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Winner of the Best Screenplay Award at Shanghai, Best Performance for Sekar Sari at Singapore, a special mention in Five Flavours, and shot in black and white and on Academy ratio, “Siti” is a very impressive and ambitious film.

The script revolves around Siti, a young mother living in a rundown house in a town in Indonesia. Her circumstances are rather dire. Her husband is paralyzed from a boat accident that resulted in the sinking of the boat he had bought on a loan, and the loaners are now after her. Apart from her boy son, she also has to care for her husband and her elderly mother-in-law. She is also is the only one bringing some income to the house, by selling crackers in the beach during the day and entertaining clients at an illegal karaoke parlor at night. The support she receives is mostly psychological,...

Indonesian drama based around Lengger dance has been selected for Venice’s Orizzonti section.

Asian Shadows has picked up international rights to Indonesian filmmaker Garin Nugroho’s Memories Of My Body, which has been selected to play in the Orizzonti section of this year’s Venice film festival.

The deal marks the second collaboration between Asian Shadows and Jogjakarta-based production house Fourcolours Films, founded by Indonesian filmmaker Ifa Isfansyah, following Eddie Cahyono’s Siti (2014).

Nugroho, one of the masters of Indonesian cinema, was previously at Venice 12 years ago with Opera Java (2006), produced as part of the celebrations of the 250th birthday of Mozart.

Haf Award for a Hong Kong project goes to Love In The Valley Of Daughters.

The award winners from the 2018 Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) have been announced.

Yuen Han-yan’s documentary Love In The Valley Of Daughters won the Haf Award for a Hong Kong project at the close of this year’s event (March 14-16).

Czech film Saving One Who Was Dead, to be directed by Václav Kadrnka and produced by Sirius Films s.r.o., won the Haf Award for a non-Hong Kong project. Both awards come with a cash prize of $19,000 (Hk$150,000).

11 award winners...

The list includes films from Liu Jian, E J-yong and Arvin Chen.

Source: The Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum

Haf meeting

The Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) has announced this year’s line-up of 25 projects, which includes new titles from Liu Jian, E J-yong and Arvin Chen.

Chinese filmmaker Liu Jian, whose Have A Nice Day premiered in competition at the Berlinale last year, is attending Haf with his third animated feature, Art College, revolving around two art students in the 1990s.

Critically-acclaimed Korean director E J-yong (Bacchus Lady) is bringing The Big Picture, about a lawyer who kills a man and steals his identity, while Taiwan’s Arvin Chen (Au Revoir Taipei) will present Naïve Melody about an introverted young man who falls into a relationship with a brothel’s mama-san.

The line-up also includes new projects from China’s Emily Tang, Japan’s Tomina Tetsuya and three Indonesian filmmakers – Loeloe Hendra, Edwin and [link...

Indonesian adventure drama is set to premiere at Locarno.

Hong Kong-based sales outfit Asian Shadows has picked up international rights to Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen’s Solo, Solitude (Istirahatlah Kata-Kata), which will receive its world premiere at Locarno film festival in August (3-13).

Produced by Yulia Evina Bhara for KawanKawan Film, the film is inspired by the exile of Indonesian poet Wiji Thukul, who was critical of the Indonesian government and hunted by police during the 1996 Jakarta protests.

Yosep Anggi Noen previously directed Peculiar Vacation And Other Illnesses, which received a special mention at Locarno 2012 and also won the Dragon and Tiger Award for Young Cinema at Vancouver Iff.

Asian Shadows, which is ramping up its involvement in Indonesian cinema, also handled sales on Indonesian filmmaker Eddie Cahyono’s Siti, produced by Ifa Isfansyah.

“Like Eddie Cahyono and Ifa Isfansyah, Yosep Anggi Noen is based in Jogjakarta where a new wave of Indonesian cinema is originating...

Exclusive: Asian Shadows has picked up international rights to Zhang Yang’s award-winning drama Soul On A String.

Zhang’s second film set in Tibet after docudrama Paths Of The Soul, the film recently won best cinematographer for Guo Daming’s work at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The action drama follows a hunter who is tasked with taking a sacred stone to a holy mountain, encountering an odd assortment of characters along the way.

Produced by a group of Chinese investors including LeTV Pictures, the film is based on two novels by Tibetan writer Tashi Dawa, written in the Magic Realism style in the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Asian Shadows has sold Zhang’s Paths Of The Soul, which received its world premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to Cinefile for the UK.

The Hong Kong-based sales company has also closed two sales to France: Wang Bing’s documentary Ta’ang has gone to Les...

Last Friday, the 9th edition of the Five Flavours Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland ended with a screening of Sono Sion's Love and Peace and the announcement of the People's Jury Awards. Coming up on top was the widely praised 200-minute Japanese indie drama 0.5 mm, the second film from director Ando Momoko. The jury, comprised of 11 Asian film enthusiasts, also reserved a special mention for the Eddie Cahyono's Siti from Indonesia. The jury chose 0.5 mm "For the lightness of narrating the story of a generation clash and solitude, for a sparkling sense of humor, and a charismatic heroine - a brilliant role of Sakura Ando." Concerning Siti, the jury offered that "We have been mesmerized by the film's formal beauty, which creates...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

We present the winners of the 20th edition of the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) held in Busan, South Korea.

After ten days the Busan International Film Festival (Biff) have come to an end. The event ran from the 1st until the 10th of October in the beautiful city of Busan, South Korea. This year 302 films from 75 countries were screened in six venues. The catalogue presented 94 world premieres and 31 international premieres. The organizers are very happy as the total attendance reached a new record, during the ten days 227.377 persons assist the different screenings. There were a lot of GVs, outdoor screenings, various Forums and Talks that capture the interest of the people. Once again the festival establish itself as one of the most important film festivals in the region.

Biff Awards

New Currents Award

Immortal by Hadi Mohaghegh – Iran

Walnut Tree by Yerlan Nurmukhambetov – Kazakhstan

Biff Mecenat Award

Boys Run...

Busan’s Asian Film Market closed today with Hana Makhmalbaf’s London Stories picking up the top Busan Award at the Asian Project Market.

Producer Maysam Makhmalbaf told ScreenDaily: “Last time we had The President in Apm with my father directing, and it screened in Busan the next year - last year.

“This time, we are here with a project for Hana and we hope the same will happen again next year.”

Following four women over a 24-hour period in the UK capital, the project aims to delve into the different layers and cultures of the city’s modern society.

Yu Lik-Wai’s China-France co-production A Means To An End picked up the Dexter Studios Award. Produced by Francois Da Silva, the project features a French drifter who gets caught up in the underworld of professional gambling in Hong Kong and Macau.

Sponsored by major Korean entertainment media company Next Entertainment World (New), the inaugural New Creator...

Top brass at the 42nd edition of the Colorado event have announced the roster of 27 films, with surprises to come over the September 4-7 run date.

The line-up is as follows:

Carol (Us), Todd Haynes

Amazing Grace (Us, 1972/2015), Sydney Pollack

Anomalisa (Us), Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson

Beast Of No Nation (Us), Cary Fukunaga

He Named Me Malala (Us), Davis Guggenheim

Steve Jobs (Us), Danny Boyle

Ixcanul (Guatemala), Jayro Bustamante

Bitter Lake (Us), Adam Curtis

Room (UK), Lenny Abrahamson

Black Mass (Us), Scott Cooper

Suffragette (UK), Sarah Gavron

Spotlight (Us), Tom McCarthy

Rams (Iceland), Grímur Hákonarson

Mom And Me (Ireland), Ken Wardrop

Viva (Ireland), Paddy Breathnach

Taj Majal (France-India), Nicolas Saada

Siti (Indonesia), Eddie Cahyono

Heart Of The Dog (Us), Laurie Anderson

45 Years (UK), Andrew Haigh

Son Of Saul (Hungary), Lázló Nemes,

Only The Dead See The End Of The War (Us-Australia), Michael Ware, Bill Guttentag

Taxi (Iran), Jafar Panahi

Hitchcock/Truffaut (Us), Kent Jones

Time To Choose...

Top brass at the 42nd edition of the Colorado event have announced the roster of 27 films, with surprises to come over the September 4-7 run date.

The line-up is as follows:

Carol (Us), Todd Haynes

Amazing Grace (Us, 1972/2015), Sydney Pollack

Anomalisa (Us), Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson

Beast Of No Nation (Us), Cary Fukunaga

He Named Me Malala (Us), Davis Guggenheim

Steve Jobs (Us), Danny Boyle

Ixcanul (Guatemala), Jayro Bustamante

Bitter Lake (Us), Adam Curtis

Room (England, pictured), Lenny Abrahamson

Black Mass (Us), Scott Cooper

Suffragette (UK), Sarah Gavron

Spotlight (Us), Tom McCarthy

Rams (Iceland), Grímur Hákonarson

Mom And Me (Ireland), Ken Wardrop

Viva (Ireland), Paddy Breathnach

Taj Majal (France-India), Nicolas Saada

Siti (Indonesia), Eddie Cahyono

Heart Of The Dog (Us), Laurie Anderson

45 Years (England), Andrew Haigh

Son Of Saul (Hungary), Lázló Nemes,

Only The Dead See The End Of The War (Us-Australia), Michael Ware, Bill Guttentag

Taxi (Iran), Jafar Panahi

Hitchcock/Truffaut (Us), Kent Jones

Time To...

Titles include London Stories from Hana Makhmalbaf [pictured].Scroll down for full selection

Busan’s Asian Project Market (Apm) has announced this year’s line-up to include Hana Makhmalbaf’s London Stories and Yu Lik Wai’s A Mean To An End.

In its 18th year, the co-production market will showcase 30 projects from 15 countries including the UK, China, Vietnam and Iraq.

Up to last year, Apm selected a total of 442 projects of which 200 were completed and screened at film festivals around the world.

Organizers noted a rising trend of international co-productions tailored from the pre-production stage, not only between Asian countries but also European and Asian countries.

This year’s line-up also includes up-and-coming directors such as 2014 Cannes Un Certain Regard film Titli director Janu Behl with family comedy Agra, a India-France co-production, and 2014 Rotterdam invitee Siti director Eddie Cahyono with The Wasted Land, a story about an Indonesian peasant who is ready to do anything she can...

Derek Yee’s I Am Somebody will open this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff, June 13-21), while China-Russian co-production Ballet In The Flames Of War will close the event.

Directed by China’s Yachun Dong and Russia’s Nikita Mikhalkov, Ballet In The Flames Of War is a romance set during the Second World War and opened the Chinese Film Festival in Mosow last month.

Meanwhile, Mikhalkov’s Sunstroke is one of nine films selected for the Golden Goblet Awards, along with Daniel Barnz’s Cake and Taiwanese director Tung Wang’s Where The Wind Settles (see list below). Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan) heads the jury for the awards.

Films nominated for the Asian New Talent Award include Japanese director Momoko Ando’s 0.5mm, Iranian filmmaker Hooman Seyedi’s 13 and Labour Of Love from India’s Aditya Vikram Sengupta.

Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home is also nominated in this section, but for the...

Exclusive: Hong Kong-based sales company Asian Shadows has picked up international rights to Zhang Yang’s Tibetan drama Paths Of The Soul.

Zhang, whose credits include critical and commercial hits such as Shower, Quitting and Getting Home, has spent the past year filming his new project in Tibet. Currently in post-production, the film follows a small group of Buddhist pilgrims who embark on a 2,000-kilometres bowing pilgrimage to Lhasa.

Based on true events and using non-professional actors, the film is set against some of the most stunning landscapes in China.

“The film reveals the realities of Tibetan life rather than imposing the filmmaker’s perspective,” said Asian Shadows’ founder Isabelle Glachant. “Its incredible to see how faith sustains these pilgrims on a physically gruelling journey that lasts for many months.”

Zhang shot the film in a documentary style, without a script and using non-professional actors. “We shot this film at 4,000 metres altitude and above. We were eating...

Other titles in new talent competition include Sundance hit The Diary of a Teenage Girl and Taiwan’s The Furthest End Awaits.Scroll down for full list

The Taipei Film Festival (June 26-July 18) has announced the 12 films set to compete in the International New Talent Competition.

Selected from more than 200 submissions, the list includes The Furthest End Awaits by Taiwanese filmmaker Chiang Hsiu-chiung and a further 11 films by directors from Vietnam, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Palestine, Brazil, Britain, the UK, Us and Thailand.

The nominees compete for the first prize of $20,000 (Nt$ 600,000), and the directors will be in Taipei to attend Q&As to share their experience with the audience.

Chiang Hsiu-chiung won the Grand Prize with her documentary, Let the Wind Carry Me, at the 2010 Taipei Film Award. This year, her debut feature, The Furthest End Awaits, tells the story of the friendship between two women, Misaki, who comes back to her hometown after her father...

Wang Xiaoshuai’s Venice premiere sells to French distributor.

Chinese production company Chinese Shadows, which recently established an international sales arm, has sold Wang Xiaoshuai’s Red Amnesia to Les Acacias for France.

Hong Kong-based Edko Films is handling South-East Asia sales on the film and has sold it to Gv Films for Singapore. Edko Films will also handle its distribution in Hong Kong.

Wang edited a slightly shorter cut of the film following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year. The film has also played at Toronto, Busan and Cairo film festivals, among others, and won best actress for Zhong Lu’s performance at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Chinese Shadows, headed by Isabelle Glachant, has also picked up Israeli director Lior Shamriz’s Korea-German co-production Cancelled Faces during Berlinale. The film receives its world premiere in Berlin’s Forum Expanded section tonight (Feb 10).

Glachant’s slate also includes Tibetan filmmaker Chakme Rinpoche...

Wang Xiaoshuai’s Venice premiere sells to French distributor.

Chinese production company Chinese Shadows, which recently established an international sales arm, has sold Wang Xiaoshuai’s Red Amnesia to Les Acacias for France.

Hong Kong-based Edko Films is handling South-East Asia sales on the film and has sold it to Gv Films for Singapore. Edko Films will also handle its distribution in Hong Kong.

Wang edited a slightly shorter cut of the film following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last year. The film has also played at Toronto, Busan and Cairo film festivals, among others, and won best actress for Zhong Lu’s performance at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Chinese Shadows, headed by Isabelle Glachant, has also picked up Israeli director Lior Shamriz’s Korea-German co-production Cancelled Faces during Berlinale. The film receives its world premiere in Berlin’s Forum Expanded section tonight (Feb 10).

Glachant’s slate also includes Tibetan filmmaker Chakme Rinpoche...

Iffr reveals Big Screen Awards nominees and the complete line-up for its Bright Future and Spectrum strands, including world premieres from the Us, China and the Netherlands.

Second Coming, starring Idris Elba and Nadine Marshall, has been named as one of 10 films up for the Big Screen Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) (Jan 21 - Feb 1).

The UK film, written and directed by Debbie Tucker Green, will be vying for a prize of €10,000 ($12,000) awarded specifically to support theatrical distribution of the film in The Netherlands

The 10 nominees are from Iffr’s Bright Future and Spectrum programmes with the winner chosen by a specially selected audience jury. Other titles include Lisandro Alonso’s Cannes Fipresci winner Jauja and Carlos Vermut’s San Sebastian winner Magical Girl.

The nominees are:

I Swear I’ll Leave This Town, Danial AragãoJauja, Lisandro AlonsoKey House Mirror, Michael NoerThe Lesson, Kristina Grozeva, Petar ValchanovMagical Girl, Carlos VermutA...