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Thread: Asian Film Festivals and Awards

  1. #46
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    Sammo!!!

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

    We'll have more on 13 Assassins later today.
    List of winners at the 5th Asian Film Awards
    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
    Gene Ching
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  2. #47
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    Inaugural Beijing International Film Festival

    Maybe this should go on our Chollywood rising thread...
    Jackie Chan, Zhang Ziyi Kick Off Inaugural Beijing Film Festival
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #48
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    N.Y. Asian Film Festival

    so...anyone seen Milocrorze?
    NY CULTURE
    JUNE 24, 2011
    Martial Art-House
    The N.Y. Asian Film Festival Marks 10 Years of Cult Craziness
    By STEVE DOLLAR
    [ASIAN] Shochiku


    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."
    Gene Ching
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  4. #49
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    Busan

    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
    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
    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
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #50
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    Tiff

    Tokyo International Film Festival Opens With 'Three Musketeers,' Jackie Chan's '1911'
    9:23 AM PDT 10/22/2011 by Gavin J. Blair


    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.
    Gene Ching
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  6. #51
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    6ht annual Asian Film Awards

    Gene Ching
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  7. #52

    One note

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

  8. #53
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    30th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

    Official website

    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
    Gene Ching
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  9. #54
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    Hong Kong Film Directors Guild Awards

    Hong Kong Film Directors Guild Awards Handed out
    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. We've had one on Flying Swords of Dragon Gate since 2010.
    Gene Ching
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  10. #55
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    The Golden Broom Awards

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

    We do have threads for The Warring States, Legendary Amazons, Confucius, My Kingdom & The Lost Bladesman.

    Sun Honglei Awarded the Most Disappointing Actor
    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.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #56
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    Afa

    Asian Film Awards Presented
    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 here.
    Gene Ching
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  12. #57
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    İstanbul Film Festival

    I've always loved that Jia Dao quote.
    Chinese martial arts flourish at İstanbul Film Festival
    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.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  13. #58
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    2n Beijing International Film Festival

    I'm sure this festival is buzzin...
    Beijing film festival opens amid China's movie industry boom
    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
    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.”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  14. #59
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    Jackie @ TIFF

    Asian Film Summit. Hopefully more to come on this...
    Jackie Chan set for TIFF Asian Film Summit
    CBC News
    Posted: Jul 4, 2012 12:34 PM ET
    Last Updated: Jul 4, 2012 12:32 PM ET


    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.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  15. #60
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    The Jackie Chan Experience

    This looks so fun

    The Jackie Chan Experience Trailer

    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.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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