All Asia articles – Page 552

  • News

    Kadokawa starts streaming features on mobile phones

    2007-07-03T09:11:00Z

    Kadokawa Group Holdings (Kadokawa GHD) has begun streaming feature films, TV dramas and animation titles from its library through mobile giant NTT DoCoMo's i-mode cell phone internet connection service. Short films, music videos and animation clips have been popular mainstays in recent years, but Kadokawa's service marks the first time ...

  • News

    FFC to determine which films are classed as Australian

    2007-07-03T09:02:00Z

    The points-based cultural test that was being developed by Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) has been scrapped, and the local industry has reverted back to the less prescriptive method that has been in place for more than 20 years. The FFC had based its proposed new method of determining which ...

  • News

    KOFIC unveils participants for Development Lab

    2007-07-03T04:44:00Z

    The Korean Film Council has announced the list of fellows and mentors for the second KOFIC Filmmakers Development Lab, along with a new $40,000 award. Aimed at emerging filmmakers worldwide of Korean descent, the Lab selects five candidates, who have submitted scripts, to be fellows. They are then paired off ...

  • News

    UTV Motion Pictures valued at $321m as AIM trading starts

    2007-07-02T16:42:00Z

    Indian film studio UTV Motion Pictures has started trading today on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The company has raised about $70m (£35m) to fund a new slate of about 30 films, both Bollywood offerings and projects made with Hollywood.Shares rose from a placement guide of $2.90 to $3.07, putting ...

  • News

    Edward Yang dies of cancer aged 59

    2007-07-01T16:35:00Z

    Director Edward Yang, who ignited the Taiwan New Wave with his debut feature That Day On The Beach, died on Friday afternoon at his home in Beverly Hills from colon cancer, aged 59. Born in Shanghai in 1947, Yang moved to Taiwan with his family two years later. He graduated ...

  • News

    A Beijing spring

    2007-06-29T00:00:00Z

    New cinemas and foreign films are the driving force behind recent Chinese growth, says Sen-Lun Yu. March and April are usually slow months at the Chinese box office, when small to mid-sized films are released in batches before the blockbusters are rolled out during the May national holidays.But this year, ...

  • News

    Kaneshiro to star in first Japanese film in six years

    2007-06-28T11:24:00Z

    Actor Takeshi Kaneshiro is set to star in his first Japanese film in six years. Based on Kotaro Isaka's novel The Accuracy Of Death (Shinigami No Seido) the story follows an irreverent version of the Grim Reaper (Kaneshiro) who visits people with a week left to live and passes judgment ...

  • News

    Celestial Pictures launches kung-fu mobile TV channel

    2007-06-28T08:41:00Z

    Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures has launched a mobile TV channel, Kung Fu TV, on leading Thai mobile network provider Advanced Info Service (AIS). The channel features original kung-fu content from Celestial's Shaw Brothers film library, ranging in length from 30 seconds to three minutes, including video clips of fight sequences, ...

  • News

    Bangkok opener Persepolis pulled from festival line-up

    2007-06-27T05:27:00Z

    Persepolis has been withdrawn as the opening film of the Bangkok International Film Festival, which is scheduled to start on July 19, following a request from the Iranian Embassy in Bangkok. 'TAT has decided to comply because of the good diplomatic relationship between Thailand and Iran. It is a shame ...

  • News

    Mark Woods to leave Ausfilm when contract expires in August

    2007-06-25T15:40:00Z

    Ausfilm chief executive Mark Woods today said that he will not seek an extension of his two-year contract when it expires in August. Ausfilm is the government-industry partnership that has responsibility for talking international producers into using Australia 's locations, crews and facilities for their film and television productions. Woods, ...

  • News

    SIFF takes first step on long march to global recognition

    2007-06-25T07:28:00Z

    Chinese stars Gong Li, Jackie Chan, Aaron Kwok and Fan Bingbing turned out for the closing night of the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), which wrapped with the Jin Jue awards and a screening of Hou Hsiao-hsien's Flight Of The Red Balloon. German feature According To The Plan, directed ...

  • News

    Prime finally acquires control of Becker and Dendy

    2007-06-24T20:08:00Z

    Australian regional broadcaster, Prime Television, has taken control of the Becker Group, which includes Dendy Cinemas, Dendy Distribution, and sales agent Becker International, as well as significant television production and outside broadcast interests.Prime acquired the 42.6% of the company owned by father-and-son directors Russell and Richard Becker late last week ...

  • News

    Shanghai film festhands top prize to Meletzky's Plan

    2007-06-24T15:47:00Z

    German feature According To The Plan, directed by Franziska Meletzky, was awarded best film at the Jin Jue Awards - the top honours of the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) on Sunday night. The seven-person jury, headed by Chen Kaige and Fernando Trueba, said that 'the truth of life has ...

  • News

    China Film boards Lu Chuan's Nanking! Nanking!

    2007-06-24T15:28:00Z

    Chinese state-owned China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) announced five separate deals and joint ventures at the Shanghai International Film Festival on Saturday (June 23). CFGC and Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation have officially boarded Chinese filmmaker Lu Chuan's historical drama Nanking ! Nanking ! as co-financiers alongside Beijing-based Stellar Megamedia. Hong Kong ...

  • News

    SIFF awards new Asian talents in two ceremonies

    2007-06-24T15:09:00Z

    Sheng Zhimin's Bliss won best film at the Shanghai International Film Festival's Asian New Talent Awards on Saturday night (June 23). The family drama, set on the banks of the Yangtze in Chongqing, premiered at the Locarno film festival last year, where it picked up a NETPAC award. Meanwhile, best ...

  • News

    CFCC, UniJapan sign co-production agreement

    2007-06-24T06:12:00Z

    China Film Co-production Corp (CFCC) and Japanese film promotion body UniJapan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on film collaboration at the Shanghai International Film Festival on Friday (June 22) The two sides also announced the shooting of a Sino-Japanese period drama entitled Zen. The seven-point MoU is seen as ...

  • News

    CFCC, Ironpond launch China co-production web-site

    2007-06-22T11:29:00Z

    Los Angeles and Beijing-based production entity Ironpond has set up a web-site for China Film Co-production Corp (CFCC) that aims to help overseas producers access information about co-producing films with China. The site, www.chinacoproduction.com, is managed by Ironpond with CFCC overseeing the content. It has both English and Chinese-language versions ...

  • News

    Bangkok film festival to open with Persepolis

    2007-06-22T11:04:00Z

    Cannes joint jury prize winner Persepolis will open the Bangkok International Film Festival on July 19. The animated feature is also competing in the international section. A feature debut for co-directors Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud, the picture is based on Satrapi's graphic novel of her own life and set ...

  • News

    Michael Kang and Teddy Zee: Wild West 32nd

    2007-06-22T00:00:00Z

    Wendy Mitchell meets director Michael Kang and producer Teddy Zee, whose gangland drama West 32nd marks the first US production for Korean powerhouse CJ Entertainment.It was a memorable meeting of minds at Sundance 2005, where director Michael Kang was premiering his coming-of-age story The Motel, and producer Teddy Zee was ...

  • News

    France's Rosem Films sets up Hong Kong beachhead

    2007-06-21T14:41:00Z

    French producer Rosem Films has established a Hong Kong production office, which will produce the next projects from award-winning Chinese directors Wang Chao and Guo Xiaolu. Headed by Anais Martane, the Hong Kong entity will develop and co-produce projects with mainland China, beginning with Wang's upcoming drama Starting Over, a ...