Full Circle Lab Philippines, the Southeast Asian project and talent development programme, has revealed the line-up for its upcoming sixth edition, including a drama set against the backdrop of The Beatles infamous visit to Manila in 1966.
The labs will comprise eight projects in development, three films in post-production, eight emerging producers and three story editors. A total of 35 participants and 10 mentors are set to participate in the in-person workshop, held in the Central Luzon region in the north of Manila from March 19-24, followed by online sessions, which run until September.
Scroll down for full list of projects and participants...
The labs will comprise eight projects in development, three films in post-production, eight emerging producers and three story editors. A total of 35 participants and 10 mentors are set to participate in the in-person workshop, held in the Central Luzon region in the north of Manila from March 19-24, followed by online sessions, which run until September.
Scroll down for full list of projects and participants...
- 3/7/2024
- ScreenDaily
The shortlist of 15 films to vie for a Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination is set to be announced on December 21. In all, movies from 88 countries are eligible this year, and as we regularly see, they offer up a rich treasure trove.
Below, we take a closer look at the potential candidates for the early cut. They include prize winners from Sundance to Berlin, Cannes, Venice and myriad other festivals and awards bodies.
Deadline, through its various Contenders events as well as separate interviews, has spoken with filmmakers behind many of the entries while all of the titles on the main list below have been reviewed by Deadline’s critics as we continue to grow our focus on international films.
To note, we have not highlighted films which are also eligible in Animation and Documentary, though our picks for possible crossovers are at the end of the main list, as are our Special Mentions.
Below, we take a closer look at the potential candidates for the early cut. They include prize winners from Sundance to Berlin, Cannes, Venice and myriad other festivals and awards bodies.
Deadline, through its various Contenders events as well as separate interviews, has spoken with filmmakers behind many of the entries while all of the titles on the main list below have been reviewed by Deadline’s critics as we continue to grow our focus on international films.
To note, we have not highlighted films which are also eligible in Animation and Documentary, though our picks for possible crossovers are at the end of the main list, as are our Special Mentions.
- 12/17/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Singapore producer Jeremy Chua, who produced this year’s Cannes Camera d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, has been appointed general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
Chua takes up the post on January 1, 2024, and will jointly lead the festival with Programme Director Thong Kay Wee. Emily J Hoe is stepping down after delivering four editions of the festival, including two that were severely impacted by the pandemic.
Founder of Singapore-based production outfit Potocol, Chua also produced or co-produced Nicole Midori Woodford’s Last Shadow At First Light, Jow Zhi Wei’s Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography and Bui Thac Chuyen’s Glorious Ashes.
He was presented with the Fiapf Award for outstanding contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia.
Sgiff wrapped on December 10 with Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An,...
Chua takes up the post on January 1, 2024, and will jointly lead the festival with Programme Director Thong Kay Wee. Emily J Hoe is stepping down after delivering four editions of the festival, including two that were severely impacted by the pandemic.
Founder of Singapore-based production outfit Potocol, Chua also produced or co-produced Nicole Midori Woodford’s Last Shadow At First Light, Jow Zhi Wei’s Tomorrow Is A Long Time, Makbul Mubarak’s Autobiography and Bui Thac Chuyen’s Glorious Ashes.
He was presented with the Fiapf Award for outstanding contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia.
Sgiff wrapped on December 10 with Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Vietnam’s Pham Thien An,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Prominent local producer Jeremy Chua has been appointed as general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival. He takes up the post from Jan. 1, 2024.
Emily J. Hoe, who led the festival for the past four years as its executive director, is stepping down and is understood to be relocating to Australia.
Thong Kay Wee will remain in place as the Sgiff’s programming director.
Chua is the founder of production firm Potocol and is among a small group of Singaporean producers who are using Asia’s burgeoning project market and development labs and dollops of grant in aid funding from Singapore authorities to turn the wealthy Southeast Asian state into a hub for regional co-productions.
Potocol was co-producer of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the Vietnamese debut feature that won the best film prize at Sgiff’s closing event on Sunday. Earlier, the film won the Camera d’Or for...
Emily J. Hoe, who led the festival for the past four years as its executive director, is stepping down and is understood to be relocating to Australia.
Thong Kay Wee will remain in place as the Sgiff’s programming director.
Chua is the founder of production firm Potocol and is among a small group of Singaporean producers who are using Asia’s burgeoning project market and development labs and dollops of grant in aid funding from Singapore authorities to turn the wealthy Southeast Asian state into a hub for regional co-productions.
Potocol was co-producer of “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” the Vietnamese debut feature that won the best film prize at Sgiff’s closing event on Sunday. Earlier, the film won the Camera d’Or for...
- 12/13/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Chua was lead producer on ‘Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell’.
Jeremy Chua, producer of Cannes award-winning feature Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, has been appointed general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
The announcement coincided with the closing of a bumper edition of Sgiff, where Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell was named best Asian feature film at the Silver Screen Awards.
Chua will assume the role on January 1 and jointly lead the festival with Thong Kay Wee, who has been programme director since 2021. Emily J Hoe is stepping down as executive director after delivering four editions since 2020.
Chua...
Jeremy Chua, producer of Cannes award-winning feature Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, has been appointed general manager of the Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff).
The announcement coincided with the closing of a bumper edition of Sgiff, where Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell was named best Asian feature film at the Silver Screen Awards.
Chua will assume the role on January 1 and jointly lead the festival with Thong Kay Wee, who has been programme director since 2021. Emily J Hoe is stepping down as executive director after delivering four editions since 2020.
Chua...
- 12/12/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Deadline on Monday launched the streaming site for its Contenders Film: International, featuring the full panel videos from Saturday’s award-season showcase of 12 movies submitted by their countries to this year’s Oscar International Feature race.
Click here to launch the streaming site.
Actors who took part in the discussions included South Korean entry Concrete Utopia‘s Lee Byung-hun, Renée Soutendijk from Netherlands’ Sweet Dreams, Eli Skorcheva from Bulgaria’s Blaga’s Lessons and Eliane Umuhire from Belgium’s Omen.
They were joined among others by directors including J.A. Bayona from Netflix’s Society of the Snow, Hugh Welchman from Poland’s The Peasants, Noora Niasari from Australia’s Shayda, llker Çatak from Germany’s The Teachers’ Lounge, Concrete Utopia‘s Um Tae-hwa, Ena Sendijarević from Sweet Dreams, Stephan Komandarev from Blaga’s Lessons, Omar Hilal from Egypt’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, Jude Anthany Joseph from India’s 2018 – Everyone Is a Hero,...
Click here to launch the streaming site.
Actors who took part in the discussions included South Korean entry Concrete Utopia‘s Lee Byung-hun, Renée Soutendijk from Netherlands’ Sweet Dreams, Eli Skorcheva from Bulgaria’s Blaga’s Lessons and Eliane Umuhire from Belgium’s Omen.
They were joined among others by directors including J.A. Bayona from Netflix’s Society of the Snow, Hugh Welchman from Poland’s The Peasants, Noora Niasari from Australia’s Shayda, llker Çatak from Germany’s The Teachers’ Lounge, Concrete Utopia‘s Um Tae-hwa, Ena Sendijarević from Sweet Dreams, Stephan Komandarev from Blaga’s Lessons, Omar Hilal from Egypt’s Voy! Voy! Voy!, Jude Anthany Joseph from India’s 2018 – Everyone Is a Hero,...
- 12/11/2023
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline Film + TV
Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word “Foreign” to be outdated.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
- 12/11/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Beginning as a simple two-hander in which a young working-class caretaker comes under the spell of his returning boss — a charismatic military man who has designs on getting into local politics — Makbul Mubarak’s debut film Autobiography soon develops into a tense psychological thriller about the way populist leaders groom and abuse their people. It works on its own terms, as a simple yet dark father-son allegory set within Indonesia’s military culture, but there’s a universality here that’s hard to miss.
Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event, Mubarak described the inspiration for the film.
“The inspiration comes from my family,” he said. “My mom, my dad, my uncle, my grandfather, they all worked for the government during the military dictatorship. As you might know, Indonesia was a country which, for more than 30 years, was ruled by a military dictatorship. After the regime collapsed in...
Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event, Mubarak described the inspiration for the film.
“The inspiration comes from my family,” he said. “My mom, my dad, my uncle, my grandfather, they all worked for the government during the military dictatorship. As you might know, Indonesia was a country which, for more than 30 years, was ruled by a military dictatorship. After the regime collapsed in...
- 12/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Deadline’s Contenders Film: International award-season event launches Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Pt, the latest in our series of showcases that this time turns the focus toward global cinema via discussions with the casts and creatives of 12 movies submitted by their countries for the 2024 Academy Awards’ International Feature race.
Click to sign up for and watch today’s livestream.
The 2023 Oscar ceremony was a triumph for international film. Going into the ceremony, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was a winner already, having earned a spectacular seven nominations. If that wasn’t enough, it came away with four statuettes: one for International Feature, and three for Cinematography, Music and Production Design. Clearly this can’t happen every year, but, like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite before it, Berger’s World War I epic proved that boundaries are being broken down, and international film, once synonymous with arthouse,...
Click to sign up for and watch today’s livestream.
The 2023 Oscar ceremony was a triumph for international film. Going into the ceremony, Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front was a winner already, having earned a spectacular seven nominations. If that wasn’t enough, it came away with four statuettes: one for International Feature, and three for Cinematography, Music and Production Design. Clearly this can’t happen every year, but, like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite before it, Berger’s World War I epic proved that boundaries are being broken down, and international film, once synonymous with arthouse,...
- 12/9/2023
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Behind the scenes at the talent development lab-meets-industry market.
The TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) can be hard to classify. On the one hand, it is a talent development initiative with an emphasis on art and craft; on the other, serious business is frequently done at the annual two-day meeting.
Filmmakers describe it in hallowed tones, referring to a “sacred” space, as sharp-eyed sales agents, producers and financiers attend in search of fresh projects to add to their market slates.
What is not hard to assess is Tfl’s success. Filmmakers to have participated in the past few years have gone on to...
The TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) can be hard to classify. On the one hand, it is a talent development initiative with an emphasis on art and craft; on the other, serious business is frequently done at the annual two-day meeting.
Filmmakers describe it in hallowed tones, referring to a “sacred” space, as sharp-eyed sales agents, producers and financiers attend in search of fresh projects to add to their market slates.
What is not hard to assess is Tfl’s success. Filmmakers to have participated in the past few years have gone on to...
- 12/4/2023
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Prizes worth a combined €270,000 were awarded to 17 projects.
TorinoFilmLab’s co-production market Tfl Meeting Event has awarded prizes worth a combined €270,000 to 17 projects at its 2023 edition, which concluded on Saturday (November 25).
Scroll down for full list of prizes
Thirty projects were pitched over two days at the event in Turin - 20 titles from Tfl’s nine-month scriptwriting programme ScriptLab and another 10 from its FeatureLab strand for films at a more advanced stage.
Four FeatureLab projects were awarded production and co-production awards – worth a combined €180,000 - by a jury that included mk2 Films’ Olivier Barbier and El Gouna programmer Andrew Mohsen.
TorinoFilmLab’s co-production market Tfl Meeting Event has awarded prizes worth a combined €270,000 to 17 projects at its 2023 edition, which concluded on Saturday (November 25).
Scroll down for full list of prizes
Thirty projects were pitched over two days at the event in Turin - 20 titles from Tfl’s nine-month scriptwriting programme ScriptLab and another 10 from its FeatureLab strand for films at a more advanced stage.
Four FeatureLab projects were awarded production and co-production awards – worth a combined €180,000 - by a jury that included mk2 Films’ Olivier Barbier and El Gouna programmer Andrew Mohsen.
- 11/27/2023
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
A year after its premiere in Venice, Makbul Mubarak's debut feature “Autobiography” keeps impressing the festival audiences. On the occasion of screening during the Five Flavours Film Festival, we met with the director to delve into the concept of historical trauma and how it affects younger generations who were born into it. We also discuss the complexities of loyalty within Indonesian society, dynamics of power and what it means to be a good person, among other topics.
In the opening sequence of the movie, Rakib is watching a game of chess. But it's not just a game, but the particular match from the important tournament: the world championships' rapid chess game between Viswanath Anand and Magnus Carlsen. I do believe that things like that don't occur in movies without a reason… So what's your reason behind it?
Thank you for catching that. I chose this particular match because it's a battle between two generations.
In the opening sequence of the movie, Rakib is watching a game of chess. But it's not just a game, but the particular match from the important tournament: the world championships' rapid chess game between Viswanath Anand and Magnus Carlsen. I do believe that things like that don't occur in movies without a reason… So what's your reason behind it?
Thank you for catching that. I chose this particular match because it's a battle between two generations.
- 11/24/2023
- by Joanna Kończak
- AsianMoviePulse
t is always a great joy to host the artists who are behind the making of the films that are in the festival line-up. It's an opportunity to confront the feelings and emotions and to deepen the contexts of what's happening on the screen. This year Five Flavours will be visited by artists from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. Come and meet them!
The Guests of the 17. Five Flavours Chihiro Ito
Director, novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and set designer. Before directing her feature debut “In Her Room” in 2022, she worked as a script writer. “In Her Room” (screened at the prestigious Film Lincoln Center in New York City) is an adaptation of Ito's book. In her work, Ito explores the relationships between people and the environment, the material and the non-material.
More about Side by Side
More about “in her room”
Makbul Mubarak
Makbul Mubarak started as a film critic.
The Guests of the 17. Five Flavours Chihiro Ito
Director, novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and set designer. Before directing her feature debut “In Her Room” in 2022, she worked as a script writer. “In Her Room” (screened at the prestigious Film Lincoln Center in New York City) is an adaptation of Ito's book. In her work, Ito explores the relationships between people and the environment, the material and the non-material.
More about Side by Side
More about “in her room”
Makbul Mubarak
Makbul Mubarak started as a film critic.
- 11/3/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Oscar voters in the Best International Feature Film category have received their group assignments for this year’s initial round of voting, with 89 films included on the seven lists that the Academy has sent to members.
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
- 10/31/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Co-production Protocol
Dynamic Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua is to receive the Fiapf Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) on Nov. 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast. In the nine years since founding his company Potocol, Chua has focused on international co-production of Asian films and telling Asia stories.
Two of his most recent films, Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” and Vietnamese feature debutant Thien An Pham’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” are their country’s respective Oscar contenders. In 2021 Chua produced Bangladesh’s first film in Cannes “Rehana,” while at the most recent Busan International Film Festival he premiered Singapore-Japan co-venture “Last Shadow at First Light” and Thailand’s “Doi Boy.” At Busan’s Asian Project Market, his Philippines-set “Filipinana” was the outstanding development work, walking away with three prizes.
At Apsa, Chua will take part in a producers’ round...
Dynamic Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua is to receive the Fiapf Award for Outstanding Contribution to Asia Pacific Cinema, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) on Nov. 3 on Australia’s Gold Coast. In the nine years since founding his company Potocol, Chua has focused on international co-production of Asian films and telling Asia stories.
Two of his most recent films, Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” and Vietnamese feature debutant Thien An Pham’s “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” are their country’s respective Oscar contenders. In 2021 Chua produced Bangladesh’s first film in Cannes “Rehana,” while at the most recent Busan International Film Festival he premiered Singapore-Japan co-venture “Last Shadow at First Light” and Thailand’s “Doi Boy.” At Busan’s Asian Project Market, his Philippines-set “Filipinana” was the outstanding development work, walking away with three prizes.
At Apsa, Chua will take part in a producers’ round...
- 10/17/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Wrestler, directed by Bangladeshi-Canadian filmmaker Iqbal H. Chowdhury, and September 1923, from Japan’s Tatsuya Mori, picked up the New Currents Awards as Busan International Film Festival wrapped a busy 28th edition on October 13.
Chowdhury’s film tells the story of an eccentric fisherman who learns a traditional form of wrestling to take on the village champion, while September 1923, the debut fiction film of documentary filmmaker Mori, revolves around the massacre that took place after the Great Kanto earthquake 100 years ago.
The Kim Jiseok Award, presented to films in Busan’s Jiseok section, went to Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise, about an Indian couple facing problems in their marriage during a trip to Sri Lanka, and Mirlan Abdykalykov’s Bride Kidnapping, about the widespread practice of forcing women into marriage in Kyrgyzstan.
Busan also launched two new awards, the LG Oled New Currents & Vision Awards, presented to films...
Chowdhury’s film tells the story of an eccentric fisherman who learns a traditional form of wrestling to take on the village champion, while September 1923, the debut fiction film of documentary filmmaker Mori, revolves around the massacre that took place after the Great Kanto earthquake 100 years ago.
The Kim Jiseok Award, presented to films in Busan’s Jiseok section, went to Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise, about an Indian couple facing problems in their marriage during a trip to Sri Lanka, and Mirlan Abdykalykov’s Bride Kidnapping, about the widespread practice of forcing women into marriage in Kyrgyzstan.
Busan also launched two new awards, the LG Oled New Currents & Vision Awards, presented to films...
- 10/14/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
“Madness and Honey Days,” to be directed by Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji, was Tuesday named the winner of the top-ranking Busan Award at the Asian Project Market, an offshoot of the Busan International Film Festival. But “Filipinana” was the numerical winner. To be directed by Rafael Manuel, the project won three prizes.
Other projects to claim multiple awards were: “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” to be directed by Japan’s Hirose Nanako; and “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” to be directed by mainland China’s Jiang Xiaoxuan.
Seeking a $1.1 million budget, “Madness and Honey Days” is a tragicomedy in which a man, after unintentionally cursing at President Saddam Hussein, must convince a Baathist court that he is insane if he hopes to escape the death penalty. During the last months before the fall of Saddam, he must live in a Baghdad psychiatric hospital and struggle to maintain his sanity,...
Other projects to claim multiple awards were: “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” to be directed by Japan’s Hirose Nanako; and “To Kill a Mongolian Horse” to be directed by mainland China’s Jiang Xiaoxuan.
Seeking a $1.1 million budget, “Madness and Honey Days” is a tragicomedy in which a man, after unintentionally cursing at President Saddam Hussein, must convince a Baathist court that he is insane if he hopes to escape the death penalty. During the last months before the fall of Saddam, he must live in a Baghdad psychiatric hospital and struggle to maintain his sanity,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Indonesian film industry is poised to spread its wings globally as the country’s filmmaking boom is the subject of a focus at the Busan International Film Festival.
Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world with 277 million, is rapidly expanding with homegrown productions accounting for a significant share. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies that include an annual $13 million international co-production grant. Featured at Busan this year are 15 features, shorts and series.
The festival has been inviting Indonesian films since 1996. In 2004, the late Kim Ji-seok, after whom one of the festival’s top awards is named now, curated a program titled ‘Garin [Nugroho] and the Next Generation: New Possibility of Indonesian Cinema.’ “I realized that the next generation is already visible, but overlooked,” festival programmer Park Sungho told Variety.
Films from the country now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world with 277 million, is rapidly expanding with homegrown productions accounting for a significant share. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies that include an annual $13 million international co-production grant. Featured at Busan this year are 15 features, shorts and series.
The festival has been inviting Indonesian films since 1996. In 2004, the late Kim Ji-seok, after whom one of the festival’s top awards is named now, curated a program titled ‘Garin [Nugroho] and the Next Generation: New Possibility of Indonesian Cinema.’ “I realized that the next generation is already visible, but overlooked,” festival programmer Park Sungho told Variety.
- 10/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Distribution in Indonesia was the subject of a lively debate at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Contents and Film Market.
With 277 million people, Indonesia has one of the largest populations in the world. However, geographically it is an archipelago and for its population, the country is under-screened with just 2,300 cinema screens. Despite this, box office is booming. The 2022 total surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with more than 54 million admissions. Indonesia also operates under a unique distribution model in that there are no independent distributors. Producers instead deal directly with the country’s three major multiplex chains and a smattering of small cinemas in second and third tier cities.
“The country’s span is from Dublin to Istanbul, but we have only 2,300 screens,” said producer Angga Dwimas Sasangko of Visinema, whose “Ali Topan” is screening at Busan. Sasangko was speaking at a panel on Indonesian distribution that also included producer Shanty...
With 277 million people, Indonesia has one of the largest populations in the world. However, geographically it is an archipelago and for its population, the country is under-screened with just 2,300 cinema screens. Despite this, box office is booming. The 2022 total surpassed pre-pandemic 2019 levels, with more than 54 million admissions. Indonesia also operates under a unique distribution model in that there are no independent distributors. Producers instead deal directly with the country’s three major multiplex chains and a smattering of small cinemas in second and third tier cities.
“The country’s span is from Dublin to Istanbul, but we have only 2,300 screens,” said producer Angga Dwimas Sasangko of Visinema, whose “Ali Topan” is screening at Busan. Sasangko was speaking at a panel on Indonesian distribution that also included producer Shanty...
- 10/8/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Busan’s industry platform, Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm), is a marketplace where sales agents set up their stalls to sell projects in development and completed films. But increasingly, it’s also becoming a place where producers can find the stories and other source material they need to bring those films and series to life.
Last year, Acfm launched the Busan Story Market, a more user-friendly moniker for the various strands of the market that present works available for adaptation and remake. The initiative was a hit with industry participants and this year has been adjusted further to include a greater number of early stage IPs.
“The feedback we received last year is that the industry hoped to discover more original works, rather than material that has already been adapted, including stories that have yet to be published,” explains Acfm general manager Seri Park.
“We didn’t necessarily intend it,...
Last year, Acfm launched the Busan Story Market, a more user-friendly moniker for the various strands of the market that present works available for adaptation and remake. The initiative was a hit with industry participants and this year has been adjusted further to include a greater number of early stage IPs.
“The feedback we received last year is that the industry hoped to discover more original works, rather than material that has already been adapted, including stories that have yet to be published,” explains Acfm general manager Seri Park.
“We didn’t necessarily intend it,...
- 10/3/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
A first trailer has been unveiled for Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen’s “24 Hours With Gaspar.”
The film world premieres at the Busan International Film Festival where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. Set in 2032 and based on the novel of the same name by Indonesian author Sabda Armandio, the film follows Gaspar, a private detective with 24 hours to live, who finds clues about the mysterious disappearance of Kirana, his childhood friend. The clues lead to a human trafficking syndicate.
“24 Hours With Gaspar” features a stellar Indonesian cast including Reza Rahadian, Shenina Cinnamon (“Dear David”), Laura Basuki (“Before Now And Then”), Kristo Imanuell (“Big Four”), Sal Priadi, Dewi Irawan (“Anwar: The Untold Story”) and Iswadi Pratama.
The film is a collaboration between KawanKawan Media, Visinema and Legacy Pictures and produced by Yulia Evina Bhara for KawanKawan Media and Cristian Imanuell for Visinema Pictures.
Noen and KawanKawan previously...
The film world premieres at the Busan International Film Festival where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. Set in 2032 and based on the novel of the same name by Indonesian author Sabda Armandio, the film follows Gaspar, a private detective with 24 hours to live, who finds clues about the mysterious disappearance of Kirana, his childhood friend. The clues lead to a human trafficking syndicate.
“24 Hours With Gaspar” features a stellar Indonesian cast including Reza Rahadian, Shenina Cinnamon (“Dear David”), Laura Basuki (“Before Now And Then”), Kristo Imanuell (“Big Four”), Sal Priadi, Dewi Irawan (“Anwar: The Untold Story”) and Iswadi Pratama.
The film is a collaboration between KawanKawan Media, Visinema and Legacy Pictures and produced by Yulia Evina Bhara for KawanKawan Media and Cristian Imanuell for Visinema Pictures.
Noen and KawanKawan previously...
- 9/26/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Predicting the eventual five Oscar nominees for Best International Feature is made difficult by the three-step process that begins after the October 2, 2023 deadline for countries to submit entries. To be part of the selection process for this category, which was called Best Foreign Language Film before 2020, requires a great deal of dedication. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscars Best International Feature predictions.)
In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.
These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...
In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.
These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...
- 9/25/2023
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
This year’s program of the New Asian Cinema section includes two subversive comedies from South Korea – “Hail to Hell” and “A Wild Roomer,” and a strong Indonesian accent – the drama “Autobiography.” These three impressive debuts have already caused quite a stir in the international festival circuit. The directors will come to Warsaw in November to meet with Five Flavours audiences!
Working on the competition section is always a challenge that comes with a strong sense of responsibility. How can we show the themes resonating throughout the cinemas of the continent and capture its heartbeat with just eleven films? The result of the many, often incredibly hard decisions, is a section filled with sharp portrayals of Asia, conveyed by auteurs who will surely keep on making waves in the industry. The Five Flavours audiences get a chance to discover them at the brink of their careers, and to talk about...
Working on the competition section is always a challenge that comes with a strong sense of responsibility. How can we show the themes resonating throughout the cinemas of the continent and capture its heartbeat with just eleven films? The result of the many, often incredibly hard decisions, is a section filled with sharp portrayals of Asia, conveyed by auteurs who will surely keep on making waves in the industry. The Five Flavours audiences get a chance to discover them at the brink of their careers, and to talk about...
- 9/17/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars Acting Up At Busan
Oscar-winning Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung will headline the Actors’ House section of the upcoming Busan International Film Festival, it was announced on Thursday.
Introduced in 2021, Actors’ House is a special series that connects audiences and film enthusiasts with iconic actors from the current generation through its in-depth discussions. “There’s much anticipation to hear her words of wisdom, as she’s known for her insightful observations,” said the festival.
Others this year include: Han Hyo-joo, Song Joong-ki and Korean-American actor and author John Cho. Han is known for performances in 2015’s “The Beauty Inside,” “W” (2016), “Happiness (2021), and last year’s “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure.” She will be in Busan with Netflix-backed “Believer 2” and recently appeared in the Disney+ original series, “Moving.”
Song, who hosted the 2021 Busan festival’s opening ceremony, was recently seen in “Hopeless,” one of the handful of Korean films in Cannes this year.
Oscar-winning Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung will headline the Actors’ House section of the upcoming Busan International Film Festival, it was announced on Thursday.
Introduced in 2021, Actors’ House is a special series that connects audiences and film enthusiasts with iconic actors from the current generation through its in-depth discussions. “There’s much anticipation to hear her words of wisdom, as she’s known for her insightful observations,” said the festival.
Others this year include: Han Hyo-joo, Song Joong-ki and Korean-American actor and author John Cho. Han is known for performances in 2015’s “The Beauty Inside,” “W” (2016), “Happiness (2021), and last year’s “The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure.” She will be in Busan with Netflix-backed “Believer 2” and recently appeared in the Disney+ original series, “Moving.”
Song, who hosted the 2021 Busan festival’s opening ceremony, was recently seen in “Hopeless,” one of the handful of Korean films in Cannes this year.
- 9/14/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/13/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/13/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Indonesia has selected Makbul Mubarak’s award-winning drama Autobiography as its submission in the Best International Feature category of the Oscars.
Selected from a pool of 100 films, Autobiography was handpicked by a nine-person committee, established by the Indonesian Film Companies Union.
Set in a rural Indonesian town, the film tells the story of a young man who works as a housekeeper in an empty mansion belonging to a retired general. When the general returns to the town to start his mayoral campaign, an act of vandalism triggers an escalating chain of violence. Kevin Ardilova and award-winning veteran actor Arswendy Bening Swara head the cast.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, where it won the Fipresci award, then went on to screen at more than 50 international festivals. It also won awards including the Grand Prize at Tokyo Filmex, Best Screenplay at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards,...
Selected from a pool of 100 films, Autobiography was handpicked by a nine-person committee, established by the Indonesian Film Companies Union.
Set in a rural Indonesian town, the film tells the story of a young man who works as a housekeeper in an empty mansion belonging to a retired general. When the general returns to the town to start his mayoral campaign, an act of vandalism triggers an escalating chain of violence. Kevin Ardilova and award-winning veteran actor Arswendy Bening Swara head the cast.
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2022, where it won the Fipresci award, then went on to screen at more than 50 international festivals. It also won awards including the Grand Prize at Tokyo Filmex, Best Screenplay at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Projects by Rima Das and Emma Kawawada also among 30 titles set to be pitched.
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has unveiled the 30 titles selected for the 2023 Asian Project Market (Apm), including new works by Makbul Mubarak, Koji Fukada, Rima Das and Emma Kawawada.
The film financing event, which runs as part of Biff’s Asian Contents and Film Market, will take place from October 7-10 and comprises projects by directors who have made at least one short or full-length feature as well as producers who have been involved with at least one feature. They will conduct four...
South Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has unveiled the 30 titles selected for the 2023 Asian Project Market (Apm), including new works by Makbul Mubarak, Koji Fukada, Rima Das and Emma Kawawada.
The film financing event, which runs as part of Biff’s Asian Contents and Film Market, will take place from October 7-10 and comprises projects by directors who have made at least one short or full-length feature as well as producers who have been involved with at least one feature. They will conduct four...
- 8/3/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Busan International Film Festival has announced the 30 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market (Apm), including new works from leading Asian filmmakers such as Japan’s Koji Fukada, Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak and India’s Rima Das.
Fukada, whose previous films have premiered at Cannes and Venice (Love Life), will present Japan-France co-production Nagi Notes, produced by Osanai Terutaro.
Mubarak, whose Autobiography premiered at last year’s Venice before embarking on an awards haul across Asia, is bringing Watch It Burn, produced by Indonesia’s Yulia Evina Bhara, one of the producers on this year’s Cannes Critics Week winner Tiger Stripes.
Das is a Busan regular who has also had films play in Toronto and Berlin (Bulbul Can Sing). She will present Malti My Love, which the self-taught filmmaker will also produce, just as she has produced, written,...
Fukada, whose previous films have premiered at Cannes and Venice (Love Life), will present Japan-France co-production Nagi Notes, produced by Osanai Terutaro.
Mubarak, whose Autobiography premiered at last year’s Venice before embarking on an awards haul across Asia, is bringing Watch It Burn, produced by Indonesia’s Yulia Evina Bhara, one of the producers on this year’s Cannes Critics Week winner Tiger Stripes.
Das is a Busan regular who has also had films play in Toronto and Berlin (Bulbul Can Sing). She will present Malti My Love, which the self-taught filmmaker will also produce, just as she has produced, written,...
- 8/3/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The Busan film festival’s Asian Project Market is set to welcome several of the region’s top auteurs either as producers or prospective directors at its next edition in October.
Apm organizers Thursday unveiled 30 projects to be presented during a four-day round of one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions.
India’s Rima Das (“Tora’s Husband”) will pitch “Malti My Love.” Japan’s Fukada Koji will pitch “Nagi Notes.” Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak (“Autobiography”) will pitch “Watch It Burn.”
Among the successful producers adding their weight to Apm contenders are: Patrick Mao Huang selling Peter Ho’s project “Appetite for Desire”; Jeremy Chua, pitching Rafael Manuel’s “Filipinana”; Ichiyama Shozo (“Ash Is Puirest White”) pitching Song Fang’s Japan-China collaboration “Full Moon”; Fran Borgia pitching Aakash Chhabra’s “I’ll Smile in September”; and Tan Chui Mui (“Barbarian Invasion”) pitching Jian Xiaoshuan’s “To Kill A Mongolian Horse.”
The project...
Apm organizers Thursday unveiled 30 projects to be presented during a four-day round of one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions.
India’s Rima Das (“Tora’s Husband”) will pitch “Malti My Love.” Japan’s Fukada Koji will pitch “Nagi Notes.” Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak (“Autobiography”) will pitch “Watch It Burn.”
Among the successful producers adding their weight to Apm contenders are: Patrick Mao Huang selling Peter Ho’s project “Appetite for Desire”; Jeremy Chua, pitching Rafael Manuel’s “Filipinana”; Ichiyama Shozo (“Ash Is Puirest White”) pitching Song Fang’s Japan-China collaboration “Full Moon”; Fran Borgia pitching Aakash Chhabra’s “I’ll Smile in September”; and Tan Chui Mui (“Barbarian Invasion”) pitching Jian Xiaoshuan’s “To Kill A Mongolian Horse.”
The project...
- 8/3/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Carmoon, producers Loran Dunn and Helen Simmons, and star Joseph Quinn all former Stars of Tomorrow.
Paris-based sales agent Alpha Violet has acquired worldwide sales rights to Hoard, the UK debut feature from Luna Carmoon, that will debut in Venice Critics’ Week this month.
Hoard is about a seven year-old girl and her mother in 1984 whose world suddenly falls apart. Ten years later, and the girl is living with her foster mother, when an older stranger enters their home bringing past trauma, magic and madness.
Saura Lightfoot Leon, Hayley Squires, Joseph Quinn, Lily-Beau Leach and Samantha Spiro star. It is...
Paris-based sales agent Alpha Violet has acquired worldwide sales rights to Hoard, the UK debut feature from Luna Carmoon, that will debut in Venice Critics’ Week this month.
Hoard is about a seven year-old girl and her mother in 1984 whose world suddenly falls apart. Ten years later, and the girl is living with her foster mother, when an older stranger enters their home bringing past trauma, magic and madness.
Saura Lightfoot Leon, Hayley Squires, Joseph Quinn, Lily-Beau Leach and Samantha Spiro star. It is...
- 7/27/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
MIFFest to open with the world premiere of ‘Eraser’.
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To has been named jury president of the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will also honour Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang with a lifetime achievement award.
To will chair the festival’s competition jury, which also includes Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki, Malaysian star Zizan Razak and Singaporean director Eric Khoo. To is a leading director of films such as Breaking News, Election, Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War, and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury earlier this year.
MIFFest...
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To has been named jury president of the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will also honour Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang with a lifetime achievement award.
To will chair the festival’s competition jury, which also includes Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki, Malaysian star Zizan Razak and Singaporean director Eric Khoo. To is a leading director of films such as Breaking News, Election, Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War, and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury earlier this year.
MIFFest...
- 6/15/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
MIFFest to open with the world premiere of ‘Eraser’.
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To has been named jury president of the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will also honour Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang with a lifetime achievement award.
To will chair the festival’s competition jury, which also includes Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki, Malaysian star Zizan Razak and Singaporean director Eric Khoo. To is a leading director of films such as Breaking News, Election, Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War, and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury earlier this year.
MIFFest...
Acclaimed Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To has been named jury president of the 6th Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest), which will also honour Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang with a lifetime achievement award.
To will chair the festival’s competition jury, which also includes Vietnamese actress Truong Ngoc Anh, Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki, Malaysian star Zizan Razak and Singaporean director Eric Khoo. To is a leading director of films such as Breaking News, Election, Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War, and sat on the Berlinale international competition jury earlier this year.
MIFFest...
- 6/15/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Recently-established Philippines-based production and financing company, Fire and Ice, has deals to provide completion funding to two films being produced by prolific Singapore-based independent producer Potocol. Under a related agreement, Fire and Ice has also struck a multi-faceted first-look deal with Potocol.
The completion funding, which gives Fire and Ice a share of the film’s equity, will permit the completion of post-production of upcoming Potocol titles: “Pierce,” a sports drama by Nelicia Low, and “Last Shadow at First Light,” by Nicole Midori Woodford. Both films were recently showcased at Focus Asia’s Far East In Progress, part of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, and are expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The first-look agreement covers titles on Potocol’s slate including a project by Rafael Manuel, winner of a Silver Bear in Berlin in 2020 for his short film “Filipinana,” and another by cinematographer...
The completion funding, which gives Fire and Ice a share of the film’s equity, will permit the completion of post-production of upcoming Potocol titles: “Pierce,” a sports drama by Nelicia Low, and “Last Shadow at First Light,” by Nicole Midori Woodford. Both films were recently showcased at Focus Asia’s Far East In Progress, part of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, and are expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The first-look agreement covers titles on Potocol’s slate including a project by Rafael Manuel, winner of a Silver Bear in Berlin in 2020 for his short film “Filipinana,” and another by cinematographer...
- 5/24/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based sales boutique Alpha Violet has acquired Spanish filmmaker Victor Iriarte’s directorial debut, “Foremost by Night” (“Sobre Todo de Noche”).
Described as a noir story with a political background, “Foremost by Night” revolves around two women who meet for the first time, one who was forced to give up her newborn child for adoption when she was young, the other who, unable to bare children of her own, adopted a child she raised as her own.
The film, which stars Ana Torrent, Lola Dueñas and Manuel Egozkue, was among this year’s winners at the Malaga Film Festival’s Work in Progress awards, where it secured the Latido Films distribution prize and the Aracne Digital Cinema award for post production services.
The Spanish-Portuguese-French co-production was produced by Spain’s La Termita, Inicia Films, Atekaleun and Csc Films; Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes; and 4A4 Productions in France. The film also shot in all three countries,...
Described as a noir story with a political background, “Foremost by Night” revolves around two women who meet for the first time, one who was forced to give up her newborn child for adoption when she was young, the other who, unable to bare children of her own, adopted a child she raised as her own.
The film, which stars Ana Torrent, Lola Dueñas and Manuel Egozkue, was among this year’s winners at the Malaga Film Festival’s Work in Progress awards, where it secured the Latido Films distribution prize and the Aracne Digital Cinema award for post production services.
The Spanish-Portuguese-French co-production was produced by Spain’s La Termita, Inicia Films, Atekaleun and Csc Films; Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes; and 4A4 Productions in France. The film also shot in all three countries,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
Indonesia’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology is launching a grant scheme to support co-productions between Indonesian and international filmmakers.
The first subsidy of its kind from Indonesia, the 1:1 matching grant scheme is backed by the country’s National Cultural Endowment Fund and can cover development, production and post-production, as well as international promotion and distribution activities.
In order to apply, film projects need to be registered through an Indonesian producer or director who has previously received funding from an eligible international grant institution. Projects will be selected by a professional selection team. No cap has been set for individual projects.
Launching the initiative at Cannes film festival, Nadiem Makarim, Indonesia’s Minister Of Education, Culture, Research And Technology, said around $10M has been allocated to the fund, although that amount may be increased over time.
Makarim said: “In the last five years, many Indonesian film projects have received international grant support.
The first subsidy of its kind from Indonesia, the 1:1 matching grant scheme is backed by the country’s National Cultural Endowment Fund and can cover development, production and post-production, as well as international promotion and distribution activities.
In order to apply, film projects need to be registered through an Indonesian producer or director who has previously received funding from an eligible international grant institution. Projects will be selected by a professional selection team. No cap has been set for individual projects.
Launching the initiative at Cannes film festival, Nadiem Makarim, Indonesia’s Minister Of Education, Culture, Research And Technology, said around $10M has been allocated to the fund, although that amount may be increased over time.
Makarim said: “In the last five years, many Indonesian film projects have received international grant support.
- 5/17/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
The Singapore International Film Festival (Sgiff) is excited to kickstart its 34th edition, which will run from the 30th November to 10th of December, with a call for entries for feature films from Asia, and short films from Southeast Asia, until the 6th of August. Applications for its Film Academy programmes, the Asian Producers Network, Southeast Asian Film Lab, and Youth Critics Programme are also open to industry professionals and aspiring film writers.
Screen your film alongside the region’s best
In 2022, Sgiff saw more than 100 film titles from 55 countries over 11 days of film screenings, alongside a slate of off-screen programmes that celebrated and showcased the best of independent cinema from the region.
“Now in its 34th edition, Sgiff continues to be a key arts event that showcases the best of global independent cinema to local audiences. Cinematic talent from Singapore, Southeast Asia and the wider Asian region is going...
Screen your film alongside the region’s best
In 2022, Sgiff saw more than 100 film titles from 55 countries over 11 days of film screenings, alongside a slate of off-screen programmes that celebrated and showcased the best of independent cinema from the region.
“Now in its 34th edition, Sgiff continues to be a key arts event that showcases the best of global independent cinema to local audiences. Cinematic talent from Singapore, Southeast Asia and the wider Asian region is going...
- 5/12/2023
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Warwick Thornton’s “The New Boy” has been set as the opening title of next month’s Sydney Film Festival, which will celebrate its 70th edition, June 7-18. The film, a tale of sprituality and survival in 1940s Australia, starring Cate Blanchett, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair and Aswan Reid, will also play in the festival’s competition section.
Other titles in competition include: the world premiere of Australian documentary feature “The Dark Emu Story,” directed by Allan Clarke; Christian Petzold’s previously announced “Afire”; Charlotte Regan’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Scrapper”; Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Monster”; Aki Kaurismäki’s compassionate comedy “Fallen Leaves”; Kim Jee-woon’s “Cobweb”; Asmae El Moudir’s “The Mother of All Lies”; Alice Englert’s directorial debut “Bad Behaviour”; Celine Song’s Sundance and Berlinale 2023 selected romance “Past Lives”; Liu Jian’s 2023 Berlinale-selected animation “Art College 1994”; Devashish Makhija’s “Joram,” a thriller about an...
Other titles in competition include: the world premiere of Australian documentary feature “The Dark Emu Story,” directed by Allan Clarke; Christian Petzold’s previously announced “Afire”; Charlotte Regan’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Scrapper”; Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Monster”; Aki Kaurismäki’s compassionate comedy “Fallen Leaves”; Kim Jee-woon’s “Cobweb”; Asmae El Moudir’s “The Mother of All Lies”; Alice Englert’s directorial debut “Bad Behaviour”; Celine Song’s Sundance and Berlinale 2023 selected romance “Past Lives”; Liu Jian’s 2023 Berlinale-selected animation “Art College 1994”; Devashish Makhija’s “Joram,” a thriller about an...
- 5/10/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
2023 edition has received a record number of applications.
Italy’s TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) has selected 10 projects for the 2023 edition of its FeatureLab training programme, for first or second film projects at an advanced development stage.
The 2023 iteration received a record 172 applications, from which one animation, one documentary and eight fiction projects have been chosen. Seven of the projects are debut feature, with three second films.
Scroll down for the selected projects
Two of the projects have previously participated in Tfl programmes: Irene Moray’s debut Sealskin, a Spanish feature set in a world where women are vanishing; and Francesco Romano’s debut The White House,...
Italy’s TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) has selected 10 projects for the 2023 edition of its FeatureLab training programme, for first or second film projects at an advanced development stage.
The 2023 iteration received a record 172 applications, from which one animation, one documentary and eight fiction projects have been chosen. Seven of the projects are debut feature, with three second films.
Scroll down for the selected projects
Two of the projects have previously participated in Tfl programmes: Irene Moray’s debut Sealskin, a Spanish feature set in a world where women are vanishing; and Francesco Romano’s debut The White House,...
- 5/5/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
The Loads‘ Ognjen Glavonic, Autobiography‘s Makbul Mubarak & Medusa‘s Anita Rocha da Silveira are among the selected filmmakers for TorinoFilmLab’s ScriptLab Participants. Glavonic will be at the lab with In The Shadow Of The Horns – his sophomore fiction feature. Indonesian filmmaker Mubarak comes with Watch It Burn – his sophomore feature while Brazilian filmmaker Anita Rocha da Silveira will be workshopping her third feature in I Can’t Dance. The 20 projects come from 20 writer-directors and eight co-writers, and have been selected from 550 submissions. Here are the ScriptLab 2023 projects and participants:
A Perfect Family – Writer: Adriano Valerio / Co-writer: Aude Py
All The Crows In The World – Writer: Yi Tang
Alma – Writer: Laura Herrero Garvin / Co-writer: Jorge Gil
Amari – Writer: Domien Huyghe, Co-writer: Wendy Huyghe
Blind Spots – Writer: Ely Chevillot
Brilliant Melody – Writer: Carlo Francisco / Co-writer: Jeremie Dubois
Counting Cards With My Father – Writer: Lydia Rui
Detour – Writer: Jakub Piatek / Co-writer:...
A Perfect Family – Writer: Adriano Valerio / Co-writer: Aude Py
All The Crows In The World – Writer: Yi Tang
Alma – Writer: Laura Herrero Garvin / Co-writer: Jorge Gil
Amari – Writer: Domien Huyghe, Co-writer: Wendy Huyghe
Blind Spots – Writer: Ely Chevillot
Brilliant Melody – Writer: Carlo Francisco / Co-writer: Jeremie Dubois
Counting Cards With My Father – Writer: Lydia Rui
Detour – Writer: Jakub Piatek / Co-writer:...
- 3/27/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
There is a particular focus on comedies.
TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) has selected 20 projects for its ScriptLab 2023, plus five story editors, in what it describes as the first ‘fully international’ iteration of the annual development scheme.
The 20 projects come from 20 writer-directors and eight co-writers, and have been selected from 550 submissions.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Those selected will take part in three week-long residential modules in April, June and November; with two online modules in September and October. The participants will be divided into five groups, and tutored by script consultants Philippe Barriere, Severine Cornamusaz, Aleksandra Swierk, Marietta von Hausswolff and Gino Ventriglia.
TorinoFilmLab (Tfl) has selected 20 projects for its ScriptLab 2023, plus five story editors, in what it describes as the first ‘fully international’ iteration of the annual development scheme.
The 20 projects come from 20 writer-directors and eight co-writers, and have been selected from 550 submissions.
Scroll down for the full list of participants
Those selected will take part in three week-long residential modules in April, June and November; with two online modules in September and October. The participants will be divided into five groups, and tutored by script consultants Philippe Barriere, Severine Cornamusaz, Aleksandra Swierk, Marietta von Hausswolff and Gino Ventriglia.
- 3/27/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
What a week! After six days filled with Asian cinema, community events, special guests and food at Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp, and Rialto Vu, we concluded the 15th edition of CinemAsia Film Festival on Sunday 12 March with the award ceremony and the screening of the Hong Kong super star filled film Where the Wind Blows 風再起時.
During the festival, jury members Martijn te Pas, Suzanne van Voorst and Taiki Saksipit gathered to watch the competition programme to present their conclusions at the closing night award ceremony and announce the winner of the 2023 CinemAsia Jury Award.
CinemAsia's Competition program puts the spotlights on emerging, independent filmmakers placing them side-by-side with established makers of high-quality mainstream films. Each film represents a strong cinematographic and artistic vision. These films highlight the richness in themes and genres Asian cinema has to offer and reflect a complex kaleidoscope of cultural, social and political...
During the festival, jury members Martijn te Pas, Suzanne van Voorst and Taiki Saksipit gathered to watch the competition programme to present their conclusions at the closing night award ceremony and announce the winner of the 2023 CinemAsia Jury Award.
CinemAsia's Competition program puts the spotlights on emerging, independent filmmakers placing them side-by-side with established makers of high-quality mainstream films. Each film represents a strong cinematographic and artistic vision. These films highlight the richness in themes and genres Asian cinema has to offer and reflect a complex kaleidoscope of cultural, social and political...
- 3/17/2023
- by Adam Symchuk
- AsianMoviePulse
Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service has acquired Makbul Mubarak’s award-winning debut feature, “Autobiography,” for the Southeast Asian region.
The film, which is being sold by Alpha Violet, follows young Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), whose father is in prison and whose brother works abroad. He works as the housekeeper in a mansion in a rural Indonesian town belonging to retired general Purna (Arswendy Bening Swara). Purna returns to the town to start his mayoral election campaign and Rakib, whose clan has worked for the general’s family for centuries, serves as his assistant. An act of vandalism during the campaign triggers an escalating chain of violence.
The film debuted in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizon’s strand in 2022, where it won the Fipresci prize and has been on an award-winning spree since, winning at Tokyo, Adelaide, Singapore, Marrakech, Taipei Golden Horse, Stockholm, Bangkok, Hainan and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
The film, which is being sold by Alpha Violet, follows young Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), whose father is in prison and whose brother works abroad. He works as the housekeeper in a mansion in a rural Indonesian town belonging to retired general Purna (Arswendy Bening Swara). Purna returns to the town to start his mayoral election campaign and Rakib, whose clan has worked for the general’s family for centuries, serves as his assistant. An act of vandalism during the campaign triggers an escalating chain of violence.
The film debuted in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizon’s strand in 2022, where it won the Fipresci prize and has been on an award-winning spree since, winning at Tokyo, Adelaide, Singapore, Marrakech, Taipei Golden Horse, Stockholm, Bangkok, Hainan and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
- 3/13/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The much-decorated Japanese drama “Drive My Car” was named the best film Sunday at the Asian Film Awards, defeating hot favorite “Decision to Leave.”
Other notable awards went to Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda whose “Broker” debuted at Cannes, but which was largely shunned in his home country.
“Decision to Leave,” which started the evening with ten nominations, was nevertheless rewarded with three awards, best screenplay, best production design and best actress for China’s Tang Wei.
While nominations were geographically diverse, the awards on Sunday skewed heavily towards North East Asia –Japan, Korea and Greater China – to the total exclusion of films from India, Indonesia and The Philippines. Snubs included the exclusion of Indonesia’s “Autobiography” and Happy Salma, both of which have been widely lauded on the festival circuit.
The awards ceremony returned to Hong Kong after detours to Macau and Busan and a Covid hiatus in previous years.
Other notable awards went to Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda whose “Broker” debuted at Cannes, but which was largely shunned in his home country.
“Decision to Leave,” which started the evening with ten nominations, was nevertheless rewarded with three awards, best screenplay, best production design and best actress for China’s Tang Wei.
While nominations were geographically diverse, the awards on Sunday skewed heavily towards North East Asia –Japan, Korea and Greater China – to the total exclusion of films from India, Indonesia and The Philippines. Snubs included the exclusion of Indonesia’s “Autobiography” and Happy Salma, both of which have been widely lauded on the festival circuit.
The awards ceremony returned to Hong Kong after detours to Macau and Busan and a Covid hiatus in previous years.
- 3/12/2023
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Asian premiere of Soi Cheang’s “Mad Fate” is just one of three locally-produced movies that have been set as the opening and closing titles of the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival.
“Mad Fate” is joined in the festival opening slot on March 30 by “Elegies,” Ann Hui’s documentary portrayal of the topography of contemporary local poetry, which will have its world premiere. The closing film, another world premiere, is “Vital Sign,” an affecting drama directed by Cheuk Wan-chi and starring Louis Koo, Yau Hawk-sau, and Angela Yuen, which will wrap up proceedings on 10 April.
In total, the festival has programmed some 200 films from 64 countries and territories. These include nine world premieres, six international premieres, and 67 Asian premieres.
“Mad Fate,” an intense examination of murder, local superstition and the lower depths of society, premiered last month at the Berlin festival in a special section. Cheang will be a major feature of the Hkiff,...
“Mad Fate” is joined in the festival opening slot on March 30 by “Elegies,” Ann Hui’s documentary portrayal of the topography of contemporary local poetry, which will have its world premiere. The closing film, another world premiere, is “Vital Sign,” an affecting drama directed by Cheuk Wan-chi and starring Louis Koo, Yau Hawk-sau, and Angela Yuen, which will wrap up proceedings on 10 April.
In total, the festival has programmed some 200 films from 64 countries and territories. These include nine world premieres, six international premieres, and 67 Asian premieres.
“Mad Fate,” an intense examination of murder, local superstition and the lower depths of society, premiered last month at the Berlin festival in a special section. Cheang will be a major feature of the Hkiff,...
- 3/10/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Projects from directors Martika Ramirez Escobar and Maung Sun among titles.
Full Circle Lab Philippines, the Southeast Asian project and talent development programme, has revealed the line-up for its upcoming fifth edition, including new features by Filipino filmmaker Martika Ramirez Escobar and Myanmar’s Maung Sun.
The labs will comprise 12 projects in development, three films in post-production, eight emerging producers and three story editors. A total of 45 participants and 14 mentors are set to participate in the in-person workshop, held in the Central Luzon region in the north of Manila from March 27-31, This will be followed by online sessions, which run until September.
Full Circle Lab Philippines, the Southeast Asian project and talent development programme, has revealed the line-up for its upcoming fifth edition, including new features by Filipino filmmaker Martika Ramirez Escobar and Myanmar’s Maung Sun.
The labs will comprise 12 projects in development, three films in post-production, eight emerging producers and three story editors. A total of 45 participants and 14 mentors are set to participate in the in-person workshop, held in the Central Luzon region in the north of Manila from March 27-31, This will be followed by online sessions, which run until September.
- 3/6/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
A new year means a new New Directors/New Films lineup.
The 2023 festival, presented by the Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center, is set to take place from March 29 through April 9 and boasts films from 41 directors. The 52nd edition of the festival kicks off with Savannah Leaf’s A24 drama “Earth Mama” and concludes with Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s trans coming-of-age story “Mutt.” Both premiered at Sundance to acclaim.
In total, the festival boasts 27 features and 11 short films, with screenings taking place at theaters both at MoMA and Flc. Nations represented range from Argentina to Angola, Nigeria to Ukraine.
“This geographically diverse lineup brings together new directors from all over the world presenting works that make bold and creative statements on everything from identity and family to political repression and postcolonial discourse,” MoMA film curator and 2023 Nd/Nf co-chair La Frances Hui said in a press statement. “The...
The 2023 festival, presented by the Museum of Modern Art and Film at Lincoln Center, is set to take place from March 29 through April 9 and boasts films from 41 directors. The 52nd edition of the festival kicks off with Savannah Leaf’s A24 drama “Earth Mama” and concludes with Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s trans coming-of-age story “Mutt.” Both premiered at Sundance to acclaim.
In total, the festival boasts 27 features and 11 short films, with screenings taking place at theaters both at MoMA and Flc. Nations represented range from Argentina to Angola, Nigeria to Ukraine.
“This geographically diverse lineup brings together new directors from all over the world presenting works that make bold and creative statements on everything from identity and family to political repression and postcolonial discourse,” MoMA film curator and 2023 Nd/Nf co-chair La Frances Hui said in a press statement. “The...
- 2/28/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Singapore-based film production outfit Potocol, whose “Tomorrow is a Long Time,” by Jow Zhi Wei bowed at the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation 14plus competition, has revealed a diverse Asian slate.
Potocol’s recent triumphs include Bangladeshi filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s Cannes selection “Rehana Maryam Noor” and Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s Venice winner “Autobiography.” The company, led by Jeremy Chua who is currently at the Berlinale, has a growing reputation for championing the rise of young filmmakers from across Asia.
Potocol has four films in post-production and several more in development. Nicole Midori Woodford’s debut feature “Last Shadow at First Light” is a supernatural road trip drama that follows a Singaporean teenager tracing the footsteps of her missing mother in Japan and explores the ripple effects of a traumatic event subconsciously buried within the family unit.
A winner of several project development and market prizes at Seafic,...
Potocol’s recent triumphs include Bangladeshi filmmaker Abdullah Mohammad Saad’s Cannes selection “Rehana Maryam Noor” and Indonesian director Makbul Mubarak’s Venice winner “Autobiography.” The company, led by Jeremy Chua who is currently at the Berlinale, has a growing reputation for championing the rise of young filmmakers from across Asia.
Potocol has four films in post-production and several more in development. Nicole Midori Woodford’s debut feature “Last Shadow at First Light” is a supernatural road trip drama that follows a Singaporean teenager tracing the footsteps of her missing mother in Japan and explores the ripple effects of a traumatic event subconsciously buried within the family unit.
A winner of several project development and market prizes at Seafic,...
- 2/18/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced plans Wednesday for 52 world premieres and 78 U.S. premieres spanning a total of 43 countries throughout the 11-day event.
“At a time where there’s a dwindling of movie theater attendance, the role of film festivals has never been more important,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling. “At Sbiff, with the 38th edition, our marching orders are clear, to celebrate movies and to nurture and exalt the film community, the artists as well as the cinephiles. It’s a great slate with 43 countries represented.”
The festival starts Feb. 8 with the world premiere of “Miranda’s Victim” from director-producer Michelle Danner. The period piece is set in the year 1963 and documents the true story of Patricia “Trish” Weir (Abigal Breslin), who attempts to put her abuser behind bars after being kidnapped and sexually assaulted at 18 years old.
Director Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” will...
“At a time where there’s a dwindling of movie theater attendance, the role of film festivals has never been more important,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling. “At Sbiff, with the 38th edition, our marching orders are clear, to celebrate movies and to nurture and exalt the film community, the artists as well as the cinephiles. It’s a great slate with 43 countries represented.”
The festival starts Feb. 8 with the world premiere of “Miranda’s Victim” from director-producer Michelle Danner. The period piece is set in the year 1963 and documents the true story of Patricia “Trish” Weir (Abigal Breslin), who attempts to put her abuser behind bars after being kidnapped and sexually assaulted at 18 years old.
Director Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” will...
- 1/18/2023
- by Katie Reul
- Variety Film + TV
The 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which will run Feb. 8-18, will open with Miranda’s Victim, one of 52 world premieres in this year’s lineup, and will close with the U.S. premiere of I Like Movies, one of 78 U.S. premieres, the fest announced Wednesday.
These are, of course, in addition to a slew of the career-retrospective tributes for which the fest is famous, which this year will celebrate the likes of Cate Blanchett, Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, as well as panels with breakthrough artists, artisans, directors, writers, producers, female creatives and international filmmakers.
The fest will also offer a variety of free educational programs, including Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies (for 4,000-plus fourth through sixth grade students from low-income schools throughout Santa Barbara County), which this year will feature a screening of Guillermo del Toro...
These are, of course, in addition to a slew of the career-retrospective tributes for which the fest is famous, which this year will celebrate the likes of Cate Blanchett, Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, as well as panels with breakthrough artists, artisans, directors, writers, producers, female creatives and international filmmakers.
The fest will also offer a variety of free educational programs, including Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies (for 4,000-plus fourth through sixth grade students from low-income schools throughout Santa Barbara County), which this year will feature a screening of Guillermo del Toro...
- 1/18/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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