The 50th Annual Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) wrapped up on Sunday and announced the winners of the 2024 Golden Space Needle Audience and Juried Competition Awards.
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
The festival began on May 9 and screened 261 films representing 84 countries with “62% of the feature films were created by first or second-time filmmakers; 43% were created by women or nonbinary filmmakers; 35% of filmmakers identify as a Bipoc director; and nearly 60% are currently without U.S. distribution and may not screen commercially in the United States,” according to Siff.
Siff holds two categories of competition: juried and audience based. Juried competitions include five feature subcategories including the Official Competition, New American Cinema Competition, New Directors Competition, Ibero-American Competition and Documentary Competition. Short film categories include live action, animation and documentary.
In addition, over 32,000 ballots were submitted for the Golden Space Needle Awards (Gsna). Films judged through the GSNAs are selected by audience members through post-screening ballots. The categories include best film,...
- 5/19/2024
- by Lexi Carson
- Variety Film + TV
Inside Out, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ film festival, has revealed the full program lineup for its 34th edition, including its opening night selection, My Old Ass, from Canadian director Megan Park.
My Old Ass, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival where is was acquired by Amazon MGM, follows an 18 year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) who meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) who warns her about falling in love.
Karen Knox’s sophomore feature We Forgot To Break Up, adapted from the novel Heidegger Stairwell by Canadian author Kayt Burgess, will close the fest. Elsewhere in the lineup is Susie Yankou’s Sisters, which is this year’s 2024 Re:Focus Gala selection and Anthony Schatteman’s debut feature Young Hearts acting as the The Centerpiece Gala film.
“We are thrilled to welcome audiences back for the 34th annual Inside Out 2Slgbtq+ Film Festival,” says Elie Chivi, Co-Head and Executive Director. “As the film festival landscape continues to evolve,...
My Old Ass, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival where is was acquired by Amazon MGM, follows an 18 year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) who meets her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza) who warns her about falling in love.
Karen Knox’s sophomore feature We Forgot To Break Up, adapted from the novel Heidegger Stairwell by Canadian author Kayt Burgess, will close the fest. Elsewhere in the lineup is Susie Yankou’s Sisters, which is this year’s 2024 Re:Focus Gala selection and Anthony Schatteman’s debut feature Young Hearts acting as the The Centerpiece Gala film.
“We are thrilled to welcome audiences back for the 34th annual Inside Out 2Slgbtq+ Film Festival,” says Elie Chivi, Co-Head and Executive Director. “As the film festival landscape continues to evolve,...
- 5/3/2024
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Strand Releasing has acquired the North American rights to Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which world premiered at this year’s Berlinale and won the Teddy Prize for best film. The movie played last week as the opening film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
“All Shall Be Well” chronicles the lives of two women, Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over 30 years.
A universal tale, the movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t allow same-sex marriage. Patra Au Ga Man and Maggie Li Lin Lin star in the lead roles of Angie and Pat, respectively.
The deal was done...
“All Shall Be Well” chronicles the lives of two women, Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over 30 years.
A universal tale, the movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong’s laws, which don’t allow same-sex marriage. Patra Au Ga Man and Maggie Li Lin Lin star in the lead roles of Angie and Pat, respectively.
The deal was done...
- 4/10/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Shreyom Ghosh’s “The Vampire of Sheung Shui” is unique in that it is a Hong Kong-set horror-comedy with a protagonist of Indian origin.
It has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart.
Written by D.F.W. Buckingham (“Finding Love in Sisters”), the film will follow Lokesh, a slacker in his 30s, living with orthodox Jain parents in a sleepy Hong Kong suburb, waiting to take over the family jewellery store and move to the U.K. after selling it. When his father announces his retirement, Lokesh must show that he can be responsible and adhere to the values of his family’s traditions or lose the store to his annoying cousin. The problem is that Lokesh is turning into a bloodthirsty vampire. Now he must find a way to survive on blood without hurting people, while also...
It has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart.
Written by D.F.W. Buckingham (“Finding Love in Sisters”), the film will follow Lokesh, a slacker in his 30s, living with orthodox Jain parents in a sleepy Hong Kong suburb, waiting to take over the family jewellery store and move to the U.K. after selling it. When his father announces his retirement, Lokesh must show that he can be responsible and adhere to the values of his family’s traditions or lose the store to his annoying cousin. The problem is that Lokesh is turning into a bloodthirsty vampire. Now he must find a way to survive on blood without hurting people, while also...
- 3/12/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
With four TV and film projects in as many years, few filmmakers right now are more prolific than Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The veteran Japanese filmmaker behind titles like the Palme d’Or-winning Shoplifters and Still Walking continued his hot streak after landing his third directing honor from the Asian Academy Sunday night for his last feature, Monster. Last night’s win was Kore-eda’s second consecutive Best Director win at the Asian Film Awards after nabbing the gong with the Korean-language Broker in 2023.
“I’m in a really good spot right now,” Kore-eda told Deadline shortly before picking up the award on Sunday. “I’m not forcing myself at all. I’m constantly working. I have good stamina.” The filmmaker told us that he has no intentions of slowing down.
“I’m currently working on a streaming drama I shot last autumn. I’m in the editing phase for that now,...
The veteran Japanese filmmaker behind titles like the Palme d’Or-winning Shoplifters and Still Walking continued his hot streak after landing his third directing honor from the Asian Academy Sunday night for his last feature, Monster. Last night’s win was Kore-eda’s second consecutive Best Director win at the Asian Film Awards after nabbing the gong with the Korean-language Broker in 2023.
“I’m in a really good spot right now,” Kore-eda told Deadline shortly before picking up the award on Sunday. “I’m not forcing myself at all. I’m constantly working. I have good stamina.” The filmmaker told us that he has no intentions of slowing down.
“I’m currently working on a streaming drama I shot last autumn. I’m in the editing phase for that now,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
As Filmart gets underway, Hong Kong’s major production companies, including Edko Films, Emperor Motion Pictures (Emp), Media Asia, One Cool Group and Universe Entertainment, will be unveiling their new titles in enormous booths at the front of the trade show floor, some of which will be as elaborate as film sets.
Many of the films they are launching are big-budget Hong Kong-China co-productions, featuring top Hong Kong stars and directors, and aimed at audiences in both China and Hong Kong. Emp has Derek Kwok’s Raging Havoc, starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse; Mandarin Motion Pictures has The Prosecutor, starring and directed by Donnie Yen; and Media Asia is launching four new titles headed by Behind The Scene, produced by Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau. One Cool’s slate includes a trio of action films starring Louis Koo and produced by Soi Cheang.
But behind all the glamour, stars and action,...
Many of the films they are launching are big-budget Hong Kong-China co-productions, featuring top Hong Kong stars and directors, and aimed at audiences in both China and Hong Kong. Emp has Derek Kwok’s Raging Havoc, starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse; Mandarin Motion Pictures has The Prosecutor, starring and directed by Donnie Yen; and Media Asia is launching four new titles headed by Behind The Scene, produced by Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau. One Cool’s slate includes a trio of action films starring Louis Koo and produced by Soi Cheang.
But behind all the glamour, stars and action,...
- 3/11/2024
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
This month’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will showcase over 190 films from 62 countries and regions, including five world premieres, and 64 Asian premieres.
Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.
The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”
Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”
Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.
Running 12 days (March 28 – April 8), the festival will open with the Asian premiere of local director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which won the Teddy Award at the recent Berlin festival.
The closing film is the Asian premiere of “All the Long Nights,” directed by Miyake Sho and starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which also premiered in Berlin. Variety’s review of “Nights” called it “gently luminous.”
Chinese-language films selected for the Firebird competition include: “Borrowed Time,” “Brief History of a Family,” “Carefree Days,” Fresh off Markham,” “A Journey in Spring,” “Snow in Midsummer,” “Some Rain Must Fall” and “A Song Sung Blue.”
Foreign films for the Firebird competition’s other section include: “Arcadia,” “Arni,” “Ivo,” “Pepe,” “Sons,” “Sujo,” “The Tenants” and “Who Do I Belong to.
- 3/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will open with the Asian premiere of All Shall Be Well, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Ray Yeung, which recently won the Teddy Award at Berlin film festival.
Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, the film tells the story of an older lesbian couple and how the surviving partner struggles to retain her home and her dignity when one of them passes away. The film premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale.
Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights, starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which premiered in the Forum section of Berlin, will close the festival on April 8.
Gala screenings also include the world premiere of Hong Kong filmmaker Ho Miu-ki’s Love Lies, starring Sandra Ng, Cheung Tin-fu and Stephy Tang; Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Gift, a collaboration with composer Eiko Ishibashi, which will be...
Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, the film tells the story of an older lesbian couple and how the surviving partner struggles to retain her home and her dignity when one of them passes away. The film premiered in the Panorama section at the Berlinale.
Japanese filmmaker Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights, starring Matsumura Hokuto and Kamishiraishi Mone, which premiered in the Forum section of Berlin, will close the festival on April 8.
Gala screenings also include the world premiere of Hong Kong filmmaker Ho Miu-ki’s Love Lies, starring Sandra Ng, Cheung Tin-fu and Stephy Tang; Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s Gift, a collaboration with composer Eiko Ishibashi, which will be...
- 3/8/2024
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well has been set as the opening film of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which has unveiled its full lineup today.
It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.
Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...
It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.
Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...
- 3/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
Record market attendance, headline acquisitions by Sony and ongoing interest in starry packages tell only part of the story of a busy European Film Market (EFM).
An event brimming with late-arriving projects gave buyers plenty to consider and the mood was buoyant following what some had cited as the least productive AFM in decades last October.
“People had had a bit of a disappointing AFM in so many different ways, and everyone was ready,” said Ella Field, EVP of international sales at the UK’s Signature Entertainment, who described EFM as the most cost-effective market of the year. “Where there are great films,...
An event brimming with late-arriving projects gave buyers plenty to consider and the mood was buoyant following what some had cited as the least productive AFM in decades last October.
“People had had a bit of a disappointing AFM in so many different ways, and everyone was ready,” said Ella Field, EVP of international sales at the UK’s Signature Entertainment, who described EFM as the most cost-effective market of the year. “Where there are great films,...
- 2/27/2024
- ScreenDaily
With a title that itself feels like a soothing murmur, Hong Kong director Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well” returns to the social and lifestage milieu of his well-received 2019 later-life gay romance “Suk Suk,” and occupies a similarly melancholic, placatory register. But those hoping for a renewal, or maybe even an amping up of “Suk Suk”s restrained interrogation of internalized and externalized homophobia within Hong Kong’s economically advanced but culturally conservative middle class, may be a little disappointed. Although his fourth film revolves around a sixty-something lesbian couple, Yeung’s focus is broader, not sharper. The disappointment will however be mild, not just because there are plenty of other plaintive insights on offer, but because everything here is mild.
Angie (Patra Au Ga-man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin-lin) have been a settled, loving couple for more than 40 years. They are now enjoying the simpler, slower pleasures of...
Angie (Patra Au Ga-man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin-lin) have been a settled, loving couple for more than 40 years. They are now enjoying the simpler, slower pleasures of...
- 2/25/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
The independent juries of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival early Saturday unveiled their picks of the best movies at the 2024 Berlinale.
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the guild of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci...
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the guild of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci...
- 2/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the winners of this year’s Panorama Audience Awards, voted on by ordinary viewers at the world’s largest public film festival.
Memories of a Burning Body, the second feature film from Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, won the top prize for best fiction film, while No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor took the Panorama Audience Award for best documentary.
Memories of a Burning Body follows a trio of seventy-something women as they discuss their sexuality and their bodies, confronting the taboos and constrictions of living in a sexist and repressive society. Produced by Substance Films in co-production with Playlab Films, Memories of a Burning Body is being worldwide by Bendita Film Sales.
No Other Land, directed by a collective of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, traces the Israeli government’s attempts to expel Palestinians in Masafer Yatta,...
Memories of a Burning Body, the second feature film from Costa Rican director Antonella Sudasassi Furniss, won the top prize for best fiction film, while No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor took the Panorama Audience Award for best documentary.
Memories of a Burning Body follows a trio of seventy-something women as they discuss their sexuality and their bodies, confronting the taboos and constrictions of living in a sexist and repressive society. Produced by Substance Films in co-production with Playlab Films, Memories of a Burning Body is being worldwide by Bendita Film Sales.
No Other Land, directed by a collective of Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, traces the Israeli government’s attempts to expel Palestinians in Masafer Yatta,...
- 2/24/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hong Kong director Ray Yeung ‘s “All Shall Be Well” has sold in several key markets following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
Represented in international markets by Films Boutique, “All Shall Be Well” is playing in the Panorama section at the Berlinale and is eligible for the Teddy Award. The movies follows Angie (Patra Au Ga Man), a lesbian woman in her 60’s trying to save her family from unravelling and her world from crumbling after the abrupt death of her life-long partner Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin). The movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong laws which don’t allow same-sex marriage.
Films Boutique has sold the movie to Spain (Karma), Israel (Lev), Benelux (Vedette) and Switzerland (Trigon). The company is negotiating deals for France, North America and the U.K.
In an interview with Variety on the eve of the Berlinale, Yeung said the...
Represented in international markets by Films Boutique, “All Shall Be Well” is playing in the Panorama section at the Berlinale and is eligible for the Teddy Award. The movies follows Angie (Patra Au Ga Man), a lesbian woman in her 60’s trying to save her family from unravelling and her world from crumbling after the abrupt death of her life-long partner Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin). The movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong laws which don’t allow same-sex marriage.
Films Boutique has sold the movie to Spain (Karma), Israel (Lev), Benelux (Vedette) and Switzerland (Trigon). The company is negotiating deals for France, North America and the U.K.
In an interview with Variety on the eve of the Berlinale, Yeung said the...
- 2/22/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Boasting a track-record of finely observed and touching films with LGBT themes, Hong Kong director Ray Yeung is back at the Berlin Film Festival after a previous appearance with “Suk Suk” (aka “Twilight’s Kiss” in some markets). It launches in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section and is eligible for the Teddy Award.
Hong Kong society can be tolerant, conservative and pragmatic all at the same time. But, as a place where the pressure is always on, things can snap out of joint quickly. Yeung’s new film, “All Shall Be Well” describes the unravelling of previously-assumed familial relations following the death of one half of a lesbian couple.
Variety spoke to Yeung on the eve of the festival.
The English title of the film changed from ‘Today.. Tomorrow’ to ‘All Shall Be Well.’ What does that reflect?
The Chinese title has constant been throughout. The decision on a...
Hong Kong society can be tolerant, conservative and pragmatic all at the same time. But, as a place where the pressure is always on, things can snap out of joint quickly. Yeung’s new film, “All Shall Be Well” describes the unravelling of previously-assumed familial relations following the death of one half of a lesbian couple.
Variety spoke to Yeung on the eve of the festival.
The English title of the film changed from ‘Today.. Tomorrow’ to ‘All Shall Be Well.’ What does that reflect?
The Chinese title has constant been throughout. The decision on a...
- 2/21/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Acceptance is sometimes nothing but tolerance in sheep's clothing. The “family comes first” trope holds weight in many cultures, but this may not matter when one fails to conform to a heteropatriarchal understanding of the concept. Ray Yeung's newest film, “All Shall Be Well”, takes one such instance of this — the case of an older same-sex Hong Kong couple — and unravels a spool of familial complexities embedded deep in the sociocultural landscape. What if your late partner wished to be buried at sea, but her family believes that doing so will spiritually unsettle them all? Do your partner's wishes even matter when you, her life partner, are considered nothing but a mere outsider? This is the first hurdle that our protagonist must face in “All Shall Be Well”, which just made its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2024 Berlinale to a sold-out crowd at the Kino International.
- 2/18/2024
- by Olivia Popp
- AsianMoviePulse
Partway into “All Shall Be Well,” the main character meets a lawyer friend in a bar one night. “Why did you wait so long to see me?,” the lawyer asks the other woman sitting across from her, regarding an ongoing dispute over an inheritance. “I thought we were all family,” replies the lead. After a light chuckle, the friend says, “Even mother and son fall out when money’s involved.” Set in Hong Kong, this deeply moving fourth feature from writer-director Ray Yeung tenderly explores the aftermath of unexpected loss, where the uncertainty and chaos of the immediate grieving period is compounded by delicate negotiations that need addressing amid a very specific set of circumstances.
Both in their late sixties, Angie (Patra Au Ga Man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin) are a lesbian couple who’ve been together for over four decades. Previously factory-worker colleagues in their younger days,...
Both in their late sixties, Angie (Patra Au Ga Man) and Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin) are a lesbian couple who’ve been together for over four decades. Previously factory-worker colleagues in their younger days,...
- 2/16/2024
- by Josh Slater-Williams
- Indiewire
Berlinale-Bound Chinese Title ‘Brief History of a Family’ Sells to International Markets (Exclusive)
Films Boutique has closed a raft of deals on the Chinese movie “Brief History of a Family,” which will play at the Berlinale in the Panorama section.
Chinese filmmaker Lin Jianjie‘s feature debut, “Brief History of a Family” premiered at Sundance and will be screening for buyers at the EFM as well.
Films Boutique has sold the movie to Benelux (September Films), Italy (Movies Inspired) and Spain (Karma Films).
The drama is set in the aftermath of an incident at the high school attended by Wei, an outgoing only son from a middle-class family, and Shuo, his quiet, perceptive classmate. Wei soon introduces his friend to his father, a cell biologist, and his mother, a former flight attendant. Learning that Shuo comes from a troubled background, Wei’s parents welcome this boy to spend more time in their home. Shuo slowly integrates himself into Wei’s family life and...
Chinese filmmaker Lin Jianjie‘s feature debut, “Brief History of a Family” premiered at Sundance and will be screening for buyers at the EFM as well.
Films Boutique has sold the movie to Benelux (September Films), Italy (Movies Inspired) and Spain (Karma Films).
The drama is set in the aftermath of an incident at the high school attended by Wei, an outgoing only son from a middle-class family, and Shuo, his quiet, perceptive classmate. Wei soon introduces his friend to his father, a cell biologist, and his mother, a former flight attendant. Learning that Shuo comes from a troubled background, Wei’s parents welcome this boy to spend more time in their home. Shuo slowly integrates himself into Wei’s family life and...
- 2/15/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
What happens when one half of a longstanding lesbian couple dies in a place where same-sex relationships are not fully recognized by the law and have been tolerated, rather than accepted, by society?
In Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which premieres this month in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, the answer seems to be an unseemly scramble in which rights, friendships and morals are all trampled on.
“The problem is particularly emphasized in a place like Hong Kong, where property prices are out of reach for most people, especially for the younger generation. What would you do if suddenly a decent apartment falls into your lap? Would you give it away to somebody you maybe considered as a stranger?” Yeung tells Variety. “Would the obligations be different in the case of an unmarried heterosexual couple, which society is more accepting of?”
“My film is more...
In Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which premieres this month in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, the answer seems to be an unseemly scramble in which rights, friendships and morals are all trampled on.
“The problem is particularly emphasized in a place like Hong Kong, where property prices are out of reach for most people, especially for the younger generation. What would you do if suddenly a decent apartment falls into your lap? Would you give it away to somebody you maybe considered as a stranger?” Yeung tells Variety. “Would the obligations be different in the case of an unmarried heterosexual couple, which society is more accepting of?”
“My film is more...
- 2/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival is staying true to its political roots.
The 74th Berlinale on Wednesday unveiled its Panorama, Generation and Forum sidebars, and the selection is packed with features and documentaries with a strong political bent, as is to be expected from a fest that prides itself on the social relevance of its official lineup.
Gender roles and gender politics are in focus in several of the Panorama titles, including the section’s opening film Crossing from director Levan Akin (And Then We Danced), in which an unlikely duo travels to Istanbul in search of a young trans woman; the Norwegian feature Sex from Dag Johan Haugerud, about two chimney sweeps living in monogamous, heterosexual marriages whose experiences change their views on sexuality; Bruce Labruce’s The Visitor, a provocative remake of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1968 classic Teorema; and Anthony Schatteman’s debut feature Young Hearts, a Generation Kplus title,...
The 74th Berlinale on Wednesday unveiled its Panorama, Generation and Forum sidebars, and the selection is packed with features and documentaries with a strong political bent, as is to be expected from a fest that prides itself on the social relevance of its official lineup.
Gender roles and gender politics are in focus in several of the Panorama titles, including the section’s opening film Crossing from director Levan Akin (And Then We Danced), in which an unlikely duo travels to Istanbul in search of a young trans woman; the Norwegian feature Sex from Dag Johan Haugerud, about two chimney sweeps living in monogamous, heterosexual marriages whose experiences change their views on sexuality; Bruce Labruce’s The Visitor, a provocative remake of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1968 classic Teorema; and Anthony Schatteman’s debut feature Young Hearts, a Generation Kplus title,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Berlinale has announced the full line-ups of its Panorama, Forum and Generation sidebars for the 74th edition running from February 15 to 24. (scroll down for full list)
Panorama will showcase 31 titles including one series and 25 world premieres.
Highlights include Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin’s Crossing, his first feature since 2019 Cannes breakout And Then We Danced, which opens the selection.
The drama revolves around a retired teacher whose search for her long-lost niece Tekla takes her to Istanbul where she becomes acquainted with a trans rights lawyer.
Other buzzy titles set for a world premiere include André Téchiné’s My New Friends, starring Isabelle Huppert as a solitary police officer, and and Myriam El Hajj’s documentary Diaries From Lebanon, following three people as they navigate their country on the brink of revolution.
A number of Sundance titles will also be making a Panorama splash including Nathan Silver’s Between The Temples,...
Panorama will showcase 31 titles including one series and 25 world premieres.
Highlights include Swedish-Georgian director Levan Akin’s Crossing, his first feature since 2019 Cannes breakout And Then We Danced, which opens the selection.
The drama revolves around a retired teacher whose search for her long-lost niece Tekla takes her to Istanbul where she becomes acquainted with a trans rights lawyer.
Other buzzy titles set for a world premiere include André Téchiné’s My New Friends, starring Isabelle Huppert as a solitary police officer, and and Myriam El Hajj’s documentary Diaries From Lebanon, following three people as they navigate their country on the brink of revolution.
A number of Sundance titles will also be making a Panorama splash including Nathan Silver’s Between The Temples,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The Berlinale has completed the lineup for its Panorama, Generation, Forum and Forum expanded sections, with new films from Levan Akin and Andre Techine, plus the debut feature of US playwright Annie Baker.
Swedish filmmaker Akin, who scored an international hit in 2019 with And Then We Danced, will open the Panorama strand with Crossing, about two people travelling from Georgia to Istanbul in search of a young transgender woman.
Scroll down for the full list of Panorama, Generation and Forum features
Also among the 31 films in Panorama are My New Friends from French filmmaker Techine, starring Isabelle Hupert, Hafsia Herzi...
Swedish filmmaker Akin, who scored an international hit in 2019 with And Then We Danced, will open the Panorama strand with Crossing, about two people travelling from Georgia to Istanbul in search of a young transgender woman.
Scroll down for the full list of Panorama, Generation and Forum features
Also among the 31 films in Panorama are My New Friends from French filmmaker Techine, starring Isabelle Hupert, Hafsia Herzi...
- 1/17/2024
- by Ben Dalton¬Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Berlin-based company handled sales for Yeung’s previous film ‘Suk Suk’
Berlin-based sales outfit Films Boutique has snapped up world sales rights to Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well which is set to world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand.
The film centres on Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over thirty years.
Written and directed by Yeung,...
Berlin-based sales outfit Films Boutique has snapped up world sales rights to Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well which is set to world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama strand.
The film centres on Angie and Pat, a couple living in Hong Kong who have been together for over four decades. After Pat’s unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of her extended family as she struggles to retain both her dignity and the home that they shared for over thirty years.
Written and directed by Yeung,...
- 12/15/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, a Scotland-set drama starring Saoirse Ronan, will have its world premiere at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, screening in Berlin’s Panorama section.
The drama is adapted from Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir about a recovering alcoholic — played by four-time Oscar nominee Ronan — who returns to her home on the windswept wilderness of Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Fingscheidt made her debut with System Crasher at the 2019 Berlinale. Her English-language follow-up was 2021’s The Unforgivable, a Netflix drama starring Sandra Bullock.
The Outrun is among the first 11 titles picked by Panorama for its 2024 lineup.
Other Panorama highlights include Andrea Gets a Divorce, an Austrian drama from famed actor and comedian Josef Hader, starring Birgit Minichmayr (Everyone Else) as policewoman Andrea trying to escape the confines of her provincial town; Paradises of Diane from Swiss directing duo Carmen Jaquier and Jan Gassmann, about the antihero Diane, who...
The drama is adapted from Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir about a recovering alcoholic — played by four-time Oscar nominee Ronan — who returns to her home on the windswept wilderness of Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Fingscheidt made her debut with System Crasher at the 2019 Berlinale. Her English-language follow-up was 2021’s The Unforgivable, a Netflix drama starring Sandra Bullock.
The Outrun is among the first 11 titles picked by Panorama for its 2024 lineup.
Other Panorama highlights include Andrea Gets a Divorce, an Austrian drama from famed actor and comedian Josef Hader, starring Birgit Minichmayr (Everyone Else) as policewoman Andrea trying to escape the confines of her provincial town; Paradises of Diane from Swiss directing duo Carmen Jaquier and Jan Gassmann, about the antihero Diane, who...
- 12/14/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The first batch of titles for the Panorama sidebar section for the 2024 Berlin Film Festival were revealed today and we’ve got a Sundance Film Festival pair of international premieres in Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun and Jane Schoenbrun‘s I Saw the TV Glow. We also find Les Paradis de Diane by Carmen Jaquier and Jan Gassmann and world premiere status for Jérémy Clapin‘s Pendant ce temps sur with Megan Northam, Catherine Salée and Sam Louwyck. Here are the selections. The competition titles will be announced next month.
All Shall Be Well by Ray Yeung | with Patra Au Ga Man, Maggie Li Lin Lin, Tai Bo, Leung Chung Hang, Fish Liew Chi Yu
Hong Kong, China 2024
World premiere
When her partner Pat unexpectedly dies, Angie is left to worry about the flat in which the couple lived together for over 30 years.…...
All Shall Be Well by Ray Yeung | with Patra Au Ga Man, Maggie Li Lin Lin, Tai Bo, Leung Chung Hang, Fish Liew Chi Yu
Hong Kong, China 2024
World premiere
When her partner Pat unexpectedly dies, Angie is left to worry about the flat in which the couple lived together for over 30 years.…...
- 12/14/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Films starring Saoirse Ronan and Justice Smith are set for Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section.
Panorama announced its first 11 titles on Thursday, seven of which are world premieres. The lineup includes Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Outrun,” which stars Ronan as an antihero who must embark on a journey to find herself. “After years of excess in London, she seeks silence and self-reflection in her Scottish homeland,” the film’s logline reads.
Directed by Jane Schoenbrun, “I Saw the TV Glow” — which stars Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine and Danielle Deadwyler, among others — is also part of the program. In a press release, the festival called the film “one of the most idiosyncratic and fascinating works of the year, effortlessly crossing boundaries of genre, gender and trauma in this eye- and soul-opening trip.”
The annual Panorama Audience Award will be presented on Feb. 25. Berlin Film Festival is set to take place beginning Feb.
Panorama announced its first 11 titles on Thursday, seven of which are world premieres. The lineup includes Nora Fingscheidt’s “The Outrun,” which stars Ronan as an antihero who must embark on a journey to find herself. “After years of excess in London, she seeks silence and self-reflection in her Scottish homeland,” the film’s logline reads.
Directed by Jane Schoenbrun, “I Saw the TV Glow” — which stars Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine and Danielle Deadwyler, among others — is also part of the program. In a press release, the festival called the film “one of the most idiosyncratic and fascinating works of the year, effortlessly crossing boundaries of genre, gender and trauma in this eye- and soul-opening trip.”
The annual Panorama Audience Award will be presented on Feb. 25. Berlin Film Festival is set to take place beginning Feb.
- 12/14/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Eleven titles revealed including Panorama returnees Ray Yeung and Aslı Özge
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first 11 titles to play in its Panorama section, seven of which are world premieres.
The line-up includes Josef Hader’s second film Andrea Gets a Divorce, following on from his 2017 Berlinale competition film Wild Mouse. The Austrian feature centres on a rural policewoman Andrea who commits a hit-and-run after her drunken soon-to-be ex-husband runs out in front of her car.
Ray Yeung returns to Panorama with Hong Kong-China production All Shall Be Well, having world premiered Suk Suk in the section in...
The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the first 11 titles to play in its Panorama section, seven of which are world premieres.
The line-up includes Josef Hader’s second film Andrea Gets a Divorce, following on from his 2017 Berlinale competition film Wild Mouse. The Austrian feature centres on a rural policewoman Andrea who commits a hit-and-run after her drunken soon-to-be ex-husband runs out in front of her car.
Ray Yeung returns to Panorama with Hong Kong-China production All Shall Be Well, having world premiered Suk Suk in the section in...
- 12/14/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin Film Festival today unveiled the first titles set for the 2024 edition of its Panorama sidebar section. Scroll down for the full list of titles announced today.
The lineup includes eleven titles, seven of which are world premieres. A total of 16 countries have been involved in their production. The fest said the topics connecting the titles are rebellion and antiheroes.
Among the set is Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, centered around antihero Rona, played by Saoirse Ronan, who has to go on a long journey to find herself: after years of excess in London, she seeks silence and self-reflection in her Scottish homeland. The film also stars Paapa Essiedu.
Danielle Deadwyler stars in I Saw the TV Glow from Jane Schoenbrun. The pic follows a teenager called Owen who is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night...
The lineup includes eleven titles, seven of which are world premieres. A total of 16 countries have been involved in their production. The fest said the topics connecting the titles are rebellion and antiheroes.
Among the set is Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun, centered around antihero Rona, played by Saoirse Ronan, who has to go on a long journey to find herself: after years of excess in London, she seeks silence and self-reflection in her Scottish homeland. The film also stars Paapa Essiedu.
Danielle Deadwyler stars in I Saw the TV Glow from Jane Schoenbrun. The pic follows a teenager called Owen who is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night...
- 12/14/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Discoveries have been endless this past year, as Hong Kong Film Festival (UK) continues to explore a newfound fluidity alongside the Hong Kong community in the UK. Adrift are the stories of Hong Kong, a wavering sense of identity alongside an uncertain history. Memories fluid, imaginations of a drifting home.
Hong Kong Film Festival’s second edition is titled “Home Away From Home”. Distance and disparity unveils a world of possibility; between Hong Kongers in the UK and those in Hong Kong, between the Hong Kong we once lived in, but can now only watch from afar. Between the Hong Kong in our dreams, and the Hong Kong laid bare to us now; between your Hong Kong and history’s Hong Kong, between a colonial Hong Kong and post-colonial Hong Kong. A pre-1997 versus a post-2019 Hong Kong, a Hong Kong under the world’s watchful eyes, and that under our own scrutinising gaze…...
Hong Kong Film Festival’s second edition is titled “Home Away From Home”. Distance and disparity unveils a world of possibility; between Hong Kongers in the UK and those in Hong Kong, between the Hong Kong we once lived in, but can now only watch from afar. Between the Hong Kong in our dreams, and the Hong Kong laid bare to us now; between your Hong Kong and history’s Hong Kong, between a colonial Hong Kong and post-colonial Hong Kong. A pre-1997 versus a post-2019 Hong Kong, a Hong Kong under the world’s watchful eyes, and that under our own scrutinising gaze…...
- 3/5/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Joseph Koo, a leading music composer during Hong Kong cinema’s golden era, has died in Vancouver, Canada. He was 91.
Local media report his death as happening on Tuesday Jan. 3, 2023, but do not state a cause of death.
Born in Guangzhou, China on Feb. 23, 1931, Koo Ka-fai moved with his scholarly and musical family from mainland China to Hong Kong in 1948.
Koo spent much of his career in the Hong Kong film, TV and pop music industries. And, even after he emigrated to Canada in the 1990s, he maintained active links with the Hong Kong industry.
As a youngster, Koo learned the piano and composed songs for his sister Koo Mei, who was a major recording artist in her own right. Later he became a performer and band leader performing at venues including the Luk Kwok Hotel in Hong Kong.
His first composition for a film was “Dream,” a song performed...
Local media report his death as happening on Tuesday Jan. 3, 2023, but do not state a cause of death.
Born in Guangzhou, China on Feb. 23, 1931, Koo Ka-fai moved with his scholarly and musical family from mainland China to Hong Kong in 1948.
Koo spent much of his career in the Hong Kong film, TV and pop music industries. And, even after he emigrated to Canada in the 1990s, he maintained active links with the Hong Kong industry.
As a youngster, Koo learned the piano and composed songs for his sister Koo Mei, who was a major recording artist in her own right. Later he became a performer and band leader performing at venues including the Luk Kwok Hotel in Hong Kong.
His first composition for a film was “Dream,” a song performed...
- 1/4/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Teresa Kwong is the programme director of the Hong Kong Arts Centre. Her producing titles include “Addicted to Love”, “Big Blue Lake” and “Flowing Stories”, “Dot 2 Dot” and “Napping Kid”, and “Suk Suk”, which was screened in the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival 2020.
On the occasion of the second edition of the program series, “New Waves, New Shores” in cooperation with the Busan International Film Festival, we speak with her about her work as a producer and how the profession has changed through the years, co-productions, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and her role in it, the particularly program, Hong Kong and Korean cinema, and many other topics
You have been working as a producer for almost a decade now. What are the most significant changes you have witnessed in the field?
I believe there are three major differences, but let me start with how I got into producing first,...
On the occasion of the second edition of the program series, “New Waves, New Shores” in cooperation with the Busan International Film Festival, we speak with her about her work as a producer and how the profession has changed through the years, co-productions, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and her role in it, the particularly program, Hong Kong and Korean cinema, and many other topics
You have been working as a producer for almost a decade now. What are the most significant changes you have witnessed in the field?
I believe there are three major differences, but let me start with how I got into producing first,...
- 12/9/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
After the success of 2019’s “Suk Suk,” in which he examined the late blooming love of two elderly men, Hong Kong based filmmaker Ray Yeung is proposing to take an adjacent track in his upcoming film “Today… Tomorrow…”
After the death of her partner, a 60-something lesbian finds herself at the mercy of the partner’s family as she struggles to fight for the home that the two women had shared for over thirty years.
Yeung aims to shoot the $600,000 project early next year. And having assembled 40% of that total, he is now seeking to complete the budget by pitching it at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market. Remarkably, it has also been selected for three other project events – Rome’s Mia, the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, and the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion market – in quick succession.
Production is by Michael J. Werner and Teresa Kwong through New Voice Film Productions.
After the death of her partner, a 60-something lesbian finds herself at the mercy of the partner’s family as she struggles to fight for the home that the two women had shared for over thirty years.
Yeung aims to shoot the $600,000 project early next year. And having assembled 40% of that total, he is now seeking to complete the budget by pitching it at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market. Remarkably, it has also been selected for three other project events – Rome’s Mia, the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, and the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion market – in quick succession.
Production is by Michael J. Werner and Teresa Kwong through New Voice Film Productions.
- 10/13/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
A total of 44 film projects, including one executive produced by the Oscar-winning Cate Blanchett, have been selected shortlisted for this year’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion, organizers announced on Monday. The Chinese-language project market takes place on the sidelines of the prestigious Golden Horse Film Festival in Taiwan.
Among the selections, 37 are works in development. Seven are works-in-progress that are still searching for finishing funds or partners for co-production. Together with the 19 TV series projects announced earlier, this year’s Golden Horse Fpp boasts a total of 63 projects. Last year, the Fpp counted 40. In pre-covid 2019, it counted 39 development projects and 8 works in progress.
The majority of the projects originate from Taiwan and there are plenty of big names attached. Drama “I Feel You” directed by Hsiao Ya-chuan is executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Osaka Fumiko. “The Ancient Tree” is the latest narrative feature offering from multiple Golden Horse Award nominee Singing Chen,...
Among the selections, 37 are works in development. Seven are works-in-progress that are still searching for finishing funds or partners for co-production. Together with the 19 TV series projects announced earlier, this year’s Golden Horse Fpp boasts a total of 63 projects. Last year, the Fpp counted 40. In pre-covid 2019, it counted 39 development projects and 8 works in progress.
The majority of the projects originate from Taiwan and there are plenty of big names attached. Drama “I Feel You” directed by Hsiao Ya-chuan is executive produced by Hou Hsiao-hsien and Osaka Fumiko. “The Ancient Tree” is the latest narrative feature offering from multiple Golden Horse Award nominee Singing Chen,...
- 9/28/2021
- by Vivienne Chow
- Variety Film + TV
Film and TV market devoted to scripted and unscripted content will unfold October 13 to 17.
Rome’s Mia film and TV market has unveiled the line-up and highlights of its seventh edition, unfolding October 13 to 17 in and around the Italian capital’s Piazza Barberini district.
The market is expected to be of greater importance for European film buyers and sellers this autumn, after the Covid-19 pandemic deterred many from travelling to Toronto earlier this September and forced the American Film Market (Nov 1-5) to move online for a second year.
In a sign of this, Mia has reported a 30% increase in...
Rome’s Mia film and TV market has unveiled the line-up and highlights of its seventh edition, unfolding October 13 to 17 in and around the Italian capital’s Piazza Barberini district.
The market is expected to be of greater importance for European film buyers and sellers this autumn, after the Covid-19 pandemic deterred many from travelling to Toronto earlier this September and forced the American Film Market (Nov 1-5) to move online for a second year.
In a sign of this, Mia has reported a 30% increase in...
- 9/23/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
A selection of 26 titles from 15 different countries.
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has confirmed a 26-title line-up for the 2021 Asian Project Market (Apm).
Projects at the Apm include Siren Vanishes, directed by Harumoto Yojiro, whose feature A Balance won the New Currents Award at Biff last year before going on to the Berlinale this year.
The 26 projects from 15 different countries also includes titles from House Of Hummingbird director Kim Bora, The Mirror Never Lies director Kamila Andini, and Twilight’s Kiss (Suk Suk) director Ray Yeung.
Organisers announced Apm received a record-breaking 429 film submissions this year, up approximately...
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has confirmed a 26-title line-up for the 2021 Asian Project Market (Apm).
Projects at the Apm include Siren Vanishes, directed by Harumoto Yojiro, whose feature A Balance won the New Currents Award at Biff last year before going on to the Berlinale this year.
The 26 projects from 15 different countries also includes titles from House Of Hummingbird director Kim Bora, The Mirror Never Lies director Kamila Andini, and Twilight’s Kiss (Suk Suk) director Ray Yeung.
Organisers announced Apm received a record-breaking 429 film submissions this year, up approximately...
- 8/10/2021
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
"If we don't speak for ourselves, then who will?" Strand Releasing has unveiled an official US trailer for an indie queer drama from Hong Kong titled Twilight's Kiss, originally known as Suk Suk, both written & directed by filmmaker Ray Yeung. This originally premiered at the Busan Film Festival in 2019, and played at numerous other fests including the New Zealand & Prague Film Festivals last year. The film is a quiet portrayal of a gay relationship between two men in their twilight years. Pak, 70, a married taxi driver who refuses to retire meets Hoi, 65, a retired single father. Although both are secretly gay, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and hardship over the years. As Pak and Hoi fall in love they contemplate a possible future together. Suk Suk studies the subtle day-to-day moments of the two men as they struggle between conventional morals and their personal desires.
- 1/20/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
With the beginning of the pandemic taking place in the Sinophone world, the already tumultuous circumstances of the area reached a level pretty close to eruption. However, as it usual the case with sociopolitical instability, the creative forces of the artists emerged once more triumphant, ending up in a number of films that could easily be described as great. Taiwan cemented its place as one of the countries with the most intriguing cinema, China continued with its festival-appealing, European style movies along with a number of blockbusters, while Hong Kong took a definite step back, with the political situation in combination with the pandemic leaving an already declining industry in a rather bad situation, with very few, but occasionally notable, productions overall.
Without further ado, here are the best Sinophone films of 2020, in reverse order. Some films may have premiered in 2019, but since they mostly circulated in 2020, we decided to include them.
Without further ado, here are the best Sinophone films of 2020, in reverse order. Some films may have premiered in 2019, but since they mostly circulated in 2020, we decided to include them.
- 12/20/2020
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
The London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) celebrates its fifth edition in 2020. In keeping with the times, Leaff presents a unique approach to our programme between 10th and 13th December. Leaff 2020 opens with the gripping Korean box office hit, Beasts Clawing At Straws, directed by Kim Yong-hoon which was awarded the Special Jury Prize at Rotterdam Film Festival earlier this year. The Festival closes the Official Selection with acclaimed director Yonfan’s first film in a decade, No.7 Cherry Lane, an exquisite animation painting the portrait of late 1960s Hong Kong.
The five titles in Official Selection are cinematic offerings from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. From Japan, Director Naomi Kawase’s latest feature True Mothers was selected at Cannes Film Festival, and will be screened as a UK premiere. From China, Director Derek Tsang’s powerful adaptation of Jiu Yuexi’s novel In His Youth, In Her Beauty,...
The five titles in Official Selection are cinematic offerings from Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. From Japan, Director Naomi Kawase’s latest feature True Mothers was selected at Cannes Film Festival, and will be screened as a UK premiere. From China, Director Derek Tsang’s powerful adaptation of Jiu Yuexi’s novel In His Youth, In Her Beauty,...
- 12/3/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
The London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) will be partnering for the very first time with ‘The Cinema at Selfridges’ for Leaff 2020.
This beautiful, boutique screen will be the perfect setting for the ‘Special Focus’ strand, showing five handpicked titles from the 11-13th December.
To celebrate the 5th edition of the festival, the team have carefully chosen five unique titles from across East Asia. They are:
Light For the Youth, by Shin Su-won, Korea
Seyeon, a manager at a call centre, faces a crisis at work after her 19-year-old trainee June disappears. Seyeon’s daughter, Mi-rae, struggles with a job interview and the expectations of her mother. Later, Seyeon begins to receive suspicious messages from June.
I WeirDo, by Liao Ming-yi, Taiwan
Intensely obsessive-compulsive and highly phobic of germs, Po-Ching lives a very precisely scheduled but lonely life. That is until he encounters Chen Ching, a young woman whose...
This beautiful, boutique screen will be the perfect setting for the ‘Special Focus’ strand, showing five handpicked titles from the 11-13th December.
To celebrate the 5th edition of the festival, the team have carefully chosen five unique titles from across East Asia. They are:
Light For the Youth, by Shin Su-won, Korea
Seyeon, a manager at a call centre, faces a crisis at work after her 19-year-old trainee June disappears. Seyeon’s daughter, Mi-rae, struggles with a job interview and the expectations of her mother. Later, Seyeon begins to receive suspicious messages from June.
I WeirDo, by Liao Ming-yi, Taiwan
Intensely obsessive-compulsive and highly phobic of germs, Po-Ching lives a very precisely scheduled but lonely life. That is until he encounters Chen Ching, a young woman whose...
- 11/17/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Five Flavours Asian Film Festival invite you for a journey through taste, colors, and sounds of the Asian continent, hoping they can provide food for your thoughts and solace for your spirits.
The Programme of this year’s Festival comprises more than forty titles representing the extreme variety of Asian cinemas – from horror cinema to sweet melodramas, from grasping auteur cinema to relaxing journeys around the continent.
All the films will be presented online between November 25 and December 6.
Preparing this year’s edition forced the organisers to face up to completely new challenges – from the matters of logistics to finding new ways of thinking about their mission, priorities, building bridges between filmmakers and audiences outside the screening rooms. The online edition of the Festival is not a compromise, but a different way to reach the, perhaps even wider, audiences, discover the rich variety of Asian cultures, and explore the contemporary...
The Programme of this year’s Festival comprises more than forty titles representing the extreme variety of Asian cinemas – from horror cinema to sweet melodramas, from grasping auteur cinema to relaxing journeys around the continent.
All the films will be presented online between November 25 and December 6.
Preparing this year’s edition forced the organisers to face up to completely new challenges – from the matters of logistics to finding new ways of thinking about their mission, priorities, building bridges between filmmakers and audiences outside the screening rooms. The online edition of the Festival is not a compromise, but a different way to reach the, perhaps even wider, audiences, discover the rich variety of Asian cultures, and explore the contemporary...
- 11/2/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Chicago – The Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff) is competitive, and the 56th edition presented its awards on October 23rd, 2020, as a live virtual and online event on the Ciff YouTube page. The winner of the Gold Hugo as Best International Film was “Sweat” (France), directed by Magnus von Horn.
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates Day Ten of the movie extravaganza, with films available for 2020 virtually and online. Click here for a complete how-to guide on navigating the 2020 Ciff. Go to Page Two for the schedule of October 23rd, 2020.
The awards were presented by the various jury members in each film category, and were hosted by Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, Managing Director Vivian Teng, as well as programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
‘Sweat’
Photo credit: Chicago International Film...
The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates Day Ten of the movie extravaganza, with films available for 2020 virtually and online. Click here for a complete how-to guide on navigating the 2020 Ciff. Go to Page Two for the schedule of October 23rd, 2020.
The awards were presented by the various jury members in each film category, and were hosted by Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, Managing Director Vivian Teng, as well as programmers Anthony Kaufman and Sam Flancher. The Festival’s highest honor is the Gold Hugo, named for the mythical God of Discovery.
International Feature Film Competition
‘Sweat’
Photo credit: Chicago International Film...
- 10/23/2020
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Review by Ray Yeung
When it comes to queer cinema, we do not see the romance between two older people, especially not in the surrounding that is quite traditional and family values-driven as it is, or at least was, the case with Hong Kong. “Suk Suk”, the third featured film directed by Ray Yeung, who is considered to be one of the important figures of queer cinema because of his earlier works “Cut Sleeve Boys” and “Front Cover”, is one of the rare films that deals with the topic. The film premiered last autumn at Busan, while the European Premiere took place at Berlinale.
“Suk Suk” is screening at Slovak Queer Film Festival
Pak, played by the legendary Taiwan-based Hong Kong actor Tai-Bo (known for his work in Jackie Chan movies with “Police Story” being the highlight), is a seventy-year-old cab driver. He still works not because of the financial needs,...
When it comes to queer cinema, we do not see the romance between two older people, especially not in the surrounding that is quite traditional and family values-driven as it is, or at least was, the case with Hong Kong. “Suk Suk”, the third featured film directed by Ray Yeung, who is considered to be one of the important figures of queer cinema because of his earlier works “Cut Sleeve Boys” and “Front Cover”, is one of the rare films that deals with the topic. The film premiered last autumn at Busan, while the European Premiere took place at Berlinale.
“Suk Suk” is screening at Slovak Queer Film Festival
Pak, played by the legendary Taiwan-based Hong Kong actor Tai-Bo (known for his work in Jackie Chan movies with “Police Story” being the highlight), is a seventy-year-old cab driver. He still works not because of the financial needs,...
- 10/14/2020
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
MacGyver taught us two things: first, plans are great, but something always goes wrong. Second, there’s always an alternative solution close by. In a year that’s been one big, wild and brutal episode, FFi has been converted into a hybrid festival. In fact, the 14th Slovak Queer Film Festival (FFi) is taking place in cinemas Kino Lumière in Bratislava and Úsmev in Košice through 14 – 19 October 2020, and through 20 – 25 October 2020.
We’re so excited to share with you, though limited, yet intriguing FFi selection of Asian films: three features in the Queer Asia section and one short film in the Shorts section.
Relationships after 50 is the subject of Hong Kong’s Suk Suk (d. Ray Yeung), a film about two retirement-age men who bravely take the chance to come out, at least to each other. This contrasts with the story of a gradually unfolding bond between two young men, set...
We’re so excited to share with you, though limited, yet intriguing FFi selection of Asian films: three features in the Queer Asia section and one short film in the Shorts section.
Relationships after 50 is the subject of Hong Kong’s Suk Suk (d. Ray Yeung), a film about two retirement-age men who bravely take the chance to come out, at least to each other. This contrasts with the story of a gradually unfolding bond between two young men, set...
- 10/11/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Outfest Los Angeles is going virtual this year and they have unveiled their stacked lineup for the 11-day festival which kicks off August 20.
The LGBTQ film fest fest will include over 160 films with 35 world premieres, 10 North American premieres and 4 U.S. premieres to Los Angeles for 2020. The fest will live on http://www.outfestla2020.com and there will also be “Outfest LA Under the Stars”, a drive-in experience will take place at the stunning Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where for two extended weekends the Festival will be hosting a series of drive-in screenings across six-nights on two lots, including both kick-off and closing events. The drive-in screenings will start with the Sundance pic The Nowhere Inn starring musicians Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. Other screenings will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Over 70% of films at Outfest LA directed by female, trans, and Poc filmmakers. The Breakthrough Centerpiece will be...
The LGBTQ film fest fest will include over 160 films with 35 world premieres, 10 North American premieres and 4 U.S. premieres to Los Angeles for 2020. The fest will live on http://www.outfestla2020.com and there will also be “Outfest LA Under the Stars”, a drive-in experience will take place at the stunning Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where for two extended weekends the Festival will be hosting a series of drive-in screenings across six-nights on two lots, including both kick-off and closing events. The drive-in screenings will start with the Sundance pic The Nowhere Inn starring musicians Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. Other screenings will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Over 70% of films at Outfest LA directed by female, trans, and Poc filmmakers. The Breakthrough Centerpiece will be...
- 8/11/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” is set as the opening movie of the Melbourne International Film Festival. The event was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, before being revived online under the label Miff 68 ½. The festival will unspool virtually Aug 6-23, 2020.
“First Cow” is an unlikely story of friendship and free enterprise on the American frontier, involving a skilled cook, a Chinese immigrant and a wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow. It previously played at the Telluride, New York and Berlin festivals.
In total, the festival will present 60 feature films, including 3 in a retrospective section, and 44 shorts. They hail from 56 countries and territories and 49% include at least one female director. All film screenings are geo-blocked to play only within Australia, but are available nationwide.
“Despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring (to audiences) the world through unforgettable screen experiences,...
“First Cow” is an unlikely story of friendship and free enterprise on the American frontier, involving a skilled cook, a Chinese immigrant and a wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow. It previously played at the Telluride, New York and Berlin festivals.
In total, the festival will present 60 feature films, including 3 in a retrospective section, and 44 shorts. They hail from 56 countries and territories and 49% include at least one female director. All film screenings are geo-blocked to play only within Australia, but are available nationwide.
“Despite the extraordinary circumstances of 2020, Miff’s ‘radical act’ is to keep going and continue on our mission to bring (to audiences) the world through unforgettable screen experiences,...
- 7/14/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Films Boutique has sold Mohammad Rasoulof’s Berlinale Golden Bear winning “There Is No Evil” nearly worldwide in the run-up to the movie’s screening at Cannes’ virtual Marché du Film.
Acquired by Kino Lorber in the U.S. and Pyramide in France following its world premiere at Berlin, “There Is No Evil” charts the ordeal of four men who are put in front of an unthinkable but simple choice that, whatever they decide, will directly or indirectly affect themselves, their relationships and their entire lives.
The Berlin-based sales company has now sold “There Is No Evil” in Australia (Madman), in Austria (Stadtkino), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), in Benelux (September Films), in Bulgaria (Beta Film), in Canada (Acéphale), in China (Time-In-Portrait), in Russia and the Cis (Kinofon), in Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), in Denmark (Camera Film), in Germany (Grand Film), in Hong Kong (Edko), in Latin America (Impacto), in...
Acquired by Kino Lorber in the U.S. and Pyramide in France following its world premiere at Berlin, “There Is No Evil” charts the ordeal of four men who are put in front of an unthinkable but simple choice that, whatever they decide, will directly or indirectly affect themselves, their relationships and their entire lives.
The Berlin-based sales company has now sold “There Is No Evil” in Australia (Madman), in Austria (Stadtkino), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), in Benelux (September Films), in Bulgaria (Beta Film), in Canada (Acéphale), in China (Time-In-Portrait), in Russia and the Cis (Kinofon), in Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe), in Denmark (Camera Film), in Germany (Grand Film), in Hong Kong (Edko), in Latin America (Impacto), in...
- 6/17/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to Ray Yeung’s “Twilight’s Kiss” (“Suk Suk”) which world premiered at Busan and played at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
Sold by Films Boutique, “Twilight’s Kiss” tells the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years, Pak, a 70 year-old taxi driver who refuses to retire, and Hoi, a 65 year-old retired single father. Despite years of societal and personal pressure, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet, when they meet, something that had been suppressed for so many years is unleashed in them.
Strand Releasing, whose roster is packed with renowned world auteurs, previously handled Yeung’s film “Front Cover” with Jake Choi (“Single Parents”). “The delicate and beautiful story of two older men finding love later in life is a refreshing and realistic story and although uniquely Asian, is universal,...
Sold by Films Boutique, “Twilight’s Kiss” tells the story of two closeted married men in their twilight years, Pak, a 70 year-old taxi driver who refuses to retire, and Hoi, a 65 year-old retired single father. Despite years of societal and personal pressure, they are proud of the families they have created through hard work and determination. Yet, when they meet, something that had been suppressed for so many years is unleashed in them.
Strand Releasing, whose roster is packed with renowned world auteurs, previously handled Yeung’s film “Front Cover” with Jake Choi (“Single Parents”). “The delicate and beautiful story of two older men finding love later in life is a refreshing and realistic story and although uniquely Asian, is universal,...
- 6/4/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The festival will play 46 features from eight Asian countries.
Udine’s Far East Film Festival (Feff) has revealed a lineup of 46 features including four world premieres, for the online-only edition of the event that will run from June 26 until July 4.
It will open with the international premiere of Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo’s disaster action film Ashfall, available to viewers in Europe only.
The film was a blockbuster hit in South Korea over Christmas, grossing almost $60m (£47.9m) by the end of January.
The world premieres are Ning Yuanyuan’s Chinese title An Insignificant Affair; Daigo Matsui’s Japanese...
Udine’s Far East Film Festival (Feff) has revealed a lineup of 46 features including four world premieres, for the online-only edition of the event that will run from June 26 until July 4.
It will open with the international premiere of Lee Hae-jun and Kim Byung-seo’s disaster action film Ashfall, available to viewers in Europe only.
The film was a blockbuster hit in South Korea over Christmas, grossing almost $60m (£47.9m) by the end of January.
The world premieres are Ning Yuanyuan’s Chinese title An Insignificant Affair; Daigo Matsui’s Japanese...
- 6/4/2020
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Award-winning drama opened on more than 60 screens in Hong Kong this weekend.
Films Boutique has sold Hong Kong filmmaker Ray Yeung’s Suk Suk to a slew of further territories, including Vitrine Filmes for Spain and Epicentre Films for France.
The award-winning romance has also gone to Vitrine Filmes for Brazil, while a deal for North America is expected to be closed shortly. Films Boutique has also sold the film to further Asian territories, including M Pictures for Thailand and Filmgarde Cineplex for Singapore.
It was previously sold to Cai Chang International for Taiwan and Golden Scene for Hong Kong,...
Films Boutique has sold Hong Kong filmmaker Ray Yeung’s Suk Suk to a slew of further territories, including Vitrine Filmes for Spain and Epicentre Films for France.
The award-winning romance has also gone to Vitrine Filmes for Brazil, while a deal for North America is expected to be closed shortly. Films Boutique has also sold the film to further Asian territories, including M Pictures for Thailand and Filmgarde Cineplex for Singapore.
It was previously sold to Cai Chang International for Taiwan and Golden Scene for Hong Kong,...
- 5/29/2020
- by 89¦Liz Shackleton¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
The coronavirus disrupted both the festival and commercial careers of Hong Kong drama film “Suk Suk.” But as the film’s narrative suggests, a late blooming is still possible.
Written and directed by Ray Yeung, the film chronicles the gay romance between two aging men who had lived much of their younger lives hiding their sexuality. It had its world premiere at the Busan festival in October and competed for the Teddy Award in February as part of the Berlin festival’s Panorama section. But a planned series of other festival releases in key territories was abruptly halted when the Covid-19 outbreak became a global pandemic.
The film’s sales agent, Films Boutique is now trying to develop a new festival strategy that stretches through 2020 and early 2021.
Films Boutique is also pushing ahead with license deals. In Asia, “Suk Suk” has been licensed to Cai Chang International for Taiwan, M Pictures for Thailand,...
Written and directed by Ray Yeung, the film chronicles the gay romance between two aging men who had lived much of their younger lives hiding their sexuality. It had its world premiere at the Busan festival in October and competed for the Teddy Award in February as part of the Berlin festival’s Panorama section. But a planned series of other festival releases in key territories was abruptly halted when the Covid-19 outbreak became a global pandemic.
The film’s sales agent, Films Boutique is now trying to develop a new festival strategy that stretches through 2020 and early 2021.
Films Boutique is also pushing ahead with license deals. In Asia, “Suk Suk” has been licensed to Cai Chang International for Taiwan, M Pictures for Thailand,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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