All articles by Silvia Wong – Page 14
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Raintree, Eyeworks to co-produce Tattooist
Following the signing of theNew Zealand-Singapore co-production treaty in 2004, Singapore's MediaCorp Raintree Pictures is set to co-producethe first NZ-Singapore feature, TheTattooist, with Eyeworks Touchdown.The two companies,represented by MediaCorp Raintree CEO Daniel Yun and Eyeworks Touchdown CEOJulie Christie, are scheduled to sign a letter of intent this Sunday in Auckland, ...
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InnoForm makes theatrical move with Thai package
Singapore video distributor InnoForm Media has snapped up allrights to a package of 37 titles from Thailand's Sahamongkolfilm International as part of its pushinto theatrical distribution.The jumbo deal includesalmost all of Sahmongkolfilm's upcoming productions including Tony Jaa-vehicle Ong Bak 2, martial arts film Chocolate, horror thrillers 13 and Colic, action ...
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Khan Kluay becomes Thailand's top animated film
Thailand's first3D animated feature Khan Kluay has emerged as thecountry's biggest animation of all time, grossing $1.96m (75m baht) on 60screens in Bangkok alone in less than three weeks of release. The $5m surprisehit is about a young elephant who saves the Kingdom of Thailand while on a dangerous quest ...
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Malaysian government bans The Last Communist
Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs has banned the release ofAmir Muhammad's The Last Communist,about former Communist leader Chin Peng, over-ruling an earlier decision of theFilm Censorship Board which passed the film uncut last month. According to a spokespersonof Red Films, the co-producer and distributor of the film, the ministry issuedthe ...
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MonteCristo brings two Singaporean titles to Cannes
MonteCristo International has added two Singaporeanfilms, Graham Streeter's Cages andKelvin Tong's 1942, to its salesline-up for Cannes this year.The US-basedsales company, which focuses on Asian and Eastern European cinema, will startsales for Cages at Cannes. The film, which premiered at Pusan last year, tells a story of threegenerations: a single ...
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Thai exhibitor says political chaos is bad for business
Thailand's largest exhibitor Major Cineplex kickedoff the official opening of its latest 16-screen multiplex at upscale SiamParagon shopping centre with the premiere of Mission Impossible III - amid political and business uncertainty."The political chaostogether with high oil prices has been creating a big negative impact on thegroup's business,' says Kittsanan ...
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Japan's Talk takes best film at Singapore fest awards
Japanese director RyuichiHiroki's It's Only Talk won best filmat last night's [April 28] Silver Screen Awards, held as part of the SingaporeInternational Film Festival which closes today with Royston Tan's 4:30.The tragicomedy, whichfocuses on the life of a single woman, was chosen as it "reveals the lonelinessof daily life in ...
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Prater steps down as head of Bangkok Film Festival
Craig Prater hasstepped down as executive director of the Bangkok International Film Festival(BKKIFF), a post that he has held for the last three years. Prater cited"personal reasons" for his decision to resign from Film FestivalManagement (FFM), the US consulting firm that the Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT) hired for the overall ...
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Dragon Tiger Gate sells to major Asia territories
Mandarin Films' $10m DragonTiger Gate has been sold to a string of Asian territories including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, in addition to France, Benelux and the Scandinavia. Apan-Asian release is scheduled on July 28. A co-production with BeijingPolybona, the highly anticipated picture is based on TheGate of Dragon ...
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Chinese outlets hunger for Golden titles
Hong Kong sales outfit Golden Sun has racked up three major deals at Filmart, selling a record high of 148 Chinese titles from its library to a Guangzhou-based video-on-demand company. Another package of about 100 films has gone to South TV Station from China while Thailand's home video distributor WPM ...
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HK's Focus cultivates ties with emerging filmmakers
Affirming its commitment togrooming new talents, Hong Kong's Focus Film is producing new feature films bythree directors that emerged through its First Cuts low-budget filmmakinginitiative that was unveiled last year.Robin Lee, who shot theTaiwanese episode The Shoe Fairy,will now direct My DNA Says I Love You, a new quirky romantic ...
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Iconic Singapore picturehouse re-opens for business
Singapore's signature Cathaybuilding will welcome back movie-goers again this week following a $100mredevelopment effort by resurgent exhibitor-distributor Cathay.The old 16-storey building,when opened its doors to the public in 1939, was Singapore's first high-riseand housed the city's first air-conditioned cinema, the Cathay Cinema with1,300 seats.The new 17-storey building,which retains the original ...
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Ayres' family saga unites Oz and Singapore
The firstAustralia-Singapore co-production, Tony Ayres' The Home Song Stories starring China-born American actress Joan Chen, isto start filming next month in Melbourne and later in Macau for a 2007delivery. Christopher Doyle is the cinematographerBig and Little Films'Michael McMahon and Liz Watts of Porchlight Films are producing the epic dramain collaboration ...
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Ayres' family saga unites Oz, Singapore
The firstAustralia-Singapore co-production, Tony Ayres' The Home Song Stories starring China-born American actress Joan Chen, isto start filming next month in Melbourne and later in Macau for a 2007delivery. Christopher Doyle is the cinematographerBig and Little Films'Michael McMahon and Liz Watts of Porchlight Films are producing the epic dramain collaboration ...
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Universe hot to trot with Tony Au's 21 Feet
Hong Kongproducer-distributor Universe Entertainment has added 21 Feet, veteran filmmaker Tony Au's first project asdirector in more than a decade, to the sales slate it is offering buyers at this week's Filmart convention. The $2.5m drama isabout a boy from Hong Kong who moves to China's Hainan island with his ...
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Scorpio East launches IPO
Singapore's leading home video distributor ScorpioEast has launched an IPO for a listing on the SESDAQ of the Singapore Exchangein a bid to raise approximately $2.5m (S$4.1m). Formerly known asGolden Mandarin Video, the company is a licensee of Hong Kong's TVB, China's CCTV and Singapore's MediaCorpStudios. It has recently branched ...
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Bauer Martinez's Crash Bandits delays Thailand shoot
Bauer Martinez's Crash Bandits has pushed back filming in Thailand to January 2007 to allow for longer pre-production time, according to government agency Thailand Film Office. The John McTiernan-directed big-budget action adventure feature was originally scheduled for a three-month shoot in southern Thailand from mid-February through local fixer Kantana.The project ...
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Singapore film festival to focus on Arab cinema
Arab cinema is a majorhighlight of the 19th Singapore International Film Festival (April 13-29) whichwill open with Kiss Me Not On The Eyes,an Egypt-set drama about a female student of poetry and belly dancing byLebanese director Jocelyn Saab.This year's festivalline-up, announced today, features more than 300 films from 40 countries,including ...
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Thai horror Dorm tops local box office
GMM Tai Hub (GTH)'s psychologicalhorror Dorm opened in the top spot atthe Thai box office last weekend, beating the opening of Fun With Dick And Jane and Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain which was already on release.The film, directed bySongyos Sukmakanan, racked up more than $762,082 (30 million baht) on 75 ...
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Quiet Bangkok Film Market draws to a close
The third edition of theBangkok Film Market (BFM), which wrapped today (Feb 24), failed to generatemuch buzz with the event being described by most visitors as either "very quiet"or "very slow".The new post-Berlin slot hasproved difficult for the market. "The festival thought it could get fresher titlesafter Berlin and Sundance ...