All articles by Liz Shackleton – Page 141

  • News

    Young's Christmas Rose receives full financing at HAF

    2009-03-25T11:52:00Z

    Charlie Young's Christmas Rose received the HAF Excellence Award at the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) today, for managing to raise its entire $2m budget at the three-day event. Beijing-based Orange Sky Entertainment stepped up on the second day of the market to fully finance the film - ...

  • News

    Filmart takes on regional flavour

    2009-03-25T03:57:00Z

    As Filmart reached the half-way point on Tuesday, sellers were reporting that the market was relatively busy but much more Asia-focused than in previous years.'We've been quite busy but most of our meetings have been with Asian buyers - there are fewer companies from the US and Europe and substantially ...

  • News

    Fortissimo seals deals on Food, Mishima, Face

    2009-03-24T20:30:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has sealed a slew of deals on food industry documentary Food, Inc following its screening at the Berlinale and during Filmart, including a sale to A-Films for Benelux and Cafe Groove for Japan.The film, which world premiered at Toronto before it screened in Berlin, has also gone to ...

  • News

    Sundream takes Hong Kong rights to TWC's musical Nine

    2009-03-23T20:30:00Z

    Hong Kong’s Sundream Motion Pictures has acquired all Hong Kong rights to Rob Marshall’s musical Nine from The Weinstein Company (TWC).Sundream has an output deal with TWC but, according to Sundream vice president of buinsess development, Tom Cheung, the expensive film was acquired outside that arrangement.Currently in post-production for US ...

  • News

    Fortissimo picks up rights outside Japan to Kore-eda's Air Doll

    2009-03-23T20:30:00Z

    Fortissimo Films has picked up all rights outside Japan to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Air Doll. Japan’s Asmik Ace Entertainment negotiated the deal on behalf of its co-production partners on the film - Engine Film, Bandai Visual, TV Man Union and Eisei Gekijo.Kor-eda won the Asian Film Award for best director last ...

  • News

    Japanese cinema triumphs at Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong

    2009-03-23T14:00:00Z

    Japanese cinema triumphed at the Asian Film Awards last night, with three Japanese dramas -Tokyo Sonata, Still WalkingandDepartures- clinching four of the top prizes.Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata walked off with best film and best screenwriter; Hirokazu Kore-eda took the best director prize for Still Walking, and Motoki Masahiro scooped best ...

  • News

    Cinema Popular unveils $23m historical epic Bodyguards & Assassins

    2009-03-23T06:00:00Z

    Start-up production and financing outfit Cinema Popular is unveiling its debut production today at Filmart - $23m historical epic Bodyguards And Assassins - to be directed by Teddy Chen.The film, which starts shooting in early April, features a host of Hong Kong and Chinese stars including Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, ...

  • News

    Hong Kong's 852 Films begins production on first feature Dream Home

    2009-03-23T02:06:00Z

    New Hong Kong production and financing outfit 852 Films has started production on award-winning director Pang Ho Cheung’s latest film,Dream Home, starring Josie Ho, Anthony Wong and Eason Chan.The film, in which Ho plays a woman who will stop of nothing to own her dream home, is Pang’s first foray ...

  • News

    Germany's M-Appeal picks up internationalto Yang Yang

    2009-03-23T01:41:00Z

    Germany’s M-Appeal has picked up international rights to Taiwanese director Cheng Yu-chieh’sYang Yang, which recently had its world premiere in the Panorama section at Berlin.The film, which follows a young Eurasian woman in Taiwan struggling with cultural identity issues, is also screening at the awards gala of the Hong Kong ...

  • News

    Universe puts Filmart buyers on Alert with Benny Chan actioner

    2009-03-23T01:09:00Z

    Hong Kong’s Universe Films Distribution is introducing the latest project from hot action director Benny Chan - $10m sci-fi action title City On Alert (working title) - to buyers at Filmart.Chan is producing and will direct the film, which is set to star Aaron Kwok, Wu Jing and Shu Qi. ...

  • News

    Distribution Workshop adds Road, Curse to sales slate

    2009-03-23T00:54:00Z

    Distribution Workshop has added a further two projects to its fast-growing slate - Derek Chiu’s romantic dramaThe Road Less Travelledand Lo Chi-leung’s horrorCurse Of The Deserted- both of which started shooting at the end of last month.The Road Less Travelled stars Louis Koo, Huang Yi and Karen Mok and is ...

  • News

    Animax Asia unveils first original HD production LaMB

    2009-03-20T03:11:00Z

    Sony's Animax Asia channel has unveiled its first original HD animation production, LaMB, which is set to be released over multiple platforms including TV, internet and mobile phones. Backed by the $6m Singapore Economic Development Board and SPE Networks Asia Joint Production Fund, and executive produced by Animax Asia, the ...

  • News

    HAF: high-profile directors and Philippines focus

    2009-03-20T00:00:00Z

    The seventh edition of the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) will present 27 Asian projects over three days from March 23-25.High-profile directors in the line-up include China's Lu Chuan and Ning Hao, who participated in HAF 2005 with their now completed films Nanking! Nanking! and Crazy Racer respectively; ...

  • News

    HKIFF to showcase changing local industry

    2009-03-20T00:00:00Z

    Both of the opening films of this year's Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) - Derek Yee's Shinjuku Incident and Ann Hui's Night And Fog - are from Hong Kong film-makers, reflecting the creative strength of the local film industry despite the challenges it now faces.Produced by Emperor Motion Pictures ...

  • News

    Filmart's hottest projects for international buyers

    2009-03-20T00:00:00Z

    This year's Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart) gets underway at a difficult time for the international film industry - a period when production finance is scarce and travel budgets are being trimmed. But while ripples from the global financial tsunami - as it is known in this ...

  • News

    Star appoints Yim as head of Chinese filmprogramming

    2009-03-19T11:18:00Z

    Regional broadcaster Star has appointed Cora Yim as vice president, programming for Star Chinese Movies and Star Chinese Movies 2. Yim was previously director of marketing & strategic planning for Hong Kong-based animation producer Imagi International Holdings. Prior to that, she was senior manager, acquisition & marketing at Hong Kong's ...

  • News

    SPHE appoints Meade to oversee China operations

    2009-03-17T02:50:00Z

    Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) has appointed Tim Meade as vice president, SPHE China. He was previously vice president, Asia Emerging Markets for the studio. Based in Hong Kong, Meade will oversee the expansion of SPHE's operations in China wherethe studiohas recently begun the manufacture and distribution of Blu-ray discs. ...

  • News

    Sutherland, Hurt, Stone to attend 33rd HKIFF

    2009-03-11T06:08:00Z

    The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) has announced that Kiefer Sutherland, William Hurt and Oliver Stone will be attending the33rd edition of the festival which kicks off later this month (March 22-April 13). Sutherland and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will be on hand to present Monsters Vs. Aliens ...

  • News

    Hong Kong's Celestial strikes Canadian licensing deal

    2009-03-11T05:45:00Z

    Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures has signed a licensing deal with Canada's Rogers Cable Communications under which select titles from its Shaw Brothers library will be available on Rogers' On Demand digital cable platform. Initially, over 20 titles of different genres - kung-fu, thriller, action and musical - will be offered ...

  • News

    Opinion: Eastern promisesin the long term

    2009-03-06T00:00:00Z

    At the recent FICCI Frames conference in Mumbai, Anand Mahindra, a leading industrialist and recent entrant to the film business, said he was convinced India's economy would recover more quickly than other major economies for two reasons.First, he believes India has a great strength in its agricultural sector, which is ...