All Asia articles – Page 474

  • News

    Screen Australia issues its inaugural guidelines

    2008-10-28T01:10:00Z

    The four-month-old government film agency Screen Australia today issued guidelines on how it is going to spend its $60.5m (A$100m) per year. As expected, very experienced producers will most benefit under the new regime and large amounts of money will be directed into a small number of projects and businesses, ...

  • News

    KOFIC unveils Korean film industry rescue package

    2008-10-27T12:27:00Z

    The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) has announced a plan to revitalise the ailing local film industry, starting with the creation of film funds worth a combined $55.5m - including a $3.4m fund for international co-productions and another of the same amount for 'diversity films' (ie arthouse films). After coming under ...

  • News

    Tulpan takes best film and director at Tokyo fest

    2008-10-26T10:57:00Z

    Sergey Dvortsevoy's Tulpan was awarded the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix at today's conclusion of the 21st Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). The crystal trophy was accompanied by a cash prize of $100,000. Click here for review. Dvortsevoy also won the best director prize for the film, his feature directing debut. ...

  • News

    Asia Pacific Screen Awards unveil jury members

    2008-10-26T10:27:00Z

    Filmmakers from India, China and Korea have joined jury president Bruce Beresford for the judging of next month's Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSAs). Included is one of India's most highly regarded filmmaking veterans, actor and director Aparna Sen (Mr And Mrs Iyer). The chief creative officer responsible for commissioning Bengali ...

  • News

    TIFFCOM wraps successful edition despite competition

    2008-10-24T14:56:00Z

    Tokyo's TIFFCOM (Oct 22-24) wrapped Friday night with delegates agreeing the market was good for meetings involving Japanese counterparts, and was getting bigger and better. Despite being sandwiched between MIPCOM and the AFM, and taking place at the same time as the Rome Film Festival, the market was busier than ...

  • News

    Huayi Bros unveils fourfilms including Chen's Twilight

    2008-10-24T09:43:00Z

    Beijing-based Huayi Brothers Pictures has unveiled a new slate of four productionsfrom directors Tsui Hark, Feng Xiaogang, Chen Kuo-fu from Taiwan and Singapore's Jack Neo. Huayi Bros' president Wang Zhonglei announced the slate during his visit to the Tokyo International Film Festival.Chen Kuo-fu's Twilight, a drama about communist secret agents' ...

  • News

    TIFFCOM: Asmik Ace dresses Asia in Handsome Suit

    2008-10-24T04:50:00Z

    Japanese producer-distributor Asmik Ace closed several Asian deals for new comedy The Handsome Suit on the second day of the TIFFCOM market. The film was sold to Golden Harvest for Hong Kong and Macau; Serenity picked up Taiwanese rights, and Encore acquired rights for Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Bids for ...

  • News

    Canada's Evokative picks up Korean drama Crying Fist

    2008-10-23T06:43:00Z

    Evokative Films has picked up Canadian rights to Ryoo Seung-wan's boxer drama Crying Fist, following negotiations at the recent Asian Film Market in Pusan. Starring Choi Min-sik, Crying Fist premiered in Cannes' Directors Fortnight in 2005 where it won the FIPRESCI award, and also screened at numerous other festivals including ...

  • News

    TIFFCOM: Asia strives for regional, multi-platform content

    2008-10-23T03:46:00Z

    Asian territories need to work together to create content that can work across national borders and different distribution platforms, said delegates at a TIFFCOM seminar organised by UniJapan and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (TDC). 'Economy-wise, we have Europe, the Americas, and Asia, and we need to try to ...

  • News

    Asia PacificFilm Festivalpostponed due to lack of delegates

    2008-10-23T03:27:00Z

    The 52nd Asia Pacific Film Festival, which was scheduled to run November 18-21 in Jakarta, Indonesia, has been postponed due to a lack of overseas visitors, organisers have announced. The Federation of Motion Pictures Producers of Asia, which organises the event, cited the global economic downturn as the reason for ...

  • News

    TIFFCOM: Japan's Hexagon unveils five-picture slate

    2008-10-23T01:17:00Z

    Japan's Hexagon Pictures, a distributor that has recently entered production and international sales, unveiled its new line-up of five market premieres at a presentation held during the first day of the TIFFCOM market (Oct 22-24). The slate includes animated feature Chocolate Underground, based on Alex Shearer's children's novel Bootleg, which ...

  • News

    Pearce joins cast of Oz drama Animal Kingdom

    2008-10-22T14:19:00Z

    Guy Pearce (Memento) will play a troubled police officer in Animal Kingdom, written and to be directed by short filmmaker and former Australian film magazine editor David Michod. Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton and Jackie Weaver are also on board the debut drama which goes into production for Australian distributor Madman ...

  • News

    TIFFCOM: Tokyo delegates talk Japanese remakes

    2008-10-21T11:33:00Z

    US studio and independent producers spoke about the challenges and realities of negotiating, buying and producing remakes based on Japanese properties at the 'Hollywood Remake Business Talk Session' held in Tokyo today. The seminar was conducted under the umbrella of the TIFFCOM contents market, now in its fifth edition, which ...

  • News

    The Band's Visit takes top prize at Cinemanila fest

    2008-10-21T02:52:00Z

    The 10th Cinemanila Film Festival awarded its top prize to Israeli film The Band's Visit, directed by Eran Kolirin, it was announced on Monday night (Oct 20). The bittersweet comedy about an Egyptian police band arriving at a wrong destination in Israel beat six other films in the main competition ...

  • News

    AFI Awards to celebrate 50th edition with audience vote

    2008-10-21T02:27:00Z

    The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, The Castle, Gallipoli, Lantana and Muriel's Wedding have been voted Australia's favourite films in an online poll conducted to celebrate 50 years of Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. The films are listed alphabetically, not in order of their popularity; the biggest vote ...

  • News

    Chinese director Xie Jin dies aged 84

    2008-10-20T05:27:00Z

    Revered Chinese director Xie Jin died of sudden cardiac arrest on Saturday, Oct 18 in Shangyu city in China's Zhejiang province at the age of 84. The Shanghai-based filmmaker is seen as one of the most prolific in Chinese film history. He was also a member of the Academy of ...

  • News

    Singapore's Raintree partners with Irresistible Films

    2008-10-17T03:02:00Z

    Singapore's MediaCorp Raintree Pictures is to become the third partner inHong Kong-basedfilm fund, Irresistible Films, alongside producer Bill Kong and Japan's Avex Group. Raintreewill contribute a third share of the $25m fundwhich aims to invest in four to six Asian films a year, with budgets ranging between $1m-$3m, directed by ...

  • News

    Toho reaches $600m milestone in nine months

    2008-10-16T08:29:00Z

    Japan's Toho Studios, the territory's largest distributor, has reached combined box office earnings of Y60.01bn ($599.4m) in the first nine months of 2008. The figure sees Toho have its best year in history for the third year in a row, topping its previous earnings of Y59.51bn ($594.3m) last year. Toho ...

  • News

    First Cuts relaunches in Beijing and signs four directors

    2008-10-15T11:24:00Z

    Hong Kong producer Daniel Yu and Chinese filmmaker Tang Xiru have established a Beijing-based production company, First Cuts Features, todevelop and produce sixprojects from up-and-coming Asian filmmakers. The company, which is an extension of the 2005 Focus: First Cuts project, has already signed four mainland Chinese directors to start shooting ...

  • News

    Taiwan's Cape No. 7 scoops Golden Orchid in Hawaii

    2008-10-15T09:56:00Z

    The 28th Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF) has awarded its Halekulani Golden Orchid Award for best narrative feature to Taiwanese comedy Cape No. 7, directed by Wei Te-Sheng. The film has been a smash hit in its home territory, grossing more than $4m in Taipei alone, and has been submitted ...