Topic: Asia | RocksNews

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Pakistani Drama ‘Dancers’ Brings a Generation Torn Between Leaving and Staying Home to Busan Asian Project Market

The pull between leaving Pakistan and staying rooted there drives “Dancers,” writer-director Eshah Shakeel’s coming-of-age drama about two young people in a Punjab town near Lahore who bond through clandestine dance lessons. The project is part of the Asian Project Market, which runs within the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market. Paras […]

9 Oct 2026, 22:05 UTC

Karlovy Vary Title ‘The Ink-Stained Hand and a Missing Thumb’ Lands at Diversion for World Sales (EXCLUSIVE)

World sales rights to Yashasvi Juyal’s debut feature “The Ink-Stained Hand and a Missing Thumb,” which premiered in Karlovy Vary’s Proxima Competition, have gone to Bangkok-based Diversion. The film’s next stop is the Singapore International Film Festival, where it will have its Asian premiere in the Asian Feature Film Competition. Uttarakhand-based Silvercord Films produced the […]

9 Oct 2026, 22:05 UTC

AI-Assisted Animated K-Drama ‘The Painted Soul’ From ‘Mouse’ Director Sets Rakuten Viki Launch (EXCLUSIVE)

“The Painted Soul,” an original animated K-drama from “Mouse” director Choi Junbae, will launch exclusively on Rakuten Viki on Oct. 21 across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, India and Southeast Asia. The fantasy romance is co-produced by Viki and South Korean outfit Imaginus, whose creatives used AI and other technologies in developing the […]

9 Oct 2026, 14:01 UTC

UTA and Gold House Set Partnership to Build Asia-Hollywood Bridge (EXCLUSIVE)

UTA and Gold House are joining forces at the Busan International Film Festival and in Seoul this month, marking the Asian Pacific advocacy organization’s first official foray into Korea as the two look to connect Asian creatives and investors with Hollywood. The partnership kicks off with the UTA x Gold House x Variety Industry Night […]

9 Oct 2026, 09:59 UTC

South Asian Filmmakers to Vie for $150,000 at Tasveer Film Market as Netflix, Aamir Khan Pictures Attend

South Asian filmmakers from around the world will compete for $150,000 in grants at the third Tasveer Film Market, held in tandem with the 21st edition of the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle from Oct. 13-18. The market has picked 12 fiction and documentary features, all in late-stage development, for its Tasveer Market Selects strand. […]

9 Oct 2026, 07:58 UTC

Annecy Sci-Fi Animation ‘Pilgrims,’ From ‘Japan Sinks: 2020’ Director Heo Pyoungkang, Lands at EST N8 (EXCLUSIVE)

“Pilgrims,” a Korean sci-fi animated feature that played Annecy and took a prize at Bucheon, has been picked up for worldwide sales by EST N8. It is the first animated title for the film financing, sales and distribution company. EST N8 will launch international sales on the film at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian […]

9 Oct 2026, 07:58 UTC

Indian Crime Drama ‘Chaar Yaar’ Sets Global Premiere on Prime Video (EXCLUSIVE)

“Chaar Yaar,” an eight-episode Hindi-language crime drama about four Mumbai friends who stumble into the city’s underworld, is headed for a worldwide launch on Prime Video. Purav Jha, Naman Jain, Saqib Ayub and Prayrak Mehta play the leads. The supporting ensemble includes Sai Tamhankar, Sikandar Kher, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Rajesh Tailang, Chunky Panday and Bhagavathi Perumal. […]

9 Oct 2026, 07:58 UTC

How ‘Dying to Survive’ Director Wen Muye Turned a Cook’s War Into $342 Million China Smash ‘Once Upon a Time in the Middle East’: ‘I Never Think About Social Issues in Advance’

Xu Fu went to the Middle East for the money. The Shenyang cook, played by Shen Teng in “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East,” takes the head-chef job at the Dragon Restaurant because the pay could help clear his family’s debts. When war breaks out, he is shaken from his sleep and runs […]

9 Oct 2026, 07:58 UTC

John Rhys-Davies, Diego Boneta Fantasy ‘Starbright’ Boarded by Cappu Films Ahead of Busan Market (EXCLUSIVE)

International sales on “Starbright,” Francesco Lucente’s English-language fantasy adventure starring John Rhys-Davies, Diego Boneta and Alexandra Dowling, have gone to Cappu Films, which sealed the deal on the eve of the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market. Dowling plays Aisling, a young woman who makes a wish on a shooting star and […]

9 Oct 2026, 07:58 UTC

Cole Sprouse Starrer ‘Vintage Violence’ to Close Singapore Film Festival as Closing Night Returns

The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) will wrap its 37th edition on Nov. 1 with “Vintage Violence,” Eugene Kotlyarenko’s livestream-era crime caper starring Cole Sprouse and Mizuhara Kiko. The screening brings back a stand-alone festival closing, which SGIFF last staged in 2014. The film bowed in the Midnight Madness section at the Toronto Film Festival […]

9 Oct 2026, 05:58 UTC

Indian Premier League Stands Alone at the Top as Asia Pacific Sports Rights Growth Slows, Media Partners Asia Finds

The Indian Premier League remains the only Asia Pacific sports property priced at the top of the global market, according to new research from Media Partners Asia, which expects growth in the region’s sports rights fees to slow to 1%–2% a year through 2030, down from about 10% a year since 2021. The cricket league […]

9 Oct 2026, 03:57 UTC

Fan Bingbing Says Young Chinese Audiences ‘Aren’t Being Fed Very Well’ as AI Microdramas Boom

Fan Bingbing watches AI-generated microdramas now and then. She’s just not convinced they’re doing China’s young audiences any good. The Chinese star made the remarks at a Busan International Film Festival press conference, where she presented Wayne Wang’s “Diary of a Mad Old Man,” screening in the A Window on Asian Cinema strand, and Ivan […]

9 Oct 2026, 03:57 UTC

AI Audio Startup Sonilo, Founded by TikTok Veterans, Raises $11 Million in B Capital-Led Round (EXCLUSIVE)

A generative audio startup run by people who came out of TikTok’s AI and music divisions has raised $11 million to build models that write music and sound effects to match what happens on screen. San Francisco-based Sonilo secured the round with B Capital leading and Redpoint also taking part. The money will pay for […]

8 Oct 2026, 13:51 UTC

Thailand: Rama X and the Secrets of a Powerful Monarchy · Global Voices

This week, Asia is traveling to Thailand to meet one of the oldest and most powerful monarchies in Asia. King Rama X, considered one of the richest monarchs in the world, is protected by strict laws that severely punish criticism of the Crown. We also travel to Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, where scientists investigate a mysterious submerged city, and to South Korea, which is preparing to end the dog meat trade.

8 Oct 2026, 12:09 UTC

Alfonso Cuaron Revisits ‘Gravity’ With Son Jonas at Busan: ‘Life as an Experience Is What I Now Care About the Most’

When he was younger, film came first for Alfonso Cuarón. These days, the Oscar-winning director says, life does. He made the remark at his Busan International Film Festival masterclass on Thursday, a day after he and his son Jonas Cuaron, his co-writer on 2013 space survival drama “Gravity,” revisited the film following an Imax screening. […]

8 Oct 2026, 09:50 UTC

Charlotte Gainsbourg on Listening to ‘Controversial’ Kanye West and Working With ‘Tortured’ Lars von Trier at Busan

Charlotte Gainsbourg had one artist to recommend to the crowd at her Busan International Film Festival masterclass, and it was not a safe pick. “I’m not good for recommendation. I have one artist that I listen to, very controversial artist, but I listen to everything he does, and it’s Kanye West,” Gainsbourg said, to laughter […]

8 Oct 2026, 09:50 UTC

Kashmir: Moolish gardens, lakes and unexpected calm

Unavoidably associated with political conflicts and border tensions, this region of India is surprised by its landscapes and enclaves such as Srinagar, Gulmarg or Sonamarg

8 Oct 2026, 06:08 UTC

Danny and Oxide Pang’s Josie Ho-Starring Supernatural Thriller ‘The Mage’ Sets Busan Market Debut With Abnormal Studios (EXCLUSIVE)

Danny and Oxide Pang’s supernatural crime thriller “The Mage,” starring Josie Ho, is being introduced to international buyers at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) as the film opens in its first Asian territories. Southeast Asian distributor Abnormal Studios will meet with buyers at the market and connect interested parties […]

8 Oct 2026, 05:49 UTC

Na Hong-Jin Traces ‘The Chaser,’ ‘The Wailing’ and ‘Hope’ to Bar Talk, Shamans and War Fears at Busan Masterclass

Na Hong-Jin told a Busan International Film Festival masterclass audience that his film “Hope” grew out of a conviction, around 2017, that war was about to break out on the Korean peninsula. At the time, Na said, news reports were describing U.S. fighter jets and bombers flying in and out over Pyongyang through the night. […]

8 Oct 2026, 05:49 UTC

Nana Patekar, Indian Star of ‘Parinda’ and ‘Krantiveer,’ Dies at 75

Nana Patekar, the Indian Hindi and Marathi cinema actor whose roles ranged from the menacing crime lord of “Parinda” to the comic gangster of “Welcome,” died Oct. 8, at his residence in Goa. He was 75. Patekar went into cardiac arrest at home and was declared dead at 5:20 am local time, news agency ANI […]

8 Oct 2026, 03:48 UTC

Topic: Asia | RocksNews