voting)
Julie Chen Big Brother CBS
Mark Dacascos Iron Chef America: The Series Food Network
Padma Lakshmi Top Chef Bravo
Tila “Tequila” Nguyen A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila MTV
Vern Yip Deserving Design HGTV
Carrie Ann Inaba Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann ABC
Kimora Lee Simmons Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane Style Network
FAVORITE REALITY STAR (Internet Voting)
Ronald & Christina The Amazing Race CBS
Yau-Man Chan Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites CBS
Victorya Hong Project Runway Bravo
JabbaWockeeZ Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew MTV
Kaba Modern Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew MTV
Ramiele Malubay American Idol Fox
Nicole Niestemski Your Mama Don’t Dance Lifetime
Jonathan Silva Your Mama Don’t Dance Lifetime

Lucas

03-28-2008, 10:28 AM

why is rush hour 3 on that list? the director listed is a whitey

GeneChing

03-28-2008, 10:33 AM

Same problem with WAR (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46416). And I personally thought that was worse than RH3 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47031). Perhaps it's an Asian thing. Gotta tip the hat to J&J...

Is whitey as derogatory as jap? (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showpost.php?p=850492&postcount=4) :rolleyes:

Lucas

03-28-2008, 05:23 PM

Nah.

I'm not Japanese, but "Jap" offends even me.

whitey is just funny imo. i suppose a white person could get all puffed up and pretend they would be offended, but the truth is, its just funny.

GeneChing

05-06-2008, 09:54 AM

It's delightful to see four martial arts films at SFIFF (http://fest08.sffs.org/) this year. Here's the picks.

Black Belt (http://fest08.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=11)
At last, a thinking person’s martial arts movie. Or, in other words, a well acted, deliberately nuanced drama about the moral dilemma of a young man forced to choose between his principles and his obligation to defend the helpless. Plus a few broken heads. Trouble develops in Japan’s late Showa dynasty (1932), in the wake of that country’s invasion of Manchuria, when a company of kempeitai military police arrogantly disrupts the karate studies of three young men—Taikan (Tatsuya Naka), Giryu (Akihito Yagi) and Choei (Yuji Suzuki)—at the rural dojo of their wise old master (Shinya Ohwada). Convinced that the students’ skills can help in battle, the army wants to conscript them into service as fight instructors. Screenwriter George Iida and veteran independent filmmaker Shunichi Nagasaki (Dogs, A Tender Place) are obviously skeptical about Japanese militarism in the first place, but leave it to bashful Giryu to set things straight when the hideous army commander widens the scope of his depredations beyond able-bodied fighting men to include innocent local villagers. The fact that actual karate masters portray the three main characters guarantees that when justice prevails it looks like it actually hurts. No wires, no stunts, no elaborate sound effects. The no-frills fisticuffs are quick and brutal. Stunt coordinator Fuyuhiko Nishi’s authentic fight choreography is matched by cinematographer Masato Kaneko’s dazzling establishing shots of the lush greenery of Kyushu. The film’s true subject, though, is the moral calculus of violence, and when, if ever, it should be used.

Mongol (http://fest08.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=56)
Sergei Bodrov’s historical epic about the pivotal early years of Genghis Khan measures the human qualities against the legend, coming to a provocative conclusion. Namely, you don’t marshal disparate tribes and conquer more land than any warrior before or since by being a brute, but rather by being a visionary and, to some degree, a mensch. Therein lies a tale arrestingly filmed on Mongolian steppes as barren and forbidding today as they were in the 12th century. Part one of a proposed trilogy, Mongol has all the pleasures of the genre (including the guilty ones, like artful spatter). Tadanobu Asano, the popular Japanese actor (Zatoichi; Last Life in the Universe), plays Temudgin (as he was known before assuming the title “khan,” or tribal leader) in a spirit of indomitable, pensive forbearance. The nonprofessional actress Khulan Chuluun, comfortable in the role of a strong-willed thinker, plays his wife, Borte—guileless when it comes to love, crafty when it comes to survival. Other local non-actors people the film. Bodrov has considerable experience directing young people—Freedom Is Paradise and I Wanted to See Angels (SFIFF 1990 and 1993, respectively)—and the scenes in which his principal characters are children remain in many ways the most absorbing. Hunted by traitors following the death of his father, the boy Temudgin is spared a similar fate only by the law of tradition: Mongols do not kill children. Later on as an adult, and fair game, he will impress enemy soldiers with simple principles of his own on the path to becoming khan of all the Mongols. But you saw that coming.

Redbelt (http://fest08.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=68) (our thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46439))
David Mamet enlivens the real-life Fight Club of UFC and MMA (mixed martial arts) with his trademark con games, plot twists and male camaraderie (and competition) in his newest mind-bender, a crowd-pleasing action movie that he describes as a samurai film in the tradition of Akira Kurosawa. In the semi-seedy, macho realm of the West L.A. fight scene, bouncers, cops, ex-cons and ex-Marines grapple to get their piece of the American dream. Some do it honorably, others less so. Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dirty Pretty Things) leads an honorable life as a jiu-jitsu trainer; able to kill if necessary, he chooses to teach, train and live peacefully with his wife Sondra (Alice Braga). A modern-day samurai who has given up battle, Mike soon finds himself in a whole new world when he meets Hollywood superstar Chet Frank (Tim Allen) and the scene’s sleazy promoters, powerbrokers and hangers-on. Forced to reenter the ring, Mike must decide when to fight, and for what. This territory is all Mamet’s: profanity-slinging men fighting, with words or fists, for control, advantage or merely to survive. (Mamet is also a jiu-jitsu practitioner himself and a self-confessed UFC addict.) House of Games with gloves off and feet flying, Redbelt also features UFC/MMA stars Randy Couture and Enson Inoue, along with Mamet regulars Joe Mantegna and Ricky Jay. The con is indeed on, but so is the fight.

The Warlords (http://fest08.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=98) (our thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46453))
With a cast of thousands, spectacular battle scenes, Shakespearean-style rumination on the corrupting influence of power and a story of love and loyalty played with dramatic intensity and martial arts fury, The Warlords reigns as the Asian super-production for the new millenium. All revolves around the tragic fate of General Pang (Jet Li), whose noble intention to bring peace and stability to late 19th century Qing Dynasty China turns into vaunted ambition for personal power and glory. Pang is joined by two bandits who become his sworn blood brothers. Zhao (Andy Lau) and Jiang (Takeshi Kaneshiro) help Pang’s rise to power, carrying out impossible campaigns for the Qing court, defeating Taiping rebels and conquering cities. Along the way, Pang becomes attracted to Zhao’s wife (Xu Jinglei) and massacres prisoners whom Zhao had promised to protect. The brotherhood collapses in a spiral of betrayal and death. Jet Li delivers an impressive performance as the flawed hero who ignores his conscience in a blind drive for worldly success. Lau and Kaneshiro, major stars in their own right, hold their own admirably in the action sequences and emotional life of this historical drama. As in Perhaps Love, director Peter Chan establishes both the style and the rhythm of the film with masterful visuals. His camera sweeps and swoops over a panorama of action, moving in tight on the dilemmas of love and duty. And the political import of the Qing aristocracy’s disdain for the General, even as he does their dirty work, resonates long after the fighting is over.

GeneChing

10-09-2008, 11:35 AM

Check out the sequel to the inspiration to this thread - 2008 San Diego Asian Film Festival: Break Out the Hersheys in Southern California (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=790) by Dr. Craig Reid

Jimbo

10-10-2008, 11:27 PM

I'm really looking forward to seeing Black Belt. I think it's coming out before too long on DVD, perhaps released by Tokyo Shock(?).

GeneChing

01-21-2009, 04:40 PM

Go Jeeja (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49620)! Go Deepika (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52608)!

The Good, The Bad, The Weird tops nominations for Asian Film Awards (http://www.screendaily.com/ScreenDailyArticle.aspx?intStoryID=42775&Category=)
Jean Noh in Seoul 21 Jan 2009 17:46

The Good, The Bad, The Weird - Kim Jee-woon's rollicking Oriental Western, took eight nominations in total, including those for best film, director, and cinematographer. Song Kang-ho picked up a nod for best actor, while Jung Woo-sung and Lee Byung-hun both got nominated in the best supporting actor category.

Other nominees in the best film category are Chen Kaige's Mei Lanfang biopic Forever Enthralled, Hayao Miyazaki's animation Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea, Riri Riza's school drama The Rainbow Troops, John Woo's historical action film Red Cliff, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's family drama Tokyo Sonata.

Choosing the winners from the nominations will be a 13-person jury presided over by actress Michelle Yeoh. Other jury members include Christian Jeune from the Cannes film festival; Kenji Ishizaka from the Tokyo film festival; Christophe Terhechte from the Berlinale; Noah Cowan from the Toronto film festival; and Park Ki-yong, filmmaker and head of the Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA).

The awards presentation ceremony will be held March 23 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, as the Opening Gala of the Entertainment Expo Hong Kong.

The 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) and the 7th Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) also start March 23.

Full list of Asian Film Awards nominations

Best Film
Forever Enthralled (Mainland China)
The Good, The Bad , The Weird (South Korea)
Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea (Japan)
The Rainbow Troops (Indonesia)
Red Cliff (Mainland China)
Tokyo Sonata (Japan / The Netherlands / Hong Kong)

Best Director
Feng Xiao-gang - If You Are The One (Mainland China)
Kim Jee-woon - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korea)
Koreeda Hirokazu - Still Walking (Japan)
Brillante Mendoza – Service (The Philippines)
Miyazaki Hayao / Frank Marshall - Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea (Japan)
John Woo - Red Cliff (Mainland China)

Best Actor
Ge You - If You Are The One (Chinese)
Ha Jung-woo - The Chaser (South Korea)
Akshay Kumar - Singh Is Kinng (India)
Matsuyama Kenichi - Detroit Metal City (Japan)
Motoki Masahiro – Departures (Japan)
Song Kang-ho - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korea)

Best Actress
Fukatsu Eri - The Magic Hour (Japan)
Jiang Wenli - And The Spring Comes (Mainland China)
Deepika Padukone - Chandni Chowk To China (India)
Yoshinaga Sayuri - Kabei - Our Mother (Japan)
Zhou Wei - Painted Skin (Mainland China / Hong Kong)
Zhou Xun - The Equation Of Love And Death (Mainland China)

Best Newcomer
Matsuda Shota - Boys Over Flowers: The Movie (Japan)
Sandrine Pinna - Miao Miao (Taiwan / Hong Kong)
So Ji-sub - Rough Cut (South Korea)
Xu Jiao - CJ7 (Hong Kong)
JeeJa Yanin – Chocolate (Thailand)
Yu Shaoqun - Forever Enthralled (Mainland China)

Best Supporting Actor
Nick Cheung - Beast Stalker (Hong Kong)
Jung Woo-sung - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korea)
Lee Byung-hun - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korea)
Tsutsumi Shinichi - Suspect X (Japan)
Wang Xueqi - Forever Enthralled (Mainland China)

Best Supporting Actress
Aoi Yu - Sex Is No Laughing Matter (Japan)
Jaclyn JOSE – Service (The Philippines)
KIKI Kirin - Still Walking (Japan)
KIM Ji-yeong - Forever The Moment (South Korea)
Gina PARENO – Service (The Philippines)

Best Screenwriter
NA Hong-jin - The Chaser (South Korea)
LI Qiang - And The Spring Comes (Mainland China)
Tom Lin / Henry Tsai - Winds Of September (Taiwan / Hong Kong)
Kurosawa Kiyoshi / Max Mannix / Tanaka Sachiko - Tokyo Sonata (Japan / The Netherlands / Hong Kong)
Mitani Koki - The Magic Hour (Japan)

Best Cinematographer
Ato Shoichi - Paco And The Magical Book (Japan)
Cheng Siu-keung – Sparrow (Hong Kong)
Lee Mo-gae - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korea)
Jola Dylewska – Tulpan (Germany / Kazakhstan / Poland / Russia / Switzerland)
Wang Yu / Nelson Lik-wai Yu - 24 City (Mainland China)
Waluyo ICHWANDIARDONO - The Rainbow Troops (Indonesia)
KIM Sun-min - The Chaser (South Korea)

Best Visual Effects
Craig Hayes - Red Cliff (Mainland China)
KIM Wook - The Good, The Bad, The Weird (South Korea)
Yanagawase Masahide - Paco And The Magical Book (Japan)

GeneChing

02-12-2009, 12:08 PM

Launch Party is tomorrow. :cool:

Fasten Your Seatbelts! Official Festival Launch Party Takes off Friday, February 13, 2009 (http://festival.asianamericanmedia.org/featured/2009/02/10/fasten-your-seatbelts-official-festival-launch-party-takes-off-friday-february-13/)

Posted February 10, 2009 by menriquez in SFIAAFF 2009, Event, Featured

launchparty2.jpg

27TH SFIAAFF 2009 OFFICIAL LAUNCH PARTY
Be the first on your block to pick up the Festival program guide hot off the
press, meet local filmmakers, and mix and mingle with fellow festival goers!

Friday, February 13, 2009 | 9pm *- 2am
111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco
$5 | Free Admission for CAAM Members, 21+
For ticket info, visit www.asianamericanmedia.org

Featuring the sounds of:
Robot Hustle (Honey Soundsystem) - Cosmic Disco
DJ VNA (Good Life) - Old School Hip-Hop + R&B
Eug (Public Release) - Italo Disco + Electro
Shred One (Brooklyn Circus/LA/SF) - Funky Soul + Dance Classics

SAVE THE DATE! March 12-22, 2009
27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
Program announced on February 10, 2009 @ www.asianamericanmedia.org

GeneChing

02-27-2009, 05:38 PM

So much focus on Shinjuku Incident (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51787)...

Hong Kong Int'l Film Festival to Open in March (http://english.cri.cn/6666/2009/02/27/1321s458434.htm)
2009-02-27 10:49:14 Xinhua

The 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is to be held from March 22 to April 13,the organizer announced Thursday.

Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (HKIFFS) said at a press conference on Thursday that that "Shinjuku Incident", starring famous actor Jackie Chan and directed by Derek Yee Tung- shing, and "Night and Fog", from acclaimed Director Ann Hui, will open the 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival. The World premiere of both films will take place on March 22, 2009 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

Some 300 films from over 50 countries will be screened at the 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival, including 20 world premieres and 30 Asian premieres.

"We have launched a number of new initiatives at this year's HKIFF. The launch of our new brand is aimed at positioning the Festival within the global film calendar, as well as highlighting our mission to discover and introduce new creative film talent to the world. In this way, we hope to form a stronger bond with a new generation of viewers," said HKIFFS Chairman Wilfred Wong.

"In this time of global financial crisis, the role of the Festival is more important than ever. Films have the ability to inspire, uplift and bring hope to people, allowing us to believe again in our lives," Wong added.

The HKIFFS also unveiled a new key art icon for the 33rd HKIFF, featuring the mascot 'BAUFA', which means exploding fireworks, set against a background of blue skies and white clouds. The symbolism of the key art aims to deliver on the festival's promise of hope and fantasy, and to engage future generations in the art and creativity of film.

"Shinjuku Incident" Director Derek Yee and cast members Jackie Chan, Daniel Wu, Xu Jinglei, Fan Bingbing and Chin Kar-lok; and "Night and Fog" Director Ann Hui, cast Simon Yam and Zhang Jingchu attended the press conference in support of the festival.

"Shinjuku Incident" is a harrowing portrayal of the lives of illegal Chinese immigrants in the dark underbelly of Tokyo's gangland. The film is a departure for Jackie Chan, marking a darker dramatic role for the action star.

Directed by acclaimed New Wave helmer Ann Hui, "Night and Fog" is an intimate exploration of domestic violence in Hong Kong. The film stars celebrated character actor Simon Yam, and co-stars actress Zhang Jingchu in a career-defining role.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival is one of Asia's most reputable platforms for filmmakers, film professionals and filmgoers from all over the world to launch new works and experience the latest outstanding cinema projects.

GeneChing

04-03-2009, 09:00 AM

Nice line up in HI. I've been hearing a lot of buzz on Ghaniji, Yamagata Scream and Tokyo Sonata.

HIFF greets spring with diverse global lineup (http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20090403_hiff_greets_spring_with_diverse_global_li neup.html)
One locally made short, a Japanese horror-comedy and a documentary about Burma have since been added to the Spring Showcase schedule
By Star-Bulletin staff
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 03, 2009

A particularly strong lineup of films from all over the world will be featured at this year's Hawaii International Film Festival Spring Showcase, always the appetizer leading up to the festival's main course. (Its larger fall event is coming up in mid-October.)

HAWAII INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 12th ANNUAL SPRING SHOWCASE
Place: Regal Dole Cannery multiplex
Time: Friday through April 9
Tickets: $10 and $9 military, students and seniors
Call: 550-8457 or visit www.hiff.org

Since the print schedule's release, there have been changes in the lineup. The critically acclaimed Italian Mafia feature "Gomorrah" is out and three films have been added: the locally made short "Ma'ili Land: Stories of Hope"; the Japanese horror-comedy "Yamagata Scream"; and "Burma VJ," a documentary about a brave group of video reporters who risk their lives to expose the repressive dictatorship ruling their country.

Burma became international headline news in 2007 when Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion against the government. The peaceful religious order is also the subject of a remarkable and moving documentary in the lineup, "Unmistaken Child." It's a quietly told yet riveting story of a disciple's search through the rugged terrain of Tibet for the reincarnation of his master in a village infant. How the disciple finds the old soul in a little boy after a four-year search, and the bond he forms with his little "master," takes on an immensely spiritual tone. Effectively capturing the essence of Tibet in its landscape, people and culture, "Unmistaken Child" could turn out to be one of the hits of the showcase.

The schedule:

» "20th Century Boys Part I" (Japan/6:30 p.m. Monday and 3 p.m. Tuesday) and Part II (6:15 p.m. Tuesday and 3 p.m. Wednesday): See review.

» "Birdwatchers" (Italy/Brazil/8:45 p.m. Sunday): A drama about a group of indigenous natives who decide to leave their restricted reservation in Brazil and return to the land of their forefathers -- now occupied by wealthy plantation owners who allow bird-watching tourists on "their" property.

» "Burma VJ" (Denmark/9:15 p.m. Tuesday): See article intro.

» "Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone" (Japan/3 p.m. Sunday): The first of four planned animated features, it retells roughly the first six episodes of the influential apocalyptic mecha TV series "Neon Genesis Evangelion."

» "Food Inc." (U.S./6:15 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday): How much do we really know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets? The documentary lifts the veil on our country's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the consumer with the consent of the government's regulatory agencies.

» "Ghajini" (India/6:30 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. April 9): India's highest-grossing movie of all time, this 2008 Bollywood film was inspired by the hit "Memento." A businessman loses his short-term memory following a violent encounter that results in his girlfriend's death. He tries to avenge her killing with the aid of Polaroid photos and tattoos on his body. (The film features six songs by the prolific A.R. Rahman, who became familiar to U.S. audiences for his score for the multiple Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire.")

» "Gu-Gu the Cat" (Japan/3:15 p.m. Saturday and 8:45 p.m. April 9): A manga artist is devastated by the death of her cat, which kept her company for more than 15 years. She can no longer concentrate on her work -- that is, until a new kitten enters the lives of both the artist and her assistants.

» "Ichi" (http://kungfuqigong.com/forum/showpost.php?p=926505&postcount=22) (Japan/8:30 p.m. Friday and 3:15 p.m. Monday): A reimagining of the popular Zatoichi story, with Haruka Ayase starring as a blind woman who roams from town to town with her shamisen. When a village becomes hostage to two opposing clans, she reveals her deadly swordsplay to help protect the innocent villagers.

» "Luck By Chance" (India/12:15 p.m. Sunday and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday): A satirical but affectionate tale of the Bollywood film industry, as a fresh-faced actor from New Delhi and his girlfriend -- still waiting for her own big break despite living in Mumbai for a few years -- try to become movie stars in a world of heated ego battles and jealousies.

» "Ma'ili Land: Stories of Hope" (Hawaii/11 a.m. Saturday): As originally reported by our local film/TV columnist Katherine Nichols, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu will sponsor this screening of three shorts directed and produced by 10 youngsters who live at the Leeward transitional housing land project. One of the featured shorts, "Friendship," is about a once-homeless boy struggling with his peers after moving into transitional housing. (Admission $5, and a Q&A session will follow the screening.)

» "Marine Boy" (South Korea/6:15 p.m. Wednesday and 3 p.m. April 9): A former swimming athlete, desperately in debt, decides to become a drug mule by swimming waters between Korea and Japan. Along the way, he meets a mysterious beauty who has been tracking him. The two of them then plot to swindle the swimmer's moneylender and take the drug money for themselves.

» "Night and Day" (South Korea/France/6 p.m. Tuesday and 3:15 p.m. Wednesday): A painter lives in exile in Paris, on the lam after getting caught smoking pot with some American tourists back in Seoul. Not speaking a word of French, the painter joins a floating group of Korean ex-pats and exchange students. When he meets an art student and her roommate, could there be love in the air for the 40ish, married artist -- or is it just Paris?

» "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" (India/6:15 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Monday): Translating its Hindi title, "A Match Made in Heaven" is a romantic comedy about a mild-mannered office worker who transforms himself into a suave and dashing dancer in order to win the love of a beautiful and vivacious woman.

» "The Sky Crawlers" (Japan/6 p.m. Sunday and 9 p.m. Wednesday): An animated adaptation of a popular manga series of books set in an alternate history, following the journeys and tribulations of a group of young fighter pilots.

» "The Song of Sparrows" (Iran/12:15 p.m. Saturday): From acclaimed director Majid Majidi, it's the story of a simple man who loses his job at an ostrich farm and then travels to Tehran, where he starts his new job of moving people and goods through heavy traffic on his motorcycle. But the job starts to transform his inherently generous and honest nature for the worse, much to the distress of his wife and daughters.

» "Summer Hours" (France/6:15 p.m. Monday and 3:15 p.m. Tuesday): Olivier Assayas' latest film is a bittersweet elegy about love and memory and the ways in which we hold them. Three adult siblings who have grown apart reunite at their late mother's home to decide what to do with the family house, filled with artwork from their grandfather, a celebrated artist whose legacy hangs over the family.

» "Tokyo Sonata" (Japan/6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday): See review.

» "Treeless Mountain" (South Korea/3:15 and 6:15 p.m. April 9): With cinematography by the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media assistant professor Anne Misawa, the film tells the dreamlike story of a 6-year-old girl and her younger sister coping with loss when their single mother leaves them with a diffident aunt.

» "Unmistaken Child" (Israel/3 p.m. Saturday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday): See article intro.

» "Wushu: The Young Generation (http://kungfuqigong.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48825)" (China/8:45 p.m. Saturday and 9:15 p.m. Tuesday): Co-produced by Jackie Chan and starring his friend and fellow martial arts icon Sammo Hung, the movie follows the lives of a group of friends who go to an elite, small-town martial arts school where the father of two of them is played by Hung. As the group reaches their graduation year, and with the provincial team selection looming for the championships, their friendship is tested and they are forced to face the ills of the outside world in the form of child kidnappings and illegal fight matches.

» "Yamagata Scream" (Japan/9:15 p.m. Sunday): See review.

GeneChing

06-02-2009, 10:04 AM

The 12TH SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (http://www.siff.com/MovieEn/Infolist_b.aspx?CategoryID=c70dad88-2568-4f16-9e89-0b0a4e680758)is 6/13-21. Couldn't find a film listing, but then I didn't look that hard...

GeneChing

06-16-2009, 09:38 AM

2000 films?!? No wonder I couldn't find a listing...

Shanghai International Film Festival Kicks Off (http://english.cri.cn/6666/2009/06/13/1722s493029.htm)
2009-06-13 17:56:11 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Ma Ting

Cinema lovers in China will celebrate their own festival this month with hundreds of celebrities from home and abroad, as the Shanghai International Film Festival kicked off Saturday night.

CRI reporter Shuang Feng takes you for an up and close encounter with one of the world's most vibrating film fetivals.

Reporter:

"-Hi, I'm Halle Berry.

-Nihao, I'm Danny Boyle, director of "Slumdog Millionaire."

-Hi, this is Annie MacDowell. This time I'm going to be on the jury, so I'm really looking forward to that."

What brought these most-sought-after celebrities together is not the Berlin or Cannes film festivals, but the Shanghai International Film Festival, or SIFF. Starting from Saturday, Chinese filmgoers will be treated to the most lavish cinematic feast of the year.

Tang Lijun, the festival's spokesperson, talks about the highlights.

"What's highly anticipated is that audiences will be able to watch those fantastic movies from 79 countries and regions around the world. The star-studded cast on the red carpet is another highlight. There will be about 300 stars taking part, including Halle Berry, Quincy Jones and Zhang Ziyi."

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Shanghai International Film Festival has become one of the fastest growing cinematic events in the world. Each year, the festival draws a growing number of international filmmakers and investors looking to enter the Chinese film market.

Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle is chairman of the jury at this year's film festival.

"It certainly becomes an incredible place to launch a film, because you can start a film here and release it throughout the nation and throughout Asia. And also you hear about the provision of digital cinema in China. It's groundbreaking, and that's the future."
The week-long festival would include Film Competitions, Film Forums, among others.

As the most eye-catching part of this film festival, the competition section of the festival will cover nearly 2,000 films from all over the world.

The film "Wheat," the latest production by Chinese director He Ping, has premiered as the opening film to this year's event. Insiders regard it as one of the most anticipated films of the year.

The event lasts until next Sunday.

"Wheat" Grows out of Golf Course (http://english.cri.cn/6666/2009/06/13/1722s493020.htm)
2009-06-13 16:29:21 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Ma Ting

"Wheat" director He Ping found a large part of the film's cast on golf courses.

The lead actors and actresses of the historical drama attended a press conference in Shanghai on Friday before the film premieres and opens the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 13.

Veteran actors Wang Zhiwen, Wang Xueqi and Wang Ji told media that all of them became acquainted with the director through playing golf with him.

The film also features Fan Bingbig and Huang Jue.

The historical drama tells a story about the women left behind when their men have gone off to war -- and the lies they are told by two runaway soldiers to keep them from knowing the awful truth.

Shaolinlueb

06-16-2009, 12:04 PM

gene i just heard from a friend in korea that THIRST wasnt that good or popular in korea. :(

xcakid

08-12-2009, 11:39 AM

Guess Dallas' Asian Film Festival is not large enough to get coverage. :(
http://2009.affd.org/
My friend Julie actually sang harmony for their trailer music.

GeneChing

08-13-2009, 10:05 AM

xcakid

08-13-2009, 12:05 PM

I thought CA sent you to TX to cover these sorts of things. :p

Nice to see Ip Man took the Audience Award Winner (http://2009.affd.org/2009/07/31/affd-2009-audience-award-winner/). Maybe there's hope for TX after all. ;)

I tried covering it, but the women were too distracting. :D

They had to dubbed in a few "ya'll's" in the dialogue to make Ip Man palatable here in TX. But it worked out well in the end.

Hebrew Hammer

10-18-2009, 12:00 PM

Got my tickets for Red Cliff tonight!

GeneChing

03-26-2010, 09:40 AM

I've never seen The Kid, The Orphan or The Thunderstorm. This is the first time I've even heard of Thunderstorm.

HKIFF celebrates Bruce Lee's 70th birthday (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/asia/news/e3if745772b249372ddf11bfe649228923f)
Festival spotlights martial arts master starting Mar. 30
By Jonathan Landreth
March 26, 2010, 07:56 AM ET

BEIJING -- Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Bruce Lee, the 2010 Hong Kong International Film Festival will shine a spotlight on the martial arts master's influence on global cinema with a program beginning Mar. 30.

The festival's Bruce Lee 7010 tribute will include nine of his best movies, from "The Kid" (1950) -- when Lee was just 10 years old -- through to his lead role in "The Orphan" (1960) at 20, allowing the audience the rare chance to watch him grow up on screen.

The program also will include a few Cantonese films, such as "The Thunderstorm" (1957), and the kung fu classics, such as "Enter The Dragon" (1973), the film that made Lee a global superstar.

"Bruce Lee's legacy continues to inspire filmmakers and audiences around the world," said Shaw Soo-wei, executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society, organizer of the festival and Bruce Lee celebration going on until Apr. 6.

Lee's work continues to drive worldwide interest in Hong Kong action cinema. His films have influenced all areas of popular culture including fitness, music, sport, dance and video games and drove the martial arts film industry into the mainstream, putting Hong Kong cinema on the world map.

"The HKIFF is proudly committed to supporting Hong Kong film talent of the past and present who pave the way for new filmmakers to establish themselves globally," Shaw said in a statement.

To better celebrate the films, this weekend, Mar. 25-28 from 7PM, the W Hong Kong, the official film festival hotel, will host Bruce Lee Hours, serving complimentary popcorn during film screenings in the hotel's Living Room ****tail bar.

In partnership with Bruce Lee Enterprises and sponsored by Tiger Beer, the exhibition and tribute will be open officially opened at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on Mar. 30 by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler, and Linda Lee Cadwell, wife of the late Bruce Lee.

Also as a part of the tribute, on Apr. 4, Hong Kong Film Archive programmer, Sam Ho will lead a group seminar on Bruce Lee films in Cantonese with simultaneous English interpretation at the Hong Kong Science Museum.

In addition to the film retrospective, the tribute will launch "Bruce Lee Lives," a special HKIFFS publication of new articles by critics Sek Kei, Bryan Chang, Bono Lee and Po Fung, offering insight into Lee's life and the impact he had on those who met him and the audiences whose lives he touched.

Free to the public, the exhibition will display some of Lee's personal belongings, including costumes, his kung fu practice helmet, family and behind-the-scenes photographs, his own hand drawings and sketches of his martial arts techniques, letters to friends and family and contracts with film studios.

GeneChing

03-30-2010, 09:46 AM

Seems like just yesterday when we were celebrating Bruce's 60th (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=111).

Back to Google News (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g-jJBx9z7ttj_tVyaJQzOY6YRnzgD9EOVEKG0)
Bruce Lee's wife, daughter open Hong Kong exhibit
By MIN LEE (AP) – 3 hours ago

HONG KONG — Bruce Lee's wife and daughter on Tuesday unveiled an exhibition of the late kung fu star's personal items, photos and movie posters in Hong Kong.

The exhibit, which includes a boxing head guard and a pair of sunglasses used by Lee, is part of a tribute to the late actor at the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival. The festival is also hosting a seminar on his work this Sunday and screening nine of his movies in honor of what would have been his 70th birthday later this year.

"I think that he would be thrilled to know that his legacy has gone on and on for as long as it has and that it will continue to go on and inspire people for many, many more years to come," said Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler, who attended the opening ceremony with her mother, Linda Lee Cadwell.

Lee became a chest-thumping source of Chinese pride by portraying characters that defended the Chinese and the working class from oppressors in films like "Return of the Dragon." He died in Hong Kong in 1973 at age 32 from swelling of the brain.

"I think my father continues to be really influential because he was so unique. There hasn't really been anyone like him," Lee Keasler said.

Lee's daughter said earlier that plans to convert her father's old house in Hong Kong — now used as an hourly love motel — into a museum and to build a new museum in Seattle, where Lee studied and taught martial arts, are in the fundraising stage.

GeneChing

03-31-2010, 09:51 AM

Shannon (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=821) is working it. Good on her.

* March 30, 2010, 4:00 PM ET
Bruce Lee Legacy Lives On Through Film Retrospective, Brand Awareness (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/03/30/bruce-lee-legacy-lives-on-through-film-retrospective-brand-awareness/)
By Dean Napolitano

Bruce Lee’s family kicked off a celebration in Hong Kong Tuesday night honoring the legendary kung-fu star, as interest in his movies continues to grow nearly 37 years after his death in 1973.

Lee’s wife, Linda Lee Cadwell, 65, and daughter, Shannon Lee, 40, presided over the opening of an exhibit at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre featuring costumes, movie posters and other memorabilia from his life and career. The show coincides with a retrospective of Lee’s movies at the Hong Kong International Film Festival, which runs through April 6.

Since buying back the rights to her father’s image from General Electric Co.’s Universal Studios in 2008, Shannon Lee has been working to develop her father into a major global brand and spread awareness of his life to new generations.

“He was a man of great depth,” Linda Lee Cadwell said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “He read all the Chinese philosophers. … He read both Eastern and Western philosophy.”

Part of that philosophy is on display at the exhibit, where the script for planned — but unmade — film titled “The Silent Flute” reveals a passage of Lee’s writing: “True mastery transcends any particular art. It stems from mastery of oneself — the ability, developed through self-discipline, to be calm, fully aware, and completely in tune with oneself and the surroundings,” it reads in part.

“Bruce Lee always said that a person must know themselves and not follow others blindly,” Linda Lee Cadwell said. He took action in his own life, her daughter said, by breaking social and racial barriers.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of Lee’s birth, and his popularity endures: Broadway is preparing a musical based on his life for the 2010-11 theater season, and his former home in Hong Kong — now a “love hotel” — is being transformed into a museum.

Shannon Lee said she wants to recreate the look of the house as it was when she lived there as a child. “It’s a unique opportunity to capture that point in time.”

GeneChing

04-06-2010, 09:47 AM

...whoops! Too late. :eek::o;)

Site Last Updated: Apr 6 2010 3:35PM
Tribute to kung fu legend (http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=392099)
2010/04/06

THE daughter of late kung fu legend Bruce Lee said last week she was thrilled his fame had endured four decades after his untimely death, and hoped Hong Kong would soon have a museum in his memory.

Shannon Lee Keasler was visiting Hong Kong with her mother, Linda Lee Cadwell, to launch an exhibition dedicated to the Enter the Dragon star, who died of brain swelling at the peak of his film career in 1973 aged just 32.

“We are absolutely thrilled that so many people continue to be inspired by him and find so much value in his life and work,” Lee said , adding that she would be in Tokyo next month to launch another exhibition in honour of her father.

Keasler, an actress in the US, said some of the exhibits were from the family’s collection, including a pair of sunglasses, boxing headgear, film costumes and samples of her father’s handwriting. The exhibition, which ends tomorrow, is part of a series of events to pay tribute to Lee during this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival. The future martial arts hero was raised in Hong Kong before moving to the United States in his late teens.

Keasler said they were raising funds for a US museum, and hoped a government plan to transform Lee’s former home in Hong Kong’s Kowloon Tong district – now a seedy love hotel that rents out rooms by the hour – would begin soon.

“We hope there will be some sort of symbiotic relationship between the museums in Hong Kong and the US, so that the two museums can share some of the exhibits.” The Hong Kong museum’s final look, building costs, and the project’s completion date have yet to be determined. — Sapa-AFP

GeneChing

04-06-2010, 06:04 PM

Another Bruce Lee tribute. They are also showing Bodyguards & Assassins (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1004156#post1004156).

BRUCE LEE, CULTURAL ICON: 70th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (http://asianfilmfestla.org/2010/films-events/big-event/)
The Film Festival is pleased to collaborate with Bruce Lee Enterprises to observe the 70th birthday of martial arts legend and Asian American cultural icon Bruce Lee.

THE CHINESE CONNECTION
(FREE Outdoor Screening)
THE work that introduced Bruce Lee to young urban and Asian American audiences (contains action violence and brief nudity; parental guidance suggested).
Friday, April 30, sundown, Madang the Courtyard (FREE Parking)
621 S. Western Ave. (one block north of Wilshire Blvd.),
Los Angeles Koreatown

ENTER THE DRAGON
Plus PANEL DISCUSSION w/ Lee Family & Special Guests
A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover. Includes a special post-screening panel with Linda Lee, Shannon Lee, Directors Reggie Hudlin and Diana Lee Inosanto, moderated by Phil Yu of angryasianman.com.
Saturday, May 1, 12:00 p.m., Laemmle’s Sunset 5
8000 W. Sunset Blvd. (one block west of the DGA), West Hollywood

GeneChing

06-28-2010, 04:32 PM

New York Asian Film Festival (http://www.subwaycinema.com/nyaff10/nyaff2010/index.php)
http://www.subwaycinema.com/nyaff10/img/stills_gallants2.jpg
If Gallants doesn't lure you in, what would? ;)

Festival Moves to Fancier Base but Keeps Its Genre-Bending Fare
Film Society of Lincoln Center
By MIKE HALE
Published: June 24, 2010

The New York Asian Film Festival has been waving the fan-boy flag proudly since 2002. Glossy crime dramas and horror shows, martial-arts spectaculars, machine-gun-wielding schoolgirls — “the kind of crazed, populist blockbusters that we were born to show,” in the words of Grady Hendrix, one of the festival’s founders — have led the way, as the series, which started with just 11 movies at the Anthology Film Archives, has grown to 45 films and moved to the uptown precincts of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.

That habit of gorging on genre fare continues in this year’s festival, the ninth, which officially opens Friday night with the Hong Kong martial-arts hit “Ip Man 2” and closes July 8 with the Korean swordplay period piece “Blades of Blood.” It has driven ticket sales (the opening night screening is sold out) and drawn attention, resulting in this year’s partnership between Subway Cinema, the four-man cooperative that has run the festival since its inception, and the decidedly mainstream Film Society of Lincoln Center. But the event has always made room for many other kinds of films, including the art-house exercises its organizers claim to abhor. Movies like “Kung Fu Chefs” and “Mutant Girls Squad” will find their own audiences; presented here is a sampling of some other sides of the festival’s schedule.

A film with a foot in both the genre and art-house camps in Tetsuya Nakashima’s “Confessions,” which, in a nice piece of timing, has been the No. 1 box-office hit in Japan for three weeks running, holding off “Iron Man 2” and “Sex and the City 2.” Based on a novel by Kanae Minato and being shown for the first time outside Japan, it’s an elaborate revenge fantasy with a twist: the protagonist is an adult who exacts vengeance, in a clinical and psychologically sadistic way, on a pair of children.

The bright palette and amped-up, music-video style Mr. Nakashima exhibited in “Memories of Matsuko” (winner of the audience award at the 2007 festival) are both toned down in “Confessions,” which is shot in dark blues and grays and moves with a grim stateliness. One recurring motif is school milk cartons flying through the air in slow motion. The thematic territory of nihilistic Japanese teenagers and their frantic, career-obsessed parents is awfully familiar — Natsuo Kirino’s novel “Real World” is a close analogue — but Mr. Nakashima gives it an operatic intensity, especially in the film’s first half-hour, an inventive and eerie piece of stage setting.

(“Confessions” is one of eight films being presented in conjunction with Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film. Some of those will be screened at both the Japan Society and the Walter Reade; “Confessions” will be shown only at the Japan Society, where it opens Japan Cuts on Thursday night.)

Miwa Nishikawa’s “Dear Doctor,” a pastoral tale about a village doctor who may not be what he seems, is in a radically different style. Like Mr. Nakashima’s movie, however, it partakes in the critique of soulless modernity that is implicit in so many Japanese films. The commentary on change and tradition is double-edged: the village loses something because of its doctor’s less-than-sterling qualifications, but it also gains something from his old-fashioned personal touch and his willingness to listen. In some cases the idea of a doctor is more important to his patients’ peace of mind than the reality, but not in every case, and that dichotomy spurs Ms. Nishikawa’s low-key thriller plot.

Nostalgia, a subject of some debate in “Dear Doctor,” is unabashedly the ruling emotion in “Echoes of the Rainbow,” another Hong Kong hit. Alex Law’s sweeping family melodrama about the two sons of a poor shoemaker growing up in the 1960s is set to treacly pop songs, in both Cantonese and English (the Monkees’ “I Wanna Be Free,” Gordon Lightfoot’s “*****willows, Cat-tails”). It feels like a musical shot on a giant soundstage, even though its a drama shot on an actual Hong Kong street. Simon Yam, who has helped define the role of the quiet but simmering gangster, here plays the downtrodden father; his fans may be alarmed to see his undyed gray hair.

Taking Hong Kong nostalgia in a lighter direction is “Gallants,” which is a kung fu film but with a minimum of kung fu. In comedy from Clement Cheng and Derek Kwok a cast of onetime martial-arts stars, including Bruce Leung, Chen Kuan-tai and Teddy Robin, play onetime martial-arts heroes now slouching toward senility in a run-down teahouse. Challenged by the upstarts who want to take over the property for redevelopment, they leap to their feet in the traditional style to proclaim their identities: “I am the day shift doorman!” “I am the delivery person of ‘Curry in a Hurry’!”

China supplies a rougher style of comedy in “Crazy Racer,” a wildly complicated farce filmed in the coastal city of Xiamen that begins and ends with bicycle pursuits. Many of the gangsters, drug dealers, frauds and cheats who populate the film end up dead, but in every case accidentally: frozen in a refrigerator truck, impaled in a high-speed scooter chase. Yet another variety of Chinese comedy is on display in “Sophie’s Revenge,” an almost perfect knockoff of a so-so American romantic comedy (crossed with “Amélie”) starring Ziyi Zhang in the Jennifer Aniston-Jennifer Garner-Renee Zellwegger role.

A South Korean take on some of the issues of alienation and identity raised by “Confessions” and “Dear Doctor” can be seen in Lee Hae-jun’s “Castaway on the Moon,” whose Korean title translates literally as “Kim’s Island.” Responding to the humiliations of debt and being dumped by his girlfriend, a Seoul office worker tries to kill himself by jumping into the Han River, only to wash ashore on a deserted island in the middle of the city (an actual place, maintained as a nature preserve), where he takes up residence. This urban castaway magically goes unnoticed except by an agoraphobic woman in an apartment building on the shore, who begins communicating with him via messages in bottles.

Two of the more adventurous films in the festival are deceptively simple essays on the nature of movie magic. E J-yong’s “Actresses” is in the tired genre of the mock documentary, but it’s enlivened by the six South Korean women who play themselves, supposedly gathered on Christmas Eve for a Vogue magazine photo shoot. They bring charm and humor to the fairly predictable scenario (air kisses, catfights, obsessing about age and weight) and surprising frankness, especially Ko Hyun-jung, star of “Woman on the Beach,” who portrays herself — hilariously — as hard-drinking, insecure and rabidly competitive.

An entirely different segment of the film industry is the subject of the Japanese director Tetsuaki Matsue’s “Annyong Yumika” (“Hello Yumika” in Korean), an actual documentary that functions as a mash note to the porn star Yumika Hayashi, who died in 2005. Using an obscure Korean-Japanese soft-core film called “Junko: The Tokyo Housewife” as his starting point (and including a number of scenes from it, none of them particularly explicit), Mr. Matsue tracks down men who worked with, exploited and loved Ms. Hayashi, and even travels to South Korea to find the director of “Junko.” In a final coup he persuades the director and the film’s male stars to film a scene that was dropped from the original movie.

“Annyong Yumika,” made in a distinctly Japanese mode of jokey earnestness, is a lark of a film with a serious, and moving, undercurrent, one that builds as Mr. Matsue single-mindedly burrows into Ms. Hayashi’s life. It’s about Korean perceptions of Japanese women and about the price of being a free spirit in Japanese society, at the same time that it celebrates a profoundly Japanese idea: the rippling effects, through many lives, of something as ephemeral, and even perhaps ugly, as “Junko: The Tokyo Housewife.”

The New York Asian Film Festival runs from Friday through July 8 with screenings at the Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Lincoln Center, (212) 875-5601, and the Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan, (212) 715-1258; and midnight shows at the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 924-7771. Information: subwaycinema.com.

GeneChing

07-12-2010, 10:34 AM

More on Gallants (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57614). Now I'm interested...

Hong Kong kung fu "legend" wins award at Fantasia Film Festival (http://7thspace.com/headlines/350382/hong_kong_kung_fu_legend_wins_award_at_fantasia_fi lm_festival.html)

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The "Legendary Kung Fu Star" Award was presented on Saturday (July 10, Montreal time) at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival to Hong Kong actor Bruce Leung Siu-lung in recognition of his contribution to martial art films in the past few decades. The presentation was held during the Canadian premiere of the retro-70s Hong Kong film "Gallants", which was a highlight of the 14th Fantasia Festival. The film was screened at Concordia University's Hall Theatre to a capacity audience.

Bruce Leung and the film's director Clement Cheng attended a jam-packed autograph session after the screening. "Gallants" was screened earlier at the Marche du Film in Cannes and at the New York Asian Film Festival. It was described as "a kung fu comedy reminiscent of old Hong Kong martial arts cinema", "fun, fun stuff" and "definitely one of the most entertaining films of the year." The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Canada, Ms Maureen Siu, said at the presentation ceremony that after the commercial and critical success of "Ip Man" - the story of Bruce Lee's kung fu master - in 2008, the martial arts genre saw a resurgence.She thanked the organisers for presenting the Canadian premiere of "Gallants" and giving the award to a kung fu film "legend" of Hong Kong.

"The film 'Gallants' reflects the well-known spirit of Hong Kong people to never give up," added Ms Siu. "The award to Bruce Leung is especially meaningful because this year marks the 70th birthday of Bruce Lee, one of the most influential icons in martial arts films, who left us with another legend in the movie world," she said. Having appeared in many blockbusters, Leung at one time ranked close to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan in the hearts of Hong Kong film fans.

Born in 1948 in Hong Kong, Leung learned martial arts from his father at the Cantonese opera. He is a well-known action star and kung fu choreographer. Between the 1970s and 1980s, Leung performed in more than 70 movies.

The HKETO sponsored the Hong Kong Panorama section of this year's Fantasia, which includes some of Hong Kong's latest film productions - "Gallants", "Ip Man 2","Bodyguards and Assassins", "Dream Home", "Little Big Soldier", "Love in a Puff", "Overheard", "Written by" and "Accident".Five of them are Canadian premieres. Begun in 1996, the Fantasia International Film Festival is a popular summer tradition in Montreal, Canada's City of Culture.

GeneChing

07-22-2010, 09:04 AM

9th Annual Asian Film Festival of Dallas (http://2010.affd.org/)
July 23-29, 2010

Asian Film Festival of Dallas 2010 Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiw_o_xhHEg)

IP MAN 2 (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56421) is headlining.

9500 LIBERTY (2009), Dir: Eric Byler/Annabel Park
A FROZEN FLOWER (2009), Dir: Yoo Ha
A MILLION (2009), Dir: Cho Min-Ho (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
ACCIDENT (2009), Dir: Cheang Pou-Soi (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
AGRARIAN UTOPIA (2009), Dir: Uruphong Raksasad (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
AT THE END OF DAYBREAK (2009), Dir: Ho Yuhang (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
Opening Night Film: AU REVOIR TAIPEI (2010), Dir: Arvin Chen (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
BAY RONG (CLASH), (2009), Dir: Le Thanh Son (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
BEIJING TAXI (2010), Dir: Miao Wang
BREATHLESS (2009), Dir: Yang Ik-Joon
CHAW (2009), Dir: Shin Jeong-won (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
EMPIRE OF SILVER (2009), Dir: Christina Yao (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
I CORRUPT ALL COPS (2009), Dir: Jing Wong (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
Centerpiece Presentation: IP MAN 2 (2010), Dir: Wilson Yip (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
IRON CROWS (2009), Dir: Bong-Nam Park
KAMUI (2009), Dir: Yoichi Sai (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
KUNG FU DUNK (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=49939) (2008), Dir: Yen Ping-Chu (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
LET'S FALL IN LOVE (2009), Dir: Wuna Wu (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
LIKE YOU KNOW IT ALL (2009), Dir: Hong Sang-soo (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
MAO'S LAST DANCER, (2009), Dir: Bruce Beresford
NIGHT & FOG (2009), Dir: Ann Hui (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
NO MORE CRY!!! (2009), Dir: Nobuo Mizuta (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
PHOBIA 2 (2009), Dir: P.Purijitpanya/V.Poolvoralaks/S.Sugmakanan/P.Wongpoom/B.Pisanthanakun (U.S. PREMIERE)
ROBOGEISHA (2009), Dir: Noboru Iguchi
RUNNING TURTLE (2009), Dir: Lee Yeon-Woo (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
SEVEN 2 ONE (2009), Dir: Danny Pang (U.S. PREMIERE)
SPARROW (2008), Dir: Johnnie To
SUMMER WARS (2009), Dir: Mamoru Hosoda (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
SYMBOL (2009), Dir: Hitoshi Matsumoto
TALENTIME (2009), Dir: Yasmin Ahmad (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
Closing Night Fim: THE PEOPLE I'VE SLEPT WITH (2009), Dir: Quentin Lee (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)
THE TALE OF ULULU'S WONDERFUL FOREST (2009), Dir: Makoto Naganuma (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE)
TOAD'S OIL (2009), Dir: Koji Yakusho (U.S. PREMIERE)
VISAGE (2009), Dir: Tsai Ming-Liang (SOUTHWEST PREMIERE)

GeneChing

08-26-2010, 09:37 AM

Tokyo fest to feature Bruce Lee retrospective (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/asia/news/e3i7666b0f985795021142018376315f368)
TIFF to screen "Enter the Dragon," others
By Gavin J. Blair
August 26, 2010, 12:06 AM ET

TOKYO – To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the birth of Hong Kong kung fu flick legend Bruce Lee, Tokyo International Film Festival will screen some of his classic films, including a rare Japanese print of “Game of Death” during the fest in October.

The "The 70th Anniversary: Bruce LEE to the Future" tribute will be part of the Winds of Asia Middle-East section and also include "Enter the Dragon” and Hong Kong kung-fu comedy “Gallants” (2010), as well as “The Legend is Alive” (2008) from Vietnam, to show Lee’s continuing influence on Asian cinema.

“We are now negotiating over the screening of two or three more Bruce Lee movies and hope to make an announcement in the next few weeks,” said Winds of Asia-Middle East programming director, Kenji Ishizaka.

Lee’s short film career – “Enter the Dragon” was released after his death in 1973 – helped spark a worldwide boom in martial arts.

The 23rd edition of TIFF will run October 23-31 at Roppongi Hills and other central Tokyo locations.
Another tribute to Lee's 70th.

GeneChing

09-16-2010, 10:21 AM

I didn't put any coverage of the Venice Film Festival here but it appeared on different threads: Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55650), Reign of Assassins (Jianyu Jianghu) (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1039313) & Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1039311) were showcased.

I'm thinking as Chollywood rises (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57225), every film festival is having a stronger Chinese showing now, so it's not just about Asian Film Festivals anymore, as the current title of this thread states. Maybe I'll change that.

Chinese language films promote diversity at TIFF (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/entertainment/2010-09/16/c_13513800.htm)
English.news.cn 2010-09-16 05:42:47
by Tony King

TORONTO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 20 exciting Chinese language films from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan and around the world have been presented at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which was open on Thursday night in Canada' s largest city.

In the next coming days, Toronto has rolled out the red carpets to welcome super stars like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Robert De Niro, Helen Mirren, Kevin Spacey and Bill Gates.

However, true film lovers also have had opportunities to enjoy the beauties and mysteries in the films from across the sea, exploring a different world and life style that they may not be familiar with.

The long term TIFF's "most favorite" Chinese film maker Jia Zhangke has brought his "I Wish I Knew" to Toronto for its north American premiere. Jia was honored by TIFF as "one of the youngest masters of cinema" early this year.

In his newest feature documentary production commissioned to commemorate the 2010 World Expo, Jia was trying to portray a chapter of modern Chinese history through interviews and scenic views of Shanghai, the largest city in China and Far East, in its continuous evolution.

Chinese Director Feng Xiaogang's "Aftershock" was mentioned as "the most successful Chinese movie of all time"at TIFF. The film sweeps across three crucial decades in recent Chinese history and explores the resilience of a family devastated by the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.

"All About Love" by Hong Kong's Ann Hui takes a rare look at the lives of Queer women in Hong Kong, as well as the challenges of creating a family. The TIFF mentioned this film as "expertly balances the serious themes of motherhood, sexuality and discrimination, rarely addressed in Hong Kong films, with wit, humor and compassion."

"Break Up Club"directed by Hong Kong's Barbara Wong captures the mood of Hong Kong's young generation and delivers an ultra- modern romantic comedy about the end of one's innocence and the understanding that love is ultimately about the sacrifices one must take.

"The Fourth Portrait"by Taiwan's Chung Mong-Hong casts a sobering look at the troubling issues of domestic violence, and the difficult family dynamics that are born of marriages of convenience.

Other Chinese movies that will be presented at Toronto Film Festival include "The Legend of the Fist, The Return of Chen Zhen" ,"The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman","Fire of Conscience", "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame","The Piano in a Factory", and"Pinoy Sunday"

Toronto International Film Festival, known as the largest of its kind in North America, was held from Sept. 9 to 19 in celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

The festival will be screening some 340 films selected from 3, 526 submissions from 59 countries and regions like U.S., England, China, Finland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and many places in between.

Total length of the screened movies are around 27,000 minutes. The organizer expects some half million people will be in attendance at this year's 10-day festival.

GeneChing

03-08-2011, 12:12 PM

29th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, March 10-20, 2011 (http://caam.gala-engine.com/2011/fest-info/)

# A Loud Quiet
# A Lover's Fragments
# A Moth in Spring
# Abraxas
# Affliction
# Almost Perfect
# Amazonia
# Amin
# Andy
# Anna May Wong: In Her Own Words
# Auntie and Uncles
# Barbara Kawakami: A Textured Life
# Beholder
# Bend It Like Beckham
# Bi, Don't Be Afraid!
# Bicycle
# Boys and Girls
# Break Up Club
# Brides Wanted
# Charlie Chan at the Olympics / In Conversation with Yunte Huang
# Chima #2
# Chinatown Overture
# Chubby Can Kill
# Clash (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1081992)
# Dance Town
# Digital Antiquities
# Dirty *****
# Dog Sweat
# Dooman River
# Elizabeth Street
# Emir
# Exposure
# Firecracker
# Florence
# Fumiko Hayashida: The Woman Behind the Symbol
# Gold and Copper
# Gophers in Space
# Grandpa's Wet Dream
# Grant St. Shaving Co.
# Hang in There
# Hip Star
# Histeria
# Hovering Proxies
# How to Party
# I Wish I Knew
# I'm in the Mood for Love
# Inhalation
# It's a Wonderful Afterlife
# Junko's Shamisen
# Kunjo
# Linger
# Lipsync
# Living in Seduced Circumstances
# Lychee Thieves
# M/F Remix
# Made in China
# Made In India
# Masala Mama
# My Name is Mohammed
# Nang Nak
# Nature On Its Course
# Once Upon a Rooftop
# One Kine Day
# One Voice
# Open Season
# Passion
# Peace
# Piano in a Factory
# Pink Chaddis
# Plastic Future
# Pretty Lucky
# Raavanan
# Raju
# Rare Fish
# Resident Aliens
# Room #11
# Saigon Electric
# Sampaguita, National Flower
# Slaying the Dragon Reloaded
# Solitary Moon
# Spring of Sorrow
# Suite Suite Chinatown
# Summer Pasture
# Surrogate Valentine
# Tales of the Waria
# That Which Once Was
# The Bus Pass
# The Fourth Portrait
# The Godmother
# The House of Suh
# The Imperialists Are Still Alive!
# The Last Dance
# The Learning
# The Man from Nowhere
# The Taqwacores
# To Get a Date
# To Wander in Pandemonium
# Top Spin
# Triangle
# Upaj
# Victor Ramirez Asesino
# Wahid's Mobile Bookstore
# West is West
# When Love Comes
# Withholding
# Worker Drone
# You Can't Curry Love
# Yulia

GeneChing

03-16-2011, 09:28 AM

Beijing unveils ambassadors, first titles (http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/beijing-unveils-ambassadors-first-titles)
Beijing unveils ambassadors, first titles
By Patrick Frater
Wed, 16 March 2011, 13:58 PM (HKT)

http://www.filmbiz.asia/media/BAhbB1sHOgZmIiwyMDExLzAzLzE2LzAwLzI1LzA0Lzc2MS9iZW lqaW5nX2lmZi5qcGdbCDoGcDoKdGh1bWIiDTUwMHgxMDAw.jpg ?s=cfabb678

Jackie Chan (成龍) and Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) have been selected as "image ambassadors" for the inaugural edition of the Beijing International Film Festival (北京國際電影季, 23-28 April).

Festival organisers also named four recent Oscar contenders — The Social Network, Black Swan, True Grit and 127 Hours — as highlights of its 100-strong lineup of foreign films.

It also named South Korean film Mother (마더), India's Three Idiots and South Africa's White Wedding.

The festival said in a statement that Chan and Zhang had been chosen after several rounds of selection and public participation. It said that selectors had received over 420 submissions from 50 countries.

Some 60 Chinese films are also expected to be named at a later date. The festival will play out at 20 theatres, mostly in Beijing's central business district.

Here's the official site: Beijing International Movie Festival (http://www.beijingfilmfest.org/)
Wait now...is it BIMF or BIFF?

GeneChing

03-21-2011, 09:40 AM

Lifetime Achievement for Raymond Chow!

Kung fu film producer Chow gets Hong Kong tribute (http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/03/18/asian-film-awards.html)
CBC News
Posted: Mar 18, 2011 1:12 PM ET
Last Updated: Mar 18, 2011 1:12 PM ET

Raymond Chow, the Hong Kong film producer who brought martial arts stars such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to the screen, is to be honoured at the Asian Film Awards.

The Asian film community will pay tribute to Chow, 83, with a lifetime achievement award on Monday at the awards gala in Hong Kong.

Chow founded Golden Harvest studios in Hong Kong in 1970 and one his first films, Fists of Fury, introduced Lee to international audiences. He had lured the kung fu legend from Shaw Brothers studios, where Chow began his career.

Golden Harvest was a box office leader in Hong Kong throughout the 1970s and 1980s, releasing films such as Enter the Dragon, The Man from Hong Kong and Hand of Death. Chow produced dozens of movies and gave the green-light to projects from directors such as John Woo, Sammo Hung and Robert Clouse.

In 1979, he signed Jackie Chan and introduced him to international audiences with 1981's Cannonball Run. Chan also directed films such as Police Story for Chow.

Golden Harvest also made the Once Upon a Time in China series for whichJet Li is renowned.

Chow was "instrumental in making Asian cinema the global cinematic and box office force it is today," awards ceremony organizers said in a statement.
Award for Pusan fest founder

The awards gala will also honour Kim Dong-Ho, founder of South Korea'sPusan International Film Festival, which he established in 1996. He will receive an award for outstanding contribution to film.

A former vice-minister of culture in South Korea, Kim also helped establish initiatives to foster Asian talent, including workshops, a cinema fund and the New Currents Competition.

Asian Film Award-nominated titles such as Sacrifice, Moss, The Unjust and Madame X had premieres in Hong Kong this month, so the public could see them ahead of the awards ceremony.

Jimbo

03-21-2011, 09:47 AM

Pretty cool!
Although Chow and director Robert Clouse actually introduced Jackie to Western audiences a year earlier, in 1980, in Battle Creek Brawl (a.k.a., The Big Brawl).

GeneChing

03-24-2011, 09:22 AM

Sammo deserves any recognition he gets. He's one of Asia's most under-sung stars, IMO.

We'll have more on 13 Assassins (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58339) later today. :cool:

List of winners at the 5th Asian Film Awards (http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gK5qbbtVAnVyWfbu_9CApdS4ygyA?docId=6318690)
By The Associated Press – 3 days ago

HONG KONG — Winners at the fifth Asian Film Awards announced Monday in Hong Kong:

Best film: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives," Thailand

Best director: Lee Chang-dong, "Poetry"

Best actor: Ha Jung-woo, "The Yellow Sea"

Best actress: Xu Fan, "Aftershock"

Best newcomer: Mark Chao, "Monga"

Best supporting actor: Sammo Hung, "Ip Man 2"

Best supporting actress: Yoon Yeo-jeong, "The Housemaid"

Best screenplay: Lee Chang-dong, "Poetry"

Best cinematographer: Mark Lee, "Norwegian Wood"

Best production designer: Yuji Hayashida, "13 Assassins"

Best music score: Indian Ocean, "Peepli Live"

Best editing: Nam Na-young, "I Saw the Devil"

Best visual effects: Phil Jones, "Aftershock"

Best costume designer: William Chang, "Let the Bullets Fly"

Outstanding contribution to Asian cinema: Kim Dong-ho

Lifetime achievement: Raymond Chow

GeneChing

04-27-2011, 10:28 AM

Maybe this should go on our Chollywood rising thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57225)...

Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi Kick Off Inaugural Beijing Film Festival (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jackie-chan-zhang-ziyi-kick-181652)
2:09 PM 4/23/2011 by Jonathan Landreth

Director John Woo is also on hand Saturday to help launch the six-day event.

BEIJING – Jackie Chan and Zhang Ziyi joined an array of Chinese government officials to welcome global movie industry guests to the opening night of the 1st Beijing International Film Festival on Saturday at the National Center for the Performing Arts.

On the red carpet inside the glass and steel structure known informally as "the Egg," director John Woo also helped wave in a select group of international film festival directors, trade delegates, heavy hitting producers and a handful of Hollywood studio representatives.

The six-day BJIFF will mix the screenings of 100 imported and 60 Chinese films, including such Hollywood blockbusters as The Social Network and acclaimed recent Chinese fare such as Buddha Mountain by director Li Yu.

The festival opens at a time when China's sales of movie tickets are strong – up 64% last year to $1.5 billion – but few Chinese films sell overseas. Organizers in the Beijing government now are keen to bring their city's cinema culture and movie business up to par with the global reputation the capital gained in sports in 2008.

Guest of honor, Liu Qi, president of the erstwhile Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee and a member of China's Politburo, declared the festival open and Co-Chairmen Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong and Cai Fuchao, minister of the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, offered welcoming remarks that were super-titled for non-Chinese speaking guests.

Each politician emphasized to the nearly full house of about 5,000 guests seated just a few hundred yards west of the symbolic heart of China's one-party government in Tiananmen Square, that Beijing is the center of China's film industry.

To help them drive their point home, the night's third speaker, Marco Mueller, director of the Venice International Film Festival, addressed the crowd in both English and, to the crowd's delight, good Mandarin.

"The birth of BJIFF is a great event for the international film industry," Mueller said, noting that China's capital was "well on the path to becoming one of the world's great modern metropolises, yet it still possesses an irresistible charm."

The hasty organization of the BJIFF, first publicized internationally in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, had some observers wondering if it was designed to steal a march on the Shanghai International Film Festival, held each June, and refocus in the hands of the central government control of an industry deemed a key part of the Chinese Communist Party's plans to use all media to improve China's image around the world.

"As one of the historical cornerstones of China's film industry, Beijing possesses the financial and creative resources to become a film capital," Mueller said. Estimates show that about 200 million Chinese now can afford to go the movies on a regular basis.

In attendance and hoping to find good Chinese films to take home, were more than a dozen international film festival directors, including, among others, Cameron Bailey from Toronto, Lee Yong Kwan from Busan, John Cooper from Sundance, Wilfred Wong from Hong Kong, Tom Yoda from Tokyo and Maxine Williamson from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

"Beijing always provides a great networking opportunity," Chuck Boller, director of the Hawaii International Film Festival said. "I'm so pleased to see how many people I know who also are here."

No films showing at the festival will be making a world premiere and, as festival image ambassador actress Zhang, one of China's most exportable film stars, pointed out, it's unusual relative to other festivals.

"It's already my favorite because there's no competition -- no winner, no losers -- only beautiful films," Zhang said. "I wish the Beijing International Film Festival will be better and better and develop into a top-class festival."

Some guests wondered aloud how the new event might be affected by its timing considering its competition for attention with the ongoing Tribeca Film Festival and the annual industry rush to prepare for the granddaddy of all festivals in Cannes in May.

"The fact that the Shanghai International Film Festival has succeeded over thirteen years each June and has inspired Beijing makes sense. Beijing is a major city and it should have its own event," said Michael Werner, the chairman of Hong Kong-based sales and investment company Fortissimo Films. "Is this festival in the best time in the calendar? Probably not."

Still, healthy contingents of executives from Japan, Korea, Europe, Australia and New Zealand turned up at the festival and for the concurrent and longer-established Beijing Screenings market event, now folded into the BJIFF from its previous date in September.

Cristiano Bortone of Orisa Productions in Rome was at the BJIFF with hopes of co-producing a romance in China to teach the country's swelling middle class what Italy's really about: "The beauty of our land, our food and our simple way of life," said Bortone, adding, "And about tourism. "Many in the West don't realize just how developed China has become. Rather than blaming China for our ills, we must find ways to work together to make movies that exploit mutual understanding."

The event's two-hour opening ceremony was punctuated by multi-themed dance routines to lip-synched singing and canned drum music that seemed to have little to do with film.

By contrast, the appearance on stage of Italy's Orchestra del Cinema, playing the themes from everything from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Chinese classic My Mother, My Father to Fellini's 8-1/2, was a stroke of relevant and truly international programming.

In the absence of a narrative feature film competition, organizers gave over one section of the evening to sing the praises of 10 commercially successful Chinese films of the last 12 months and show their trailers cut down to just a few seconds each.

These films honored were Aftershock, Confucius, Bodyguards and Assassins, Sacrifice, Ip Man 2, the animated The Killing of Milu Deer, Walking to School, Shaolin, 72 Tenets of Prosperity and Reign of Assassins.

Nearly two-dozen key men and women behind these 10 hits took to the stage to receive a scroll and a clear, crystal-like objet d'arte. They included, among others, Aftershock director Feng Xiaogang, actress Zhang Jingchu and producer James Wang, the head of Huayi Brothers Pictures and Yu Dong, CEO of Nasdaq listed Bona Film Group.

GeneChing

06-24-2011, 09:41 AM

so...anyone seen Milocrorze?

NY CULTURE
JUNE 24, 2011
Martial Art-House
The N.Y. Asian Film Festival Marks 10 Years of Cult Craziness (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303339904576404010537741844.html?m od=googlenews_wsj)
By STEVE DOLLAR
[ASIAN] Shochiku

http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NY-BA377_ASIAN_G_20110623184705.jpg
Yoshimasa Ishibashi's 'Milocrorze.'

No matter how successful it is, the New York Asian Film Festival seems as though it's always about to draw its final breath. At least, the cinephiles of the Subway Cinema organization, who organize the festival each summer through their own sweat and credit cards, like to indulge in gallows humor. Demise, they hint, may be as imminent as the mortal strike of a samurai sword.

"Every year is our last," said Grady Hendrix, one of the festival's co-founders. "But, as corny as it sounds, the audience saves us every time."

Against all odds, the festival celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The marathon of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese and Southeast Asian popular cinema opens July 1 at Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, with its ever-arresting array of Yakuza potboilers and martial- arts extravaganzas, perverse comedies and karate-chopping cyborg romps, ghost stories and historical epics—and guest appearances by legendary figures like Tsui Hark, the architect of Hong Kong's new wave of action spectacles in the 1980s and '90s and this year's major honoree.

Much has changed in the past decade, including the festival's big move last year from various downtown venues to the splashier screen at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. Likewise, the filmmakers it has championed have garnered wider recognition from the American audience: names such as Mr. Tsui, Johnnie To, Takashi Miike, Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Seijun Suzuki, Sion Sono and, most recently, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Noburu Iguchi, makers of underground Japanese sci-fi comedies.

"We've been doing this for so long that we went from no one caring about Asian movies when we started to the post-'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' years, when everyone wanted these movies, to today when white people who run film companies don't want these movies," Mr. Hendrix said. "But Korean and Chinese distributors are releasing their movies in American theaters and making a lot of money for themselves."

New York still has nothing else quite like this festival. "Seeing a Wuxia film in New York is almost impossible at this point," said Brian Belovarac of Janus Films, the New York-based foreign and classic film distributor, alluding to the Chinese martial-arts genre films that remain an Asian Film Festival specialty. "Their focus is on genre film, though not wholly. But New York doesn't have a New Beverly Cinema or Alamo Drafthouse," he noted, referring to the Quentin Tarantino-owned repertory theater in Los Angeles, and the Austin, Texas-based home of the annual, genre-crazed Fantastic Fest.

Last year, Janus made restored copies of the 1977 Japanese fantasy-horror film "House" and distributed them nationwide. The movie played on about 100 screens before being released as a DVD by the Criterion Collection. But it was truly pried from obscurity by the Asian Film Festival, which screened it to packed houses at the IFC Center in 2009. "The reaction to it and resultant word-of-mouth was huge," Mr. Belovarac said, "and established it as a cult title in New York. The festival didn't do that single-handedly, but almost."

Even before he took over as senior film-program officer at Japan Society, Samuel Jamier was a fan of the festival: "I followed them for quite a long time. They've always had this shameless film fandom, this populist quality that everybody likes." Mr. Jamier curates the annual Japan Cuts: The New York Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema, which opens July 7 and co-presents 10 films with the Asian Film Festival—including the opening-night anime epic "Osamu Tezuka's Buddha: The Great Departure" and a revival of Kinji Fukasaku's cult favorite "Battle Royale."

Mr. Jamier made a clear distinction between Subway Cinema's tastes and those that shape some other festivals devoted to national cinemas. "There's no ideological agenda behind it," he said. "You really have to know the films that you're showing, and that's not always the case with other festivals."

International film journalist Todd Brown, who runs the Toronto-based movie website Twitch (twitchfilm.com), noted that New York's festival stands apart from major Asian film festivals "that focus exclusively on the art house" and showcase directors who are practically unknown in their own countries. "They show the cinema that's really popular in Asia," he said. "You get a sense of what's actually happening in those countries."

As Mr. Hendrix and his cohorts prepared for another whirlwind of high-energy screenings, he was happy to account for the festival's particular triumph. "Audiences want good movies and the audience for Asian movies is bigger, smarter and has more varied taste than cowardly American distributors give them," he said. "One of the things we're all most proud of is the fact that we've got the guts film distributors lack."

GeneChing

10-12-2011, 10:32 AM

We've discussed the first two already. How Invasion of Alien Bikini got past me, I'll never know.

Eight Hot Properties on Offer at the Asian Film Market (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/eight-hot-properties-offer-at-245982)
5:02 PM PDT 10/9/2011 by THR Staff

As Busan's sales event opens, these films stand out as ready to move.

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61269)
Director: Wei Te-sheng
Sales agent: Fortissimo Films
Why it’s hot: Cape No. 7 miracle-maker Wei’s historical epic stormed the Taiwan box office with a NTD474 million ($15.5 million) gross in its first three weeks.

The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57723)
Director: Tsui Hark
Sales agent: Distribution Workshop
Why it’s hot: Chinese visual master Tsui’s first 3D martial arts extravaganza starring Jet Li. Need we say more?

Lost in Paradise
Director: Vu Ngoc Dang
Sales agent: Fortissimo Films
Why it’s hot: This film has at least two things going for it: edgy subject matter and being from an up and coming movie market. Set for an Oct. 14 domestic Vietnam release and with international rights held by Fortissimo Films, this same-sex love story could find its way to an art house niche for itself, especially in the U.S. and Europe. Produced by BHD-Vietnam Media Corp., Lost is based on a script by director Vu and Luong Manh Hai. Vu’s film had its world premiere at in Toronto, and exhibited at the Vancouver Film Festival earlier this month.

Poongsan
Director: Juhn Jai-hong
Sales agent: Finecut
Why it’s hot: Up-and-coming director brings edginess to the dramatic, action-packed story about the divided Korean peninsula that the esteemed Kim Ki-duk scripted. The noir tale is full of ironic twists, sarcastic humor and steamy chemistry between hot lead actors Yoon Kye-sang and Kim Gyu-ri.

The Front Line
Director: Jang Hoon
Sales agent: Showbox/Mediaplex
Why it’s hot: “It” director Jang teams up with Joint Security Area scriptwriter Park Sang-yeon for a Korean War flick with the usual explosive battle scenes but with a novel pacifist spin. Actor Goh Soo shows he’s not just a pretty boy anymore with some serious acting opposite Shin Ha-kyun, who also measures up to his heightened reputation since Joint Security Area.

Invasion of Alien Bikini
Director: Oh Young-doo
Sales agent: Indie Story
Why it’s hot: Oh, who has been garnering a cult following for fantasy flicks like The Neighbor Zombie, promises a zany mix of sex comedy and sci-fi horror. The plotline in itself easily stands out: a young man who’s taken a chastity vow must fight to resist the seduction of an alien trapped inside a beautiful woman’s body in need of human sperm to procreate.

The Crucible
Director: Hwang Dong-hyeok
Sales agent: CJ E&M Pictures
Why it’s hot: Based on a true case of teachers sexually abusing hearing- impaired children, the film is not only topping the Korean box office but also igniting a nationwide movement to change related laws.

GeneChing

10-25-2011, 09:38 AM

Tokyo International Film Festival Opens With 'Three Musketeers,' Jackie Chan's '1911' (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tokyo-film-festival-opens-252158)
9:23 AM PDT 10/22/2011 by Gavin J. Blair

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2011/10/jackie-chan.jpg
Jackie Chan - Tokyo Film Festival - 2011

Chan, Milla Jovovich, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and trade and industry minister Yukio Edano were among the speakers on opening day.

The skies cleared just in time for the celebrities to walk the eco-themed green carpet to the opening ceremony of the 24th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) on Saturday afternoon.

With an early stage appearance by Jackie Chan scheduled before the ceremony, the Hong Kong star was the first big name to be seen at the Roppongi Hills Venue in central Tokyo where the fest is based. Long hugely popular here, Chan boosted his standing even further with his big fund-raising efforts for victims of the March disasters in Japan.

For this edition of the festival, the theme of helping recovery from the disasters has joined the eco message that TIFF adopted in 2008.

The hula dancing girls from a Hawaiian-themed spa resort in Fukushima Prefecture walked the carpet to some of the loudest cheers of the afternoon. The resort had its business devastated as fears about radiaiton kept tourists away and it only reopened this month – an event that was recorded for a documentary that will be screened at the fest.

The rain held off as the procession of domestic and international celebreties and dignitaries continued for almost three hours.

At the opening ceremony, Chan, whose 1911 is half of an opening double bill with The Three Musketeers, entertained the audience, and kept the translators busy, as he cut into Japanese and English during his speech in Chinese.

Chan handed the mic over to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who expressed his appreciation to the global film community for its messages of support following March’s triple disasters, before giving a special thanks to Chan.

“I remember the old version of The Three Musketeers with Gene Kelly as D’Artagnan very well,” said Noda.

The prime minsiter went on to recall how he had copied James Stewart in Mr Smith Goes to Washington in making a 13 hour filibuster speech when he was a young politician

“Films have the power to create memories and make impressions of that kind,” said Noda.

Next on stage was Yukio Edano, the current trade and industry minister, who was the face and voice of the government throughout the darkest days of the nuclear crisis at Fukushima.

Confessing that he thought the film industry came under the auspices of the culture ministry, Edano said he was surprised to be asked to speak at the opening ceremony.

“However, I realized how producing and selling wonderful films is a business and one that my industry and I have a responsibility to support. I pledge to put more effort into doing so,” said Edano to the enthusiastic applause of the film industry section of the audience.

Before the opening screening of The Three Musketeers, director Paul W.S. Anderson was joined onstage by cast members Milla Jovovich (Milady), Logan Lerman (D’Artagnan) and Gabriella Wilde (Constance).

Jovovich congratulated husband Anderson on “finally making a movie we can show our daughter.”

TIFF runs until Oct. 30, while the TIFFCOM market will be held at the same Roppongi Hills complex from Oct. 24 to 26. From the buzz I hear, I think Noda will be disappointed. Comparing Gene Kelly to Milla is like apples to melons.

GeneChing

01-25-2012, 05:51 PM

6th AFA Nomination List (http://www.asianfilmawards.asia/2012/press-room/6th-asian-film-awards-nomination-list/)

It's all about Seediq Bale (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61269) and Flying Swords at Dragon Gate (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57723).

enoajnin

01-25-2012, 06:02 PM

Are we still referring to Jackie Chan as Hong Kong star?

GeneChing

02-10-2012, 11:48 AM

Official website (http://festival.caamedia.org/30/)

Martial offerings (only found two and one short :():

Ninja Kids
Takashi Miike / Japan / 2011 / 100 min

A group of eight-year-old ninja kids helps protect their cross-dressing hair-stylist friends from evil villains in Takashi Miike’s freaked-out new epic, based on apopular manga. Seemingly filmed in an acid haze somewhere between ancient Japan and the Castro, Ninja Kids is Seven Samurai by way of Willy Wonka.

March 11, 2012 12:30 pm Castro Theater
March 17, 2012 12:30 pm Camera 3 Cinemas

Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful
Yuriko Gamo Romer / USA / 2011 / 66 min

Standing less than five feet tall and weighing less than 100 pounds, 98-year-old Keiko Fukuda is the first and only woman to hold 10th Dan, Judo’s highest black belt. Director Yuriko Gamo Romer weaves archival footage, intimate interviews, and on-the-mat action to bring you her remarkable story. With short Ring Laila.

March 11, 2012 2:30 pm SF Film Society Cinema at New People
March 18, 2012 2:00 pm Camera 3 Cinemas

Ring Laila
Anuradha Rana / India / 2011 / 25 min

Young women raised in the slums of Kolkata fight for their identity in a boxing ring, risking a life more ordinary

GeneChing

03-02-2012, 10:53 AM

Hong Kong Film Directors Guild Awards Handed out (http://english.cri.cn/6666/2012/03/01/45s683924.htm)
2012-03-01 09:38:07 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Sun

Hong Kong director Ann Hui's "A Simple Life" has received a best film award from the Hong Kong Film Directors Guild.

"A Simple Life" tells the story of a close knit relationship between a successful film maker and his nanny.

The film has taken home countless awards both in Hong Kong and abroad.

On accepting the award Hui joked that she's received too many prizes recently.

She said, "I feel like I've taken home too many awards recently. So if I'm acting like I'm full of myself, I hope the good friends at the Directors' Guild will help to keep me grounded."

The guild headed by Honorary President and Kung Fu star Jackie Chan also gave best film awards to Jiang Wen's "Let the Bullets Fly" and Alan Mak's "Overheard 2."

Ann Hui and Jiang Wen also took home best director awards along with Tsui Hark for "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate."

The awards were handed out at the Guild's annual dinner Wednesday night.

I just started a thread on Let the Bullets Fly (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=63205). We've had one on Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57723) since 2010.

GeneChing

03-07-2012, 10:58 AM

It's all about Flowers of War which we still don't have a thread for. :p

We do have threads for The Warring States (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61010), Legendary Amazons (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56646), Confucius (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54054), My Kingdom (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59247) & The Lost Bladesman (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57819).

Sun Honglei Awarded the Most Disappointing Actor (http://english.cri.cn/6666/2012/03/05/45s684766.htm)
2012-03-05 10:22:44 Global Times Web Editor: Sun
Famous actor Sun Honglei was awarded the most disappointing actor for his character as renowned ancient strategist Sun Bin in "The Warring States".

While many Chinese actors, actresses and directors eagerly anticipate an invitation to the Oscars, few would relish the idea of receiving an invitation to the Golden Broom Awards, the equivalent of the Golden Razzie Awards in America.

The 3rd Golden Broom Awards took place Saturday afternoon, doling out 13 Golden Brooms in total. Lacking in attendance at the award ceremony were movie stars.

Famous mainland actor Sun Honglei was awarded the most disappointing actor for his character as renowned ancient strategist Sun Bin in The Warring States. A-list Hong Kong actress Cecilia Cheung won the most disappointing actress for both her performances in Legendary Amazons and Treasure Hunt.

The Warring States, Legendary Amazons and The Lost Bladesman were named the most disappointing movies of 2011; Gao Xiaosong (director of My Kingdom) and Frankie Chan (director of Legendary Amazons) won most disappointing directors.

The Flowers of War, nominated at the Golden Globes, was given a special jury's version of "the most disappointing movie" award.

Thus far, no winners have ever appeared in person to collect their awards.

Real results

"The Chinese movie industry is developing very fast these years, but this progress is marked by number rather than quality," said Cheng Qingsong, chief editor of Youth Film Handbook magazine, the editorial responsible for the annual Golden Broom Awards.

Cheng explains that in recent years, Chinese audiences are lured into seeing films by effective publicity coupled with advertising. Audience members go into a movie with high expectations, only to walk out without having their expecations met.

"Audience members should be more selective in what they view. High box office revenues is not parallel with quality films," said Cheng.

The Golden Broom Awards' jury panel consists of not only professional movie critics but regular moviegoers. Each year, Youth Film Handbook compiles a list of candidates and releases them on websites like kaixin001.com, 163.com and sina.com.

Interested moviegoers vote on any of these websites, and the films, actors, actresses and directors receiving the most votes are nominated. Around 30 movie critics are then rallied to vote for the final winners.

"The regular audience is most directly affected by movies, so their opinions are important," Cheng told the Global Times. To avoid any possible foul play on the Internet, the final results are decided by a panel of experts.

Criticism of the 'awards'

Some fail to view the awards in a light hearted manner. Acclaimed director Feng Xiaogang is among those who fail to find the awards entertaining.

After discovering that his film, If You Are the One II was voted one of the worst movies of 2010 and that he simultaneously received the title of the most disappointing director, Feng responded two days later on his Sina Weibo, or microblog.

Feng posted that his goal was "to achieve the most disappointing movies in the following 10 years" and he hoped "to not make the best, but the worst films."

Feng is not alone in criticizing the Golden Brooms, Lu Jian, anchor of China Central Television (CCTV), expressed his disdain after last year's awards.

"The Golden Brooms aim to inform the public of bad films, but the lack of professionalism and objectivity in their decision process makes their opinions a joke," Lu wrote on his Sina Weibo.

"[Two of this year's most hyped films,] Confucius and If You Are the One II were voted as the most disappointing movies. The Golden Broom Awards are seeking attention in targeting such acclaimed features."

Though Lu later apologized for a few profane comments he posted, he said his opinion about the Golden Brooms remained the same.

In lieu of the criticism, Cheng remains unflappable in the integrity of the organization. He told the Global Times days before this year's award ceremony that the Golden Brooms decisions are not reached by a panel of experts. Instead, the votes are tallied by a general demographic.

"These awards represent the general audience," Cheng said. "As it should be, since movies are not made for professional critics but for normal people."

Growing Reputation

Culture critic Xie Xizhang, third time jury member of the Golden Brooms, is optimistic about the future of the organization. "Some people in the industry, like director Feng Xiaogang, oppose this award because they misinterpret it," Xie told the Global Times last Saturday evening.

Xie believes if opponents of the awards view it as an alternative way to gauge audience reception, their opinions would differ.

"The awards weren't created to be scandalous. Having an opposing voice is necessary for the development of a healthy movie industry. Independent institutions need to take on this role," said Xie.

Over the past three years, the Golden Broom Awards have gotten significantly wider recognition, both among netizens and movie stars.

"In the first year, only 10,000 netizens participated in the voting. This year, over 200,000 participated," said Xie. "No winners said they would attend the ceremony last year, but this year, some people expressed their willingness to come."

When Taiwanese actor Richie Jen discovered that he had been nominated as one of the year's worst actors, he said he would receive the award in person if he won.

"This award is a reminder to me that I need to be cautious," Jen said.

As for why The Flowers of War was awarded a special prize, Xie explained that while the film was cinematically beautiful, it perpetuated problematic values and stereotypes.

Xie cites the example in which prostitutes sacrifice their lives for a group of female students. This hints at the notion that the life of a prostitute is somehow less valuable, stigmatizing those involved in prostitution. The film glamorizes and eroticizes a serious topic.

GeneChing

03-21-2012, 09:34 AM

Asian Film Awards Presented (http://english.cri.cn/6666/2012/03/20/45s687942.htm)
2012-03-20 11:35:31 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Sun
Winners at the 6th Asian Film Awards have been announced with Iran's Oscar-winner 'A Separation' taking home four prizes in Hong Kong.

The movie, which stars lead actress Leila Hatami, has been named best film and won best director for Asghar Farhadi, plus screenwriting and editing trophies.

Hatami, who is in Hong Kong with her family, collected the best movie award at the gala on behalf of director Farhadi.

She says the recognition they have received has been one of the best things.

"It's a very good reward the fact that you have been so warmly received and you had a big, such a big audience. This is the best thing for a crew who have made a film," said Hatami.

Other winners at this year’s awards include Deanie Ip who was named best actress for her role in the widely acclaimed 'A Simple Life'.

Best Actor went to Indonesian actor Donny Damara for his controversial role as a transvestite sex worker in 'Lovely Man'.

Chinese actress Ni Ni took home the best newcomer award for her debut performance in Zhang Yimou's box office smash 'The Flowers of War'.

3D martial arts movie 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate' received two technical awards in the visual effects and costume designer category.

While Hong Kong director Ann Hui became the first woman to receive an accolade for her life's work - most notably her success with last years 'A Simple Life'. We're discussing FSoDG (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57723) here.

GeneChing

04-09-2012, 09:30 AM

I've always loved that Jia Dao quote.

Chinese martial arts flourish at İstanbul Film Festival (http://www.todayszaman.com/news-276910-chinese-martial-arts-flourish--at-istanbul-film-festival.html)
9 April 2012 / ZHUYING SHI, İSTANBUL

Celebrating the 2012 China Culture Year in Turkey, the İstanbul Film Festival -- running from March 31 to April 15 -- is showing eight of the best Chinese kung fu films, which display martial arts with stunning fight scenes, breathtaking backdrops and intriguing plots, inspired by events from Chinese history.

Turkish audiences are no stranger to kung fu films, which have served as a window to introduce Turkey to Chinese cinema at large, with names such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Donnie Yen.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman, Tuba Saka, Chinese kung fu film aficionado, said she has watched every Jackie Chan film. “Jackie Chan plays heroes with amazing martial skills and a kind, soft heart. And most of his films are really funny. I am a big fan of his,” Saka said.

“The organizers of the İstanbul Film Festival chose to screen Chinese kung fu films because kung fu is the most popular Chinese genre in Turkey,” Yu Jian, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy, told Today’s Zaman.

Chinese kung fu films display the culture of traditional Chinese martial arts. Chinese history is full of a certain type of chivalrous hero who traveled the land and used martial skills to right wrongs, help the poor and do good works for society. Historical documents, literature and folktales in China tell vivid, reverent stories about kung fu masters.

According to Dr. James J. Y. Liu, professor of Chinese literature at Stanford University, ancient Chinese poet Jia Dao (A.D. 779-843) from the Tang Dynasty is one good example of the spirit of a kung fu master: “For 10 years I have been polishing this sword; Its frosty edge has never been put to the test. Now I am holding it and showing it to you, sir: Is there anyone suffering from injustice?”

Wang Qun, researcher from the China Film Art Research Center, talked about the culture of Chinese martial arts in kung fu films in an interview with Today’s Zaman. Wang said the spirit of Chinese kung fu is not just about martial arts skills. “Kung fu masters use martial arts to enforce justice and establish peace. Just as ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said: ‘Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself makes you fearless,’ Chinese Kung fu masters follow strict discipline and the code of the hero -- righteousness, honor, repaying benefactors after receiving favors and upholding justice. Chinese kung fu masters do not love fighting, and they do not use violence unless there is no other way to resolve a problem. They do not use martial arts for personal gain but to achieve the greater good,” Wang said.

Analyzing why Turkish audiences love Chinese kung fu films, Wang said that kung fu films are very romantic -- most of the kung fu masters are accompanied on their adventures by beautiful maidens and they get married and live happily after defeating evil. This appeals to Turks, who themselves are very romantic. Wang added that the values in Chinese martial arts -- forgiveness, compassion and a prohibition on killing -- have a lot in common with Islamic virtues, which may resonate with Turkish audiences.

The films showing at the İstanbul Film Festival from April 9-15 are Best Foreign Language Oscar winner “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Fearless,” “The Bride with White Hair,” “House of Flying Daggers,” “Hero,” “Reign of Assassins,” “Warriors from the Magic Mountain” and “Ashes of Time Redux.”

On April 9, representatives from the Chinese film industry held a panel discussion called “Tiger at the Movies: Wuxia” at the Akbank Art Center in Beyoğlu to discuss Chinese Kung fu films with Turkish audiences. Speaking to Today’s Zaman, executive director of the China Film Producers Association Ming Zhenjiang said he hoped Chinese kung fu films serve as a cultural bridge that helps to increase Turkish audiences’ understanding of China.

GeneChing

04-23-2012, 05:25 PM

I'm sure this festival is buzzin...

Beijing film festival opens amid China's movie industry boom (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-fi-ct-beijing-film-fest-20120421,0,681873.story)
China recently overtook Japan to become the largest foreign market for American films, and the number of screens doubled in five years to 10,700 at the end of last year.
By Jonathan Landreth

April 21, 2012
BEIJING — The second annual Beijing International Film Festival opens Monday amid a film industry boom in China.

Box-office revenue totaled more than $2 billion for the first time in 2011. And in the quarter just ended China overtook Japan to become the largest foreign market for American films, thanks in part to continued movie theater expansion. The number of screens doubled in five years to 10,700 at the end of last year.

That number is expected to rise to 13,000 by the end of 2012, according to the Motion Picture Assn. of America. The total Chinese spending on media and entertainment — a figure that lumps together consumer and advertiser expenditures for all forms of filmed entertainment — will grow to $133 billion in 2014, according to the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

That will come as very good news to the visiting American filmmakers whose movies will be among the 200 foreign films featured at the six-day Beijing event — among them James Cameron, whose 3-D re-release of "Titanic" scored the second-largest opening-day numbers in Chinese history, and Tom DeSanto, whose "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" last summer scored the largest.

Cameron and DeSanto will give talks on film franchises and 3-D movies, of increasing importance since the Beijing government in February relaxed restrictions on the number of U.S.-made and large-format films, like IMAX movies, that can play in Chinese theaters and the amount of revenue they can return abroad.

The China National Convention Center — built as the media center for the 2008 Beijing Olympics — will host screenings of recent best foreign film Oscar winner "A Separation," from Iran; the new release "We Have a Pope," from Italy; and the closing night film, "The Artist," from France. (No opening film has been announced.) "The Avengers" star Jeremy Renner will walk the red carpet. Festival attendees may also see other Oscar-nominated movies, including Terence Malick's "The Tree of Life" and Martin Scorsese's "Hugo."

Last year, more than 100,000 tickets were sold to BIFF screenings. But because of censorship issues many of the 200 foreign films at this year's festival, which join 60 Chinese features, may never be seen by the Chinese public. Others may lose certain moments. A nude scene from "Titanic," which held the top box-office record for 11 years after its 1998 Chinese release, was excised from the recent 3-D re-release — its absence noted by film fans who saw uncut versions of the movie on pirated DVD copies. Last year's festival offering "Black Swan" also saw sex scenes snipped.

Among the festival's panel discussions will be a session with Jim Gianopulos, chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment; Marvel International President Simon Philips; Wang Zhongjun, founder and chairman of leading independent Huayi Brothers Media; and China Film Group Chairman Han Sanping.

Han, whose state-owned company is China's sole importer of films for theatrical release, toured Los Angeles last month with, among others, Dan Mintz, chief executive of Beijing-based DMG Entertainment, a 19-year-old Chinese-American media company involved in film co-productions and distribution in China.

Mintz, who Tuesday announced DMG would co-produce "Iron Man 3" in China with Walt Disney Co. and its Marvel subsidiary later this year, said: "This is really the ride up. You have the perfect storm of coming consumerism, constant shifts by the government to keep things a certain way, and the growth of habitual moviegoing. Soon more Chinese will enjoy going to the cinema."

Until recently, the Chinese film market has been among the most restrictive in the world. Observers see the relaxation continuing.

"It's a big thing for [Chinese Vice President] Xi Jinping to push out this policy. It will change the landscape and help all the country's new theaters," said Zhang Zhao, chief executive of Beijing-based Le Vision Pictures, the start-up production arm of a major online distributor. Zhang is expected to announce at the festival his company's distribution plans for Lionsgate's "Expendables 2," starring Sylvester Stallone and martial arts legend Jet Li.

Jonah Greenberg, who in 2005 helped open Creative Artists Agency's China office in Beijing, said China is beginning to be a force on the world movie map.

"China as a film market has finally come into its own and warrants a festival platform for its talent," Greenberg said.

Beijing Film Festival attracts Hollywood movers and shakers (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/04/on-the-eve-of-the-second-annual-beijing-international-film-festival-sunday-night-some-200-movie-industry-movers-and-shakers.html)
April 22, 2012 | 8:46 pm

On the eve of the second annual Beijing International Film Festival on Sunday night, some 200 movie industry movers and shakers — many from Hollywood — piled into the trendy d Lounge in the Chinese capital, washing back petit fours and hors d'oeuvres with champagne under the vaulted brick ceilings.

The party was hosted by Rob Minkoff — director of the Academy Award-winning “The Lion King” — and as he and producing partner Pietro Ventani circulated among the guests, Minkoff reflected on how much has changed in China since he first came to Beijing in 1997.

At the time Ventani was helping the Walt Disney Co. set up its China offices and he invited Minkoff for a visit. At that time, there were just a few construction cranes on Chang An Avenue, the capital’s main East-West drag, and few other signs of the city’s future.

Minkoff remembers scoffing when Ventani predicted a boom was coming. Of course, now he’s a believer. He filmed his 2008 Jackie Chan-Jet Li movie “The Forbidden Kingdom” here and marvels at glass-and-steel capital that began emerging that year, when the city hosted the Summer Olympics.

“Like Paris in the 1920s, Beijing is having its world moment right now. If you’re in the movies and you haven’t been to Beijing, you’re kind of missing where things are really happening,” said Minkoff. He himself has another China project in the works — a film called “Chinese Odyssey,” though he declined to give a status report on the project, which has been gestating for some time.

Among those at the Minkoff bash ahead of the six-day, state-run festival were “Superman Returns” producer and former Columbia/Tristar Pictures head Christopher Lee, former Creative Artists Agency China chief Peter Loehr, and “Transformers” and “X-Men” writer and producer Tom DeSanto.

Lee says he sees parallels between the Beijing of today and not Paris but Los Angeles as U.S. studios make a flurry of partnership announcements and jockey for position as the Chinese market takes off. (DreamWorks Animation said in February it would partner with two state-run media companies to build a new studio in Shanghai; Disney announced this month that it would partner with an animation arm of China's Ministry of Culture and China's largest Internet company, Tencent Holdings Ltd.; Disney also said last week that it would make "Iron-Man 3" a co-production with Beijing-based DMG Entertainment.)

It's anyone's guess as to which partnerships here will become dominant in what's projected to be the world's largest movie market in the world in the coming years.

"China is like Hollywood in the 1920s,” Lee said. “We’re all wondering which one of these big Chinese and China joint-venture companies forming is going to have the right a management. How else will China find its way?”

Also mingling Sunday night were USC Film School professor and longtime Woody Allen producer Michael Peyser, Christopher Bremble, chief executive of Beijing-based visual effects studio BaseFX; Aaron Shershow, unit production manager on Keanu Reeves’ upcoming directoral effort “The Man of Tai Chi,” now filming in China; and “Karate Kid” casting director Po-ping Au-Yeung. Also present were Alan Chu, head of film development at DMG Entertainment, and David Lee, producer of the Kevin Spacey-Daniel Wu film “Inseparable” due May 4 in China.

Independent film sales veteran Michael Werner also joined the fete, as did Pete Rive, chair of Film Auckland, and a few rising Chinese industry creative types who’ve shown bilingual crossover skills, including writer-directors Chen Daming (the Chinese remake of “What Women Want”) and Eva Jin (“Sophie’s Revenge”) to the actresses Crystal Liu (co-star of Minkoff’s “The Forbidden Kingdom”) and Zhu Zhu (who appears in Daniel Hsia’s forthcoming “Shanghai Calling”).

Minkoff, whose wife is Chinese-American, bought a Beijing apartment in 2005 sight unseen at the recommendation of his future brother-in-law. If Sunday’s soiree is any indication, he may soon have more expat Hollywood neighbors.

“I thought I was buying as an investment, but I’ve never rented it,” Minkoff said. “I’m staying in it tonight. It’s like a second home.”

GeneChing

07-09-2012, 11:55 AM

Asian Film Summit. Hopefully more to come on this...

Jackie Chan set for TIFF Asian Film Summit (http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/07/04/tiff-asian-film-summit-jackie-chan.html)
CBC News
Posted: Jul 4, 2012 12:34 PM ET
Last Updated: Jul 4, 2012 12:32 PM ET

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/arts/photos/2012/07/04/hi-chan-cp-02669492-8col.jpg
International film star Jackie Chan, seen in Cannes in May, will be a guest of honour at the inaugural TIFF Asian Film Summit. International film star Jackie Chan, seen in Cannes in May, will be a guest of honour at the inaugural TIFF Asian Film Summit. (Joel Ryan/Associated Press)

Action film star Jackie Chan will be a guest of honour at an Asian Film Summit slated for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival this fall.

TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey announced the inaugural edition of the industry-directed initiative, sponsored by the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto.

"As both a key launch pad for films in North America and home to huge audiences for Asian cinema, we think Toronto can be a prime meeting place for the Asian and western film industries," Bailey said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

Chan started his career as a child actor in Chinese martial arts films in the 1960s and 70s. As an actor, stuntman, fight choreographer and director, he rose to fame with action-centred titles like The Young Master and the Drunken Master and Police Story series. After multiple attempts, he crossed over to success in the West with movies such as Rumble in the Bronx, Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, Mulan and Kung Fu Panda.

The Toronto event, set for Sept. 10 at the Shangri-La, will bring together representatives from the movie production, finance, distribution, exhibition and policy communities with the goal of building bridges between film industries in Asia and the West. Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) CEO Chris Dodd is among the industry figures to participate.

The summit is an attempt to offer "a platform where industry leaders can foster deeper relationships, generate new ideas and find new business opportunities," Bailey said.

Considered the world's largest publicly accessible film festival and a key Oscar-race launch pad, TIFF is also an important film-industry marketplace and hosts a wide range of events, workshops and industry sessions for professionals.

The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 6-16.

GeneChing

06-24-2013, 04:43 PM

This looks so fun

The Jackie Chan Experience Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=4T9vuyl3MKo)

The Jackie Chan Experience (http://www.filmlinc.com/films/series/the-jackie-chan-experience)

Admission

$13 General Public
$9 Student & Senior
$8 Member

Films & Showtimes »
Three Film Package

Get the Package

See three retrospective films or more and save with our Discount Package!

Undisputed auteur and certified superstar Jackie Chan is the Buster Keaton of Hong Kong action movies. Crafting his own unique niche where martial arts, jaw-dropping slapstick stunt work, and fast-paced thrills collide, his films have brought delight to millions. When it comes to cinema, Chan is some kind of genius. So get over to the Film Society of Lincoln Center to meet the man himself and gaze with awe at one of the most vital and inimitable canons of film comedy ever made. Co-presented with the New York Asian Film Festival and Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office.

GeneChing

02-11-2014, 09:23 AM

Grandmaster is also leading HKFA (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?65254-Hong-Kong-Film-Awards&p=1261347#post1261347) nominations and has two noms for the Oscars (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?53227-The-Grandmaster&p=1259912#post1259912).

Grandmaster leads 8th AFA nominations (http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/grandmaster-leads-8th-afa-nominations)
By Kevin Ma
Tue, 11 February 2014, 23:59 PM (HKT)
Awards News

http://www.filmbiz.asia/media/BAhbB1sHOgZmSSIrMjAxNC8wMi8xMS8wOC8wOC80OC8zMTQvZG 9ubmllX3llbi5qcGcGOgZFVFsIOgZwOgp0aHVtYkkiDTUwMHgx MDAwBjsGVA?suffix=.jpg&sha=13533751

Nominations for the 8th Asian Film Awards (27 Mar 2014) were announced in Hong Kong this afternoon.

Continuing its success this awards season, WONG Kar-wai 王家衛's The Grandmaster 一代宗師 is nominated in 11 out of 14 categories, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

BONG Joon-ho 봉준호 | 奉俊昊's Snowpiercer 설국열차 was in distant second-place in recognition at the awards with five nominations: Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Production Designer and Best Costume Designer.

A total of 28 films from ten countries and regions are nominated this year from over a thousand eligible films. Hong Kong films have the most nominations with a total of 19 shared between The Grandmaster (11 nominations), Rigor Mortis 殭屍 (4 nominations), Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon 狄仁杰之神都龍王 (3 nominations) and The Way We Dance 狂舞派 (1 nomination).

Films from South Korea and Japan are tied at 14 nominations each. In addition to the 5 recognitions for Snowpiercer, the nominated South Korean films are Cold Eyes 감시자들 (4 nominations), The Attorney 변호인 (3 nominations), Mr. Go 미스터 고 (1 nomination) and The Face Reader 관상 (1 nomination).

The 14 nominations for films from Japan are shared between The Great Passage 舟を編む (3 nominations), Like Father, Like Son そして父になる (3 nominations), Why Don't You Play in Hell? 地獄でなぜ悪い (3 nominations), Tokyo Family 東京家族 (2 nominations), Backwater 共喰い (1 nomination) and The Ravine of Goodbye さよなら渓谷 (1 nomination).

After being organised by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society Limited 香港國際電影節協會 for the past seven years, this year's award is being organised by the new Asian Film Awards Academy, a combined effort between the Hong Kong International Film Festival 香港國際電影節, the Busan International Film Festival 부산국제영화제 and the Tokyo International Film Festival 東京国際映画祭.

HKIFF's chairman Wilfred WONG 王英偉 serves as the Chairman of the AFAA committee, which also includes BIFF's LEE Yong-kwan 이용관 | 李庸觀 and TIFF's SHIINA Yasushi 椎名保.

Also for the first time this year, the award ceremony has been moved to a venue outside of Hong Kong, to a casino resort in neighbouring Macau. While the ceremony is traditionally held on the first day of the Hong Kong FilMart, this year's ceremony will be held on 27 Mar, the final day of this year's film market.

Director Peter CHAN 陳可辛 is serving as this year's jury president, with Donnie YEN 甄子丹 joining as a "celebrity jury" member. The two are joined by the Philippines' Ronald ARGUELLES, Indonesia's John BADALU, Japan's ISHIZAKA Kenji 石坂健治, France's Christian JEUNE, Singapore's Eric KHOO 邱金海, South Korea's Lee Yong-kwan, Thailand's Kong RITHDEE ก้อง ฤทธิ์ดี, Taiwan's WEN Tien-hsiang 聞天祥, as well as Hong Kong's Jacob WONG 王慶鏘 and Patricia CHENG 莊麗真.

"Each industry, although successful commercially, is becoming more and more localised, catering to the taste of local audiences. As a result there are fewer channels for crossover distribution outside local markets. I think AFA is not only important in its celebration of Asian film and filmmakers, but an event that can bring Asian films together," says Chan.

ASIAN FILM AWARDS – PARTIAL LIST OF NOMINEES

BEST FILM
The Grandmaster
The Great Passage
The Lunchbox
No Man's Land 無人區
Snowpiercer
Stray Dogs 郊遊

BEST DIRECTOR
Bong Joon-ho; Snowpiercer
Anthony CHEN 陳哲藝; Ilo Ilo 爸媽不在家
KORE-EDA Hirokazu 是枝裕和; Like Father, Like Son
TSAI Ming-liang 蔡明亮; Stray Dogs
Wong Kar-wai; The Grandmaster

BEST ACTOR
FUKUYAMA Masaharu 福山雅治; Like Father, Like Son
Irrfan KHAN; The Lunchbox
LEE Kang-sheng 李康生; Stray Dogs
Tony LEUNG Chiu-wai 梁朝偉; The Grandmaster
SONG Gang-ho 송강호 | 宋康昊; The Attorney

BEST ACTRESS
Eugene DOMINGO; Barber's Tales Mga kuwentong barbero
HAN Hyo-ju 한효주 | 韓孝珠; Cold Eyes
Nina PAW 鮑起靜; Rigor Mortis
MAKI Yoko 真木よう子; The Ravine of Goodbye
ZHANG Ziyi 章子怡; The Grandmaster

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mark CHAO 趙又廷; So Young 致我們終將逝去的青春
HUANG Bo 黃渤; No Man's Land
JEONG U-seong 정우성 | 鄭雨成; Cold Eyes
Joe ODAGIRI オダギリジョー; The Great Passage
TSUMABUKI Satoshi 妻夫木聡; Tokyo Family

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AOI Yu 蒼井優; Tokyo Family
Mavis FAN 范曉萱; Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? 明天記得愛上我
KIM Yeong-ae 김영애; The Attorney
NIKAIDO Fumi 二階堂ふみ; Why Don't You Play in Hell?
YEO Yann Yann 楊雁雁; Ilo Ilo

BEST SCREENPLAY
Ritesh BATRA; The Lunchbox
Bong Joon-ho, Kelly MASTERSON; Snowpiercer
LIU Qiang 劉強; So Young
WATANABE Kensaku 渡辺謙作; The Great Passage
Wong Kar-wai, ZOU Jingzhi 鄒靜之, XU Haofeng 徐浩峰; The Grandmaster

BEST NEWCOMER
BabyJohn CHOI 蔡瀚億; The Way We Dance
IM Shi-wan 임시완; The Attorney
Maggie JIANG 江疏影; So Young
KINO****A Misaki 木下美咲; Backwater
NINOMIYA Keita 二宮慶多; Like Father, Like Son

GeneChing

03-31-2014, 08:54 AM

....The Grandmaster (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?53227-The-Grandmaster).

Grandmaster wins 7 at Asian Film Awards (http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/grandmaster-wins-7-at-asian-film-awards)
http://www.filmbiz.asia/media/BAhbB1sHOgZmSSIwMjAxNC8wMy8yNy8yMi8yMy81OC83OTkvaG 91X2hzaWFvX2hzaWVuLmpwZwY6BkVUWwg6BnA6CnRodW1iSSIN NTAweDEwMDAGOwZU?suffix=.jpg&sha=606df28d
By Kevin Ma
Fri, 28 March 2014, 13:30 PM (HKT)
Awards News

The Grandmaster 一代宗師 dominated last night's 8th Asian Film Awards. It had eleven nominations. It set a new record for the most prizes given to a single film in the event's history.

WONG Kar-wai 王家衛's martial arts epic won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress (ZHANG Ziyi 章子怡), Best Cinematography (Philippe LE SOURD), Best Production Designer (William CHANG 張叔平, Alfred YAU 邱偉明), Best Costume Designer (Chang) and Best Composer (UMEBAYASHI Shigeru 梅林茂, Nathaniel MÉCHALY).

The only other film to win more than one award this year is India's The Lunchbox, with Irrfan KHAN winning Best Actor and director Ritesh BATRA winning Best Screenwriter.

After two consecutive years with no awards, South Korean films finally returned to the stage this year with two technical prizes: Best Visual Effects for Mr. Go 미스터 고 and Best Editor for Cold Eyes 감시자들. However, BONG Joon-ho 봉준호 | 奉俊昊, whose Mother 마더 (2009) and The Host 괴물 (2006) were major winners at previous editions, did not win a single award for Snowpiercer 설국열차.

Despite receiving 14 nominations, Japanese films left empty-handed.

Maggie JIANG 江疏影 won Best Newcomer for So Young 致我們終將逝去的青春; HUANG Bo 黃渤 won Best Supporting Actor for No Man's Land 無人區; YEO Yann Yann 楊雁雁 won Best Supporting Actress for Ilo Ilo 爸媽不在家.

Taiwan's HOU Hsiao-hsien 侯孝賢 received the Lifetime Achievement award. Hou said, "I didn't want to win this award so early because I still have many films I want to make. I'll take this award as encouragement to make better films."

This year's award ceremony was held in Macau for the first time as a joint project of the Hong Kong International Film Festival 香港國際電影節, the Busan International Film Festival 부산국제영화제 and the Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival.

GeneChing

06-03-2014, 07:31 AM

Halle Berry Named ‘Best Global Icon’ at China’s Version of The Oscars (http://www.eurweb.com/2014/06/halle-berry-named-best-global-icon-at-chinas-version-of-the-oscars/)
Jun 2, 14 by EURPublisher01

http://3i26kd3p1usa3cefqi1ay96t13o6.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/halle-berry-huading-awards.jpg
Actress Halle Berry accepts the Global Movie Icon Award at the 2014 Huading Film Awards at The Montalban Theatre on June 1, 2014 in Los Angeles

*Halle Berry was among the honorees in attendance at China’s equivalent of the Oscars, the Huading Awards, held for the first time in the U.S. at the Montalban theater in Hollywood on Sunday night.
The live telecast reached more than 800 million viewers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where 80 million fans voted for the best in the film industry, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Berry was named best global icon at the ceremony. Though she didn’t talk to the press, Berry did say a few words upon receiving her award, calling to mind her visit to Shanghai a few years ago and the warm welcome she received from Chinese fans.
“I felt like I was an original Beatle when I got off that airplane,” Berry said. “I hope that I will continue to be able to make movies and entertain the Chinese audience and I’m so glad that we get to have an interpersonal relationship with all of you.”

http://3i26kd3p1usa3cefqi1ay96t13o6.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/halle-berry-huading-awards-2.jpg
Actress Lucy Liu (L) walks actress Halle Berry offstage after presenting Berry with the Global Movie Icon Award at the 2014 Huading Film Awards at The Montalban Theatre on June 1, 2014 in Los Angeles

Orlando Bloom won for best global actor icon, and filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro received the best global director award.
Bradley Cooper was voted as best global actor and actors Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson accepted the best global movie award for “Fast & Furious 6” in memory of Paul Walker.
Zoe Saldana was recognized as best global supporting actress and Jeremy Renner was awarded best global supporting actor.
DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg accepted the best global animated film award for “The Croods.”
Composer Hans Zimmer was presented with the lifetime achievement award for his motion picture scores.
Hosted by actress Lucy Liu and Chinese television personality Olivia Xu, the show featured performances from Jabbawockeez (winners of MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew), the Shaolin Warriors, The Voice China winner Summer Jikejunyi, and magician Master Zhao.
While the Oscars this year rose to 43.7 million viewers, the Huading awards reaches one of the largest audiences celebrating the achievements of many prominent American entertainers with an additional 400 million watching online.
My coach, Shi Yantuo, was part of this Shaolin Warriors troupe. He got a nice pic with Lucy Liu. Shaolin Warriors promoter Sal Redner invited Tiger Claw, but unfortunately, it was a last minute invite and both Jonny and I were already booked. :(

China’s Huading Awards Make Hollywood Debut (http://variety.com/2014/scene/asia/china-huading-awards-make-hollywood-debut-1201204523/)
http://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/huading-awards-lucy-liu.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1
JUNE 2, 2014 | 12:26PM PT
Andrea Seikaly
@AndiSeikaly
The Huading Film Awards, China’s No. 1 entertainment kudos fest, took place in the U.S. for the first time on Sunday evening at the Montalban Theater in Hollywood.

International film stars including Lucy Liu, Halle Berry and Orlando Bloom were among the honorees in attendance at the bilingual event, which reached over one billion viewers via broadcast as well as another 400 million viewers online. The award recipients were determined based on the votes of 80 million fans, allowing the Chinese public to celebrate their favorite films and thesps.

Don Mischer, the ceremony’s exec producer, is no stranger to the awards show scene, having produced both the Oscars and Emmys in past years. Though bringing the awards to Hollywood posed some challenges, Mischer said this was only the beginning and he looks forward to future collaborations between the world’s two top film markets.

“I view this whole thing as kind of a first step – almost like a baby step,” Mischer said, adding, “There’s much more of a cooperative exchange going on now between the cinematic communities in China and those in the United States… This thing could catch on and it could really build into something more significant because you’ve got the two largest movie markets in the world here.”

Following an introduction by co-hosts Liu and Olivia Xu (who translated the English portions of the ceremony into Chinese), “Sons of Anarchy” star Charlie Hunnam took the stage and was the first to be decorated with a golden sash as he received the best global emerging actor award.

Hunnam said he’d love to shoot a sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim” and also explained that, though he’s currently filming the final season of “Sons of Anarchy,” “I really don’t know how it’s all going to play out.”

Del Toro was also recognized with the award for best global director and recalled visiting Hong Kong for the first time when he was 22.

“I thought, ‘One day I’ll put it in a movie,’” del Toro said of his experience in China. The helmer also expressed his interest in maintaining a cinematic partnership with China.

“As long as our partnership is one where we find common ground and we admire and learn from our differences, I think it could be incredibly enriching,” he said.

Del Toro also expressed his gratitude to the “vast and loving” Chinese audience, saying, “A film for a filmmaker is like a child. So it’s 80 million people saying they like my child.”

DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg was on hand to accept the best global animated film honors on behalf of “The Croods,” and discussed the studio’s entertainment complex to be built in Shanghai as well as the third installment of the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise, slated to premiere in December 2015.

Though she didn’t talk to the press, Berry did say a few words upon receiving her global icon award, calling to mind her visit to Shanghai a few years ago and the warm welcome she received from Chinese fans.

“I felt like I was an original Beatle when I got off that airplane,” Berry said. “I hope that I will continue to be able to make movies and entertain the Chinese audience and I’m so glad that we get to have an interpersonal relationship with all of you.”

Lifetime achievement honoree and Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer also kept his comments brief, but suggested, “Let’s call it the getting started award” when discussing his prize.

Orlando Bloom was honored with the global actor icon award and the British thesp expressed how “humbled” he felt, explaining, “I never thought I’d make films all over the world.”

Jeremy Renner was voted best global supporting actor, but thanked his Chinese fans via video message as he was unable to attend.

Jordana Brewster and Tyrese Gibson accepted the final award on behalf of Universal’s “Fast and Furious 6,” voted best global movie of the year. Both actors noted a change in the atmosphere on the set of the franchise’s seventh film following the death of co-star Paul Walker.

“It’s really hard for all of us to genuinely celebrate on the level that we all should be expected to because we didn’t do any of this without our brother and friend Paul Walker,” Gibson said. “Moments like this become bittersweet.”

The evening also featured three exclusive performances by “America’s Best Dance Crew” winners Jabbawockeez, martial artists the Shaolin Warriors and Summer Jikejunyi, winner of “The Voice” China.

GeneChing

10-16-2014, 10:40 AM

Drug War tops China Media Awards (http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/drug-war-tops-china-media-awards)

http://www.filmbiz.asia/media/BAhbB1sHOgZmSSIpMjAxNC8xMC8xMi8yMC8yOS80NS84MTkvZH J1Z193YXIuanBnBjoGRVRbCDoGcDoKdGh1bWJJIg01MDB4MTAw MAY7BlQ?suffix=.jpg&sha=86a3ff49

By Kevin Ma
Mon, 13 October 2014, 11:30 AM (HKT)
Awards News

Johnnie TO 杜琪峯's Drug War 毒戰 (2012), WONG Kar-wai 王家衛's The Grandmaster 一代宗師 and Anthony CHEN 陳哲藝's Ilo Ilo 爸媽不在家 were the top winners of the 14th Chinese Film Media Awards, each winning two awards. This year's ceremony was held in Beijing.

Nominated for a total of four prizes, Drug War picked up Best Film and Best Director for To. This is his third Best Director award, following PTU ＰＴＵ (2003) and Life Without Principle 奪命金 (2011).

Chen's Ilo Ilo won the Best Screenplay award and the Best Supporting Actress award for YEO Yann Yann 楊雁雁. Yeo also won the Best Supporting Actress prize at last year's Golden Horse Awards 金馬獎 for her performance in the domestic drama.

Wong's The Grandmaster, which tied Ilo Ilo with six nominations, received two acting awards: Best Actress for ZHANG Ziyi 章子怡 and Best Supporting Actor for WANG Qingxiang 王慶祥. This is Zhang's 12th Best Actress award for the film.

Nick CHEUNG 張家輝 won the Best Actor award for Unbeatable 激戰. HAO Jie 郝潔 won the Best New Director award for The Love Songs of Tiedan 美姐 (2012). KUO Shu-yao 郭書瑤 won Best New Actor for Step Back to Glory 志氣.

Finding Mr. Right 北京遇上西雅圖 won the Audience Prize for Best Film. The five nominees in the category – also including American Dreams in China 中國合伙人, So Young 致我們終將逝去的青春, Tiny Times 1 小時代 and Firestorm 風暴 – were not nominated for Best Film in the main competition.

Organised by Southern Metropolis Daily, the Chinese Film Media Awards considers any Chinese-language film that received theatrical distribution in Mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan between 1 Jan and 31 Dec the previous year.

The members of this year's jury were not announced.

14TH CHINESE FILM MEDIA AWARDS

Best Film: Drug War
Best Director: Johnnie To; Drug War
Best New Director: Hao Jie; The Love Songs of Tiedan
Best Screenplay: Anthony Chen; Ilo Ilo
Best Actor: Nick Cheung; Unbeatable
Best Actress: Zhang Ziyi; The Grandmaster
Best Supporting Actor: Wang Qingxiang; The Grandmaster
Best Supporting Actress: Yeo Yann Yann; Ilo Ilo
Best New Actor: Kuo Shu-yao; Step Back to Glory
Audience Prize, Most Popular Film: Finding Mr. Right
Audience Prize, Most Popular Actor: HUANG Bo 黃渤; Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 西游　降魔篇
Audience Prize, Most Popular Actress: YAO Chen 姚晨; Firestorm
Audience Prize, Most Popular Performance: Aarif LEE 李治廷; One Night Surprise 一夜驚喜
Media Tribute Award for Film of the Year: No Man's Land 無人區
Media Tribute Award for Film Professional of the Year: Bill KONG 江志強

Here's our related threads:
Grandmaster (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?53227-The-Grandmaster)
Unbeatable-激戰 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?66180-Unbeatable-激戰)
Stephan-Chow-s-Journey-to-the-West-Conquering-Demons (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?61200-Stephan-Chow-s-Journey-to-the-West-Conquering-Demons)

We don't have a Drug War thread, but here are my thoughts on that flick:
If you haven't tuned into director Johnny To, he's like the John Woo for this decade. He's the new master of Chinese gangster flicks. Only instead of balletic gunplay and ****erotic undertones, To is more about visceral firefights and gritty sociopaths. DW is his latest, a tale of undercover narcs, meth makers and stool pigeons (heavy emphasis on stool as there is an inordinate amount of defecating in this film). It captures the seedy side of Mainland China, and Louis Koo is particularly oily. The plot moves along briskly and sustains a fair level of tension, but it's really all about the gunplay. There are two big firefights, one in the middle and the finale, and that's the payout. The final battle is very satisfying.
However, Drug War is no Exiled (2006). That's To's gangster masterpiece. The first scene is brilliant filmmaking in every way - the tension, the mood set by the environment, the interaction/introduction of the characters and the way it explodes when the time comes. And Exiled maintains that artistic and storytelling integrity through the whole film. It's truly a great film - one of the best Triad films ever.

Stickgrappler

11-11-2014, 09:39 AM

Jimmy Wang Yu to receive Lifetime Achievement Award today!

Congratulations to Wang Yu!

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/11/jimmy-wang-yu-to-receive-lifetime.html

Made my first animated GIF set from Master of the Flying Guillotine in honor of Jimmy Wang Yu receiving the Award later today. Count ‘em … 10 GIFs! More GIF Sets to come.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V4r-UL1aw54/VGIFtEBnq1I/AAAAAAAAHmM/OhjyG-t9psc/s1600/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine01-FungShengWuChi-01-400-sg.gif
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JjAVaDpgfh8/VGIFu7Q7fzI/AAAAAAAAHmk/cc3qAawwWv0/s1600/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine01-FungShengWuChi-04-400-sg.gif
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F_vfXire8Fg/VGIFwwz5bHI/AAAAAAAAHmw/yazJL7ntmog/s1600/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine01-FungShengWuChi-08-400-sg.gif

Enjoy 7 more GIFs here:

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/11/master-of-flying-guillotine-gif-set-1.html

Stickgrappler

11-12-2014, 10:07 AM

2nd set of GIFs I made

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M8Q1_Idc9xM/VGLdfwXYJnI/AAAAAAAAHnk/L1prJIe0wT4/s1600/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine02-FungShengWuChi-02-400-sg.gif
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-spj1whabKco/VGLdf3MmtkI/AAAAAAAAHng/NwD5bjfxPOM/s1600/MasterOfTheFlyingGuillotine02-FungShengWuChi-03-400-sg.gif

Enjoy 3 more GIFs' here:

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/11/2nd-gif-set-master-of-flying-guillotine.html

GeneChing

03-26-2015, 10:51 AM

China dominates Asian Film Awards (http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/china-dominates-asian-film-awards)

http://www.filmbiz.asia/media/BAhbB1sHOgZmSSIuMjAxNS8wMy8yNS8xOC8xMi8zNS8zMDEvYm xpbmRfbWFzc2FnZS5qcGcGOgZFVFsIOgZwOgp0aHVtYkkiDTUw MHgxMDAwBjsGVA?suffix=.jpg&sha=756267a9

By Kevin Ma

Thu, 26 March 2015, 09:15 AM (HKT)
Awards News

China was the star of this year's Asian Film Awards 亞洲電影大獎, winning ten out of fourteen categories, including Best Picture for LOU Ye 婁燁's Blind Massage 推拿.

JIANG Wen 姜文's Gone with the Bullets 一步之遙 took the most awards of the evening, with wins in three of the four categories for which it was nominated.

Blind Massage (pictured), DIAO Yi'nan 刁亦男's Black Coal, Thin Ice 白日焰火 and Ann HUI 許鞍華's The Golden Era 黃金時代 each won two prizes.

Also the winner of Best Picture at November's Golden Horse Awards 金馬獎 in Taipei, Blind Massage also took its second Asian Film Award for ZENG Jian 曾劍's cinematography.

Two years ago, Lou's Mystery 浮城謎事 (2012) won Best Picture and Best Screenwriter awards at the Asian Film Awards.

Also echoing the results of the Golden Horse Awards, Hui won the Best Director award for biographical drama The Golden Era. WANG Zhiwen 王志文 also won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of writer Lu Xun in the film.

Nominees from other nations largely went home empty-handed, as Japan, South Korea, India and Indonesia won just one award each.

In arguably the night's most competitive category, South Korea's BAE Du-na 배두나 | 裵斗娜 won Best Actress for drama A Girl at My Door 도희야. It was Bae's second AFA nomination.

The Best Supporting Actress prize went to IKEWAKI Chizuru 池脇千鶴 for gritty romance drama The Light Shines Only There そこのみにて光輝く.

As previously announced, Japanese actress NAKATANI Miki 中谷美紀 received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award and IM Kwon-taek 임권택 | 林權澤 received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

This is the second year that the AFA has been held in Macau. This year's ceremony was moved from the City of Dreams Resort to the Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Macao, just across the street.

Last year, the award became part of the Asian Film Awards Academy, a joint project between the Hong Kong International Film Festival 香港國際電影節, Busan International Film Festival 부산국제영화제 and Tokyo International Film Festival 東京国際映画祭.

2015 ASIAN FILM AWARDS

Best Film: Blind Massage [China]
Best Director: Ann Hui – The Golden Era [Hong Kong/China]
Best Actor: Liao Fan – Black Coal, Thin Ice [Hong Kong/China]
Best Actress: Bae Du-na – A Girl at My Door [South Korea]
Best Newcomer: ZHANG Huiwen 張慧雯 – Coming Home 歸來 [China]
Best Supporting Actor: Wang Zhiwen – The Golden Era [Hong Kong/China]
Best Supporting Actress: Ikewaki Chizuru – The Light Shines Only There [Japan]
Best Screenwriter: Diao Yi'nan – Black Coal, Thin Ice [China]
Best Cinematographer: Zeng Jian – Blind Massage [China]
Best Production Designer: LIU Qing 柳青 — Gone With the Bullets [China]
Best Composer: Mikey McCleary — Margarita, With a Straw [India]
Best Editor: Gareth EVANS – The Raid 2 The Raid 2: Berandal [Indonesia]
Best Visual Effects – Rick SANDER, Christoph ZOLLINGER – Gone with the Bullets [China]
Best Costume Designer: William CHANG 張叔平 — Gone With the Bullets [China]

I think we only discussed two of these films here: Gone With the Bullets (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68291-Gone-with-the-Bullets) & The Raid 2: Berandal (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59354-The-Raid-2-(aka-Berandal)-starring-Iko-Uwais)

GeneChing

06-16-2015, 09:50 AM

That's a weird pick of Donnie and Iron Mike. Makes me think they should have been cast for the Rush Hour TV series (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68107-Rush-Hour-TV-series). :p

Jackie Chan, Mike Tyson help kick off Shanghai Film Festival (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-jackie-chan-mike-tyson-shanghai-film-fest-20150613-story.html)
18th Shanghai International Film Festival - Opening Ceremony & Red Carpet

http://www.trbimg.com/img-557c76ec/turbine/la-et-mn-jackie-chan-mike-tyson-help-kick-off--001/750/750x422
Mike Tyson, left, and Donnie Yen pose for a picture on the red carpet at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 13, 2015, in Shanghai. (Kevin Lee / Getty Images)

By Julie Makinen

A disease outbreak in South Korea and a film removed by censors dampen opening of Shanghai film festival

Jackie Chan, Mike Tyson and Fan Bingbing walked the red carpet Saturday night as a somewhat subdued Shanghai International Film Festival got underway in China’s bustling commercial capital.

http://www.trbimg.com/img-557c7753/turbine/la-et-mn-jackie-chan-mike-tyson-help-kick-off--003/750/750x422
Chinese actress Fan Bingbing poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival in Shanghai on June 13, 2015. (Johannes Eisele / AFP/Getty Images)

Concerns about the outbreak of MERS in South Korea and the removal of a Japanese film at the behest of Chinese government censors put a bit of a damper on the 18th annual event, which for years was the only substantial film festival in China until Beijing launched its own festival in 2011. Both events are under government control, but authorities seem to be pouring significant resources into raising the profile of the Beijing affair, which is held in April.

Festival organizers sent emails to some expected participants from South Korea, suggesting that they stay home; at the registration desk, South Korean attendees were asked to fill out a health history form.

In the lobby of Shanghai Movie City, a movie complex that is one of the central film venues, large printed screening schedules still carried the title “Attack on Titan,” but ticket sellers said the animated Japanese film had indeed been pulled from the lineup and replaced with another Japanese movie. The film was among 38 foreign animated properties deemed excessively violent or pornographic earlier this week by China’s Ministry of Culture.

Unlike last year, when “Transformers: Age of Extinction” closed out the Shanghai festival, this year’s lineup includes no Hollywood blockbusters, though Antoine Fuqua’s long-in-the-works boxing drama “Southpaw,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is having its world premiere at the festival.

http://www.trbimg.com/img-557c7756/turbine/la-et-mn-jackie-chan-mike-tyson-help-kick-off--002/750/750x422
Jackie Chan poses on the red carpet during the opening ceremony of the Shanghai International Film Festival in Shanghai on June 13, 2015. (Johannes Eisele / AFP/Getty Images)

The film, which is competing for the Golden Goblet award, centers on a lefthanded junior-middleweight champ (Gyllenhaal) whose is sent into a spiral by a tragic accident. With the help of a washed-up former boxer (Forest Whitaker), he starts to fight his way back to personal and professional redemption.

The opening film was the somewhat saccharine "I Am Somebody," directed by Derek Tung-Sing Yee, about Chinese movie extras trying to make a go of it on the studio lots in Hengdian, a major movie film center not far from Shanghai.

The closing night film on June 21 will be the China-Russia co-production "Ballet in the Flames of War," directed by China's Yachun Dong and Russia's Nikita Mikhalkov. Organizers said the movie “highlights the friendship between China and Russia through a love story unfolding in the midst of World War II.”

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, known in China as the War to Resist Japanese Aggression, and the festival has programmed a special section of films devoted to this theme, including “Casablanca,” German director Volker Schlondorff’s “The Tin Drum” and Andre Singer’s Holocaust documentary “Night Will Fall.”

The Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose “Leviathan” was nominated for the foreign language Oscar this year, is heading up this year’s jury for the Golden Goblet award.

The festival offers cinema-goers the chance to see a number of American films that were never imported into theaters in China, which restricts the number of foreign films that can enter the market each year. Among some of the U.S. films screening are “Whiplash” and “Birdman.” Former boxer Mike Tyson is attending the festival not because he has an American film in the festival but because he has a guest part in the upcoming Chinese movie “Ip Man 3.” DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg also attended the event.

This year, the Shanghai fest will offer fans the chance to see all six films in the “Star Wars” series, a first for the mainland. “Jackie Chan Action Movie Week” is expected to draw a number of international filmmakers, including Renny Harlin and Brett Ratner for a series of forums and screenings that organizers said “will leverage the prestige of Jackie Chan in the world of action movies, highlight Chinese culture reflected in action movies, and pool together worldwide resources in support of the globalization of Chinese films and culture.”

Jimbo

06-16-2015, 03:06 PM

Because it was pulled rom the lineup, I now really want to see "Attack on Titan". IMO, the reasons they pull non-Chinese movies or 'edit' them for content is ridiculous. It creates an environment of movies with no edgy content.

GeneChing

02-03-2016, 09:47 AM

It's still all about the Assassin (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48362-The-Assassin) there, with a nod to Ip Man 3 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57165-Ip-Man-3).

Asian Film Awards: 'The Assassin' leads with Nine Nominations (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/asian-film-awards-assassin-leads-861598)

http://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/675x380/2015/09/The_Assassin.jpg
'The Assassin'
Well Go USA

by Karen Chu 2/3/2016 4:43am PST
'Mountains May Depart, 'Veteran' and 'Mr. Six' each received four nominations.

While it may have missed out on an Oscar foreign-language nomination, The Assassin has emerged as frontrunner at the Asian Film Awards. Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's martial-arts film picked up nine nominations, followed by Mountains May Depart, Veteran and Mr. Six, each with four.

The Assassin was nominated in the best film, director, actress, supporting actress, cinematography, original music, costume design, production design, and sound categories. The film bowed in competition at the Cannes Film Festival last year.

The best film race consists of The Assassin, Chinese co-production Mountains May Depart, India's Bajirao Mastani, Japan's Three Stories of Love, China's Mr. Six, and South Korea's Veteran.

Donnie Yen of Hong Kong box office hit Ip Man 3 is nominated for a best actor gong, with Nagase Masatoshi of Japan's An, Feng Xiaogang of China's Mr. Six, Lee Byung-Hun of South Korea's Inside Men, and John Arcilla of The Philippine's Heneral Luna also in contention.

The best actress category is a contest between Zhao Tao of Mountains May Depart, Shu Qi of The Assassin, Ayase Haruka of Japan's Our Little Sister, Kim Hye-soo of South Korea's Coin Locker Girl, and Karena Lam of Taiwan's Zinnia Flower.

The nominations included thirty-six films from nine countries. Twenty-two films from China or Chinese co-productions were nominated for awards in fifteen categories, followed by sixteen from Japan.

A new category, best sound, was introduced this year.

The fifteen-member jury will be presided by Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To this year, with jury members including Hong Kong actor Sean Lau and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan.

Marking the tenth edition of the Asian Film Awards, organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the awards ceremony will be held on March 17 at the Venetian Theater in Macau.

Asian Film Awards Nominations

Best Film

Mountains May Depart (France, Japan, China)

The Assassin (Hong Kong, China, Taiwan)

Bajirao Mastani (India)

Three Stories of Love (Japan)

Mr. Six (China)

Veteran (South Korea)

Best Director

Jia Zhang-Ke, Mountains May Depart

Hou Hsiao-Hsien, The Assassin

Kore-Eda Hirokazu, Our Little Sister

Guan Hu, Mr. Six

Ryoo Seung-wan, Veteran

Best Actor

Donnie Yen, Ip Man 3

Nagase Masatoshi, An

Feng Xiao-gang, Mr. Six

Lee Byung-Hun, Inside Men

John Arcilla, Heneral Luna

Best Actress

Zhao Tao, Mountains May Depart

Shu Qi, The Assassin

Ayase Haruka, Our Little Sister

Kim Hye-soo, Coin Locker Girl

Karena Lam, Zinnia Flower

Best Supporting Actor

Max Zhang, Ip Man 3

Michael Ning, Port of Call

Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore

Oh Dal-soo, Assassination

Cheng Jen Shuo, Thanatos, Drunk

Best Supporting Actress

Zhuo Yun, The Assassin

Tsuchiya Anna, Gonin Saga

Cherry Ngan, Mojin – The Lost Legend

Ueno Juri, The Beauty Inside

Park So-dam, The Priests

GeneChing

02-10-2016, 09:45 AM

The way that caption is positioned, it makes Chuck look like he is William Shakespeare...:p

William Shakespeare, Bruce Lee to Be Honored at Hong Kong Festival
Variety By Patrick Frater
February 5, 2016 7:03 AM

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UUqBCLUPp0qDQ.AX6Z68Sw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztxPTg1/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/Entertainment/Variety/the-way-of-the-dragon.jpg
William Shakespeare and Bruce Lee are both to be honored at the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival (March 21-April 4, 2016).

Marking the festival’s 40th edition and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, the HKIFF will program three vastly different film interpretations of Shakespeare’s stage play “Macbeth.” The trio are Akira Kurosawa’s “Throne of Blood,” Roman Polanski’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth” and last year’s “Macbeth” by star Australian director Justin Kurzel.

“’Macbeth’ has challenged filmmakers around the world as they have reimagined the interplay of fate and magic, human motivations and soul-wrenching questions of loyalty and destiny. Yet, the violence at the heart of the play, with battles, beheadings and assassinations, also imposes demands on actors and audiences as powerful as the poetry of the Bard’s composition,” the festival said in a note.

The festival will also present additional films based on Shakespeare’s plays in its off-season Cine Fan April/May program.

(Separately, it was announced that the Shanghai International Film festival in June will also pay tribute to Shakespeare. It did not divulge its lineup, though it said that British actor Ian McKellen will attend.)

Reviving a local legend, the HKIFF will also present restored, digital versions of four Bruce Lee-starring films. It will screen Lee’s 1971 Hong Kong homecoming “The Big Boss”; nunchaku-wielding 1972 epic “The Fist of Fury”; “The Way of the Dragon,” which Lee also directed; and “The Game of Death,” the 1978 movie assembled and released five years after Lee’s death.

GeneChing

03-15-2016, 04:10 PM

When Bruce Lee Left Hollywood to Become 'The Big Boss' (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bruce-lee-left-hollywood-become-875120)
8:33 AM PDT 3/14/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/03/fistsoffury1972_01_-_h_2016.jpg
Photofest

Exactly why Hong Kong has declined to tap Lee’s enduring star power to serve as one of the city’s icons is still the subject of some debate.

For decades, Hong Kong movie buffs have been perplexed by their city’s neglect of its most famous native son: Bruce Lee.

Hong Kong has no Bruce Lee museum, no Bruce Lee Boulevard, not even a proper Bruce Lee memorial. The city’s Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong’s version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, features a lone statue of the star, but its erection was the result of a global fan initiative, not the local government’s largesse.

In 2011, the owner of Lee’s former mansion in Kowloon Tong offered to donate the home to the city so that it could be made into a commemorative museum, but the project fizzled within the city bureaucracy.

Exactly why Hong Kong has declined to tap Lee’s enduring star power to serve as one of the city’s icons is still the subject of some debate — most suggest that the local elders never viewed Lee as a true native, given that he was born to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, USA (even though he returned to Hong Kong when he was three months old and grew up there until he returned to California at age 18).

But this year, for its part, HKIFF is taking steps to right the oversight. The 40th edition of the fest is honoring Lee with screenings of restored, digital versions of four classic Bruce Lee kung fu flicks, beginning with The Big Boss, the film that brought him back to Hong Kong and launched him into superstardom.

In 1971, having grown frustrated with the side parts and choreography work he was getting in Los Angeles, Lee returned to Hong Kong on the advice of producer Fred Weintraub to make a feature film that would showcase his skills for executives in Hollywood. After signing a two-picture deal with Golden Harvest, Lee played his first leading role in director Lo Wei’s The Big Boss opposite James Tien, already a big star in Hong Kong.

Lee’s charisma and fighting style made the film a phenomenon, and it soon became the highest-grossing picture in Hong Kong history, not to be surpassed until the release of Lee’s second Golden Harvest vehicle, Fist of Fury (1972).

The global success of these movies had the intended effect: in 1972, Warner Brothers offered Lee the lead role in Enter the Dragon, the first Chinese film to be produced by a major Hollywood studio. Tragically, this artistic and entertainment industry milestone would be Lee’s last onscreen appearance before his mysterious and untimely death on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32.

Finally. Took them long enough. :rolleyes:

Jimbo

03-15-2016, 07:07 PM

Finally. Took them long enough. :rolleyes:

Gene, I suspect that it may have to do with the city of HK possibly being ashamed that the most famous person from HK was a MAist. In my observation, if BL had been a famous pianist, violinist, conductor, business mogul, etc., he most likely would have been recognized decades ago. "Kung Fu" or MA is probably considered too coarse or lowly a pursuit to receive a high honor by HK's bureaucrats.

GeneChing

03-18-2016, 10:09 AM

Still all about the Assassin (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48362-The-Assassin)...

Asian Film Awards: 'The Assassin' Dominates with Eight Awards (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/asian-film-awards-assassin-dominates-876510)
7:30 PM PDT 3/17/2016 by Karen Chu

http://cdn2.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/portrait_300x450/2015/10/the_assassin_still.jpg
'The Assassin'
Courtesy of Wild Bunch

The Hou Hsiao-hsien-directed film won the biggest prizes including best film, best director, best actress for Shu Qi and best supporting actress for Zhou Yun.

Hou Hsiao-hsien's The Assassin dominated the 10th Asian Film Awards on Thursday, winning eight out of 15 categories.

The period thriller took top honors for film, director, actress (Shu Qi), supporting actress (Zhou Yun), cinematography, original music, production design and sound.

Hou was not at the award ceremony to accept the accolades in person; the best film and director awards were accepted by cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bing on the helmer's behalf.

South Korea's Lee Byung-hun was named best actor for his role of a political henchman in Inside Men, while Japan's Asano Tadanobu took home the best supporting actor prize for his work in Journey to the Shore.

The best newcomer award went to Jessie Li of Port of Call, the Hong Kong film that also earned best editing honors.

The Asian Film Awards, held at the Venetian Macao in Macau, gave out two lifetime achievement awards: one to Japan veteran actress Kiki Kirin (Chronicles of My Mother, An) and another to Hong Kong master of action choreography Yuen Woo-ping (The Matrix Trilogy, The Grandmaster).

Full list of winners:

Best film: The Assassin
Best director: Hou Hsiao-hsien, The Assassin
Best actor: Lee Byung-hun, Inside Men
Best actress: Shu Qi, The Assassin
Best supporting actor: Asano Tadanobu, Journey to the Shore
Best supporting actress: Zhou Yun, The Assassin
Best newcomer: Jessie Li, Port of Call
Best screenplay: Jia Zhangke, Mountains May Depart
Best editing: Port of Call
Best cinematography: The Assassin
Best original music: The Assassin
Best costume design: The Throne
Best production design: The Assassin
Best visual effects: Bajirao Mastani
Best sound: The Assassin

GeneChing

04-08-2016, 08:56 AM

Brett Ratner to Chair Beijing Film Festival Competition Jury (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brett-ratner-chair-beijing-film-881632)
7:18 PM PDT 4/6/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/04/gettyimages-514241778-h_2016.jpg
Brett Ratner
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Joining Ratner on the jury are Hong Kong director Teddy Chan, Germany's Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and Japanese filmmaker Yojiro Takita.

Producer-director Brett Ratner will head the competition jury of the 6th Beijing International Film Festival, set to run April 16-23 in the Chinese capital.

The Revenant, which Ratner produced and co-financed via his RatPac Entertainment production company, is currently taking its final victory lap in the mainland Chinese market, where it has grossed nearly $60 million, far exceeding early expectations.

Joining Ratner on the jury, which awards the festival's Tiantan Awards across 10 categories, will be Hong Kong director Teddy Chan (Bodyguards and Assassins), German filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others), Romanian helmer Corneliu Porumboiu (The Treasure), Japanese director Yojiro Takita (Departures), Bosnian filmmaker Danis Tanovic (No Man's Land) and Chinese actress Xu Qing (Mr. Six).

According to the fest's organizing committee, 15 out of 433 films from 42 countries and regions have been shortlisted this year for the main competition section.

As previously announced, Natalie Portman will be the highest-profile Hollywood attendee at the event this year. The actress will attend the red-carpet opening ceremony on April 17, followed by her participation in a forum on co-producing films in China and a special screening of her directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, at the China Film Archive.

The fest will open with the world premiere of Beijing Meets Seattle II: Book of Love, directed by Xue Xiaolu and starring Tang Wei and Wu Xiubo.

I'm skeptical of Ratner, especially since he took on the 5 Finger remake (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69305-Five-Fingers-of-Death-(King-Boxer)-remake).

GeneChing

04-20-2016, 09:47 AM

Producer James Schamus in Beijing: "China Is Becoming the New Hollywood" (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/producer-james-schamus-beijing-china-884600)
2:03 PM PDT 4/17/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

http://cdn5.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/portrait_300x450/2014/02/153474829.jpg
James Schamus

Speaking at the Beijing International Film Festival, the former Focus Features CEO argued that China is leveraging its booming domestic box office to replicate the conditions that made Hollywood so globally successful.

Veteran independent film producer James Schamus rattled and delighted the local crowd on the first day of the Beijing International Film Festival on Sunday, declaring that "China is becoming the new Hollywood."

The former Focus Features CEO and multi-Oscar nominee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Brokeback Mountain) participated in a panel discussion about the rapidly evolving nature of Hollywood and Chinese film partnerships.

Schamus began by stating that the common assumption that Hollywood and China are pitched in competition is "already a categorical confusion — because the genius of Hollywood is that it's not any real place." Instead, he suggested, Hollywood is a powerful brand that unites a loose collection of corporations and trade groups, which are infused by talent and capital from around the world.

"It's a shell game," he said. "The capital in Hollywood has been coming from India, the Gulf States and now from China and some very high-net-worth hedge fund individuals and banks — and it's been this way for a long time."

Crucially, Schamus argued, China is beginning to leverage its booming domestic box office to create some of the same conditions that define the allure of the Hollywood brand and sustain its success.

"China is leveraging every aspect of the cinematic sphere, and that leverage is centered on the rise of the theatrical box office," he said. "The key difference between doing a co-production with China and doing one with Italy or any other country is that the co-production here will open up the theatrical marketplace in a more lucrative way."

The effects can been seen in the way international film companies are scrambling to set up joint ventures with Chinese partners, and top global talent are expressing growing interest in the creative possibilities that the Chinese market will make possible. Last month, for example, Warner Bros.' new Chinese joint venture Flagship Entertainment unveiled a 12-film slate of Chinese-language films, and Joe and Anthony Russo, the director duo behind Marvel's Captain America franchise, announced a project to produce established and aspiring Chinese directors.

Yu Dong, chairman and founder of Bona Film Group, one of China's top studios and a co-financier of six films from Fox, echoed Schamus' sentiments by laying out some of the demographic fundamentals that are driving change within China.

"The Chinese market has room to grow by 5,000 to 7,000 movie screens every year for at least 10 more years," Yu said, adding, "If this continues, we will more than double the number of screens in North America within the decade." (North America had 40,000 screens at the end of 2015 and China had 39,000).

The executive noted that China's box office is expected to surpass North America to become the world's largest single film theatrical territory in the next one to two years — he said China eventually doubling North American box was probably a certainty, and tripling it was conceivable.

Yu also explained that the screen construction that has yet to come in China will take place in increasingly provincial parts of the country, where audiences are more interested, generally, in domestic Chinese movies than foreign imports — a fact that explains Hollywood's recent declining market share against local Chinese pictures. Meanwhile, Hollywood is "producing more sequels and super hero pictures to reduce risks, but these are remote from Chinese people's daily lives," he said.

"The Chinese inland market is more interested in our local creations, so this will change the picture for both industries," Yu further argued, before adding: "The young directors in Hollywood who don't get their support form the big bosses making the superhero pictures, many will come to China to take advantage of the opportunities here."

Schamus, whose production company Symbolic Exchange has a strategic agreement with China's Meridian Entertainment, proposed that the slate investments Chinese studios have made in U.S. film companies — recently, China's Perfect World Pictures invested $250 million into Universal and Huangzhou-based Film Carnival poured $500 million to **** Cook Productions — are laying the groundwork for Hollywood-like global reach.

"The fact that the new screens are going to be coming into tier four and five cities means a decisive change at the base of the audience for a whole new generation of Chinese filmmakers, while at the same time you are layering on top an international and global business," Schamus said.

The Chinese hosts of the event noted on several occasions that Schamus co-wrote Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which remains the highest grossing non-English-language film ever in North America. As a writer, Schamus added that he objects to the common industry contention that the Chinese film community will need Hollywood's help with story development if it wants to achieve the same level of success in tapping international box offices.

"There's a lot of pride and intensity now in the Chinese film business, but there's still a sense that the storytelling is not up to par and that you need help," he said. "I think that's not true. It's just a different sensibility and that's what's exciting. There's no secret sauce that Hollywood screenwriters have — we just got to the market a little sooner, but that's all going to change."

This is what I've been saying with my Chollywood Rising column (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising) for years now. If only I could have cashed in on it better....:o

GeneChing

04-21-2016, 03:55 PM

A new ceremony for movie execs to pat each other on the back.

U.S. China Film & TV Industry Expo to Launch Golden Screen Awards (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/us-china-film-tv-industry-886395)
12:49 AM PDT 4/21/2016 by Patrick Brzeski

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Getty Images

The new awards gala, held during the U.S.-China industry conference in November, will honor film professionals and companies for excellence in co-productions and international relations.

The 2016 U.S. China Film & TV Industry Expo (UCFTI), held in Los Angeles on Nov. 2-3, will debut the first edition of the Golden Screen Awards, a special gala honoring individuals and companies for excellence in film co-productions and international relations.

The inaugural awards event was announced at a press conference during the Beijing International Film Festival Tuesday.

Launched in Los Angeles in 2013, UCFTI is an annual exchange platform designed to foster business ties between the Chinese and U.S. film and TV industries — which comprise the world's two largest entertainment markets. The event is co-sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America, China Film Co-Production Corporation and The Hollywood Reporter.

READ MORE How James Cameron's Four 'Avatar' Sequels Plan Is Going Over in China
"The UCFTI Expo is emblematic of the blending between the U.S. and Chinese film and television industries," said John Amato, president of Entertainment Group, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. "We are pleased to help bring together industry leaders from the two giants of entertainment, facilitating the mutually beneficial deals that will reach across borders and shape our entertainment for years to come,” he added.

This year's UCFTI Expo will culminate with "China Night," a VIP party held on Nov. 3 in Los Angeles, bringing together power players from the Chinese and U.S. industries.

Said Bianca Chen, founder and CEO of UCFTI Expo: "With more and more industry insiders becoming familiar with the UCFTI Expo, we believe in the next several years, we will make even more excellent co-productions to propel the trade, exchange, training and cooperation of the two countries' film and TV industries."

GeneChing

07-28-2016, 11:31 AM

I cherry-picked the significant titles of figures mentioned here. Follow the link if you want the full line up.

Toronto Film Festival 2016: Magnificent Seven, La La Land to screen (http://www.ew.com/article/2016/07/26/toronto-film-festival-2016-lineup)
Slate also includes new Christopher Guest ensemble 'Mascots,' Justin Timberlake's 'JT + the Tennessee Kids'
BY JOEY NOLFI • @JOEYNOLFI

Posted July 26 2016 — 11:24 AM EDT

The first round of films playing at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival have been announced, with Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven set to kick off the event with a western-infused bang on Sept 8.

Fuqua’s opening night film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Byung-hun Lee in a tale of seven outlaws recruited by a local woman (Haley Bennett) to do battle with an oppressive industrialist (Peter Sarsgaard) encroaching upon her hometown’s territory.

Other titles screening at this year’s festival include Christopher Guest’s new ensemble comedy, Mascots, in addition to Damien Chazelle’s Ryan Gosling/Emma Stone musical La La Land, Werner Herzog’s Salt and Fire, Ewan McGregor’s American Pastoral, and Nocturnal Animals, Tom Ford’s directorial follow-up to A Single Man.

This year’s star-studded Gala slate features Amy Adams’ Arrival, Mark Wahlberg’s Deepwater Horizon, Ruth Negga’s Cannes drama Loving, the Lyndon B. Johnson biopic LBJ, Nicole Kidman’s Lion, and the Lupita Nyong’o-starring Queen of Katwe, among others.

Closing the annual event’s 2016 edition is The Edge of Seventeen, Kelly Fremon Craig’s directorial debut revolving around the angsty life of a teenage girl (Hailee Steinfeld) grappling with the awkwardness of growing up as her best friend falls in for her popular older brother. The film also stars Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick.

TIFF spearheads a four-pronged dive into awards season on the festival front as it, along with events in Telluride, Venice, and New York, plays an important part in facilitating the rise of emerging Oscar contenders. As a key precursor in the awards race, all eyes will be on TIFF’s full lineup, which often hosts high-profile premieres of Oscar-bound films, and is set to be revealed in installments in the coming weeks.

As a time-tested launching pad for awards hopefuls, the largely non-competitive festival’s only major accolade is bestowed by festivalgoers themselves, as the TIFF People’s Choice Award is voted on by the public, not a curated jury of industry professionals. Since 2008, seven of TIFF’s People’s Choice Award winners have gone on to either win or be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, including Silver Linings Playbook, 12 Years a Slave, and Precious. Last year’s champion, Lenny Abrahamson’s Room, scored four Academy Award nominations, with star Brie Larson winning in the Best Actress category.

The 2016 Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 8-18. Additional titles playing at the festival will be announced soon. Check out the just-announced list of Special Presentation and Gala titles playing at TIFF 2016 below.

GALAS:

The Magnificent Seven, Antoine Fuqua, USA - World Premiere
Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a 1960 western classic. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the desperate townspeople, led by Emma Cullen, employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett and Peter Sarsgaard.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Birth of the Dragon George Nolfi, USA/China/Canada - World Premiere
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1964, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial- arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with Shaolin master Wong Jack Man. While details of the fight are hotly disputed to this day, one thing is clear — out of that epic fight, Bruce Lee emerged as The Dragon, the man who brought Kung Fu to the world. Starring Billy Magnussen, Xia Yu, and Philip Ng.

The Handmaiden (Agassi) Park Chan-wook, South Korea - North American Premiere
A crook-turned-servant falls for the vulnerable heiress she had originally schemed to swindle, in this audacious, visually sumptuous, and highly erotic period piece from writer-director Park Chan-wook. Starring Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Hae-sook, and Moon So-ri.

The Wasted Times (Luo Man Di Ke Xiao Wang Shi) Cheng Er, China - World Premiere
Love, hatred, and betrayal abound in Shanghai during the chaotic, war-torn 1930s. Mr. Lu is ambushed during an important meeting with the Japanese army, but his sister’s husband, Watabe, sacrifices himself to save Mr. Lu. Worse still, the Japanese brutally murder Mr. Lu’s children and sister. To avenge their deaths, Mr. Lu’s mistress attempts to kill the culprit but ends up dead. Years later as the Sino- Japanese war comes to a close, Mr. Lu visits Mrs. Wang, the abandoned wife of his former boss who reveals an astonishing truth about the tragedy. Cast includes Zhang Ziyi, Ge You, and Tadanobu Asano.

GeneChing

11-01-2016, 08:30 AM

San Diego Asian Film Festival 2016: An Old Game, a New Reign and a Hall of Fame (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1323) by Craig Reid

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
San Diego Asian Film Festival (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55545-San-Diego-Asian-Film-Festival)

GeneChing

11-07-2016, 09:48 AM

If Hollywood really wants to pander to China it will...I mean, come on. Skiptrace? :rolleyes:

China's Oscar Selection 'Xuanzang' Wins Big at Inaugural Golden Screen Awards (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/chinas-oscar-selection-xuanzang-wins-big-at-inaugural-golden-screen-awards-944410)
6:43 PM PDT 11/4/2016 by Valerie Zhou

http://cdn4.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/11/the_golden_screen_awards.jpg
John Li
Rob Schneider

The ceremony, presented by the U.S.-China Film & TV Industry Expo, honored the period epic in five categories, including best co-production.
The inaugural Golden Screen Awards, which specifically focuses on co-productions between the U.S. and China, took place Thursday at L.A. Live. Held by the U.S.-China Film & TV Industry Expo in partnership with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), China Film Co-Production Corporation and The Hollywood Reporter, Xuanzang was the biggest winner, receiving best co-production film, director, cinematography, actor and production design honors.

The film, which depicts the perilous journey of the legendary Chinese monk who brought Buddhism from India to China, is the latter country's official Academy Award foreign-language submission this year. “This is a great opportunity for us," said director Huo Jianqi, "but I don’t think too much about the result, as long as this film can spread the spirit of Xuanzang.”

Paula Patton, who starred in the U.S.-China co-production film Warcraft, attended the ceremony, which was hosted by Rob Schneider.

“It’s great to be in Hollywood, the entertainment capital of the world. Hollywood is proud to be an equal-opportunity spender of other people’s money,” joked Schneider in his edgy remarks. “First we took money from Germany, then from France. Then we raped Japan pretty good. Now we are delighted to take China. Bend them over, for as much money as we could steal from them.”

Other films receiving awards included Three, Mountain Cry, Skiptrace and Kung Fu Panda 3.

A complete list of winners follows:

Best Co-Production Film

Da Tang Xuan Zang

Best Director

Huo Jianqi (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Screenplay

Yau Nai Hoi / Lau HoLeung / Mark Tinshu (Three)

Best Cinematography

Su Ming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Actor

Huang Xiaoming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Actress

Lang Yueting (Mountain Cry)

Best Supporting Actor

Eric Tsang (Skiptrace)

Best Supporting Actress

Fan Bingbing (Skiptrace)

Best Production Design

Wu Ming (Da Tang Xuan Zang)

Best Animation

Kung Fu Panda 3

GeneChing

01-31-2017, 10:13 AM

Asian Film Awards: South Korea's 'The Handmaiden' Leads With 6 Nominations (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/asian-film-awards-south-koreas-handmaiden-leads-six-nominations-963443)
1:35 AM PST 1/11/2017 by Karen Chu

http://cdn3.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2016/02/berlin_a_list_handmaiden_-_h_2016.jpg
Courtesy of CJ Entertainment

The awards ceremony will return to Hong Kong this year, after being held in Macau for the past three years, to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong.
South Korea's The Handmaiden leads the Asian Film Awards nominations, unveiled Wednesday, with six nods, followed by China's I Am Not Madame Bovary and South Korea's Train to Busan, each with five.

The Handmaiden, directed by Park Chan-wook, was nominated for best supporting actress, best newcomer, best screenplay, best editing, best costume design and best production design. But it missed out on nominations in the best film and best director categories.

Chinese director Feng Xiaogang, who won the Golden Horse Award for best director last November, saw his social satire I Am Not Madame Bovary garner best film and best director nominations, as well as nods for best actress for Fan Bingbing, best supporting actor for Dong Chengpeng/Da Peng and best cinematography.

South Korean blockbuster zombie hit Train to Busan also received five nominations, including nods for Gong Yoo for best actor, Ma Dong-seok for best supporting actor, best editing, best costume design and best visual effects.

Overall, 34 films from 12 countries were nominated in 15 categories this year. Among those, 21 films that are from China or are Chinese co-productions were nominated, followed by 20 from South Korea.

The best film category is a race between The Wailing and The Age of Shadows, both from South Korea, Harmonium from Japan, Godspeed from Taiwan and I Am Not Madame Bovary from China.

In addition to Gong Yoo, star of South Korea's Train to Busan, also nominated in the best actor category are Hong Kong veteran actor Michael Hui of Taiwan's Godspeed, Asano Tadanobu of Japan's Harmonium, Fan Wei of China's Mr. No Problem and Taiwanese actor Richie Jen of Hong Kong's Trivisa.

Sharing with Fan Bingbing's nomination in the best actress category is Son Ye-jin of South Korea's The Last Princess, Haru Kuroki of Japan's A Bride for Rip Van Winkle, Kara Wai of Hong Kong's Happiness and Charo Santos-Concio of the Philippines' The Woman Who Left.

The jury will be presided over by Chinese director Jia Zhangke as jury president, while Hong Kong actress Karena Lam has been named the celebrity juror. Taiwanese actor Cheng Jen-shuo is the first student ambassador of the Asian Film Awards Academy.

Marking the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, the Asian Film Awards will return to Hong Kong after being held in Macau for the past three years. The awards ceremony will be held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on March 21.

Asian Film Awards Nominations:

Best Film
The Wailing (South Korea)
The Age of Shadows (South Korea)
Harmonium (Japan)
Godspeed (Taiwan)
I Am Not Madame Bovary (China)

Best Director
Na Hong-jin, The Wailing
Koji Fukada, Harmonium
Derek Tsang, Soul Mate
Feng Xiaogang, I Am Not Madame Bovary
Lav Diaz, The Woman Who Left

Best Actor
Michael Hui, Godspeed
Gong Yoo, Train to Busan
Asano Tadanobu, Harmonium
Fan Wei, Mr. No Problem
Richie Jen, Trivisa

Best Actress
Son Ye-jin, The Last Princess
Fan Bingbing, I Am Not Madame Bovary
Haru Kuroki, A Bride for Rip Van Winkle
Kara Wai, Happiness
Charo Santos-Concio, The Woman Who Left

Best Supporting Actor
Jun Kunimura, The Wailing
Ma Dong-seok, Train to Busan
Ayano Go, Rage
Dong Chengpeng/Da Peng, I Am Not Madame Bovary
Lam Suet, Trivisa

Best Supporting Actress
Elaine Jin, Mad World
Moon So-ri, The Handmaiden
Maeda Atsuko, The Mohican Comes Home
Shabana Azmi, Neerja
Lynn Xiong, See You Tomorrow

I'm way behind on my Asian films. The only nom I've seen here is Neerja, which I watched because the director is doing a Bodhidharma web series next (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69996-Bodhidharma-Master-of-Shaolin-Ram-Madhvani-web-series). I will review that there later, perhaps.

Will Xuanzang make the Oscar cut? It did not.

GeneChing

02-08-2017, 10:32 AM

Indies, Newcomers Dominate Hong Kong Film Award Nominations (http://variety.com/2017/film/asia/newcomers-hong-kong-film-award-nominations-1201981030/)

Patrick Frater
Asia Bureau Chief

http://i0.wp.com/pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/trivisa.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C700px%2C390px&resize=670%2C377&ssl=1
COURTESY OF MEDIA ASIA
FEBRUARY 7, 2017 | 10:23PM PT
Movies with the strongest local themes dominated the nominations for the Hong Kong Film Awards, with first feature “Soul Mate” by actor director Derek Tsang (aka Tsang Kwok-cheung) emerging on top.

Nominations were announced Tuesday ahead of a ceremony set for April 9, shortly before the beginning of the 41st Hong Kong International Film Festival. Last year the best film was “Ten Years,” a futuristic imagining of Hong Kong under increasing Chinese influence was the controversial winner.

“Soul Mate” garnered 12 nominations (including best film, best director and best new director for Tsang). Hong Kong crime thriller “Cold War 2” claimed ten nominations.

Behind it, “The Mermaid,” Stephen Chow’s eco fantasy which a year ago broke box office records in mainland China and Hong Kong, earned eight nominations. That put it on a par with Hong Kong indie films “Weeds on Fire” and “Mad World” also with eight nominations. “Trivisa,” which boasts three aspiring directors, collected seven. “Trivisa” was recently named as best film by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.

2017 Hong Kong Film Awards Nominations

Best film
“Soul Mate,” “Trivisa,” “The Mermaid,” “Weeds on Fire,” “Cold War 2”

Best director
“Trivisa,” “The Mermaid,” “Soul Mate,” “Three,” “Mad World”

Best screenplay
“The Mermaid,” “Mad World,” “Cold War 2,” “Trivisa,” “Soul Mate”

Best actor
Tony Leung Ka-fai (“Cold War 2”,) Gordon Lam (“Trivisa”,) Francis Ng (“Shed Skin Papa”,) Richie Jen (“Trivisa”,) Shawn Yue (“Mad World”)

Best actress
Tang Wei (“Book of Love 2”,) Zhou Dongyu (“Soul Mate”,) Ma Sichun (“Soul Mate”,) Kara Wai (“Happiness”,) Nina Paw (“Show Me Your Love”)

Best supporting actor
Eric Tsang (“Mad World”,) Ng Man-tat (“The Menu”,) Liu Kai-chi (“Weeds on Fire”,) Philip Keung (“Trivisa”,) Paul Chun (“Book of Love”)

Best supporting actress
Fish Liew (“Sisterhood”,) Janice Man (“Cold War 2”,) Kitty Zhang (“The Mermaid”,) Charmaine Fong (“Mad World”,) Elaine Jin (“Mad World”)

Best new performer
Jelly Lin (“The Mermaid”,) Tony Wu (“Weeds on Fire”,) Jennifer Yu (“Sisterhood”,) Hedwig Tam (“Weeds on Fire”,) James Ng (“Happiness”,)

Best cinematography
“Cold War 2,” “Soul Mate,” “Three,” “See You Tomorrow,” “Weeds on Fire”

Best film editing
“See You Tomorrow,” “Trivisa,” “Operation Mekong,” “Cold War 2,” “Soul Mate”

Best art direction
“Sword Master,” “The Mermaid,” “Soul Mate,” “See You Tomorrow,” “The Monkey King 2”

Best costume and make-up design
“See You Tomorrow,” “League of Gods,” “Soul Mate,” “Sword Master,” “The Monkey King 2”

Best action choreography
“Operation Mekong,” “Cold War 2,” “Sword Master,” “Call of Heroes,” “The Monkey King 2”

Best original film score
“Weeds on Fire,” “See You Tomorrow,” “Soul Mate,” “Mad World,” “Cold War 2”

Best original song
“Soul Mate,” “The Mermaid,” “Weeds on Fire,” “Happiness,” “See You Tomorrow”

Best sound design
“Sword Master,” “See You Tomorrow,” “The Monkey King 2,” “Cold War 2,” “Operation Mekong”

Best visual effects
“The Mermaid,” “Operation Mekong,” “Sword Master,” “Cold War 2,” “The Monkey King 2”

Best new director
“Mad World,” “Soul Mate,” “Line Walker,” “Happiness,” “Weeds on Fire”

Best film from mainland China and Taiwan
“Godspeed,” “Chongqing Hot Pot,” “The Road to Mandalay,” “Mr Six,” “I Am Not Madame Bovary.”

The Mermaid (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69162-The-Mermaid)
Sword Master (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67118-Sword-Master)
Call of Heroes (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69373-Call-of-Heroes)
The Monkey King 2 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67299-Monkey-King-2)

GeneChing

11-07-2017, 09:45 AM

San Diego Asian Film Festival 2017: A Villainess, Hustler with Stress and a Cop Under Duress (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1386) by Dr. Craig Reid

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
San Diego Asian Film Festival (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55545-San-Diego-Asian-Film-Festival)

GeneChing

03-27-2018, 02:37 PM

Hong Kong star Louis Koo finally wins best actor award after 25 years (http://www.asiaone.com/entertainment/hong-kong-star-louis-koo-finally-wins-best-actor-award-after-25-years)

http://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/styles/700x500/public/original_images/Mar2018/28752485_162989281069864_2891631833483575296_n1-770x770.jpg?itok=OPCZp__z
PHOTO: Instagram/LouisKhoo

SETO KIT YAN
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Mar 21, 2018

Louis Koo has finally won his very first best actor award after 25 years of making movies. And it was at the 12th Asian Film Awards, held at The Venetian Macao in Macau on March 17.

“I’ve appeared in over 200 movies, and this is the first time I’ve won an award,” Koo said, while accepting his award.

As one of the most prolific and highest-earning film actors in Hong Kong, Koo is rarely considered a film award contender and has garnered fewer than 10 nominations over the years.

http://www.asiaone.com/sites/default/files/inline/images/736_1521622253.jpg
Photo: Weibo/Louis Koo

The popular Hong Kong actor nabbed the award for his role as a cop seeking vengeance for his missing daughter in action flick Paradox (2017), which is the third instalment of the SPL: Sha Po Lang franchise.

Koo, 47, beat South Korea’s Kim Yoon-seok (1987: When The Day Comes), Thailand’s Sukollawat Kanarot (Malila: The Farewell Flower), India’s Rajkummar Rao (Newton), and China’s Duan Yihong (The Looming Storm) to nab the much-coveted acting prize.

The famously-reticent heartthrob is the second Hong Kong actor to win the award. The first was Hong Kong’s most-decorated film actor Tony Leung Chiu Wai, who won in 2008 for his role as a special agent in the spy thriller Lust, Caution.

昨晚導演會春茗，由小红姐頒發最佳男主角獎項给我倍感開心！

The ferociously action-packed Paradox, which was directed by Wilson Yip with action direction by Sammo Hung, also won for Best Action film.

Meanwhile, Koo is also in the running for best actor for his Paradox role at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards, which will take place at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Kowloon on April 15. He will be up against Ronald Cheng (Concerto Of The Bully), Andy Lau (Shock Wave), Tian Zhuang zhuang (Love Education), and Ling Man-lung (Tomorrow Is Another Day).

Koo’s next big cinema project will be the sci-fi epic Warriors Of Future. He will produce and star in the Hong Kong-China co-production about a meteorite crashing on an Earth bringing with it a fast-growing alien lifeform.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoO-fSUekZE

THREADS:
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Paradox (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70354-Sha-Po-Lang-3-Paradox)

GeneChing

09-04-2018, 09:56 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moUJBesANoY

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Hidden Man (邪不压正) (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68590-Hidden-Man-(%26%2337034%3B%26%2319981%3B%26%2321387%3B%26%232 7491%3B))

GeneChing

09-07-2018, 08:20 AM

Shadow by Zhang Yimou (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70319-Shadow-by-Zhang-Yimou) is picking up buzz. It impressed at the Venice (technically not among the Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards) but I'm copying this there anyway). Eager to see how it does at TIFF (https://www.tiff.net/tiff/shadow/).

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 / 2:28 PM / UPDATED 15 HOURS AGO
Zhang Yimou unleashes Shakespearean martial arts epic in Venice (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-filmfestival-venice-zhang-yimou/zhang-yimou-unleashes-shakespearean-martial-arts-epic-in-venice-idUSKCN1LM361)
Hanna Rantala
2 MIN READ

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) - Zhang Yimou, the Chinese director of “The Great Wall”, “The House of Flying Daggers” and “Raise the Red Lantern”, brought a Shakespearean martial arts epic to Venice on Thursday where he was awarded for his contributions to filmmaking.

Set in a royal court of ancient China, “Ying” (“Shadow”) is the story of a man who acts as a body double for the king’s military commander as he must choose whether to keep the peace or declare war on a rival city state.

“In Chinese culture there must have been numerous cases where body doubles were used but their stories have not been told, certainly not in Chinese cinema, so I have wanted to do that for many years,” said Zhang, who also directed the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

http://s3.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20180906&t=2&i=1301597344&r=LYNXNPEE85245&w=940
The 75th Venice International Film Festival - Photocall for the out of competition film "Ying" (Shadow) and for Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award - Venice, Italy, September 6, 2018 - Director Zhang Yimou receives Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Actor Zheng Kai, who plays the king in “Shadow” as a man at the center of court intrigue in the mould of Macbeth or King Lear, described the role as a step up from his appearance in “The Great Wall”, Zhang’s 2016 film that starred Matt Damon.

“The last time I was the man standing beside the king ... and this time I am the king. So it’s kind of a promotion for me,” Zheng said.

Director Zhang has worked female stars such as Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, and in “Shadow”, he cast Guan Xiaotong as the king’s sister who refuses to be treated as his property.

“Guan’s character represents a type of a role of a younger woman, a young woman of today (a) character who calls the shots. Her fate is not decided by the games played by men, she follows her own interests to assert her dignity,” Zhang said in an interview.

Zhang, who has won two Golden Lions at the festival in the past, was given the Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award whose previous recipients include Al Pacino, Spike Lee and Sylvester Stallone.

“Every time I come back to Venice it’s like coming home,” he said in his acceptance speech.

“Shadow” screened out-of-competition at the Venice Film Festival which ends on Saturday.

Writing by Hanna Rantala and Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Richard Chang

GeneChing

11-02-2018, 08:29 AM

Our annual report - READ San Diego Asian Film Festival 2018: A Detective, A Teacher and A Ronin’s Student (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1448) by Craig Reid

http://www.kungfumagazine.com/admin/site_images/KungfuMagazine/upload/6410_DEE-4.jpg

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70263)
Big Brother (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70630)
Killing (Zan 斬) (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71044)
San Diego Asian Film Festival (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55545-San-Diego-Asian-Film-Festival)

GeneChing

01-17-2019, 08:33 AM

Not an Asian Film Festival (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards), but Zhang Yimou's international clout makes One Second (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71172-One-Second-by-Zhang-Yimou)worthy of note. Anyone know any other of these films?

FILM FESTIVALS JANUARY 17, 2019 5:26AM PT

Berlin Adds ‘Vice,’ New Films by Zhang Yimou and Andre Techine to Official Lineup (https://variety.com/2019/film/festivals/berlin-film-festival-vice-andre-techine-zhang-yimou-1203110409/)
By ROBERT MITCHELL

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2018/12/vice-8.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: MATT KENNEDY

Five new titles, including the latest films from Zhang Yimou and Andre Techine, have joined the official selection of this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Adam McKay’s “Vice” has also been added, but will screen out of competition.

“Vice” has already won a Golden Globe for star Christian Bale’s portrayal of former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and picked up six BAFTA nominations last week, including for Bale, supporting actor Sam Rockwell and supporting actress Amy Adams. The festival screening will mark its German premiere.

The new additions to the main competition lineup include the world premieres of Zhang’s “One Second” and Nadav Lapid’s “Synonyms.” Techine’s “Farewell to the Night,” which stars Catherine Deneuve, also receives its world premiere at the Berlinale but will play out of competition. Alan Elliott’s documentary “Amazing Grace,” about Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, will screen out of competition as well, receiving its European premiere.

Berlin announced the additions Thursday, finalizing its Competition and Berlinale Special sections for the festival’s 69th edition in February. The competition section features 23 titles, with 17 competing for the Golden Bear. Seven of the 17 competing titles were directed by female filmmakers, including Lone Scherfig’s “The Kindness of Strangers,” which will open the festival on Feb. 7.

The other competition titles are Marie Kreutzer’s “The Ground Beneath My Feet”; Wang Xiaoshuai’s “So Long, My Son”; Isabel Coixet’s “Elisa & Marcela”; Fatih Akin’s “The Golden Glove”; Teona Strugar Mitevska’s “God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya”; Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God”; Angela Schanelec’s “I Was at Home, But”; Emin Alper’s “A Tale of Three Sisters”; Agnieszka Holland’s “Mr. Jones”; Wang Quan’an’s “Ondog”; Claudio Giovannesi’s “Piranhas”; Denis Cote’s “Ghost Town Anthology”; Nora Fingscheidt’s “System Crasher”; and Hans Petter Moland’s “Out Stealing Horses.”

Wagner Moura’s “Marighella,” Agnes Varda’s documentary “Varda by Agnes,” and Yuval Adler’s “The Operative” all receive out-of-competition screenings alongside “Vice,” “Farewell to the Night,” and “Amazing Grace.”

Three titles have been added to the Berlinale Special program, including the world premieres of new documentaries by Jean Michel Vecchiet (“Peter Lindbergh – Women Stories”) and Cordula Kablitz-Post (“You Only Live Once – Die Toten Hosen On Tour”). Also added to the section is Ritesh Batra’s “Photograph,” which receives its European premiere in Berlin.

The 69th Berlin Film Festival runs Feb. 7-17.

GeneChing

01-17-2019, 09:13 AM

So deserved. Sammo rocks.

Hong Kong Festival: Martial Arts Legend Sammo Hung Named Filmmaker in Focus (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hong-kong-festival-martial-arts-legend-sammo-hung-named-filmmaker-focus-1176546)
4:46 AM PST 1/16/2019 by Karen Chu

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2019/01/sammo.jpg
Courtesy of Hong Kong International Film Festival
Sammo Hung

The retrospective will feature 10 classics of the 'Martial Law' star who was instrumental in shaping the golden age of Hong Kong cinema.
Hong Kong action cinema legend Sammo Hung has been named the Filmmaker in Focus of the 43rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

Best known to U.S. audiences for headlining CBS primetime show Martial Law in the late 1990s, Hung has a storied career spanning over half a century starring in, action choreographing, producing and directing more than 250 films. He is one of the screen icons representative of the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s.

The HKIFF will host a retrospective during the upcoming edition showcasing 10 of Hung's most celebrated works, as well as a "Face to Face" seminar March 30 where he will share his views and recount his experiences in the film industry. An accompanying commemorative book will also be published.

Born in 1952, Hung was trained from the age of nine in the Peking opera genre at Hong Kong's China Drama Academy under Master Yu Jim-yuen and was the leading member of the Academy's Seven Little Fortunes performing troupe, which later went on to transform Hong Kong cinema with the acrobatic and daredevil action choreography designed and performed by its members. It also counted Jackie Chan among its ranks.

Hung made his first onscreen appearance at the age of 14 as a stunt performer. Armed with his skills in martial arts, acrobatics and dance, he soon became a stalwart of the wuxia cinema popularized by the Shaw Brothers Studio, dreaming up and executing breathtaking action sequences as stunt man, stunt coordinator and action director. He was given his big break as a leading man by rival studio Golden Harvest in Shaolin Plot in 1977 and made his directorial debut the next year with The Iron-Fisted Monk.

Hung's work in the 1980s helped create a new style of Hong Kong action movies, ushering in the immensely popular action comedy genre, and the Chinese vampire (jiangshi) horror-comedy subgenre, in particular with Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980). Set in the urban milieu, the fight sequences in such films as the Lucky Star series (1982-1985), which co-starred Jackie Chan, and Wheels on Meals (1984) are high-energy and realistic and complemented by comedic elements.

He also helped make a star out of Michelle Yeoh when he produced the first film in which she received top billing, the police drama Yes, Madam (1985). In 1998, Hung became the first East Asian to headline a U.S. primetime TV series with the CBS surprise hit Martial Law, which showcased his martial arts expertise.

Deferentially referred to as "Big big brother" in the Hong Kong film industry (with Chan being called "big brother"), Hung formed the Sammo Hung Stunt Team in the 1970s to help his former China Drama Academy classmates and utilize their talents on screen, dominating Hong Kong action cinema in subsequent decades. He also founded a number of film companies, the most successful of which was D&B Films, which he co-founded with Dickson Poon and John Shum in 1983 and that became the powerhouse that rivaled Cinema City at the box office during the 1980s.

Hung's contribution to Hong Kong action cinema has been considerable, which is not only evident in the genre's popularity and worldwide influence, but also in the number of accolades he has received. He won his first Hong Kong Film Award for best action choreography for The Prodigal Son in 1981, and subsequently reclaimed the honor three times with Ip Man (2008), Ip Man 2 (2010) and Paradox (2017). Renowned for the physical feats he choreographed and performed as much as for his acting prowess, he has been twice named best actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards with Carry on Pickpocket (1982) and Painted Faces (1988).

The retrospective at the HKIFF, which will be held from March 18 through April 1, will feature Hung's action classics as well as dramatic efforts, including Encounters of the Spooky Kind, The Prodigal Son, Winners & Sinners (1982), Eastern Condors (1987), Painted Faces, Eight Taels of Gold (1989) and Ip Man 2 (2010).

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Sammo Hung (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55110-Sammo-Hung)

GeneChing

03-18-2019, 07:40 AM

Hong Kong Action Legend Sammo Hung on 50 Years of Blood, Sweat and Sacrifice: “Every Nerve Ending Has to Be in Play" (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sammo-hung-50-years-blood-sweat-sacrifice-1191926)
5:30 PM PDT 3/17/2019 by Karen Chu

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2019/03/sammohung_2_addvenue.jpg
Sammo Hung at Hong Kong's House 1881

The HKIFF's 2019 "Filmmaker in Focus" looks back on his glory days, diagnoses the industry's current problems and ponders the nature of his fame as an East Asian superstar.
Sammo Hung is a name any fan of Hong Kong action cinema knows and reveres. A pillar of the Hong Kong film industry's golden age in the 1980s, Hung used his creativity and childhood training in Peking opera to craft breathtaking choreography and unforgettable physical feats on screen, reshaping action cinema worldwide.

An award-winning actor, director, studio mogul and star-maker — in addition to his personal action resume — the 67-year-old legend has been named the Filmmaker in Focus of this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF). In addition to publishing a commemorative book dedicated to his work, the event will showcase 10 of Hung's seminal films — such as Eastern Condors, The Valiant Ones, Winners and Sinners and Encounters of the Spooky Kind.

Still passionate about filmmaking after a career spanning more than half a century, Hung's enthusiasm that was on full display when he sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to chat about fame, a pesky new-generation of actors, Hong Kong's action cinema tradition and cursing.

You started working in films in the 1960s, and have one of the most distinguished careers in the Hong Kong film industry. How do you feel about being named the Filmmaker in Focus at the 2019 HKIFF?

It caught me by surprise, but I’m very happy for this opportunity to let the Hong Kong audience be reminded of this fat old man who risked his life many times on film. I don’t want to boast about any contribution, but I was part of the group of people who toiled for the film industry. It makes me happy to know that the audience has a chance to remember the old days.

In the 1980s and 1990s, you helped popularized the action comedy genre, gave rise to the Chinese hopping vampire (goeng-si) sub-genre, and set up film companies that produced many Hong Kong cinema classics. Looking back, what do you see as your proudest achievement?

Not any particular one film. I’m proud of all my films. I’ve enjoyed great success in many different genres. I have been very blessed to have so many ideas and to continuously produce successful films. I’m very thankful to the heavens for giving me the wisdom. Since the first film I directed, [The Iron-Fisted Monk (1977)], all of my films have done well. I can call it luck, but I’ve also worked very hard. So I always tell my children, “don’t blame your father for going to work making movies and not spending time with you when you were small. If I didn’t work as hard as I did, I couldn’t have given you what you have now.” You can’t have your cake and eat it. There was nothing we could do. At that time, everyone had to figure out a way to provide for their families, so that the children didn’t have to starve and suffer. Most of what we did was give physical labor — blood and sweat. We have been quite lucky.

Did you ever dream about stardom of this scale when you first started in the movies over 50 years ago?

Even now, I haven’t given much thought to superstardom. I’m still quite surprised by my fame — even now, when I go to, for example, to a rural area in Indonesia or India, some people know who I am. I never aspired to be a screen hero, all I ever wanted was for people to respect what I do.

One year, I went to Universal Studios in Hollywood. I got there early, and was waiting at the gate. A lot of tourists were arriving, and many of them asked to take pictures with me. An elderly American couple next to us watched flummoxed, and at one point they couldn’t contain themselves anymore. So they asked, “Excuse me, what do you for a living? How come so many people are asking to take pictures with you?” I told them, “I’m a star! I’m a big movie star! But in Hong Kong!” [laughs] What I really hope is for the younger stars that I helped discover to have that kind of recognition. That’d give me comfort.

Aside from acting, you have been a director, producer, action choreographer, actor, studio owner, and founder and leader of a stunt team. Which of these roles do you think is most representative of you?

I think what describes me best is director. As a director, I can control every aspect of a film, how the actors should behave, how the story should go. I used to try and find inspirations everywhere – I would go to the airport or train station and just study people, the way they moved and interacted and their expressions. But I can’t do that now, I’d be bombarded by people with their phones — selfie requests.

You made your directorial debut in 1977. But between Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997) to The Bodyguard (2016), there was a period of almost 20 years that you didn’t direct. Why?

I didn’t like the ways things had become. It was a time when actors were so in demand, that with a call time of 8am, they’d tell you they could only arrive at noon from another job. After two hours in makeup, they’d say they’d have to leave at 4pm. There was a film I made that two actors were tied together back to back, and they didn’t actually see each other’s faces for the whole shoot because it was so rushed. I just didn’t want to deal with those kinds of situations, so I stopped directing. I have a bit of a temper. That kind of thing really ****es me off.

Also, I think it takes a sense of childlike wonder to direct films and create a story. You have to believe in it yourself. Somewhere along the way I’ve lost that.

You’ve created numerous iconic action scenes and won best action choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards four times. Which action scene do you remember the most?

Many action scenes I’ve done were rather good. Such as The Prodigal Son (1981), Eastern Condors (1987), even the first film I directed, The Iron-Fisted Monk. Looking back, I’d say many action scenes in my films have been quite good.

Apart from receiving awards for your action work, you have been a two-time best actor winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Which is more challenging, the physical or the emotive aspect in acting?

It was definitely the physical, action aspect that was more demanding. Every bone, muscle, tendon, nerve ending has to be in play in an action scene. Whereas to portray emotion, it depends very much on the person you’re acting with. There were times when I acted in a scene, and it didn’t feel right no matter how I did it. Then I realized I wasn’t getting anything from the person acting opposite me; there was no connection or interaction, so the scene didn’t come together.

A large part of your career was in comedy as well, including the recent film A Lifetime Treasure (2019). What do you enjoy most about the genre?

I can’t say I particularly enjoy acting in comedies. What I really enjoy is thinking up a good gag. But it was a different time, there was no WeChat, no social media. Now once the film is released, everyone will spoil the gag on social media, so it won’t work anymore. I made a cameo in A Lifetime Treasure because I’m good friends with the director Andrew Lam, who has been in the film business for a long time. I see how the Hong Kong film industry is doing now, and Andrew’s film is a very local, Hong Kong film, so I thought I’d help out when he asked me.

continued next post

GeneChing

03-18-2019, 07:40 AM

In the late 1990s, you went to the U.S. to play the lead in the CBS series Martial Law, which had the distinction of being the first prime time hit show starring an East Asian actor. What was most memorable about your U.S. career?

It was a kind of miracle for Martial Law to have happened. I played a cop from China in the series. But at the end of the day, I realized that American writers weren’t able to write the experience and existence of an immigrant cop from China living and working in the U.S.

You founded the Sammo Hung Stuntmen Association in the 1970s, which was instrumental to the global success of Hong Kong action cinema. What are your thoughts on the future of Hong Kong action filmmaking?

Look at the younger generation in Hong Kong now: Where can you find kids who would learn and practice martial arts? There will be no new generation of action stars in Hong Kong now. When we were young, we looked up to the action stars on the big screen and aspired to be them someday. We trained and practiced. And now maybe a kid practices martial arts but then becomes a salesperson, which he can be anyway without any martial arts training. There is no one for him to look up to. Kids don’t dream of becoming action stars in movies anymore.

Martial arts is still practiced in China, but if you look at Chinese martial artists, it took time for them to have a breakthrough. For example, Jet Li, he was in Hong Kong for a long time before he became a star in Tsui Hark’s films. And Wu Jing [actor-director of Chinese mega-blockbusters Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth] had been jobbing in the Hong Kong film industry for almost two decades before he finally made it to the top.

As a local industry champion, can you share more of your assessment of the present state of the Hong Kong film industry?

The state of the Hong Kong film industry now is lousy! The local studios, they don’t want to invest in big-budget films. We used to shoot one single scene in a month; now a whole film is shot in 11 days! And we used to spend HK$2-3 million shooting in one day; now no local film has that kind of budget. I’m not saying a big budget guarantees a good film, but we really don’t have that kind of scale anymore. What we need is a good, solid Hong Kong action film, the kind that made our mark in the world in the past. No one wants to invest in those films anymore. And Chinese co-productions, we only do those because we need the Chinese market, and if we don’t co-produce with Chinese companies, we can’t show our films in China. But Chinese co-productions can’t capture the genuine essence of the Hong Kong action film, and there are too many systematic limitations with Chinese co-productions.

Do you think Hong Kong film can maintain its unique position and idiosyncrasies? How can that legacy be preserved?

It is very difficult. I truly believe the Hong Kong government should do more to help the film industry. Look at South Korea. Twenty or thirty years ago, there was no film industry there. But the South Korean government gave it a big push, and now Korean films are on the world stage and everyone is watching Korean TV dramas. The policies the Hong Kong government has set for the local film industry, like when they give HK$2 million [for first-time directors to make a feature film, which recently was raised to HK$5.5 million] – what kind of film can be made with only HK$2 million? They are spending millions on events like the film festival, which is a very good thing, but if they don’t help preserve the Hong Kong film industry, they might as well give those millions to buy lunchboxes for the poor. Hong Kong cinema represents us.

The Hong Kong government announced an injection of HK$1 billion into the Film Development Fund, do you think that would help?

It depends on how they use that money. I’d say they should give me HK$300 million to make a film [chuckles].

With your experience in the film industry, have you taken up any advisory role for the Hong Kong government, such as for the Film Development Council?

No one has asked me, and I’m not sure if I’d want to. I’d only curse at people, and point out whatever is wrong today. I wouldn’t want to be like a nagging old lady, complaining all the time.

Do you blame the audience for their lack of interest in local films?

No, I don’t. If a film is bad, you can’t force people to go see it. What can you do, beat them with a stick?

You have cut down your film work in recent years, and have said that you enjoy spending time with your grandchildren. Do you plan to retire completely?

As long as I can still think, eat, sleep, walk, and be useful, I don’t think about retiring. I have the gifts of being able to think, eat, sleep, walk, and those are gifts from heaven, so I wouldn’t want to waste them and say I quit.

Have you thought about what you’ll share with the public at the Filmmaker in Focus seminar?

I’ll curse and swear at them [deadpans, then laughs].

THREADS
Sammo Hung (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55110-Sammo-Hung)
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)

GeneChing

03-22-2019, 07:44 AM

Hold the phone here...The Last Samurai (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?21772) is NOT Kurosawa. :mad:

...unless it's the Mifune documentary (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69796-Mifune-The-Last-Samurai), in which case it's related. :o

MARCH 22, 2019 1:51AM PT
Beijing Festival Unveils ‘Max Max,’ ‘Bourne,’ Kurosawa Screening Series (https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/beijing-festival-first-titles-in-lineup-1203169934/)
By REBECCA DAVIS

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2017/11/mad-max-fury-road-2.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: VILLAGE ROADSHOW/KOBAL/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

The upcoming Beijing International Film Festival will give space to high profile Hollywood franchise movies with screenings of all films in both the “Mad Max” and “Bourne Identity” series. Classic Hollywood fare will also feature prominently in a line-up that, as usual, features an eclectic grab bag of titles.

The local government-backed festival opens April 13 and runs through April 20.
The list of films nominated in the festival’s competition section and jury members has not yet been released. Winners of the Tiantan (“Temple of Heaven”) Award will be announced at the closing ceremony.

Since this year is the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, the theme of both the opening and closing ceremonies will be “home and country,” the festival said on its website, so as to make the event “a birthday blessing for the motherland.”

This gift is so far scheduled to include “Mad Max” (1979), “Mad Max 2” (1981), “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome” (1985), and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), which never received a China release, as well as all five “Bourne” films starring Matt Damon. Damon is popular in China having starred in Zhang Yimou’s “The Great Wall,” the most ambitious China-U.S. co-production to-date, and “The Martian.”

The line-up also includes a number of old Hollywood films such as “Gone with the Wind” and John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach,” as well as a selection of French New Wave titles including Agnes Varda’s “Cleo from 5 to 7” (1962) and Eric Rohmer’s “Pauline at the Beach” (1983). There will also be tributes to Akira Kurosawa (“The Last Samurai,” “Ras****n”) and films of works by beloved wuxia novelist Louis Cha, known by his penname Jin Yong, who passed away in October, including Wong Kar-Wai’s “Ashes of Time.”

A “Belt and Road” themed section is so far said to feature six Indian titles, including Netflix’s 2018 “Love Per Square Foot,” three Indonesian titles, and a number of festival films. These include drug crime thriller “Birds of Passage,” which was Colombia’s Oscar entry this year, Paraguay’s “The Heiresses,” and Peruvian drama “Retablo,” which both screened at Berlin in 2018. Also in the line-up are Iranian drama “3 Faces,” which was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2018 and won for best screenplay, and Italy’s Oscar entry “Dogman,” which faced off with the former on the Croisette, winning best actor.

The Beijing festival has recruited 200 fans to attend the opening and closing ceremonies, staying within designated zones, at the venue an hour’s drive outside of central Beijing. The top criterion for selection is that participants “adore the motherland and obey the law.”

GeneChing

06-04-2019, 08:05 AM

Shanghai Festival to Open With WWII Epic 'The Eight Hundred,' Wu Jing to Serve as Ambassador (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/shanghai-festival-open-wwii-epic-wu-jing-serve-as-ambassador-1215456)
1:38 AM PDT 6/4/2019 by Patrick Brzeski

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2019/05/img_8568.png
Huayi Brothers Media
'The Eight Hundred'

Notably, given Donald Trump's ongoing U.S.-China trade war, not a single film from North America is included in the Chinese festival's main competition sections this year.
The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), China's most established cinema event, has unveiled the opening titles and competition selection for its 2019 edition.

The festival will kick off on June 15 with a double bill of Chinese WWII epic The Eight Hundred and local drama Beautiful Voyage from filmmaker Zhang Jiarui.

Landing The Eight Hundred as an opener is something of a coup for the Shanghai event. The film, produced by Huayi Brothers with a lavish budget of over $80 million, is the first Chinese action film shot entirely on Imax cameras, and it is expected to become one of the country's biggest event movies of the summer when it opens wide on July 5.

Chinese action hero Wu Jing, star of Chinese mega-blockbuster Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth, will bring the star power to Shanghai's opening red carpet, serving as the event's official 2019 ambassador. English actor Tom Hiddleston, already well known to local filmgoers as Loki from the Avengers franchise, will help wrap up the festivities by attending the closing ceremony on June 24.

Other stars slated to walk the carpet and participate in SIFF events include X-Men star Nicholas Hoult, Milla Jovovich, Taiwanese actor Chen Bolin, Japanese stars Ayaka Miyoshi and Mao Inoue, and a slew of Chinese talent, including actresses Yao Chen, Ni Ni, Deng Jiajia, Zhou Dongyu and Yong Mei.

Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, winner of the 2014 Cannes Palme d’Or, is presiding over the jury that will decide the winners of SIFF's annual Golden Goblet Awards.

Ceylan is joined on the jury by Chinese actress Zhao Tao, Italian director Paolo Genovese (whose 2016 film Perfect Strangers was remade as Chinese thriller Kill Mobile, earning $93 million last year), Russia’s Aleksey German Jr. (director of the period biopic Dovlatov), Indian hitmaker Rajkumar Hirani (3 Idiots), Mexican producer Nicolas Celis (Roma) and Chinese actor Wang Jingchun (winner of this year's Berlin Silver Bear for best actor).

Shanghai's competition lineup includes a broad sampling of world cinema, with a discernible emphasis on filmmaking from countries located along Chinese president Xi Jinping's geopolitical Belt and Road infrastructure and soft-power project. Notably, given the ongoing U.S.-China trade war and controversy over Canada's arrest of a top executive from Huawei, not a single film from North America made Shanghai's selection this year — a sharp contrast from recent years.

Main competition titles include Russian director Pavel Lungin's war drama Leaving Afghanistan (also known as Brother), Iranian film Castle of Dreams, German family drama Many Happy Returns, Chinese crime film Vortex and Mexican actor Gael García Bernal's directorial debut Chicuarotes, which recently bowed at Cannes (the full SIFF competition lineup is below).

The festival's Asian New Talent Awards, which honor emerging film professionals from the region, will be handed out by a jury headed by Chinese star director Ning Hao (Crazy Alien).

SIFF's documentary and animation sections (see lineups below), meanwhile, will be assessed by juries lead by Russian director Viktor Kossakovsky (Aquarela) and Irish filmmaker Tomm Moore (The Breadwinner, The Secret of Kells), respectively.

Altogether, SIFF will screen approximately 500 films across its key competition categories, country specific sidebars and historical retrospectives. Festival organizers said they received more than 3,900 film submissions from 112 countries and regions this year. Local state media were keen to note that nearly half of the applications, over 1,800 titles from 53 countries, came from countries and territories participating in Xi's Belt and Road Initiative.

Below is the Shanghai festival's lineup.

Main Competition Section

BROTHERHOOD (Russia), by Pavel Lungin

CASTLE OF DREAMS (Iran), by Reza Mirkarimi

CHICUAROTES (Mexico), by Gael García Bernal

THE GREAT SPIRIT (Italy), by Sergio Rubini

INHALE-EXHALE (Georgia/ Russia/ Sweden),by Dito Tsintsadze

LANE 4 (Brazil), by Emiliano Cunha

LITTLE NIGHTS, LITTLE LOVE (Japan), by Rikiya Imaizumi

MANY HAPPY RETURNS (Germany), by Carlos A. Morelli

PACARRETE (Brazil), by Allan Deberton

THE RETURN (China), by QIN Hailu

ROSA (Italy/ Slovenia), by Katja Colja

SHYRAKSHY: GUARDIAN OF THE LIGHT (Kazakhstan), by Yermek Tursunov

SPRING TIDE (China), by YANG Lina

TREES UNDER THE SUN (India) by Dr. Biju

VORTEX (China), by Jacky Gan

Documentary Film Section

BRIDGES OF TIME (Latvia/ Lithuania/ Estonia), By Kristīne Briede and Audrius Stonys

THE FOURTH KINGDOM (Spain), by Adán Aliaga and Àlex Lora

IT'S ALL GOOD (Venezuela / Germany) by Tuki Jencquel

MUTE FIRE (Colombia), by Federico Arteaga

THE SOUND OF DALI (China), by ZHANG Yang

Animation Film Section

DILILI IN PARIS (France / Belgium / Germany), by Michel Ocelot)

LOTTE AND THE LOST DRAGONS (Estonia), by Janno Põldma

LOUIS AND LUCA – MISSION TO THE MOON (Norway), by Rasmus A. Sivertsen

RIDE YOUR WAVE (Japan), by Masaaki Yuasa

SPYCIES (China), by ZHANG Zhiyi and Guillaume Ivernel

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Wu Jing (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71240-Wu-Jing)
The Eight Hundred (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71303-The-Eight-Hundred)

GeneChing

06-14-2019, 07:28 AM

JUNE 14, 2019 3:41AM PT
Shanghai Film Festival Abruptly Pulls Opening Film ‘The Eight Hundred’ (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/shanghai-film-festival-pulls-opening-film-the-eight-hundred-huayi-bros-1203243335/)
By PATRICK FRATER
Asia Bureau Chief

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/the800.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: BAI XIAOYAN/HUAYI BROS.

The Shanghai Film Festival has abruptly yanked its opening movie, the $80 million patriotic war drama “The Eight Hundred,” on the eve of the fest’s kickoff, Variety has confirmed.

The cancellation of the Saturday premiere was made for unspecified “technical reasons,” which is often a euphemism for censorship problems, although a source close to the project told Variety that that is not the issue in this case and that the film had successfully passed the content censorship stage. “Technical reasons” were also cited in the withdrawal of Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” from the Berlin Film Festival in February.

While Chinese authorities have withdrawn films from other film festivals – two were pulled from the Berlinale, including “One Second” – it’s unusual for a Chinese-made film to be yanked from a Chinese festival.

“The Shanghai International Film Festival opening film screening of ‘The Eight Hundred’ originally planned for June 15 has been canceled due to technical reasons,” the festival said. “For the inconvenience this brings to all the guests and media, we respectfully hope you can understand and hope everyone will continue to support us.”

“The Eight Hundred,” from well-established studio Huayi Bros., is directed by Guan Hu (“Mr. Six”) and centers on the sacrifice of a ragtag group of Chinese soldiers in 1937 Shanghai as imperial Japanese troops advanced. The theme would appear to be in keeping with the patriotic message that the Beijing regime wants to promulgate this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic.

But the source close to the film said that “The Eight Hundred” might have fallen victim to political concerns not directly related to censorship – namely, the Chinese government’s wish not to antagonize Japan at the moment. The two countries are currently on good terms even as China and the U.S., Japan’s main ally, escalate their trade war.

“The Eight Hundred” was expected to have been a showcase for China’s growing filmmaking prowess. Among several firsts, it is the first film to have been substantially shot with Imax digital cameras. The technical crew on the film features a mixed Chinese and international team, including Chinese cinematographer Cao Yu (“Kekexili,” “Legend of the Demon Cat”), American action director Glenn Boswell (“The Matrix,” “I, Robot”), original music by the U.K.’s Rupert Gregson-Williams (“The Crown,” “Aquaman,” “Wonder Woman”), and Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Tim Crosbie (“X-Men: Days of Future Past”) of Australia.

“The Eight Hundred” has been picked up for North America by CMC Pictures in a deal announced at Cannes. It has also sold to several other Asian countries, and to the U.K. and Germany. After its Shanghai festival screening, it was due to be released in Chinese theaters July 5.

THREADS
The Eight Hundred (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71303-The-Eight-Hundred)
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)

GeneChing

06-17-2019, 07:43 AM

With this post, I'm breaking the Shanghai International Film Festival into its own indie thread (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71333-Shanghai-International-Film-Festival), separate from our Asian Film Festivals and Awards thread (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards).

ASIA JUNE 15, 2019 6:59AM PT
Shanghai Festival Defies Gloom to Open on Upbeat Note (https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/shanghai-festival-defies-gloom-open-upbeat-1203244568/)
By PATRICK FRATER and REBECCA DAVIS

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2019/06/shanghai-night-scene-rexfeatures_9786961g-res.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: SIPA ASIA/SHUTTERSTOCK

The Chinese film industry may not yet have emerged from a “cold winter” production freeze, nor its box office kept pace with 2018. But but those inclement elements did not put a chill on the pageantry at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The opening ceremony for the festival’s 22nd edition went ahead Saturday with the usual red carpet parade, and with the habitual speeches and formalities. But it did so without the scheduled world premiere screening of Guan Hu’s “The Eight Hundred.”

News that the historical war film had been cancelled “for technical reasons” was abruptly circulated just 24 hours earlier — too late for the festival to arrange another new film to take its place. The screening of the second opening film, Chinese drama “Beautiful Voyage,” went forward as planned.

The usual inclement seasonal weather, known locally as “plum rains” held off, permitting a red carpet parade that showcased mainland and Hong Kong stars, top local film makers, and the international jury, headed by Turkey’s much decorated auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

Officials, jury members and stars were called on to praise the festival and its achievements.

The Shanghai Intl Film festival has become “a calling card for the city of Shanghai” and “one of the most influential film festivals in Asia” said Ying Yong, Mayor of Shanghai

“When I look at the previous presidents, it’s a rich history of film, and the great achievements they’ve made in film history and the artistic life they’ve given to the Golden Goblet trophy make me feel really honored,” said Ceylan.

Top Chinese actress Tang Wei as well as stars Shu Qi and Lu Han, who star together in the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster”Shanghai Fortress,” were on hand to present a medley of trailers for the competition films. “After shooting Shanghai Fortress, whenever we come to the city we feel quite emotional and like we should be on a mission,” joked Lu. Other presenters included Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior II”), while Zhang Ziyi (“House of Flying Daggers”) graced the stage in a white gown to present her new film “The Climbers.”

Earlier, the team from “Wild Goose Lake” including actor Liao Fan and Gui Lun Mei were red carpet rock stars. They performed the film’s dance routine on the runway to the tune of “Rasputin.”

Bona Film Group founder and chairman Yu Dong brought with him the biggest entourage of the evening, including producers and talent from two of Bona’s upcoming movies: “The Rescue” and “The Bravest.” “Rescue” director Dante Lam and producer Cindy Leung accompanied star Eddie Peng.

Others on the carpet included producer Terence Chang, “Skyfire” actress Hanna Quinlivinn, producer Ellen Eliasoph, Hong Kong actor Nick Cheung, and actress and Shanghai festival juror Zhao Tao.

GeneChing

06-25-2019, 07:46 AM

This is Berlin, not an Asian Film Fest (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards), but I'm going to use it to start a new thread on Censored Chinese Films (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71359-Censored-Chinese-Films) because there's been a few lately (all the ones I've poached from various other Film Fest threads above).

JUNE 24, 2019 4:42AM PT
Chinese Drama ‘Better Days,’ Yanked From Berlin Lineup, Has Its China Release Canceled (https://variety.com/2019/film/news/better-days-china-release-canceled-withdrawn-berlin-1203251262/)
By REBECCA DAVIS

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/better-days-201914137_1-res-cr.jpg?w=1000&h=563&crop=1
CREDIT: GOODFELLAS PICTURES, FAT KIDS PRODUCTION

Better days may be a long way off yet for the embattled Chinese drama “Better Days,” which has canceled its mainland China release just three days before the film was to hit theaters. The movie was also pulled at the last minute from the Berlin Film festival lineup in February amid tightening control by China’s censorship regime.

Early Monday evening in China, the film’s official Weibo social media account apologized to expectant viewers for the inconvenience, saying: “After considering the level of completion of ‘Better Days’ and our market pre-assessments, and following consultations between the production and distribution parties, the film will not be released on June 27. A new release date will be announced at a later time.”

No other explanation for the cancellation was given. But most industry players attribute it to government interference, particularly in the wake of three other such sudden incidents in the past four months.

Adapted from the novel “Young and Beautiful,” the China-Hong Kong co-production tells the story of a girl who is harassed at school and becomes embroiled in a murder. The film, which contains a scene of violent bullying, stars it-girl Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee, the youngest member of the ultra-popular Chinese boy band TFBoys.

News of the cancellation comes after the film’s director, Derek Kwok-cheung Tsang of Hong Kong, had already made plans to be in Beijing for the premiere and for some low-key promotional activity. Tsang last directed Zhou in her breakout role in the 2016 drama “Soul Mate,” which won her a best actress prize at the 53rd Golden Horse Film Awards. He declined to comment on the cancellation.

Chinese online news source Sina Film reported that “Better Days” had not yet received the “ranking number” or public screening license it needed to open pre-sales and hit theaters.

The incident comes hot on the heels of the high-profile cancellation of Huayi Brothers’ $80 million patriotic war epic “The Eight Hundred” as the opening film at the Shanghai Intl. Film Festival. It was yanked just 24 hours before its big debut.

Zhang Yimou’s Cultural Revolution-era film “One Second” was also pulled from Berlin. And last month, unable to actually pull their film from screening in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard selection, the team for Chinese drama “Summer of Changsha” had to distance themselves from the event and refrain from attending any festival-related events or promotion.

In all instances, official statements cited unspecified “technical reasons” for the film’s troubles – a phrase that has come to be known as a euphemism for government interference.

China last year put the Communist Party’s Propaganda Bureau in charge of regulating films, and numerous industry insiders have complained of trouble getting works past censors who are party bureaucrats with little understanding of the medium.

When “Better Days” was pulled from its Berlin debut in the 14Plus selection in February, its official Weibo account said: “We are very sorry to tell everyone that because of post-production reasons, the film ‘Better Days’ will not be able to attend the 69th Berlin Film Festival in time. We thank the Berlin Festival for its recognition and understanding, and everyone for their support.” It added, however, that the film would be released later in the year, saying, “See you soon.”

Within an hour of the announcement that “Better Days” would not be released this week, more than 50,000 fans responded, most of them commenting: “No matter how long it takes, I’ll wait for you!”

GeneChing

10-16-2019, 03:22 PM

Character Media Announces Nominees For 18th Annual Unforgettable Gala (https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Character-Media-Announces-Nominees-For-18th-Annual-Unforgettable-Gala-20191015)

https://cloudimages.broadwayworld.com/columnpiccloud/21571145171.jpg?ezimgfmt=rs:250x128/rscb1/ng:webp/ngcb1

Character Media announced today the nominees for the 18th Annual Unforgettable Gala. The Gala is the preeminent awards show to recognize Asian American icons and changemakers in the entertainment industry, who are representing the community through their creativity and excellence. Nominees were voted on by Character Media's selection committee of experts, who represent various fields and creative disciplines, including film, television, music, sports, digital technology and philanthropy.

The following are this year's nominees. Additional awards will be announced at a later date.

Actor/Actress in Television:

Daniel Wu - "Into the Badlands"

Jameela Jamil - "The Good Place"

Karen Fukuhara - "The Boys"

Leonardo Nam - "Westworld"

Nico Santos - "Superstore"

Actor/Actress on Film:

Ali Wong - "Always Be My Maybe"

Awkwafina - "The Farewell"

Kumail Nanjiani - "Stuber"

Randall Park - "Always Be My Maybe"

Steven Yeun - "Burning"

Breakout Actor/Actress on Television:

Andrew Koji - "Warrior"

Derek Mio - "The Terror: Infamy"

Greta Lee - "Russian Doll"

Maya Erskine - "Pen15"

Sydney Park - "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists"

Breakout Actor/Actress on Film:

Charles Melton - "The Sun is Also a Star"

Himesh Patel - "Yesterday"

Maya Erskine - "Plus One"

Tiffany Chu - "Ms. Purple"

Viveik Kalra - "Blinded by the Light"

Comic Performance:

Ali Wong - "Always Be My Maybe"

Hasan Minhaj - "Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj"

Jo Koy - "Comin' in Hot"

Ken Jeong - "Ken Jeong: You Complete Me, Ho"

Ronny Chieng - "The Daily Show"

Director:

James Wan - "Aquaman"

Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi - "Free Solo"

Justin Chon - "Ms. Purple"

Lulu Wang - "The Farewell"

Nisha Ganatra - "Late Night"

Digital Influencer:

Bobby Hundreds

Bretman Rock

Jenn Im

Jubilee Media

Steven Lim

The award recipients will be announced at the 18th Annual Unforgettable Gala, held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA, on December 14, 2019.

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Into The Badlands (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?67844-Into-The-Badlands)
The Farewell (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71409-The-Farewell)
Warrior (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68676-Bruce-Lee-s-Warrior)
Aquaman (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70874-Aquaman)

GeneChing

10-28-2019, 08:12 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-qnpQC72gA

THREADS
Jackie Chan tributes (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?37315-Jackie-Chan-tributes)
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)

GeneChing

10-30-2019, 12:08 PM

Z redefines milf. :eek:

Zhang Ziyi is 7 months pregnant and weighs just 58 kg (https://shanghai.ist/2019/10/30/zhang-ziyi-is-7-months-pregnant-and-weighs-just-58-kg/?fbclid=IwAR02GGkaqdcRG-Oc8WsrR0_y0genZoHa-r7zeFledUWXc_F5qJ5Kzgq_vsM)
The 40-year-old actress showed off her baby bump for the first time at a film festival this week
by Alex Linder October 30, 2019 in News

https://i1.wp.com/shanghai.ist/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/zhang-ziyi-pregnant.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1

Superstar Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi caused a sensation this week after revealing that she is pregnant — something that would have been rather difficult to discern had she not told us.

On Weibo, Zhang posted a photo of herself in a black dress showing off her tiny baby bump, adding that she is actually now seven months pregnant and weighs a mere 58 kg (127 lbs), though she noted that she is “still growing.”

Rumors had been circulating that the 40-year-old star was pregnant again. Zhang had been staying out of the public eye of late before making an appearance this week as president of the jury at the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival.

This will be Zhang’s second child with her husband, 48-year-old rocker Wang Feng. The two got married back in 2015. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Zhang’s parents strongly disapproved of the marriage and refused to even say Wang’s name for a time.

Wang also has two children with his second wife, whom he divorced in 2013 when one of their daughters was only 8 months old. That wife went on to accuse Wang of having numerous affairs.

THREADS
Z (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?63797-Zhang-Ziyi)
Asian Film Festivals (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)

GeneChing

11-04-2019, 02:08 PM

This year marks the 20th. READ San Diego Asian Film Festival 2019: Martial Arts Bits and Pieces All Over (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1520) by Craig Reid

http://www.kungfumagazine.com/admin/site_images/KungfuMagazine/upload/5477_20194803SDAFF.jpg

THREADS
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
San Diego Asian Film Festival (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55545-San-Diego-Asian-Film-Festival)

GeneChing

01-20-2020, 08:58 AM

Hmm, no thread on the SAG Awards? Well, that's easily remedied.

Winners selected for those we've discusses as always.

CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
RECIPIENT
PARASITE

Outstanding Performance by a
MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
RECIPIENT
JOAQUIN PHOENIX
Joker

Outstanding Performance by a
MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
RECIPIENT
BRAD PITT
Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

Outstanding Performance by a
MALE ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
RECIPIENT
PETER DINKLAGE
Game of Thrones

STUNT ENSEMBLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
RECIPIENT
AVENGERS: ENDGAME

THREADS
Screen Actors Guild Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71681-Screen-Actors-Guild-Awards)
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
GOT (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?60090-Game-of-Thrones)
Parasite (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71321-Parasite)
Joker (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71455)
Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70864-Once-Upon-a-Time-in-Hollywood)
Endgame (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71016-Avengers-Endgame)

GeneChing

07-24-2020, 08:34 AM

Variety
Jul 23, 2020 10:39pm PT
Hong Kong Film Festival is Canceled as Coronavirus Continues to Take Toll
By Patrick Frater

https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/hkiff44-key-art_we-are-back-cr2.png?w=600
Courtesy of HKIFF

The Hong Kong International Film Festival, set to have taken place in the second half of August, has been canceled.

The festival had previously rescheduled its 44th edition from its usual slot in March, due to the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak. It had set Aug 18-31 Aug. instead.

But, with the city now facing a third wave of the virus, organizers on Friday bowed to the inevitable and announced the cancellation of HKIFF44 and the smaller Cine Fan activities in September and October.

They said that the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), one of Asia’s longest running film project markets, will go ahead as planned in virtual form. It will run Aug. 26-28.

“While it is tremendously deflating, given all the hard work that we have put in, the well-being of our colleagues and the public is of utmost importance to us. Calling of HKIFF44 is heartbreaking, but we believe we have a duty to behave with social responsibility,” said Albert Lee, executive director. “We will start working in the next edition of the festival straight away. We are determined to make up for the ‘lost’ HKIFF44.”

Last month it was announced that Hong Kong FilMart, the largest film rights market in Asia, had given up on plans to be held in physical form this year. Instead, FilMart will migrate to a virtual platform, FILMART Online, running Aug. 26-29, 2020. The problem at the time was not specific to Hong Kong, but more reflected other cities being put on lockdown, and travel difficulties among Asian territories.

Hong Kong had seemed to manage the disease well through testing, contact tracing and quarantines that stifled a first dose of coronavirus in February, and a second wave in March-April brought on by residents returning from abroad. But the city is now suffering a third wave that is more serious than either of the two earlier outbreaks.

Cinemas have been closed for nearly two weeks, restaurants and bars must close at 6pm, and mask-wearing has become compulsory on public transport and at all indoor public spaces, such as shopping malls.

The territory’s government has rejected claims that it created too many quarantine exception categories and allowed new imported cases to restart local infections. But epidemiologists Friday said that is exactly what happened and point to the genetics of the recent COVID-19 cases that consist of strains that were not previously present in the city.

To date Hong Kong has recorded 2,132 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. It has caused 16 deaths.

threads
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
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GeneChing

10-13-2020, 08:31 AM

2nd Chungju International Martial Arts and Action Film Festival back online and offline (https://www.c-mw.net/2nd-chungju-international-martial-arts-and-action-film-festival-back-online-and-offline/)
Asia Coronavirus Updates News
Paul Colston October 13, 2020

https://www.c-mw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/OpeningDragon-Inn3-800x500.jpg
The 2nd Chungju International Martial Arts and Action Film Festival will open, 22-26 October, 2020, in South Korea.

Held for the first time in August last year in Cheongju and Chungju the event was the only film festival in martial arts and modern action genre in Korea.

The Covid-19 pandemic has meant pushing back this year’s 2nd Festival to October and films will be screened both online and offline via Wavve, an online screening platform, as well as at drive-in theatres and cinemas in the city. In addition, the Festival’s executive committee is taking all necessary health and safety preventive measures.

Under the slogan of ‘The Spirit of Martial Arts, Blossom into a Movie’, a large number of martial arts and action films, which are yet to be introduced in Korea, will be shown as part of a collaboration, including with The Fighting Spirit Film Festival in the UK and the Universal Martial Arts Film Festival in France.

Over 70 martial arts and action films will be screened in six sections, including Korean Action Films: Hall of Fame, Special Show in Honour of Bruce Lee, World Action Films, Action! Indi-days, Family Action Films, and Programmer Choice.

More information on the Chungju International Martial Arts and Action Film Festival is available at: www.cimaff.kr

Bruce Lee Chungju International Martial Arts and Action Film Festival

Paul Colston
Managing Editor, Conference News & Conference & Meetings World.

Threads
Chungju-World-Martial-Arts-Festival (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?52052-Chungju-World-Martial-Arts-Festival)
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GeneChing

11-11-2020, 08:58 AM

Nov 10, 2020 8:39pm PT
Zhang Yimou’s Censored ‘One Second’ to Debut at Government-Run Golden Rooster Festival (https://variety.com/2020/film/news/zhang-yimou-one-second-golden-rooster-festival-awards-1234827791/)

By Rebecca Davis

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/one-second_still-02-res-cr-edko.jpg
Photographer:BAIXIAOYAN

Zhang Yimou’s censored film “One Second” apparently now finds itself in the Chinese government’s good books: it has been given pride of place as the opener at the government-run Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.

The film was initially set to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2019. But its treatment of the still sensitive Cultural revolution period is believed to have been its undoing. It was abruptly pulled from the festival due to “technical reasons,” a common euphemism for censorship, in one of the highest profile cases of Chinese state intervention seen abroad in recent years.

Now, after apparent reshoots and, at long last, government approvals for a Nov. 27 commercial theatrical release, it is set to debut at the festival in Xiamen city on Nov. 25.

Zhang’s premiere likely seeks to add glitz and a bit of legitimacy to the Roosters, which critics have historically scoffed at as a propagandistic affair of little relevance outside of China, and focused more on political bona fides than artistic merit.

The 33rd iteration of the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival and its accompanying Golden Rooster Award ceremony will run from Nov. 25 to 28. It seeks to rival the Taipei-based Golden Horse Awards, which have historically been the most prestigious awards issued to Chinese language cinema.

The Taipei event had angered Chinese authorities in 2018 by issuing a prize to a pro-Taiwan independence filmmaker who expressed her views on stage during an acceptance speech, causing retaliation from China.

Last year, Beijing scheduled its Golden Rooster Awards for the same day as the Golden Horse ceremony and banned all mainland industry players from attending. It also announced that the Golden Rooster festival will now take place annually instead of bi-annually, as it had been since 2005, and gave the event a permanent home in the coastal Xiamen, which lies just half hour ferry’s ride away from Taiwan’s Kinmen island.

The festival portion of the mainland event is broken into two sections, with one showcasing around 20 local mainland productions and the other exhibiting around 40 international films, including ones from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Founded in 1981, the Golden Rooster Awards honor films “that have been reviewed and approved by the National Film Bureau” — that is, passed official Chinese censorship — between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 according to the official Xinhua news agency. It is sponsored by the China Film Association and China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and operates “with the approval of the Central Propaganda Bureau,” the agency added.

This year, prizes will be given out across 18 categories. The youth drama “Better Days” is the most nominated film, with 11 nods. Volleyball drama “Leap” and crime thriller “Sheep Without a Shepherd,” a remake of the 2013 Indian film “Drishyam,” come in second with eight nominations apiece.

(Although “Leap” was scheduled to premiere in January, it didn’t end up hitting cinemas until Sept. 25 due to COVID-19 theater closures, and is likely the reason why this year the event specify that titles approved but not necessarily screened within the year-long time frame are eligible for prizes.)

The five nominees for best narrative feature film include three directed by helmers from outside the mainland. They include: “Leap”, from Hong Kong’s Peter Chan; Hong Kong director Derek Tsang’s youth drama “Better Days”; “Sheep Without a Shepherd” from Malaysia-born director Sam Quah; Mongolian language film “Chaogtu with Sarula,” which won the best artistic contribution award at the Tokyo Intl. Film Festival last year; “Spring Tide,” a family drama from female helmer Yang Lina; and — no surprise — propagandistic National Day film “My People, My Country,” created as a tribute to the ruling Communist Party.

There are six nominees for best director: all the helmers of the five above titles, plus the duo Shen Zhou and Liu Lu for their film “Almost a Comedy, which grossed just $28 million.

Best actor nominees include TFBoy boy band idol Jackson Yee (“Better Days”), Da Peng (in rom-com “My Dear Liar”), Xiao Yang (“Sheep Without a Shepherd”), Wu Yuhan (“Almost A Comedy”), and Huang Xiaoming (“The Bravest”).

Best actress nominees include Zhou Dongyu (“Better Days”), Tan Zhuo (“Sheep Without a Shepherd”), Ren Suxi (“Almost a Comedy”), Liu Yan (“My Dear Liar”), and Zhu Xijuan (“The Empty Nest”).

There are only four nominees for best screenplay, a category that encompasses both original and adapted works. They are the writers of “Sheep Without a Shepherd,” “Leap,” “Better Days,” and “Almost a Comedy.”

Threads
Asian Film Festivals and Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
One Second (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71172-One-Second-by-Zhang-Yimou)

GeneChing

01-13-2021, 10:57 AM

Jan 12, 2021 10:20pm PT
Hong Kong Film Festival Makes Plans for Hybrid Edition (https://variety.com/2021/film/asia/hong-kong-film-festival-plans-hybrid-edition-1234884222/)

By Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/cte_extreme-ends-cr-res.jpg?resize=681,383
Courtesy of Celestial Tiger Entertainment
The Hong Kong International Film Festival, delayed last year by the coronavirus outbreak, has announced plans to return to its normal Springtime slot. But with a lingering virus impact, the 2021 edition will be a hybrid, combining both in-theatre and online screenings and audience-engagement events.

Executive director Albert Lee said that a hybrid 45th edition would allow audiences to connect through an online platform without sacrificing the irreplaceable big-screen cinematic experience. The event will run for 12 days, April 1-12, 2021.

Selectors expect to have confirmed the full program by the end of February. They have scheduled a line-up announcement for March 9, 2021.

“The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the international film festival circuit last year. Many festivals, including our very own HKIFF44, were either cancelled or forced to move online,” said Lee.

“With the pandemic showing few signs of abating, we recognize the proactive need to confront the challenges by adding an online component to our festival for the first time.” Besides screenings, the festival will offer online streaming of some of the seminars, post-screening talks, and other events.

“The HKIFF Society will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation closely and comply with every health measure mandated by the government. Public safety remains our paramount concern,” Lee said.

The Hong Kong FilMart and Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum, which sometimes overlap with the festival, will this year both be held earlier, in March. An all-digital FilMart will run March 15-18, 2021, and HAF operate March 15-17, 2021.

Hong Kong has endured several surges of the virus over the past year. The current fourth wave is the most serious in terms of infections, but has caused relatively fewer deaths. Cinemas and most entertainment facilities in the city are currently shut.

A total of 612 cases was recorded in the 14 days from Dec. 29, 2020 to Jan. 11, 2021, including 555 local cases, of which 173 were from unknown sources. Since the beginning of the outbreak, Hong Kong has recorded 9,344 infections and 160 fatalities.

threads
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
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GeneChing

03-29-2021, 09:45 AM

Mar 29, 2021 6:59am PT
Hong Kong Film Festival Cancels Opening Movie, Citing Unspecified Technical Reasons (https://variety.com/2021/film/asia/hong-kong-festival-cancels-opening-film-where-the-wind-blows-1234939989/)

By Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Where-the-Wind-Blows-still-cr-res.jpg
Shaw Organization
The Hong Kong International Film Festival has announced the cancelation of its world premiere screening of crime thriller “Where the Wind Blows.” The move appears to be part of the accelerating ‘mainlandization’ of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry.

The festival said Monday evening in a statement that screenings of “Where the Wind Blows” (previously known “Theory of Ambitions”) had been cancelled at the request of the film’s owner.

“Upon request from the film owner, the screenings of ‘Where the Winds Blows’ originally scheduled at 5.30 p.m. on 1 April and 2.30 p.m. on 4 April are cancelled due to technical reasons,” the festival said in a statement in English and Chinese.

The film was produced by Hong Kong’s Mei Ah Film Production in a co-venture with mainland Chinese firms Dadi Century and Global Group. Its production budget has been reported as $38 million.

The film is directed by Philip Yung, who made the acclaimed “Port of Call,” and stars Tony Leung Chiu-wai (“In the Mood for Love”) and superstar singer-actor Aaron Kwok (“Monkey King,” “Cold War”). Kwok was additionally named as the festival’s goodwill ambassador.

Rooted in the long-established vein of Hong Kong crime films, “Where the Wind Blows” “depicts the friendship and rivalry between two ambitious detectives who form dangerous alliances with organized crime,” according to the HKIFF catalog. The IMDd synopsis describes it slightly differently: “A corrupt police sergeant’s career is curtailed by the launch of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption.”

“Technical reasons” is widely understood in mainland China as a euphemism for censorship. It was the phrase used for the abrupt cancelation of Zhang Yimou’s “One Second” at the 2019 Berlin film festival and for the last-minute halt of “The Eight Hundred” which had been set as the opening film at the Shanghai festival later the same year.

Portraying corruption on screen has previously been difficult for filmmakers on the mainland. In contrast, Hong Kong filmmakers, including Johnny To, Andrew Lau, Longman Leung, Felix Chong and Alan Mak, have reveled in dramatic and exciting portrayals of crime, corruption and abuse of power.

Hong Kong’s Apple Daily newspaper had reported that Mei Ah previously aimed to release the film at the end of 2018. But it was then thwarted by the mainland’s National Radio and Television Administration because the film dealt with police corruption and Triad organized crime gangs.

What makes the latest case harder and more perplexing is that “Where the Wind Blows” is set in the 1960s and the period of British colonial rule; nor have Hong Kong films previously followed mainland edicts within Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, specifies that the Special Administrative Region has the ability to set its own policies on matters such as culture, education and technical standards. Hong Kong has never previously applied the mainland Chinese system of movie censorship, and instead operates the kind of ratings or classification system that is widely used in western democracies.

However, since Beijing’s injection of the National Security Law into Hong Kong law and the shutdown of the pro-democracy camp’s ability to act as legislators, the entertainment, arts and media sectors have increasingly become the focus of scrutiny.

Award-winning pro-democracy documentary film “Behind the Red Brick Wall” was pulled from cinemas earlier this month before it could get a commercial screening. Hong Kong broadcasters have followed the example of mainland media and ditched their plans to screen the Oscars ceremony, where another democracy movement film “Do Not Split” has been nominated in the short documentary category. And public broadcaster RTHK has been repeatedly sanctioned over matters such as satirizing the police and its investigative journalism techniques. In recent weeks, pro-Beijing lawmakers have asked for artworks by exiled Chinese artist Ai Weiwei to be removed from the new M+ Museum at the West Kowloon Cultural Centre.

The 45th edition of HKIFF is scheduled to run April 1-12, 2021.

threads
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Hong-Kong-protests (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?23536-Hong-Kong-protests)

GeneChing

06-01-2021, 02:31 PM

Jun 1, 2021 3:21am PT
Jia Zhangke and Pingyao Film Festival to Return for Fifth Edition (https://variety.com/2021/film/asia/jia-zhangke-pingyao-film-festival-return-1234985305/)

By Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Jia-Zhang-Ke-.jpg
PYIFF
Iconic Chinese indie film director Jia Zhangke is to make a return to the Pingyao International Film Festival that he founded and which he famously quit at the end of the October 2020 edition. His new role remains somewhat murky.

Jia was a speaker at a launch event Tuesday in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, used to announce the festival’s dates, the appointment of Lin Xudong as artistic director, and confirm other staffing arrangements for the next edition. The fifth edition will run in the ancient city, close to Jia’s birthplace, Oct. 12-19, 2021.

Last year Jia dropped a bombshell at the festival’s final day press conference and announced that he was standing down. He discussed succession and leadership issues, dropped hints about financial issues with the Pingyao city government and appeared to take issue with a takeover of the festival by the Shanxi authorities.

The abrupt nature of Jia’s exit added to the concerns of recent years that Chinese film festivals are being pulled closer into government control and that Jia’s larger than life, indie-style may have become a liability, rather than an asset.

“I should’ve left [the festival] earlier and begun to groom a new team to take over the festival, so that this festival can get rid of ‘Jia Zhangke’s shadow’,” Jia himself said last year.

The 2021 festival has indeed been “upgraded to provincial level,” according to a statement, meaning that it will be jointly operated by the Pingyao Film Festival Co., Ltd. and Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Communication University. But the same announcement also proclaimed that the festival will “maintain the original program structure and its existing characteristics,” and also “start again with a new attitude.”

Jia went on record to thank local officials for their “care and attention to PYIFF” and said this was “powerful motivation” to continue. His exact role remains unclear. “This year, I hope to be the chief experience officer, to join the audience watching films and meeting filmmakers in the cinema,” he said.

Jia may not get to apply his ideological heft directly in the running of the festival, but he was allowed Tuesday to speak of the festival “usher(ing) in important strategic opportunities that cry for reform and innovation.”

And the 2021 selection team sees the return of several Jia allies. Former Venice and Locarno festival chief Marco Mueller becomes chief consultant, advising on general strategies and responsibility for selections of foreign language films.

Marie-Pierre Duhamel, Wu Jueren, Jeremy Chua, Alena Sumakova, Deepti D’Cunha, Tomita Mikiko, Sandra Hebron, and Diego Lerer, will return to assist Mueller selecting international films. No mention was made of the programmers selecting the Chinese-titles.

New artistic director Lin was described as a “film editor, film critic, documentary film researcher and painter.”

So he really didn't quit at all then.

GeneChing

06-08-2021, 08:42 AM

Jun 7, 2021 10:16pm PT
Shanghai Film Festival Ticket Prices Exceed $550 as Demand Soars (https://variety.com/2021/film/news/shanghai-film-festival-ticket-prices-1234990974/)

By Rebecca Davis

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rurouni-Kenshin-Final-cr-res.jpg?resize=681,383
Rurouni Kenshin The Final
Warner Bros. Japan
At a time when viewers around the world remain wary of returning to cinemas, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) once again can’t keep up with local audiences. Demand is so high that viewers are paying enormous sums to get hold of scalped tickets, including more than $300 to see an art house film released more than two decades ago.

The festival sparks an annual online crush as film lovers vie Black Friday-style for its limited tickets the moment they’re released for sale. SIFF sold nearly 150,000 tickets within five minutes on the first day of sales in 2019, and more than 100,000 tickets in ten minutes last year, despite occurring as an in-person event just weeks after cinemas reopened for the first time post-COVID-19.

With theater capacity still capped at 75%, the event’s 2021 iteration set to run from June 11-20 has proved just as popular, despite the full line-up being announced just two days before sales began. More than 400 films will screen at SIFF this year, among them 73 world premieres, 42 international premieres, 89 Asian premieres and 99 Chinese premieres, totaling 303 premieres in all.

Ticket sales on the ticketing platform Taopiaopiao, the festival’s sole official online retailer, opened at 8AM local time last Friday. Frantic buyers crashed the platform’s app within the first minute of sales. By 8:05AM, the platform issued a public apology for technical difficulties and a related hashtag became a top 20 most searched term on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform.

The rush for tickets even ensnared a reporter for the government-run CCTV 6 movie channel doing a live demo of the ticket-buying process.

“It’s 8:01AM, and the Taopiaopiao app has already collapsed. Film fans across the entire country are all on here right now,” he said with a tinge of both hilarity and dejection as he repeatedly refreshed purchase pages for “Silence of the Lambs,” “The Godfather 3,” and “The Legend of 1900,” to no avail.

Sky-High Prices
Beyond the technical difficulties thwarting regular movie-goers are cabals of organized scalpers, who fall primarily into two categories: professionals snatching up spots for profitable resale, and passionate fans willing to do whatever it takes to secure a chance to watch their obsessions on the big screen.

Their combined efforts this year propelled tickets on the secondary market to upwards of 20 times their original price, despite efforts from players like Taopiaopiao to stamp out scalping channels such as the eBay-like secondhand sales Xianyu.

For example, while the original ticket price for the restored 4K version of Lee Chang-dong’s “Peppermint Candy” was $17 (RMB110) — already much higher than the national average of around $6 (RMB38) — scalped tickets sold for as much as $313 (RMB2,000).

“At RMB2,000 a ticket, do I get Lee Chang-dong sitting next to me as I watch?” one incredulous film fan joked on Weibo.

Japan Fever
For fans of Japanese content, SIFF screenings can offer a rare opportunity to interact with Japanese idols who rarely do publicity in China, such as Katayose Ryota, who hit the Shanghai red carpet in his first overseas festival appearance in 2019 to promote the animation “Ride Your Wave.”

This year, the most sought-after titles were again Japanese.

Leading the pack were screenings for the five live-action film adaptations of the popular manga “Rurouni Kenshin,” the first non-Hollywood blockbuster franchise to be invited to appear in SIFF’s film franchise section. Most hotly anticipated are the series’ latest two installments, “Rurouni Kenshin: The Final” and “Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning” — new releases that just debuted in Japan on April 23 and June 4, respectively, selling via scalpers at Shanghai for $280 (RMB1,800) a ticket.

Fans were also eager to get tickets to the world premiere of concert film “ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5 x 20 Film – Record of Memories.” It chronicles one of the last concerts of the 2018-2019 “5×20” tour of long-standing Japanese mega-group Arashi, now on an indefinite hiatus.

Tickets were available on Xianyu for up to $313 (RMB2,000), while at least one sold via a fan group went for a whopping $548 (RMB3,500). Even that is not yet the ceiling: a super-fan in Shenzhen put out a desperate plea over the weekend offering $1,560 (RMB10,000) for a ticket.

The film isn’t even subtitled in Chinese.

Many viewers end up hiring an intermediary team of professional ticket grabbers to nab spots on their behalf for fees that can hit over $100 per seat.

One group that stockpiled popular tickets sent interested buyers a menu of titles and prices between $188 and $282 (RMB1,200-RMB1,800).

“You can’t select a screening time for these tickets – you have to take whatever we give you,” the service explained. “If you can accept these prices, please contact us in two hours. Currently there are so many people asking that we don’t have time to respond.”

threads
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Rurouni-Kenshin (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68073-Rurouni-Kenshin)

GeneChing

08-17-2021, 08:46 AM

‘Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash’ Wins Locarno Film Festival (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/vengeance-is-mine-all-others-pay-cash-from-indonesian-director-edwin-wins-golden-leopard-for-2021-locarno-film-festival-1234997880/)
Indonesian director Edwin's homage to and deconstruction of Asian 1980s action movies wins the Golden Leopard at the 2021 Locarno Film Festival. Dario Argento takes the lifetime achievement award.

BY SCOTT ROXBOROUGH

AUGUST 14, 2021 8:26AM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Vengeance-is-Mine-All-Others-Pay-Cash-Publicity-H-2021.jpeg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
'Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' THE MATCH FACTORY

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, Indonesian director Edwin’s homage to and deconstruction of 1980s ultra-violent Asian action movies, has won the Golden Leopard for best film at the 2021 Locarno International Film Festival.

The feature, an adaptation of the novel by Indonesian writer Eka Kurniawan, is a revenge tale involving a hired killer who uses violence to compensate for his public shame in being impotent and a female fighter who takes over his burden of vengeance. It stars Ajo Kawir and Ladya Cheryl. The Match Factory is handling international sales.

In a surprise announcement at the Locarno award ceremony, held Saturday, the festival gave its lifetime achievement award to Italian director Dario Argento The famed filmmaker behind horror classics Suspiria (1977) and Tenebrae (1982), was also honored for his surprising lead performance as an aging father in Gaspar Noé’s Vortex, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Leopard for best director went to New York veteran filmmaker Abel Ferrara for Zeros and Ones, a thriller starring Ethan Hawke as an American soldier assigned to a mysterious mission in Rome after the Vatican has been blown up.

The best actress honor went to Anastasiya Krasovskaya for her starring role in Natalya Kudryashova’s Russian drama Gerda. Mohamed Mellali and Valero Escolar took a joint best actor honor for The Odd-Job Men by Spanish filmmaker Neus Ballús. The surrealist comedy, which follows plumbers dealing with a series of eccentric clients, also won the European Cinemas Network honor for Best European film at Locarno. Beta Cinema is selling the movie worldwide.

In Locarno’s Concorso Cineasti del Presente sidebar of first and second films, Francesco Montagner’s documentary Brotherhood, which follows three Bosnian brothers, born into a family of shepherds, took the best film honor. The best emerging director award went to Hleb Papou for his drama The Legionnaire, about the only African-Italian officer in Rome’s riot police; Saskia Rosendahl won the best actress honor for her performance in Sabrina Sarabi’s No One’s With The Calves, with Gia Agumava taking the section’s best actor prize for his starring role in Elene Naveriani’s Wet Sand.

A special jury prize went to Émilie Aussel for the coming-of-age drama Our Eternal Summer. British director Charlotte Colbert took the best first feature honor for her debut, She Will, starring Malcolm McDowell, Alice Krige, and Rupert Everett.

The 74th Locarno International Film Festival wrapped up Aug. 14 with a gala screening of Liesl Tommy’s Aretha Franklin biopic Respect starring Jennifer Hudson.

The full list of 2021 Locarno Film Festival winners

Golden Leopard for Best Film

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, dir. Edwin

Special Jury Prize of the Cities of Ascona and Losone

A New Old Play, dir. Qui Jiongjiong

Leopard for Best Director

Abel Ferrara for Zeros and Ones

Leopard for Best Actress

Anastasiya Krasovskaya for Gerda, dir. Natalya Kudryashova

Leopard for Best Actor

Mohamed Mellali and Valero Escolar for The Odd-Job Men, dir. Neus Ballús

Special Mentions

Soul of a Beast, dir. Lorenz Merz

Espiritu Sagrado, dir. Chema García Ibarra

Concorso Cineasti del presente Awards

Leopard for Best Film

Brotherhood, dir. Francesco Montagner

Best Emerging Director

Hleb Papou for The Legionnaire

Special Jury Prize Ciné+

Our Eternal Summer, dir. Émilie Aussel

Leopard for Best Actress

Saskia Rosendahl for No One’s By The Calves, dir. Sabrina Sarabi

Leopard for Best Actor

Gia Agumava for Wet Sand, dir. Elene Naveriani

Best First Feature

She Will, dir. Charlotte Colbert

Special Mention

Holy Emy, dir. Araceli Lemos

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dario Argento

Threads
Vengeance-Is-Mine-All-Others-Pay-Cash (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?72124-Vengeance-Is-Mine-All-Others-Pay-Cash)
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards) I know, I know, Locarno is in Italy. We don't have a non-Asian Film Festival thread yet...

GeneChing

10-19-2021, 09:11 AM

Oct 18, 2021 5:55pm PT
China’s Pingyao Film Festival Awards Final Prizes Amid Deadly Floods, Collapsed City Walls and Idol Fan Pandemonium (https://variety.com/2021/film/asia/pingyao-film-festival-2021-winners-karry-wang-1235092265/)

By Rebecca Davis
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Screen-Shot-2021-10-18-at-8.15.41-PM-Cropped-1.png?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Pingyao Intl. Film Festival
Deadly flooding did not divert this year’s Pingyao International Film Festival from running its full course, with the event drawing to a close Monday with an award ceremony honoring Egyptian director Omar El Zohairy, India’s Natesh Hegde, and China’s Kong Dashan and Wei Shujun with top prizes.

Many anticipated that this fifth edition of the festival would be different, given the shifting role of its co-founder and leading light, director Jia Zhangke. He unexpectedly stepped down last year, only to recant and come back in the nebulous role of “chief experience officer” months ago.

Instead, this year’s iteration has been more memorable for the backdrop of historically heavy rains that have left at least 15 dead, more than 120,000 relocated, and an estimated 1.8 million people affected in the inland Shanxi province.

The show went on in Pingyao, even though some three dozen parts of the picturesque ancient capital’s old city walls had collapsed in the earlier merciless downpour.

Festival sponsor Zhiwen Group (formerly Momo Inc.) had donated $1.56 million (RMB10 million) to local relief funds at the opening ceremony, and the event will end Tuesday with a relief charity screening of the closing short “The Last Director on Earth,” which stars Jia and director Ning Hao.

Alongside the charity has come a greater turn toward commercialism, one made unavoidably clear by the hundreds of fans present at the typically low-key, intimate festival to catch a glimpse of their idol Karry Wang, the singer-actor from TFBoys. Two days before the festival’s start, he was abruptly made a youth jury member and “contributing curator.”

When eyebrows were raised at the young superstar’s lack of extensive cinematic experience or accolades, organizers explained that he would also be curating the music for an after party and appear on a panel about “new youth” in Chinese cinema.

On the festival’s red carpet, Wang took in the scene with a bland, unsmiling expression and declined to identify any upcoming projects. Doting fans waving cellphones and cameras pushed so hard in his direction that security guards could barely keep the guard rails in place.

As was the case in 2020, few international guests are in attendance given the difficulty of entering China during the ongoing pandemic.

Pingyao’s Prizes
Pingyao’s Roberto Rossellini Awards are accorded to films in the festival’s dozen entry-strong Crouching Tigers section, which includes international directorial debuts and second features.

The $20,000 prize for best film went to El Zohairy’s “Feathers,” the surrealistic comedy that won the grand prize at Cannes Critics’ Week earlier this year. Half the funds will go to its China distributor Huanxi Media. First time helmer Hegde won the $10,000 prize for best director for “Pedro,” which premiered last month in Busan’s New Currents section.

“Prayers for the Stolen (Noche de Fuego)” — writer-director Tatiana Huezo’s documentary-like first feature about life amid the violence of Mexico’s drug cartels — won the jury prize, coming off a special mention in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section. “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky (Ras vkhedavt, rodesac cas vukurebt)” from Georgia’s Alexandre Koberidze, which premiered in competition at Berlin in March, won Pingyao’s special mention.

The festival’s other 10-film Hidden Dragon section is dedicated to first, second and third features in the Chinese language, which compete for the Fei Mu Awards.

Kong Dashan’s “Journey to the West” won the Cinephilia Critics’ Award as well as the Fei Mu for best film, which is accompanied by a prize of $156,000 (RMB1 million prize), half of which will go to his Chinese distribution company. The award was jointly funded by 10 Chinese directors: Cheng Er, Chen Sicheng, Diao Yinan, Feng Xiaogang, Guan Hu, Jia Zhang-Ke, Lou Ye, Ning Hao, Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Yibai.

Up-and-coming Cannes favorite Wei Shujun won best director for his “Ripples of Life,” which comes with $31,000 (RMB200,000) to use to develop his next film — prize-money funded by Chinese actor Zhang Yi (“Cliff Walkers”). The film premiered at Cannes in this year’s Director’s Fortnight section.

Huang Miyi won the best actress prize for her work in “Gaey Wa’r (Streetwise)” by Na Jiazuo, which also came out in Un Certain Regard earlier this year. Zou Tao won best actor for his work in “Karma” from Zheng Peike. “Venus by Water” from director Wang Lin won the jury award, while “Farewell, My Hometown” from Wang Erzhuo won the prize for special mention. “Immanuel” from Han Tianchu won the Fei Mu award for best short, and was accorded $4,700 (RMB30,000) in development funds.

Karry Wang’s youth jury awarded its two prizes to Kong’s “Journey to the West” and Wei’s “Ripples of Life” as well.
Promoter determination...

GeneChing

02-25-2022, 09:32 AM

Hong Kong Film Festival Delayed Due to Omicron Surge (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/hong-kong-film-festival-2022-delayed-omicron-1235098172/)
The decision came as little surprise as Hong Kong continues to weather its worst infection surge of the pandemic.

BY PATRICK BRZESKI

FEBRUARY 23, 2022 12:53AM
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/hong_kong_skyline_getty_4.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Hong Kong GETTY IMAGES

The Hong Kong International Film Festival, scheduled to have kicked off on the last day of March, has been indefinitely postponed due to an ongoing wave of the omicron variant of COVID-19.

The decision comes as little surprise given the severity of the city’s current infection surge. Since Feb. 15, Hong Kong has reported about 5,000 new daily infections, with cases threatening to overwhelm local healthcare and quarantine facilities.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s chief executive said that the government would require the city’s entire population of nearly 7.5 million people to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing in March. Local cinemas have been shuttered since early January, and city officials said earlier this week that social distancing measures would be extended until April 20.

Hong Kong’s government, acting under ever-growing deference to mainland Chinese policy, have held fast to Beijing’s “COVID zero” policy of total elimination of the virus. Although Hong Kong had great success in managing the early phases of the pandemic, the high transmissibility of the omicron variant has resulted in spiraling caseloads since the start of 2021.

The city’s mandatory three-week quarantine policy for all inbound travelers already had assured that this year’s film festival would have been an entirely local affair. Hong Kong Filmart, the influential international content rights market that typically runs in tandem with the festival, opted months ago to take place as an entirely virtual conference this year. The online-only Filmart will carry on with its planned dates of March 14-17, according to organizers.

The Hong Kong film festival was scrapped in 2020 because of the first phases of the pandemic, and last year it took a hybrid online-offline form. With Hong Kong tethered to China’s “COVID zero” policy, many local industry figures believe it could be years before the festival is again able to invite the world to its screenings.

threads
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
covid (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71666-Coronavirus-(COVID-19)-Wuhan-Pneumonia)

GeneChing

03-08-2022, 08:39 AM

Donnie gave a talk on martial arts and film. The vid is embedded so you must follow the link.
SIFF MasterClass with Donnie Yen (https://www.siff.com/english/content?aid=d98f906d-1f83-4364-af27-5bdd82b6c838&fbclid=IwAR3Tzfebg73GrJp3QcvKeyScC3VcKUeqZBoxGYDfy ziMQIOr77JT9vvr0-M)

threads
Donnie-Yen-Uber-Awesome-!! (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?58046-Donnie-Yen-Uber-Awesome-!!)
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)

GeneChing

08-31-2022, 08:45 AM

Aug 29, 2022 8:00am PT
Michelle Yeoh to Receive Toronto Film Festival’s Groundbreaker Award (https://variety.com/2022/film/actors/michelle-yeoh-toronto-award-1235353081/)

By Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Michelle-Yeoh-Photo-Credit-Thomas-Laisne-Getty-Images-for-Richard-Mille-cr-res.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Michelle Yeoh
Thomas Laisne, Getty Images for Richard Mille

Michelle Yeoh will receive the Toronto International Film Festival’s inaugural Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award.

The TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award recognizes a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact for women throughout their career.

The award, sponsored by Bulgari, will be presented at an in-person gala fundraiser on Sunday, Sept. 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

“Michelle Yeoh is the definition of groundbreaking,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Her screen work has spanned continents, genres and decades. This year she delivered a performance in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ that shows her limitless abilities.”

With a nearly 40-year career, Yeoh has broken barriers and inspired generations of audiences with her performances. These include “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Tomorrow Never Dies” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”

Born in Malaysia and educated in the U.K., Yeoh enjoyed her initial acting success in 1990s Hong Kong action films and briefly became a producer following stardom in Roger Spottiswoode’s James Bond title “Tomorrow Never Dies” and Ang Lee’s 2000 breakout hit “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Returning to acting, she went on to defy convention and build a global career with key roles in Rob Marshall’s “Memoirs of a Geisha,” Danny Boyle’s “Sunshine,” and Jon Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians.” After appearing in James Gunn’s second installment of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, Yeoh returned to the Marvel universe in Destin Daniel Cretton’s “Shang-Chi.” In March 2022, she starred in the Daniels’ genre-melting “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which has since become A24’s highest grossing film.

Yeoh was recently announced as the first Asian artist to receive the American Film Institute Honor, and was this year featured in the Time 100 “Most Influential People” list.

Past TIFF Tribute Awards have gone to Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi, and Chloe Zhao.

“Bulgari has a long history of championing women, in front of and behind the camera, in the cinematic arts. Supporting this TIFF Tribute Award is a continuation of this legacy of cultivating future talent and their groundbreaking work that enriches the world we live in,” said Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari Group.

Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Michelle-Yeoh (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?44824-Michelle-Yeoh)

GeneChing

10-03-2022, 09:33 PM

Oct 3, 2022 6:01pm PT
Donnie Yen, Zhang Ziyi on Board as Peter Chan Launches Changin’ Pictures, Filmmaker-Led Asian TV Producer (https://variety.com/2022/global/news/peter-chan-changin-pictures-asian-tv-producer-1235391213/)(EXCLUSIVE)

By Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Peter-Chan-by-HKFA_4MAR_0272-cr-res.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1
Hong Kong Film Awards Association

Projects starring Donnie Yen and Zhang Ziyi are among the independently produced TV series to be launched on the sidelines of this week’s Busan International Film Festival. The company responsible is Changin’ Pictures, a would-be studio being hatched by Hong Kong-based film director and producer Peter Chan Ho-sun.

Propelled by the growing recognition of Asian talent and the worldwide distribution potential of multinational SVOD platforms, Changin’ Pictures aims to be a powerhouse production hub suppling premium drama content to streaming players.

The company has raised very substantial finance from Asian sources and aims to develop and produce series which it will pitch and license to the platforms, without recourse to the OTT companies’ production funding, greenlighting and editorial constraints.

The company expects to sign up a mix of Asia’s top-billing established filmmakers and fresh talents “to create innovative drama series for Pan-Asian netizens, with an eye to cross-cultural global assimilation.” Its COO is Esther Yeung, a seasoned executive with ten years at Bill Kong’s Edko Films and prior experience at Fortissimo Films.

Changin’ Pictures will unveil its first five series in Busan, representing a quarter of the projects it already has in active development, and expects to deliver in its first four years. The figure excludes follow-on seasons and spinoffs.

The first shows hail from Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan. Subsequently, the firm will cast its net wider and expand to Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia.

“We aspire to be Asia’s most effective one-stop-shop for international production partners and streaming platforms,” said Chan. “It is only filmmaker-backed and filmmaker-driven so that we could raise our level of productivity and efficiency.”

Giving Changin’ Pictures an immediate calling card for K-content-starved streamers, the firm’s first two projects into production are both Korean. Although stylistically different, both are adapted from popular webtoons, giving them an already established fan-base.

“ONE: High School Heroes” is an action-packed series about a picked-on high school kid who transforms himself into a bully-bashing hero. Production is by Covenant Pictures (“Desperate Mr. X”). “Heesu in Class 2” is a bittersweet romance between two high school boys played by K-Pop idols. Production is by Film K (“Exit,” “Escape from Mogadishu”).

Yen is committed to star in “Outright Loser, Hidden Master,” an action fantasy drama about an Asian American who discovers that martial artists in Hong Kong are mysteriously extending their lineage by imprinting their memories, martial art skills and techniques onto the bodies of strangers. Yen, who previously starred in Chan’s “Wu Xia” (aka “Dragon”), will also serve as showrunner and action choreographer. He is in negotiations to also direct some of the series episodes.

“Infinite possibilities can be found when filmmakers share the same vision,” said Yen. “I am excited to be partnering with Peter Chan and am confident that together we can elevate materials to the very next level.”

Chan himself will direct Zhang in “The Murderer,” a suspense thriller set in 1944 Shanghai. Based on real events, the story focuses on a woman who is accused of murdering and dismembering her abusive husband. “By depicting the vagaries of her various trials, this series exposes the vicissitudes of leadership change in China from Japanese Occupation to the Nationalist government to the birth of new China,” Changin’ Pictures said.

A trio of Thailand’s most successful directors — Banjong Pisanthanakun (“Pee Mak,” “The Medium”), Nattawut ‘Baz’ Poonpiriya (“Bad Genius,” Netflix’ “Thai Cave Rescue”) and Parkpoom Wongpoom (“Shutter”) — as well as Chan and South Korean helmers Kim Jee-Woon (“I Saw the Devil”) and Hur Jin-Ho (“Christmas in August”) will all work on “The Eye” (aka “No Jump Scares”). The series is anthology of genre-bending chillers that represents a series expansion of Thailand’s “The Eye” horror film franchise, which Chan previously oversaw from 2002.

In addition to his own works as director (“Perhaps Love,” “Comrades, Almost A Love Story,” “The Warlords”), Chan has further credits as producer or executive producer of “Twelve Nights,” “Bodyguards & Assassins,” “Golden Chickensss” and Oscar-nominated “Better Days.”

At the beginning of the millennium, Chan pioneered the pan-Asian co-production movement with the launch of Applause Pictures, working with Kim Jee-Woon, Park Chan-Wook, Miike Takashi, Hur Jin-Ho, Nonzee Nimibutr, the Pang Brothers and Fruit Chan on films ranging from Thai erotica (“Jan Dara”) to Korean romance (“One Fine Spring Day”) and Hong Kong animation (“McDull: The Alumni”). Over much of the past decade, Chan has straddled Hong Kong and mainland China through his We Pictures company, enjoying hits with aspirational drama “American Dreams in China” and Gong Li-starring sports biopic “Leap.”

While both Applause, now chiefly a distributor, and We Pictures are expected to endure, Chan has built a team of development and production executives in Hong Kong, Korea and elsewhere in the region and expects Changin’ Pictures to be his main preoccupation going forward.

Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Outright Loser, Hidden Master starring Donnie Yen (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?72392-Outright-Loser-Hidden-Master-starring-Donnie-Yen)

GeneChing

11-09-2022, 03:39 PM

AWFF 2022 (https://asianworldfilmfest.org)
Nov 9 - 18
Marina Del Rey, Culver City, Los Angeles

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54bffbc2e4b0be813466210b/4a640aec-f061-4614-956f-8fd7c1fa28f3/AWFF-2022-Letterhead.jpg?format=1000w

Martial Arts Day (https://asianworldfilmfest.org/2022-panels-events) - Saturday, November 12, 2022 - 2pm - 3pm - Town Plaza, Culver City

https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54bffbc2e4b0be813466210b/62a250ad-10a7-41df-904d-b9bce46e2e59/martial+arts+day+flyer.jpg?format=500w

This looks interesting. Anyone ever been to it?

GeneChing

11-14-2022, 08:59 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ysjtUMcWo9Q

GeneChing

03-02-2023, 10:31 AM

Feb 28, 2023 11:59pm PT
Sammo Hung to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor at Asian Film Awards – Global Bulletin (https://variety.com/2023/awards/asia/sammo-hung-lifetime-achievement-asian-film-awards-1235539407/)
By Patrick Frater
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Sammo-Hung-Achievement-Award_01-LCR-res.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1&resize=681%2C383
Courtesy of Asian Film Awards

LAST MAN STANDING
Martial arts veteran Sammo Hung is to be presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the upcoming Asian Film Awards. The ceremony is back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and shifts back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. Hung is expected to accept the award on Sunday March 12 at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

“I’m so happy and surprised that I can still win awards these days, especially an award that affirms my entire performing career,” said Hung in a forwarded statement. He has a career as actor, action choreographer, director and producer that stretches some 60 years.

His acting credits include action comedies “Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog” and “Odd Couple” paranormal horror comedies “Encounters of the Spooky Kind” and “The Dead and the Deadly,” comedy film series “Lucky Stars” and gangster action film “Shanghai, Shanghai.”

In 1982, Hung won the best actor prize at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards for his directorial effort “Carry on Pickpocket.” More recently, he had major roles in two of the “Ip Man” franchise films and directed a short segment of portmanteau film “Septet.”

Sammo-Hung (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55110-Sammo-Hung)
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)

GeneChing

03-10-2023, 09:45 AM

Mar 10, 2023 3:03am PT
Hong Kong Film Festival Sets Trio of Local Titles as Opening and Closing Titles (https://variety.com/2023/film/asia/hong-kong-film-festival-local-titles-1235549148/)

By Patrick Frater
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Mad-Fate-202307420_5-cr-res.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1&resize=681%2C383
Makerville

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, which will pay tribute to the prolific filmmaker with a previously announced 10-film showcase. He will also hold a masterclass presentation on April 8.

The festival is to be held in-person and in its usual calendar slot for the first time in 2019. In recent weeks the Hong Kong authorities have eased travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID pandemic and from the beginning of this month have dropped the mask mandate from almost all indoor public places. That has made it easier for overseas filmmakers to return to the event.

Those confirmed include Tsai Ming-Liang, who will bring his latest feature “Where,” and hold a masterclass with Lee Kang-Sheng following the screenings of his short “Where Do You Stand, Tsai Ming-Liang?”.

The festival’s twin Firebird competition sections for young directors working in Chinese and in other languages are also impressive.

The former includes: “Absence” by mainland Chinese director Wu Lan, which premiered in Berlin; “Bad Education,” by Taiwanese actor-director Kai Ko; “Coo-Coo 043,” an already much decorated Taiwan family drama by Chan Ching-lin; “Kissing the Ground You Walked on,” by Hong Heng-fai; “Night Falls,” by China’s Jian Haodong; “Stonewalling,” by Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji; “To Love Again,” by Gao Linyang; and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” which also appeared in Berlin’s Gerneration-14 section and is directed by Singapore’s Jow Zhi Wei.

The equivalent international competition includes: Berlin hit “20,000 Species of Bees,” “Animalia,” by Sofia Alouai, which won the special jury prize in Sundance; David Depresseville’s “Astrakan”; acclaimed “Autobiography,” by Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak; Malika Muisaeva’s Berlin film “The CageIs Looking for a Bird”; Argentinian director Martin Benchimol’s “The Castle”; Giacomo Abruzzese’s “Disco Boy”; and Lila Aviles’ Berlin Ecumenical jury prize winner “Totem.”
I must be falling behind with HK. None of these films are represented here. :(

GeneChing

03-13-2023, 08:26 AM

Mar 11, 2023 9:27pm PT
Sammo Hung Receives Lifetime Achievement Honor at Asian Film Awards (https://variety.com/2023/film/asia/sammo-hung-lifetime-achievement-asian-film-awards-2-1235550591/)
By Naman Ramachandran, Patrick Frater
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Sammo-Hung-Achievement-Award_01-LCR-res.jpg?w=681&h=383&crop=1&resize=681%2C383
Courtesy of Asian Film Awards

Martial arts veteran Sammo Hung was presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the Asian Film Awards.

The ceremony is back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and has shifted back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. A visibly emotional Hung accepted the award on Sunday at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Hung’s career as an actor, action choreographer, director and producer spans some 60 years.

His acting credits include action comedies “Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog” and “Odd Couple,” paranormal horror comedies “Encounters of the Spooky Kind” and “The Dead and the Deadly,” comedy film series “Lucky Stars” and gangster action film “Shanghai, Shanghai.” In 1982, Hung won the best actor prize at the second Hong Kong Film Awards for his directorial effort “Carry on Pickpocket,” as well as best action choreography for “The Prodigal Son,” which he also directed and starred in.

More recently, he had major roles in two of the “Ip Man” franchise films and a role in 2022 action thriller “Man on the Edge.”

Hung also directed a short segment of portmanteau film “Septet: The Story of Hong Kong” (2020). His segment harks back to the time he studied under Peking Opera master Yu Jim Yuen at a young age and was the “big brother”’ to the China Drama Academy’s performance troupe known as the Seven Little Fortunes, whose members included Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu and Corey Yuen. Hung had previously starred in “Painted Faces” (1988), which was based on his time in the Seven Little Fortunes. The Sammo Hung Stunt Team has nurtured several film talents.

“Cinema’s existence is so wonderful. The biggest reward I’ve gotten in my 50-year career is to see my hard work affirmed by others,” Hung had said when the Asian Film Awards honor was announced.

Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)
Sammo-Hung (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55110-Sammo-Hung)

GeneChing

04-15-2024, 08:23 AM

So deserved.

Mar 11, 2023 9:27pm PT
Sammo Hung Receives Lifetime Achievement Honor at Asian Film Awards (https://variety.com/2023/film/asia/sammo-hung-lifetime-achievement-asian-film-awards-2-1235550591/)
By Naman Ramachandran, Patrick Frater

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Sammo-Hung-Achievement-Award_01-LCR-res.jpg?w=1000&h=562&crop=1
Courtesy of Asian Film Awards

Martial arts veteran Sammo Hung was presented with a lifetime achievement honor at the Asian Film Awards.

The ceremony is back as an in-person event after a two-year absence and has shifted back to Hong Kong after previously being held in Hong Kong, Macau and Busan. A visibly emotional Hung accepted the award on Sunday at the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Hung’s career as an actor, action choreographer, director and producer spans some 60 years.

His acting credits include action comedies “Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog” and “Odd Couple,” paranormal horror comedies “Encounters of the Spooky Kind” and “The Dead and the Deadly,” comedy film series “Lucky Stars” and gangster action film “Shanghai, Shanghai.” In 1982, Hung won the best actor prize at the second Hong Kong Film Awards for his directorial effort “Carry on Pickpocket,” as well as best action choreography for “The Prodigal Son,” which he also directed and starred in.

More recently, he had major roles in two of the “Ip Man” franchise films and a role in 2022 action thriller “Man on the Edge.”

Hung also directed a short segment of portmanteau film “Septet: The Story of Hong Kong” (2020). His segment harks back to the time he studied under Peking Opera master Yu Jim Yuen at a young age and was the “big brother”’ to the China Drama Academy’s performance troupe known as the Seven Little Fortunes, whose members included Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu and Corey Yuen. Hung had previously starred in “Painted Faces” (1988), which was based on his time in the Seven Little Fortunes. The Sammo Hung Stunt Team has nurtured several film talents.

“Cinema’s existence is so wonderful. The biggest reward I’ve gotten in my 50-year career is to see my hard work affirmed by others,” Hung had said when the Asian Film Awards honor was announced.

Sammo-Hung (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?55110-Sammo-Hung)
Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards (https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?48392-Asian-Film-Festivals-and-Awards)