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Japanese animated phenomenon “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” tightened its grip on the South Korean box office over the weekend of Oct. 16–18, commanding more than 42% of nationwide ticket revenue in its third frame. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Toho-distributed […]
“Paradise Lost,” the new psychological thriller by “Train to Busan” filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, has been sold to 118 countries and will have its U.S. premiere at the 46th Hawai‘i International Film Festival. It will play in the Spotlight on Korea section on Nov. 1 and 4. CJ ENM, which is handling international sales, said overseas […]
Sergei Loznitsa’s “Imperium,” which revisits the Soviet Union of the early 1970s through footage shot by Italian cameramen, has won the best film award at the 70th BFI London Film Festival competition. The prizes were unveiled Sunday as the festival drew to a close. The competition jury was led by filmmaker Sam Pollard, whose credits […]
Producers behind Hayakawa Chie’s Cannes competition title “Renoir” are among the speakers at a session on Asia-Europe co-production at Tokyo’s TIFFCOM market on Oct. 30, as Japanese accelerator Atmovie Global Track formalizes a partnership with Europe-based workshop Ties That Bind. The open panel, titled “Building Creative Partnerships,” will examine how producers and directors work together […]
Boo Junfeng’s “Trinity” and Sidharta Tata’s “Slaughterground” are among 11 feature projects picked for JAFF Future Project (JFP), the film development strand of Indonesia’s JAFF Market, which has also chosen 10 intellectual properties for its adaptation-focused JAFF IP Connection (JIPCon) program. The third edition of JAFF Market, powered by Amar Bank, will run Nov. 28–30 […]
Centara wants to double in size without doubling its balance sheet, betting on multi-property deals with large investors. The question is whether a mid-sized Thai operator can win those portfolios against global brands, and whether the Gulf distress the COO identifies as an opportunity can translate into deals.
The Busan International Film Festival drew its largest film audience in more than a decade at its 31st edition, which ran Oct. 6–15, while a political firestorm over a Korean box office hit and an Iranian director’s war speech kept politics in the spotlight. These are Variety’s takeaways from the festival and its Asian Contents […]
The Singapore Media Festival will add a dedicated creator economy event to its lineup this year, launching the Asia Creator Summit alongside the long-running Asia TV Forum & Market when its next edition takes place Dec. 1–5. The festival is hosted by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). The new summit (ACS) and ATF will […]
Indian thespian Nawazuddin Siddiqui is attached to lead “Kabootar,” the debut feature from writer-director Ishan Sharma, produced by Nikhil Chaudhary of MDC Filmworks. The film is structured as a co-production between MDC Filmworks in India, Haiku Films in France, and Rein Film in Norway, with Rohit Saxena serving as co-producer on the Indian side. Principal […]
Imran Khan is preparing a court challenge to an order that gives the Bollywood actor until Oct. 28 to leave India, after he attended a demonstration demanding that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar step down. Khan, a Bollywood superstar and Aamir Khan’s nephew, is an American national who lives in India on an Overseas Citizen […]
Kirti Kulhari’s first feature as a producer, “Kinaare” (“Shores”), will premiere at the 15th Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF), which will open with Rima Das’ Berlin-awarded “Not a Hero.” The festival will run Oct. 29–Nov. 1 at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Upper Dharamshala, with an online edition to follow Nov. 2–9. Written and directed […]
During El Niño, a cascade of fires across the tropics begins in equatorial Asia and continues in the central and eastern Amazon.
Academy CEO Bill Kramer is set to make his first trip to Asia later this month. He will collect a leadership award at the Tokyo International Film Festival and also sit down with Toho president and CEO Matsuoka Hiro for a public conversation. The festival’s 39th edition runs Oct. 26–Nov. 4 and has built a […]
A sell-off in global technology hardware stocks deepened Thursday.
Sakhya Byamba’s “Zogsool” was the biggest winner at the Busan International Film Festival’s Vision Awards on Wednesday, taking home four prizes. The film won both the Netpac Award and the Fipresci Award, along with the Vision of Jiseok Award. It also shared the Hylife Vision Award with Sailesh Rathnakumar’s “Selvi,” which separately picked up the […]
Luxury accommodation uncovered at an Indonesian prison has reignited concerns about preferential treatment for wealthy convicts across Southeast Asia.
Stephen Chow’s “Kung Fu Soccer” will hit cinemas in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Ireland on Oct. 23, with Singapore-based distributor Encore Films releasing the action-comedy in its original language as well as in a newly produced English-dubbed version. Jimmy O. Yang, MC Jin and Chow all voice their own characters in English for […]
A new Philippine-Italian sales alliance aims to put independent films in front of buyers in Asia, Europe and North America. Fire & Ice Media, the Philippine producer and sales agent, and Italy’s Coccinelle Film Sales unveiled the strategic partnership at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market. The pair will work together on a handpicked group […]
Phu Quoc’s peak-season hotel occupancy has surged above 90%, but a massive supply boom will test whether the momentum can last. CBRE says room-night demand must grow about 10% a year through 2030 just to maintain current occupancy — a tougher task after APEC 2027.
On the night of Feb. 3, 1972, the prints of “Pakeezah” arrived at Bombay’s Maratha Mandir cinema in a palanquin pulled by four horses. Military bands played outside, police held back the thousands crowding the gates, and inside, the film’s star, Meena Kumari, sat beside her husband, director Kamal Amrohi, and gripped his wrist so […]
