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Kartik Aaryan’s upcoming action drama “Captain India” is set amid the Houthi conflict in Yemen, Variety understands. The film marks Aaryan’s first turn as a pilot. Shimit Amin directs the project, which is based on a real humanitarian evacuation. Aaryan’s character leads the rescue effort. That conflict is central to the story and adds a […]
Malaysia’s 47 million target was out of reach before the haze arrived; the year-end damage now depends on whether travelers rule out more than the worst-hit areas.
Kore-eda Hirokazu ran the screenplay for his AI-themed Cannes title “Sheep in the Box” past a generative AI chatbot, then cut it loose after concluding that notes from something with no personal history with cinema were of no use to him. Kore-eda, who is receiving the Cinema Honorary Award at the Singapore International Film Festival, […]
Gianni Infantino's hopes of being re-elected Fifa president are enhanced by an endorsement from the Asian Football Confederation.
Acclaimed Asian filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun, director of “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” and “The Warlords,” said he will probably use AI in his filmmaking but “definitely not AIGC,” or AI-generated content, and that the two-hour feature will hold its ground against short-form and vertical dramas, at least in his lifetime. Speaking at an In […]
ASEAN's consensus-driven approach and a lack of enforcement mechanisms make legal action difficult, experts say.
Indonesia’s film agency is helping draft a revised Film Law that would reshape its powers, while Jakarta, where Netflix now has four titles in production, is working to become a regional film hub. Fauzan Zidni, chair of the Indonesian Film Agency (BPI), tells Variety the first draft, prepared with the Ministry of Culture, has taken […]
Every series Bengali streamer Hoichoi launches over the next two years will get Hindi, Tamil and Telugu-language versions streaming exclusively on Netflix, under a partnership the two companies unveiled in Mumbai on Thursday. New titles will arrive on Netflix in the three languages at the same time as their Bengali debut on Hoichoi. The first […]
Producers behind Fan Bingbing’s “Mother Bhumi,” Cannes Un Certain Regard title “Rehana Maryam Noor” and BBC One and Stan drama “The Tourist” are among 14 picks for the debut Producers Exchange at Indonesia’s JAFF Market, which will hold its third edition Nov. 28-30 in Yogyakarta. The market runs alongside the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (JAFF) […]
Southeast Asia's rapid AI adoption is creating business opportunities beyond paid consumer subscriptions, a partner at Bain & Company, told CNBC.
Vietnamese whodunit “Karaoke Murder” will open in cinemas across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia on the same weekend, a first for a film from Vietnam, according to its backers. The film, titled “Án Mạng Karaoke” in Vietnamese, will bow nationwide at home on Oct. 30. U.S.-based specialty distributor 3388 Films will release it that […]
Nitesh Tiwari’s “Ramayana: Part One,” starring Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, will be available to buy on demand from streamer JioHotstar in India after its theatrical run. The deal between JioHotstar and Prime Focus Studios will see the film sold as a separate on-demand purchase on the platform. The companies described it as the first pay-per-view […]
Japanese filmmaker Ishikawa Hiroshi, whose credits include “Tokyo.sora,” “Su-ki-da.” and “Petal Dance,” is back with his first feature in 13 years. His new film, “the blue we touch” (original title: “Awo no Jo”), is in post-production and will be released in Japan in 2027 by Bitters End, which unveiled the project ahead of the Tokyo […]
India is grappling with growing public anger against data centers that pose a threat to its ambitions to host the whole world's data.
South Korean director Hur Jin-ho thanked the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) for defending freedom of expression as his political thriller “The Assassin(s)” opened the festival’s 37th edition on Wednesday, two weeks after the Korea’s conservative opposition asked SGIFF to pull it. “I am truly grateful to the film festival for protecting artistic freedom and […]
Thailand’s and Nepal’s Oscar submissions, “9 Temples to Heaven” and “Elephants in the Fog,” are among 10 titles competing at the 27th edition of Tokyo Filmex, which will run Nov. 20–29 in the Japanese capital’s Yurakucho district. Taiwanese actor Lee Kang-sheng, who has appeared in every feature by auteur Tsai Ming-liang since “Rebels of the […]
Thai singer-songwriter and actor Jeff Satur, whose music has passed 2 billion streams, has signed with Universal Music Southeast Asia (UM SEA), the regional division of Universal Music Group, as he pushes to take T-pop to a global audience. The first major release under the new deal will be Satur’s second studio album, slated for […]
Park Min-young, the star of “Marry My Husband,” will lead “Nine to Six,” a Korean office romance. Yook Sung-jae of K-pop group BtoB and Go Soo co-star in the 12-episode series. Park plays Kang Yi-ji, a senior manager on the legal team at a company called Chronic Motors. Logical and driven, Yi-ji has carved out […]
Kurosawa Kiyoshi and “Ju-on” director Shimizu Takashi are among the seven filmmakers behind “Night Tales Club,” a six-part Japanese supernatural anthology series set to premiere on Disney+ and Hulu in January 2027. Yamada Takayuki leads the series as Hojo, a high-flying businessman fixated on the unexplained who acts as its storyteller. Each episode adapts a […]
A "Super El Niño" has fuelled months-long fires in Indonesia, making hundreds of thousands of people sick.
