French sales powerhouse Charades has boarded Constance Tsang’s migrant drama “Blue Sun Palace” which is set to world premiere at Cannes’ Critics’ Week. WME Independent is representing domestic rights for the movie in North America.
“Blue Sun Palace” is set in the Chinese community of Queens with a vibrant cast led by award-winning Taiwanese actor Lee Kang Sheng (“Rebels of the Neon God”), Golden Horse award nominee Ke-Xi Wu (“The Road To Mandalay”) and Chinese actress Haipeng Xu (“Venus By Water”).
The film revolves around two migrants, Amy and Didi, who work together at a massage parlor in Flushing, Queens, and navigate romance, happiness and the obligations of family thousands of miles from home. A sudden act of violence will catalyze their unlikely bond. “Blue Sun Palace” is produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Sally Sujin Oh and Eli Raskin (Field Trip Media), alongside producer Tony Yang (Big Buddha Pictures...
“Blue Sun Palace” is set in the Chinese community of Queens with a vibrant cast led by award-winning Taiwanese actor Lee Kang Sheng (“Rebels of the Neon God”), Golden Horse award nominee Ke-Xi Wu (“The Road To Mandalay”) and Chinese actress Haipeng Xu (“Venus By Water”).
The film revolves around two migrants, Amy and Didi, who work together at a massage parlor in Flushing, Queens, and navigate romance, happiness and the obligations of family thousands of miles from home. A sudden act of violence will catalyze their unlikely bond. “Blue Sun Palace” is produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Sally Sujin Oh and Eli Raskin (Field Trip Media), alongside producer Tony Yang (Big Buddha Pictures...
- 4/25/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival Asia officially opened at the Spot Huashan Cinema in Taipei City on August 18, 2023, and announced the winner of the Sundance Film Festival Asia Short Film Competition. The award went to “Tuo Tuo” directed by An Chu. Many Hollywood and local celebrities walked the red carpet including Justin Lin (Director of the “Fast and Furious” franchise), Todd Makurath (Executive Producer of “Everything Everywhere All At Once”), Joachim Zell (Color Scientist from “Blade Runner 2049”), Dan Lin (Producer of “The Lego Movie”), Tzi Ma (Actor from “Rush Hour” series), Caitlin Fang (Actress from “American Girl”), Patty Lee (Actress from “My Missing Valentine”), Ke-Xi Wu (Actress from “Nina Wu”), Allison Lin (Actress from “Haru”), Teresa Daley (Actress from “Days We Stared at the Sun”), Sonia Yuan (Actress from “Summer Desire”), Angela Yuen (Actress from “The Narrow Road”), James Wen (Actor from “The Fierce Wife”), Janet Hsieh (Host from “Fun...
- 9/6/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The Perfumed Hill
A project that has been gestating perhaps not that long after the release of Timbuktu (2014), Mauritanian-born Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was indeed stranded on the tarmac for a bit but La Colline Parfumee finally did get taxied out with filming taking place in both Africa and Taiwan for a drama romance set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Production began before September of last year with the likes of Nina Melo, Han Chang, and Ke-Xi Wu. Sissako mentioned that he was inspired to tell this story after discovering in 2005 a restaurant called La Colline Parfumée that was run by an Afro-Chinese couple.…...
A project that has been gestating perhaps not that long after the release of Timbuktu (2014), Mauritanian-born Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was indeed stranded on the tarmac for a bit but La Colline Parfumee finally did get taxied out with filming taking place in both Africa and Taiwan for a drama romance set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Production began before September of last year with the likes of Nina Melo, Han Chang, and Ke-Xi Wu. Sissako mentioned that he was inspired to tell this story after discovering in 2005 a restaurant called La Colline Parfumée that was run by an Afro-Chinese couple.…...
- 1/17/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
At long last, after years of development, Abderrahmane Sissako is set to embark on his first feature since 2014’s Timbuktu. The Mauritanian-born Malian director’s next work is The Perfumed Hill, which will begin shooting this month.
As reported by Variety, the romantic drama, scripted by the director and Kessen Tall, will star Nina Melo (Girlhood), Han Chang (Little Big Women), and Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu) in an ambitious story set “between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde.” Picked up for a U.S. release by Cohen Media Group and Gaumont in France, the project has come to TIFF for buyers, and thus an expanded synopsis has arrived:
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai,...
As reported by Variety, the romantic drama, scripted by the director and Kessen Tall, will star Nina Melo (Girlhood), Han Chang (Little Big Women), and Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu) in an ambitious story set “between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde.” Picked up for a U.S. release by Cohen Media Group and Gaumont in France, the project has come to TIFF for buyers, and thus an expanded synopsis has arrived:
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai,...
- 9/7/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Eight years after delivering his Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu,” Abderrahmane Sissako is set to make his anticipated directorial comeback with “The Perfumed Hill.” Gaumont is representing in international markets and will introduce it to buyers at at Toronto. The French studio will also distribute the film in France, while Cohen Media Group will release it in the U.S.
Re-teaming Sissako with his “Timbuktu” co-writer Kessen Tall, “The Perfumed Hill” is a romance drama set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. It stars Nina Melo (“Girlhood”), Han Chang (“Little Big Women”) and Ke-Xi Wu (“Nina Wu”).
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man, in the vibrant region of Guangzhou, known as the “Chocolate City.
Re-teaming Sissako with his “Timbuktu” co-writer Kessen Tall, “The Perfumed Hill” is a romance drama set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. It stars Nina Melo (“Girlhood”), Han Chang (“Little Big Women”) and Ke-Xi Wu (“Nina Wu”).
The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man, in the vibrant region of Guangzhou, known as the “Chocolate City.
- 9/6/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
With the support and sponsorship from the Ministry of Culture as well as the Taipei Representative Office in Germany, we are delighted to announce the 5th Taiwanese Film Festival in Berlin, organized by Impression Taiwan and cooperated with Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute and Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit. The 2022 festival will return to physical edition and in these ten days, it will be delivering 12 works on three diverse themes, including both short films and feature-length films.
Established in 2017, the Taiwan Film Festival Berlin is the largest scale event in Europe for Taiwanese art and culture. The 2022 festival is centered around the theme of ‘Island Fantasia’ and challenges the audience’s imagination with our diverse programme and hence, creates a unique and personal filmic experience.
For this year’s festival, “Nina Wu” and “Dear Tenant” have been selected to discuss developments of the global #MeToo movement in Asia, the situation of...
Established in 2017, the Taiwan Film Festival Berlin is the largest scale event in Europe for Taiwanese art and culture. The 2022 festival is centered around the theme of ‘Island Fantasia’ and challenges the audience’s imagination with our diverse programme and hence, creates a unique and personal filmic experience.
For this year’s festival, “Nina Wu” and “Dear Tenant” have been selected to discuss developments of the global #MeToo movement in Asia, the situation of...
- 9/2/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Redeeming Love Review — Redeeming Love (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by D.J. Caruso and starring Abigail Cowen, Tom Lewis, Famke Janssen, Logan Marshall-Green, Nina Dobrev, Livi Birch, Eric Dane, Brandon Auret, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Josh Taylor, Willie Watson, Tanya van Graan, Ke-Xi Wu and Clyde Berning. Director D.J. Caruso’s Redeeming Love is a sweet [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Redeeming Love (2022): Corny, Overlong, and Slow-Moving Film is Also Quite Intriguing...
Continue reading: Film Review: Redeeming Love (2022): Corny, Overlong, and Slow-Moving Film is Also Quite Intriguing...
- 2/4/2022
- by Thomas Duffy
- Film-Book
Like reassembling shards of broken glass, disparate yet jagged memories haunt an actor on the cusp of stardom in Myanmar-born Taiwanese director Midi Z’s Nina Wu. Unflinching in its horrific subject matter and challenging in its construction, the film explores the aftermath of sexual violence through the prism of a traumatised, fracturing mind; a person and consciousness coming apart at the seams for reasons that are initially unknown.
Having moved to Taipei from her country hometown eight years previously, the eponymous Nina has all but given up on her acting career. Earning a pittance from short films, advertisements and a monetised webcam chat, her agent comes to her with a make-or-break role. The catch being that the proposed project includes full-frontal nudity and an explicit sex scene. Is this something she is prepared...
Having moved to Taipei from her country hometown eight years previously, the eponymous Nina has all but given up on her acting career. Earning a pittance from short films, advertisements and a monetised webcam chat, her agent comes to her with a make-or-break role. The catch being that the proposed project includes full-frontal nudity and an explicit sex scene. Is this something she is prepared...
- 3/30/2021
- by Matthew Anderson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Under the guise of a topical film detailing a #Metoo experience, Myanmar-born Taiwanese director Midi Z investigates the broader point of view of an actress in the contemporary film industry, focusing on the pressure, micro-aggressions and tension in her relationship with the director, other actors, and the media. It’s a weird and incisive portrait that owes a lot to actress Ke-Xi Wu, a frequent collaborator of Midi Z who wrote and conceived the project based on her own experience, and approached the director to bring it to the screen in addition to playing the main role.
Midi Z was previously known for social realism dramas such as Ice Poison (2014) and The Road to Mandalay (2016), from which Nina Wu (selected in the Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section) is a sleek, symbolically complex departure.…...
Midi Z was previously known for social realism dramas such as Ice Poison (2014) and The Road to Mandalay (2016), from which Nina Wu (selected in the Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section) is a sleek, symbolically complex departure.…...
- 3/27/2021
- by Tommaso Tocci
- IONCINEMA.com
We are delighted to announce this long-awaited, award-winning film – an orgy of betrayal – with an all-female cast starring Kara Wai, Wu Ke-Xi, and Vicky Chen, which garnered Best Feature Film, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actress and the People’s Choice Award at the Golden Horse Awards, will be coming to the UK Cineworld cinemas from 4th September 2020.
Attractive matriarch Madame Tang (Kara Wai) uses culture as a cover as she takes advantage of her late husband’s connections in politics to whitewash shady business deals for the benefit of herself, and her two daughters Ning (Ke-Xi Wu) and Chen (Vicky Chen). Mrs. Tang, who ostensibly runs an antique dealership and dabbles in calligraphy, colludes and mediates between crooked politicians and dubious private businessmen, and frequently entertains them and their elegant wives chatting about art and fashion, while secretly making sure bribes are secured and deals are done.
When a...
Attractive matriarch Madame Tang (Kara Wai) uses culture as a cover as she takes advantage of her late husband’s connections in politics to whitewash shady business deals for the benefit of herself, and her two daughters Ning (Ke-Xi Wu) and Chen (Vicky Chen). Mrs. Tang, who ostensibly runs an antique dealership and dabbles in calligraphy, colludes and mediates between crooked politicians and dubious private businessmen, and frequently entertains them and their elegant wives chatting about art and fashion, while secretly making sure bribes are secured and deals are done.
When a...
- 8/22/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Psychological thriller “Nina Wu” by Taiwan-based Burmese writer and director Midi Z, was premiered in the “Un Certain Regard” section of Cannes Film Festival. Midi Z has proven before to be a fine and meticulous storyteller, enriching his narration with nuances, planting small significant details. This personal style well fits “Nina Wu” and its Hitchkockian development.
Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu) left Taichung 8 years ago following, like many girls, her dream of an acting career in the big city of Taipei. Despite her efforts, in all those years Nina has collected only a handful of minor roles as extra in indie movies or commercials and she’s resorted to moonlighting as a cam-girl. One day, the long-awaited audition arrives; it’s for a Cold War era spy-noir movie, “Romance of the Spies” and Nina’s agent warns her that she must be prepared to perform a full frontal nudity and explicit sex scenes.
Nina Wu (Ke-Xi Wu) left Taichung 8 years ago following, like many girls, her dream of an acting career in the big city of Taipei. Despite her efforts, in all those years Nina has collected only a handful of minor roles as extra in indie movies or commercials and she’s resorted to moonlighting as a cam-girl. One day, the long-awaited audition arrives; it’s for a Cold War era spy-noir movie, “Romance of the Spies” and Nina’s agent warns her that she must be prepared to perform a full frontal nudity and explicit sex scenes.
- 3/28/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Nina Wu Film Movement Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Midi Z Screenwriters: Ke-Xi Wu, MidiZ Cast: Ke-Xi Wu, Yu-Hua Sung, Yu-Chiao Hsia, Ming-Shuai Shih Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 3/10/20 Opens: Tbd Could it be that even in faraway Taiwan, the people who make films are inspired […]
The post Nina Wu Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Nina Wu Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 3/15/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
"I don't care if it's natural or not. This is a movie." Film Movement has debuted the official Us trailer for Nina Wu, made in Taiwan by a Myanmar-born filmmaker. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival last year. After toiling for years in bit-parts, aspiring actress Nina Wu finally gets her big break with a leading role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. The part, which calls for nudity and explicit sex scenes, is made all the more challenging thanks to the director's unending belittlements. Can Nina fight against the odds in life and stand undefeated? Or is it just real life that no one can escape from endless hardships? The mesmerizing, stylized thriller is reminiscent of Mulholland Drive and Black Swan lead by an incredible lead performance. Also stars Vivian Sung, Yu-Chiao Hsia, Li-Ang Chang, ...
- 2/28/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Iconic Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo will be honored at the 39th edition of the Hawaii International Film Festival. In addition, the fest revealed its lineup which includes Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit as its opening night film and will feature Maui native Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy as a centerpiece presentation. The fest runs November 7-17 at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium 18.
The fest looks to advance understanding and cultural exchange among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and North America by presenting films from around the world. This year, Hiff will present 205 films from 31 countries.
The festival’s Spotlight on Hong Kong will honor a special guest John Woo, one of the most influential figures in Hong Kong cinema. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the original Hong Kong theatrical release one of Woo’s most influential and revered films,...
The fest looks to advance understanding and cultural exchange among the peoples of Asia, the Pacific and North America by presenting films from around the world. This year, Hiff will present 205 films from 31 countries.
The festival’s Spotlight on Hong Kong will honor a special guest John Woo, one of the most influential figures in Hong Kong cinema. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the original Hong Kong theatrical release one of Woo’s most influential and revered films,...
- 10/11/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
It would be a disservice to decent thrillers everywhere to give this Taiwanese Cannes entry the same genre label. It is a drama at best, and a very dour one that is devoid of any kind of spark, or thrill. The eponymous Nina is a country girl who leaves the trappings of small-town theatre for the big city lights of Taipei. Struggling for years to secure a role beyond an extra in a short film or commercial, the audience is introduced to Nina in her squalid urban apartment making dumpling mix and preparing her routine streaming broadcast, where desperation pays off in the form of love credits. When her agent contacts her out of the blue for a...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/5/2019
- Screen Anarchy
Taiwanese actress Ke-Xi Wu stars and co-wrote the screenplay that is inspired by Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Luxbox has boarded sales on Midi Z’s psychological thriller Nina Wu, following an aspiring actress’s rise to fame and loosely inspired by the events around the Harvey Weinstein scandal, ahead of its premiere in Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Z’s muse, Taiwanese actress Ke-Xi Wu stars as a struggling actress who gets her big break with the lead role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. She finds the role difficult and involving a lot of full nudity and explicit sex scenes.
Luxbox has boarded sales on Midi Z’s psychological thriller Nina Wu, following an aspiring actress’s rise to fame and loosely inspired by the events around the Harvey Weinstein scandal, ahead of its premiere in Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Z’s muse, Taiwanese actress Ke-Xi Wu stars as a struggling actress who gets her big break with the lead role in a spy thriller set in the 1960s. She finds the role difficult and involving a lot of full nudity and explicit sex scenes.
- 5/6/2019
- ScreenDaily
Creative Artists Agency has signed on to represent fast-rising Taiwanese actress Wu Ke-Xi. Wu was most recently seen as the co-star of mystery thriller “The Bold, The Corrupt, The Beautiful.”
The U.S. based agency, which has a growing business in Greater China, will represent her globally. It will also help her cross over to the West while continuing to solidify her presence in the Chinese-speaking cinema industry.
With a background in hip-hop and dance, Wu (aka Patty Wu) began an acting career some 10 years ago, and now has a range of film and TV roles in Asia.
She is best known as the muse of Midi Z, for whom she has made three completed features and two shorts. The Myanmar-born director who has taken on Taiwanese citizenship and has become a darling of the international art-house circuit thanks to his gritty takes on life in his native country.
Wu...
The U.S. based agency, which has a growing business in Greater China, will represent her globally. It will also help her cross over to the West while continuing to solidify her presence in the Chinese-speaking cinema industry.
With a background in hip-hop and dance, Wu (aka Patty Wu) began an acting career some 10 years ago, and now has a range of film and TV roles in Asia.
She is best known as the muse of Midi Z, for whom she has made three completed features and two shorts. The Myanmar-born director who has taken on Taiwanese citizenship and has become a darling of the international art-house circuit thanks to his gritty takes on life in his native country.
Wu...
- 12/3/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Being the biggest of its kind in Asia, the Busan International Film Festival offers an excellent showcase for emerging talents from the vast and vastly varied continent. Premiering in the regionally focused section “A Window on Asian Cinema”, the alluring, densely-packed dramatic thriller The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful makes a case for genre filmmaking in Taiwan, a country audiences worldwide probably associate with the lyrical, contemplative imagery of Hou Hsiao-hsien or Tsai Ming-liang . Thanks in no small part to a sizzling female ensemble (actressexuals: take note), director Ya-che Yang’s third feature shows a snappier side of the island and thoroughly entertains.
Set in the indeterminate past in the tropical metropolis Kaohsiung, the story centers around Madame Tang (Kara Wai) – who ostensibly runs an antiques dealership but mainly acts as a go-between for dirty businessmen and crooked politicians – and her two daughters Ning (Ke-Xi Wu) and Chen...
Set in the indeterminate past in the tropical metropolis Kaohsiung, the story centers around Madame Tang (Kara Wai) – who ostensibly runs an antiques dealership but mainly acts as a go-between for dirty businessmen and crooked politicians – and her two daughters Ning (Ke-Xi Wu) and Chen...
- 10/22/2017
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
This is the Pure Movies review of The Road to Mandalay, directed by Midi Z and starring Kai Ko and Ke-Xi Wu. We’re not wanting for tragedy at the moment, but it certainly seems like we could use a lesson or two in basic compassion. The tide of violent xenophobia masking itself as nationalist sentiment is perhaps the most niggling, pervasive example of this, and discussions on the issue frequently reduce the subjects to, at best, political pawns and, at worst, something resembling subhuman. It’s a minor miracle, then, that The Road to Mandalay is able to so delicately, so convincingly etch a human face onto an issue so abstracted and politicised.
- 10/9/2017
- by Joshua Glenn
- Pure Movies
Midi Z offers no happy endings in this compassionate, ripped-from-the-headlines story about a couple determined to make a better life in Thailand
This slow-burn drama with a ripped-from-the-headlines plot follows the ups and downs of a young Burmese-Chinese woman fleeing poverty in Myanmar to work illegally in Thailand. It’s an intensely moving film with a heart-and-soul lead performance by Ke-Xi Wu as Lianqing. Wu’s face barely moves, but her eyes register Lianqing’s feelings moment to moment, from the vertigo of homesickness at the start to her steely determination to make a better life in Thailand. The movie begins with Lianqing handing over her family’s life savings to people smugglers. On the journey she meets Guo (Kai Ko), a sweet guy who unselfishly takes her place in the boot of the Jeep (he has paid extra for a seat). When they reach Bangkok, Guo gets a job...
This slow-burn drama with a ripped-from-the-headlines plot follows the ups and downs of a young Burmese-Chinese woman fleeing poverty in Myanmar to work illegally in Thailand. It’s an intensely moving film with a heart-and-soul lead performance by Ke-Xi Wu as Lianqing. Wu’s face barely moves, but her eyes register Lianqing’s feelings moment to moment, from the vertigo of homesickness at the start to her steely determination to make a better life in Thailand. The movie begins with Lianqing handing over her family’s life savings to people smugglers. On the journey she meets Guo (Kai Ko), a sweet guy who unselfishly takes her place in the boot of the Jeep (he has paid extra for a seat). When they reach Bangkok, Guo gets a job...
- 9/28/2017
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
We’ve lamented the qualitative drop of Chinese cinema around this time last year, as Hu Guan’s glossy generational drama Mr. Six closed the Venice Film Festival on a decidedly mute note. Things aren’t looking up 12 months later, as the traditionally sinophile fest on Lido could not even save a token out-of-competition slot in its official selection for the world’s second largest film market. This came after an equally dismal showing at Cannes this May. Even taking the entire Chinese-language film world into account, whenever Taiwan’s Hou Hsiao-Hsien or Hong Kong’s Wong Kar-Wai don’t have a movie out – and those guys spend half an eternity on a project – one might be hard pressed to find the kind of artful and daring humanist fares that used to win favors from festivals everywhere.
While this major gap in working auteurs does not appear to be closing up anytime soon,...
While this major gap in working auteurs does not appear to be closing up anytime soon,...
- 9/14/2016
- by Zhuo-Ning Su
- The Film Stage
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