All Asia articles – Page 485
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Arranged wins best picture at Japan's Skip City fest
US-based directors Stephan Schaefer and Diane Crespo's Arranged has won best picture at the 5th annual Skip City International Digital Cinema Festival (July 19-27). The accolade also carried a $92,700 (Y10m) cash prize by fest sponsor Sony. Arranged tells the story of two female teachers in Brooklyn, one Jewish and ...
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Japanese box office plummets 13.7% in first half of 2008
Japanese box office earnings for the first half of 2008 totaled $743.54m (Y79.83bn), a 13.7% drop from the same period last year, according to figures reported by media trade publication Bunka Tsushin.The total comprises grosses of the the top 13 foreign and local distributors in the territory, representing approximately 95% ...
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Naked Of Defenses picks up top prize at Japan's Pia fest
Japanese director Masahide Ichii's Naked Of Defenses won the Grand Prix at the 30th edition of the Pia Film Festival (PFF), which ran from July 19 to 25 in Tokyo's Shibuya district. A total of 15 films, both feature-length and shorts, were selected to screen in competition from 601 submissions ...
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Melbourne fest's financing market and fund to continue
The government of the Australian state of Victoria brought a smile to the faces of filmmakers attending the opening of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) tonight, by pledging $2.3m (A$2.4m) to extend the life of the festival's investment fund and financing market. 'We were not certain that funding would ...
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Hong Kong's Media Asia takes back Infernal rights
Hong Kong's Media Asia has announced that it has retrieved rights to seven films it had previously licensed to UK-US distributor Tartan Group, including its hugely successful Infernal Affairs trilogy. In a legal notice, the Hong Kong company said that, as of July 4, it has terminated all licence agreements ...
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Palador lines up October release for Tokyo Sonata
India's Palador Pictures is planning to release Tokyo Sonata by Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa in October this year. Palador picked up theaward-winning titlefrom Fortissimo Films at this year's Cannes. The Best Film Award in the Asian & Arab category bagged by Tokyo Sonata at the recently concluded Osian's-Cinefan film festival ...
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Korean film exportsup by37% in first half of 2008
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) hasreported local box office and export figures for the first half of the year, which show that film exports bounced up by 37% to $10.2m, after steep declines since 2005. Sales to North America shot up by 1,740% from $154,500 to $2.84m, mostly due to ...
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PiFan's genre projects market has successful first edition
The Network of Asian Fantastic Films (NAFF)'s inaugural projects marketwrapped today (July 23), with participants agreeing that it had been an 'energy cluster' of an event. Running concurrently to the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan), the four-day 'It Project'event isAsia's first projects marketto focus specifically on genre films.US director ...
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Studio Ghibli's Ponyo claims Japanese summer box office crown
As expected, director Hayao Miyazaki's latest animated feature Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea claimed the number one spot atJapan's box office over the three-day holiday weekend (July 19-21), earning $14.84m (Y1.58bn) on 1.25 million (1,251,207) admissions Distributor Toho opened the Studio Ghibli film on 481 screens, the widest ...
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Kismat scores second highest opening of the year in India
UTV Motion Pictures release Kismat Konnection grossed $6.3m (Rs270m) worldwide on its opening weekend (July 18-20), including $4.9m (Rs208m) in India, which makes it the second biggest opener of the year in its home territory. Directed by Aziz Mirza and produced by Tips Production, the Hindi-language film was shot in ...
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Paramount sets up Acquisitions Group for International, Vantage
Paramount Pictures has created the new Paramount Worldwide Acquisitions Group (PWAG), a centralised acquisitions and local productions arm that will service Paramount Pictures International and its worldwide territories as well as US-based Paramount Vantage.PPI president Andrew Cripps and Paramount Vantage president Nick Meyer jointly announced the plans today.Matt Brodlie, Paramount ...
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Disney acquires home video rights to Hindi hit
Walt Disney Co has acquired home video rights for North America, the UK and Australia to hit Hindi movie, Taare Zameen Par, directed by and starring Aamir Khan. Mumbai-based UTV Motion Pictures holdsinternational rights to the film which was a big hit when it was released in December last year, ...
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Ivin starts Australian shoot for Last Ride starring Hugo Weaving
Glendyn Ivin starts shooting Last Ride today in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.The film stars Matrix and Lord Of The Rings veteran Hugo Weaving as a dad on the run with his son (played by Tom Russell) as they venture 'deeper into the outback and deeper into trouble.' The cast also ...
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The Good, The Bad sprints past two million admissions
Leading Korean distributor CJ Entertainment has announced that Kim Jee-woon's Oriental Western The Good, The Bad, The Weird has had a smash opening with 2,186,000 admissions on 821 screens as of this morning (July 21). The film has grossed $14m since it opened Thursday (July 17) on 710 screens with ...
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Tokyo Sonata wins best film at Osian's Cinefan
Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Tokyo Sonata was awarded best film at the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema on Saturday night (July 19). Best director went to Turkey's Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Three Monkeys, echoing his best director win at Cannes earlier this year. Tokyo Sonata also screened ...
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UTV releases Kismat day-and-date in Pakistan
India's UTV Motion Pictures released its fourth Hindi film of the year today (July 18), Kismat Konnection, across 720 screens in India and 200 in overseas markets. The overseas territories include the UK, US, Middle East, Australia and Pakistan, which will also have a day-and-date release.Directed by Aziz Mirza and ...
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MegaStar Media opens fifth multiplex in Vietnam
Vietnamese exhibitor MegaStar Media has opened its fifth multiplex in Vietnam, in the central coastal city of Danang.Situated in the new shopping mall, Vinh Trung Plaza, the cinema has six screens and 854 seats, which brings MegaStar's total screen count to 36.The exhibitor, which is a joint venture between Envoy ...
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Japan sees increase in digital and Imax screens
Exhibition technology is accelerating in Japan with announcements of four new large-scale Imax screens and Japan's first all-digital multiplex. Major studio Shochiku has announced tech specifications of its new 10-screen multiplex, the Shinjuku Piccadilly, set to open tomorrow (July 19).In partnership with DLP market leader Christie Digital Systems (in Japan ...
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Ledger to be honoured by Brisbane Film Festival
The late actor, Heath Ledger, was this morning named as the latest recipient of the Chauvel Award, given each year as part of the Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) to celebrate someone who has made a distinguished contribution to Australian cinema. Ledger was nominated for an Academy Award for his ...
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North Korean refugee drama crosses into Japan
South Korean distributor/investor Big House Vantage Holdings has announced the sale of North Korean refugee film Crossing to Cinequanon for Japan. Sales agent Fine Cut handled the deal for the film.Crossing is based on the true stories of people oppressed by the politics and poverty in North Korea, who risk ...