All articles by Silvia Wong – Page 16
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Blossoming takes top award at inaugural AFFF
Filipino film The Blossoming Of Maximo Oliveros,directed by Auraeus Solito, was awarded best feature at the inaugural AsianFestival of First Films (AFFF) in Singapore last night (Nov 30).Producer Raymond Lee was onhand to receive the top award. The film has also been selected to screen at theSundance Film Festival next ...
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Jakarta fest unveils biggest ever line-up
The 7th editionof the Jakarta International Film Festival (Jiffest) is set to be the biggestever with a line-up of 201 films from 35 countries in addition to workshops andmaster classes. The 10-day event (Dec 9-18),which is Indonesia's only international film festival, will open with FrenchMoroccan drama Le Grand Voyage,directed by ...
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Hong Kong film industry explores US business ties
Agroup of Hong Kong film industry figures is expecting to increasebusiness activities with the US following a trademission organised by the US Consulate General'sCommercial Service in Hong Kong. A delegation of senior executives from sevenHong Kong film companies took part in the second ImaginAsian Film Trade Mission (Oct24 - Nov ...
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Wild Side takes two from Thailand's GMM Tai Hub
Thai production house GMMTai Hub (GTH), which attended AFM for the first time this year, has pre-sold Alone and Dorm to France's Wild Side Films during the market. Alone,unveiled at Pusan last month, is a $2.5m follow-up by directorsParkpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisanthanakun to their Asian box office sensationShutter. The ...
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Forsaken Land wins top prize in Bangkok
The Forsaken Land, from Sri Lankan director Vimukthi Jayasundara, picked up the bestpicture award at the 3rd World Film Festival of Bangkok on Sunday night (Oct 23).The best script award wentto Peruvian feature Days Of Santiago,directed by Josue Mendez, while best art direction went to Russian directorIlya Khrzhanovsky's 4. The ...
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Shutter duo to reteam on Thai-Korean horror
The two writer-directorsbehind Thai blockbuster Shutter - Parkpoom Wongpoom and BanjongPisanthanakun - are planning a new horror picture, Alone, which willshoot in Thailand and Korea from March next year. The film, which was unveiledat the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea this weekend - will also feature cast from bothcountries. ...
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Singapore to host festival for new Asian directors
Singapore is set to host a new film festival for first-timedirectors - the Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF) - which is scheduled torun from November 23-30 with an awards gala on the final night. Organised by Indian productioncompany Teamwork Films with backing from corporate sponsors, the festival aimsto provide ...
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Singapore censors lift ban on gay-themed Lan Yu
Singapore's film censors have lifted the ban on Stanley Kwan's2001 gay-themed drama Lan Yu, which local distributor Festive Filmsplans to release one week after Kwan's latest film, Everlasting Regret,on October 13. Gay-themed films havetraditionally been banned outright in Singapore. However, Lan Yu has now been rated R21, thanksto the revised ...
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Korean films dominate Asia Pacific Film Festival
The four-day long Asia Pacific Film Festival wrapped onSaturday night with South Korea taking three major awards, including best film(Tae Guk Gi), best director (Tae Guk Gi's Kang Je-Gyu) and best actor(A Family's Joo Hyun).This year marks the 50th golden jubileecelebration of the event, which was held in Malaysia and ...
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Singapore exhibition market opens up
Singapore's box office is set for a shake-up following an openingup of the exhibition market which allows films to be played on more screensthan ever before.Until recently, filmsacquired by local exhibitor-cum-distributor Cathay had been excluded from the cinema circuits operated by its rivals Shaw,Golden Village and Eng Wah. Thanks to ...
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Krrish rolls in Singapore under incentive scheme
Production has started in Singapore on Indian director Rakesh Roshan's Krrish,which is the first film to take advantage of the $6m (S$10m) 'Film InSingapore' incentive scheme.Set up by the SingaporeTourism Board (STB), the scheme aims to encourage foreign productions to chooseSingapore as a shooting location. Up to 50% of productionexpenses ...
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Hong Kong's Focus takes on hit Indonesian feature
Hong Kong-based Focus Films is to handle international saleson its first ever Indonesian feature.Janji Joni, which willreceive international market screening at AFM, is also the only Asian titlethat Focus Film (not to be confused with US outfit Focus Features) has pickedup this year. Earlier at Cannes, it acquired Hong Kong ...
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Thailand selects Tin Mine as Oscar entry
Jira Maligool's The Tin Mine(Mahalai Meung Rae) has been selected as Thailand's official entry for the best foreign-language filmcategory of the 2006 Academy Awards. The film was chosen by aseven-member selection committee headed by Somsak Techaratanaprasert of Thailand's Federation of National Film Association. Produced by GMM Tai Hub, thefilm is ...
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Zhang Yimou reunites with Gong Li for China drama
Chinese auteur Zhang Yimou will reunite with his former museGong Li for the first time in 10 years in an untitled new film slated for 2006.Qin Lixun, deputy general manager of Beijing New Picture,has confirmed that both Gong and Hong Kong actor Chow Yun Fat have signed tostar in a ...
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Fortissimo takes global rights to Singapore horror
FortissimoFilms has acquired worldwide rights to MediaCorp Raintree Pictures' The Maid, Singapore's first local horrorfilm.It will belaunched internationally at the American Film Market in November.On hometurf, the picture opened at number one over the weekend, raking in $0.7m(S$1.16m) including previews. On itsopening day, it grossed $71,600 (S$119,419) on 32 prints, ...
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Thai martial arts pic smashes box office records
SahamongkolfilmInternational's martial arts flick TomYum Goong has smashed box office records in both Thailand and Hong Kong onits opening weekend.The US$8mpicture, a follow up to Ong Bak thatreunites director Prachya Pinkaew and action star Tony Jaa, has grossed amassive $2.4m (THB98m) after four days of release on a record 243 ...
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Thai epic to bequeath film industry city
PrinceChatrichalerm Yuko's Naresuan, thefollow-up to his 2001 historical epic TheLegend of Suriyothai, has resumed shooting after a six-month break tocomplete the extravagant set in Thailand's Kanchanaburi province. The $12m (THB500)film - the most expensive Thai picture ever - is 100% funded by the Thaigovernment to mark the birthday of the ...
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Thailand's SF Cinema City gears up for IPO
Thailand's second-largestcinema chain SF Cinema City is gearing up for a public listing on the country'sstock exchange in the first quarter of 2006.The money raised through theIPO will be used for expansion. SF is set to invest $53m (baht 2.2 bn) in fivenew cinema complexes in 2006.More than half of ...
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Star Group renews China Star output deal
Pan-Asian broadcaster Star Group has announced the renewalof the output deal between its Star Chinese Movies channel and Hong Kongproduction and distribution company China Star.Under the new multi-million US dollar agreement, StarChinese Movies has exclusive pay-TV broadcast, video-on-demand and pay-per-viewrights to the Chinese films produced by China Star in the ...
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Malaysia defies global box office slump
Malaysia's box office has soared 24% in the first sixmonths of the year, bucking the worldwide trend of a double-digit slumpsuffered by most key international markets. 2005 is set to be the biggest year ever for Malaysiawith the box office expected to reach an all-time high of $61m (RM232m). In ...