The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (Hkiffs) has added 15 work-in-progress projects to the 22nd Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), rounding up a bumper line-up of the new Hkiff Project Market.
This year, Haf joins the inaugural Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg) to create the new Hkiff Industry Project Market, which will showcase 47 projects, including 26 previously announced in-development Haf projects and six Hcg projects.
The Wip section will introduce the latest works by notable filmmakers such as Chang Tso-Chi, Lav Diaz, Mark Gill, Midi Z, Tan Chui Mui, and Yang Chao as well as by prominent and emerging actors,...
This year, Haf joins the inaugural Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg) to create the new Hkiff Industry Project Market, which will showcase 47 projects, including 26 previously announced in-development Haf projects and six Hcg projects.
The Wip section will introduce the latest works by notable filmmakers such as Chang Tso-Chi, Lav Diaz, Mark Gill, Midi Z, Tan Chui Mui, and Yang Chao as well as by prominent and emerging actors,...
- 2/1/2024
- ScreenDaily
The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (Hkiffs) has unveiled 26 in-development projects for the 22nd Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), which will become part of the newly expanded Hkiff Industry Project Market.
The lineup features both veteran and rising filmmakers including Koji Fukada, Hong Khaou, Jang Kun-jae, Qiu Jiongjiong, Patiparn Boontarig, Wang Xiaoshuai, Teruhisa Yamamoto, and Zhang Lu. The projects cover comedy, horror, action, romance and family drama, including seven first features, two animations and a string of cross-country collaborations.
Scroll down for full list of projects
“The selection is a testament to the resurgence of diversity and the revitalisation of international collaborations,...
The lineup features both veteran and rising filmmakers including Koji Fukada, Hong Khaou, Jang Kun-jae, Qiu Jiongjiong, Patiparn Boontarig, Wang Xiaoshuai, Teruhisa Yamamoto, and Zhang Lu. The projects cover comedy, horror, action, romance and family drama, including seven first features, two animations and a string of cross-country collaborations.
Scroll down for full list of projects
“The selection is a testament to the resurgence of diversity and the revitalisation of international collaborations,...
- 1/18/2024
- ScreenDaily
The title of writer-director Zhang Lu’s The Shadowless Tower refers to the Miaoying Temple, whose pagoda, built in Beijing in 1279, offers little to no shade thanks to its unique design. Throughout the film, the pagoda looms large over characters but is often placed far enough in the background to feel almost invisible, a paradox reflected in Gu Wentong (Xin Balqing), a divorced father whose life has settled into a dispassionate existence.
Having just lost his mother, Wentong is goaded out of his dull routine of work and care for his young daughter when his brother-in-law, Li Jun (Wang Hongwei), informs him of the whereabouts of the man’s long-estranged father, Yunlai. Jun’s nervous plea to not tell Wentong’s sister (Li Qinqin) about his contact with the man hints at a dark family history that nonetheless doesn’t stop Wentong from attempting to re-establish ties with his father.
Having just lost his mother, Wentong is goaded out of his dull routine of work and care for his young daughter when his brother-in-law, Li Jun (Wang Hongwei), informs him of the whereabouts of the man’s long-estranged father, Yunlai. Jun’s nervous plea to not tell Wentong’s sister (Li Qinqin) about his contact with the man hints at a dark family history that nonetheless doesn’t stop Wentong from attempting to re-establish ties with his father.
- 9/22/2023
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
Chinese cinema is a layered world waiting to be explored and discovered, particularly in its more “independent” sphere. The term “Chinese independent cinema” refers to a new wave movement in film that emerged in China during the late 1990s and early 2000s. During this time, an increasing number of independent filmmakers began creating films outside of the state-controlled film industry. Since then, directors have been venturing into themes and styles that deviate from mainstream narratives, with a primary focus on the experiences and struggles of ordinary people. Chinese independent cinema has made a significant impact both domestically and internationally by offering alternative perspectives and narratives that often delve into social, political, and cultural issues in contemporary China. This list aims to present five essential works of the Chinese independent film movement from the 1990s that you absolutely shouldn't miss.
5. Mama
Considered the very first Chinese independent work, this low-budget black...
5. Mama
Considered the very first Chinese independent work, this low-budget black...
- 7/15/2023
- by Siria Falleroni
- AsianMoviePulse
The eccentric design of the White Pagoda, a 13th-century Buddhist temple in the Xicheng district of Beijing, makes it hard to see its shadow. This has given rise to the local legend that its shade can actually be found some two thousand miles away in Tibet, the temple’s spiritual home. The landmark is a constant presence in Chinese director Zhang Lu’s tender, brimming “The Shadowless Tower,” which fixes its setting in the very heart of the Chinese capital, a city rarely portrayed as fondly as it is here. But the pagoda can also be seen as an evocatively imperfect metaphor for a lifestage: that tipping point in the middle of one’s time when, with the past and future weighing equally on either side, you can feel disoriented and suddenly directionless, as when the sun is directly overhead and you cast no shadow.
The gently befuddled Gu Wentong...
The gently befuddled Gu Wentong...
- 2/18/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
by Simon Ramshaw
There is a moment in Jia Zhangke’s “Platform” where an argument between a cynic and an idealist creates an unexpected glimpse of a bright future. One of the film’s central characters Cui Mingliang (Wang Hongwei) declares “the four modernisations: Industry, Agriculture, Defense and Science” will be embraced by China in the year 2000, and it’s no mistake that this statement is a bitterly ironic one for his little town. Taking place between 1979 and 1989, Jia’s second feature film looks at the fallout of the death of Mao Zedong and the formation of the People’s Republic of China, which leaves the performers of provincial Communist theatre troupes without the purpose they once had in Mao’s lifetime. Their stage plays are state-sanctioned propaganda that young and old alike attend in their droves, yet there is the pervasive feeling that this nostalgia will take them nowhere.
There is a moment in Jia Zhangke’s “Platform” where an argument between a cynic and an idealist creates an unexpected glimpse of a bright future. One of the film’s central characters Cui Mingliang (Wang Hongwei) declares “the four modernisations: Industry, Agriculture, Defense and Science” will be embraced by China in the year 2000, and it’s no mistake that this statement is a bitterly ironic one for his little town. Taking place between 1979 and 1989, Jia’s second feature film looks at the fallout of the death of Mao Zedong and the formation of the People’s Republic of China, which leaves the performers of provincial Communist theatre troupes without the purpose they once had in Mao’s lifetime. Their stage plays are state-sanctioned propaganda that young and old alike attend in their droves, yet there is the pervasive feeling that this nostalgia will take them nowhere.
- 1/25/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
The Berlin Film Festival on Monday unveiled the titles selected for its official competition as well as its sidebar Encounters competitive section.
A total of 18 films have been selected for the international competition with highlights including Christian Petzold’s latest film Roter Himmel (Afire), Margarethe von Trotta directing Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps in Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey Into the Desert, and Philippe Garrel returns with a new feature titled The Plough.
Scroll down for the full lineup.
This morning the festival also revealed an extra special screening: Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn will debut a documentary titled Superpower, a film shot in Ukraine last year at the outbreak of Russia’s invasion and follows president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 16-26.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. The festival had initially done a good job of increasing...
A total of 18 films have been selected for the international competition with highlights including Christian Petzold’s latest film Roter Himmel (Afire), Margarethe von Trotta directing Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps in Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey Into the Desert, and Philippe Garrel returns with a new feature titled The Plough.
Scroll down for the full lineup.
This morning the festival also revealed an extra special screening: Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn will debut a documentary titled Superpower, a film shot in Ukraine last year at the outbreak of Russia’s invasion and follows president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 16-26.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. The festival had initially done a good job of increasing...
- 1/23/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
As the film of the week I select Jia Zhangke’s feature directorial debut “Pickpocket”, out of the simple reason that it can be currently seen in its restored glory on Mubi. The film, originally shot on 16mm, stars Wang Hongwei as an outcast con-artist Xiao Wu who is equally estranged from the society and his partners in crime, and whose name serves as the film’s original title.
As it is going to be the case in Zhangke’s later body of work, the milieu the film is set up in in his hometown, it is spoken in the local Mandarine dialect, and the plot is heavily charged with symbolism. Little poisonous arrows are flying towards the direction of the alleged socialist society in which money talks, prostitution blooms, and in which the police turns a blind eye to corruption and middle-scale crime, noticing and punishing petty criminals only.
As it is going to be the case in Zhangke’s later body of work, the milieu the film is set up in in his hometown, it is spoken in the local Mandarine dialect, and the plot is heavily charged with symbolism. Little poisonous arrows are flying towards the direction of the alleged socialist society in which money talks, prostitution blooms, and in which the police turns a blind eye to corruption and middle-scale crime, noticing and punishing petty criminals only.
- 9/5/2022
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Often presented as a glossy corporate fantasia in the country’s government-approved commercial cinema, China tends to look like a very different place in the independent films that manage to escape its borders (and receive prominent exposure at festivals around the world).
Hardly a new phenomenon, this dichotomy seems to have grown even more severe with the last two generations of Chinese directors — while googly-eyed studio claptrap like “Monster Hunt” slays at the box office, scrappy, auteur-driven fare like Li Yang’s “Blind Mountain” and Diao Yinan’s “Black Coal, Thin Ice” paint the People’s Republic as a bleak wasteland where many laws don’t apply, and the ones that do seem sadistically designed to test the morality of the people they’re imposed upon. And, of course, to serve as prompts for some very dark thrillers.
Read More: Exclusive: Zeitgeist Films Picks Up Johnny Ma’s Debut Feature...
Hardly a new phenomenon, this dichotomy seems to have grown even more severe with the last two generations of Chinese directors — while googly-eyed studio claptrap like “Monster Hunt” slays at the box office, scrappy, auteur-driven fare like Li Yang’s “Blind Mountain” and Diao Yinan’s “Black Coal, Thin Ice” paint the People’s Republic as a bleak wasteland where many laws don’t apply, and the ones that do seem sadistically designed to test the morality of the people they’re imposed upon. And, of course, to serve as prompts for some very dark thrillers.
Read More: Exclusive: Zeitgeist Films Picks Up Johnny Ma’s Debut Feature...
- 11/29/2016
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
An official Us trailer has debuted for a film titled Old Stone, the feature directorial debut of Johnny Ma. If you follow international news, you may remember hearing news stories about how drivers in China will go back and kill people if they accidentally hit them. It's because the laws over there make it easier for the accused to get away if the person is dead, rather than just injured. Old Stone seems to be the first film made that examines one of these incidents. It's described as an intense "psychological thriller" about a taxi driver battling bureaucracy and legal manipulation in China. This premiered at Tiff and Berlin to mostly positive reviews, and it looks like it'll leave your head spinning. Starring Chen Gang, Nai An & Wang Hongwei. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Johnny Ma's Old Stone, direct from YouTube (via Tfs): For Lao Shi...
- 11/22/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
After earning acclaim for his short films in the past few years, Chinese-Canadian director Johnny Ma brought his directorial debut Old Stone to Toronto International Film Festival this year where it was awarded Best Canadian First Feature Film. Picked up by Zeitgeist Films, it’ll now get a release next week and the U.S. trailer has arrived for the thriller which follows a taxi driver doing a good deed that has major repercussions.
We said in our review, “Old Stone (Lao Shi) is a film wrapped around the gut-wrenching dilemma of a man who knows a moral choice but struggles to find the fortitude to carry through with it against a broken social system punishing him for it. The divide between epistemological knowledge of right from wrong is often played in films, couched in a vacuity that assumes vagueness for insight into the moral condition of humanity, but Old...
We said in our review, “Old Stone (Lao Shi) is a film wrapped around the gut-wrenching dilemma of a man who knows a moral choice but struggles to find the fortitude to carry through with it against a broken social system punishing him for it. The divide between epistemological knowledge of right from wrong is often played in films, couched in a vacuity that assumes vagueness for insight into the moral condition of humanity, but Old...
- 11/21/2016
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Old Stone (Lao Shi) is a film wrapped around the gut-wrenching dilemma of a man who knows a moral choice but struggles to find the fortitude to carry through with it against a broken social system punishing him for it. The divide between epistemological knowledge of right from wrong is often played in films, couched in a vacuity that assumes vagueness for insight into the moral condition of humanity, but Old Stone is content to build its foundation on a scenario with very little grey area. Instead, the film tackles a much more interesting conceit: the struggle to be righteous even when — especially when — we know with certainty what the cost will be.
Johnny Ma‘s debut film is both a potent exhibit of social realism, tackling a specific moral apathy in contemporary China and a tense, atmospheric crime thriller. A Chinese-Canadian film, it’s impressive as a first feature...
Johnny Ma‘s debut film is both a potent exhibit of social realism, tackling a specific moral apathy in contemporary China and a tense, atmospheric crime thriller. A Chinese-Canadian film, it’s impressive as a first feature...
- 10/5/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Rushes collects news, articles, images, videos and more for a weekly roundup of essential items from the world of film.NEWSThai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, whose brilliant Cemetery of Splendor will be released in the Us this spring, has revealed a new installation work, Home Movie, made for Sydney's 2016 Biennale. According to his website, "an exhibition space hosts a cave-like ritual where people gather to simply take in the light": "In this home-cave, the heat is both comfortable and threatening. A fireball is an organic-like machine with phantom fans to blow away the heat and, at the same time, rouse the fire, which is impossible to put out even in dreams."This season seems to be one of cinema masters passing. In addition to the directors who've died over the last month, we've lost two great cinematographers this week. First, Douglas Slocombe, who shot the first three Indian Jones films,...
- 2/27/2016
- by Notebook
- MUBI
In today's Berlinale Diary entry, I offer first impressions of Eugène Green's Le Fils de Joseph with Victor Ezenfis, Natacha Régnier, Fabrizio Rongione, Mathieu Amalric and Maria de Medeiros; Wang Bing's Ta'ang, a documentary on refugees crossing the border from Myanmar into China; Yang Chao's years-in-the-making Crosscurrent with Qin Hao, Xin Zhi Lei, Wu Lipeng, Wang Hongwei and Jiang Hualin; and Rafi Pitts's Soy Nero with Johnny Ortiz, Rory Cochrane, Aml Ameen, Darrell Britt-Gibson and Michael Harney. » - David Hudson...
- 2/16/2016
- Keyframe
In today's Berlinale Diary entry, I offer first impressions of Eugène Green's Le Fils de Joseph with Victor Ezenfis, Natacha Régnier, Fabrizio Rongione, Mathieu Amalric and Maria de Medeiros; Wang Bing's Ta'ang, a documentary on refugees crossing the border from Myanmar into China; Yang Chao's years-in-the-making Crosscurrent with Qin Hao, Xin Zhi Lei, Wu Lipeng, Wang Hongwei and Jiang Hualin; and Rafi Pitts's Soy Nero with Johnny Ortiz, Rory Cochrane, Aml Ameen, Darrell Britt-Gibson and Michael Harney. » - David Hudson...
- 2/16/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
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