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In the opening of the film, national police service officers escort a vice mayor down the brutally desolate road that witnessed the true historical events of the Bataan Death March in 1942. The vice mayor begins talking about his family lineage, and the fact that he would not be here today if his elders had not escaped the grip of the Imperial Japanese Army. This first scene might seem confusing to viewers at first, but they will realize shortly afterward that it sets the tone for the remainder of the film. In “Arisaka”, Filipino director Mikhail Red explores layers upon layers of intergenerational trauma in what is essentially a classic revenge-action movie with thematic twists and turns.

“Arisaka” screened at Nfmla Monthly Film Festival – InFocus: Asian Cinema

As with many revenge movies, the plot is simple enough: National police service officer Mariano and her colleagues are escorting the vice mayor...

Exclusive: HBO Max has acquired streaming rights to the family film Brie‘s Bake Off Challenge, from writer-director Emily Aguilar, for release today.

The story follows Brie Hayes (Devyn Leah), an aspiring 12-year-old baker who does everything she can to win first place in her school’s annual Spring Bake Off Challenge. Brie and her Bffl Millie (Mallory Vertman) must practice and motivate each other in order to win. On top of the actual baking challenges, Brie faces her “archnemesis” and bully, Vanessa Weiler (Delaney Disque), who also wants to win first place. Pressures and tensions rise as the stakes get higher and Vanessa’s crush, Jody (Camden Zapf), is also competing to win. The winner of the Spring Bake Off Challenge will win a whopping 5,000 and tickets to Cosmo Land.

Emily’s Bake Off Challenge also stars Stefannie Smith, Pry’ce Jaymes, Isaiah Givens, Sandy Lisiewski, Tony Amante, Adam Cooley,...

Philippines production company Ten17P produced thriller.

Toronto’s Raven Banner has boarded worldwide sales to Filipino filmmaker Mikhail Red’s latest film, the thriller Arisaka.

Maja Salvador stars in the story of a policewoman who, in order to escape her captors, must retrace the route of the Bataan Death March, when the Japanese Army force-marched tens of thousands of American and Filipino Second World War prisoners. Mon Confiado also stars.

Philippines production company Ten17P, whose credits include Lav Diaz’s A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery and Paul Soriano’s Mananita produced.

Raven Banner’s Cannes Marché sales roster include Slumber Party Massacre,...

Cult Filipino filmmaker Mikhail Red is deep in post-production on action thriller ‘Arisaka.’ The shoot was temporarily delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic and following Covid-safe production protocols, principal photography was completed in the third quarter of 2020.

News of the film was first announced by Variety during the Singapore Media Festival’s Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market in 2019.

Variety has been given exclusive access to the first teaser for the film.

In “Arisaka,” a policewoman must retrace the trail of the Bataan Death March, a forcible transfer of some 60,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese army during WWII, in order to escape her captors. The film is named after a World War II Japanese bolt-action rifle.

The cast includes Maja Salvador (“Thelma”) and Mon Confiado (“Heneral Luna”).

Philippines production house Ten17P, which has credits including Lav Diaz’s “A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery,” Paul Soriano...

South Korean TV producer Kim Yongkyu won the best creative award for Mr. Sunshine.

South Korean TV producer Kim Yongkyu won best creative at the inaugural edition of the Asia Contents Awards in Busan last night, while best Asian drama prizes were presented to Thailand’s Hormones: The Series and Singapore’s Faculty.

Kim won the award for Studio Dragon’s Mr. Sunshine, a historical drama starring Lee Byung-hun (Red 2) that has premiered globally on Netflix. Hormones: The Series is a teen drama covering controversial topics such as teenage pregnancy, while Faculty revolves around professors and students in a Singapore university.

The biggest problem of Enrico Santos' My Cactus Heart is that its protagonist, Sandy (Maja Salvador), the owner of the titular so-called cactus heart, is nothing more than a standard-issue rom-com dame, afflicted with issues brought about by familial troubles. Except for a montage where she supposedly breaks the hearts of her various suitors, her heart is evidently undeserving of the trying-too-hard-to-be-cute moniker. She is uninteresting, unconvincing, and unromantic. Salvador attempts to add color to the hopelessly color-less character by giving an authentically earnest performance, which only does so much. Sandy is just too lazily written, with issues too trite, and a resulting romance too dry to really matter. Carlo (Matteo Guidicelli), Sandy's fated partner, is clearly the better half of the forced pairing. A...