News

Fast-rising Philippines-based director Mikhail Red has gained a dedicated following after delivering a succession of powerful films in just a few years.

In addition to establishing Red on the festival circuit – he has been consistently programmed by the Tokyo International Film Festival – his pictures have been acquired by Netflix. And Red is filming part of HBO series “Halfworlds.”

The title of his latest effort is taken from the name of a WWII-era Japanese bolt-action rifle. And while the narrative of “Arisaka” is more contemporary, the references to the brutal past are clear enough. The protagonist, a woman police officer is on the run and escapes capture by straying into the wilderness that was the scene of the infamous Bataan Death March. In Red’s thinking, history has a nasty habit of repeating itself.

But “Arisaka” nearly didn’t happen, as the production was hit by Covid and natural disasters.

Variety:...

Documentary

Channel 4 in the U.K. have commissioned Flicker Productions to produce “Football Trolls” (working title), an hour-long documentary on the relationship between social media, racism and soccer, hosted by former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder-turned BT Sport pundit Jermaine Jenas. The commission comes amid outcry about racial abuse suffered by England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka following England’s loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Many Black players in the English Premiere League have suffered targeted, racial abuse on social media for years.

“This film is incredibly important to me and something I’ve been working on for a while. there has been an ongoing conversation surrounding racism and football for as long as I can remember, and the reactions to the Euros has been heart-breaking,” said Jenas in a release. “I’ve felt sick to my stomach reading the comments and chants and promise...

Amazon’s YA pilot “Hot Pink” has added five new cast members.

Nina Bloomgarden, David Iacono, Mimi Davila, Dana Donnelly, and Myra Molloy will star in the pilot, joining previously announced star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The show is loosely inspired by Elana K. Arnold’s book “What Girls Are Made Of.” In the book, Nina Faye was raised to believe that there is no such thing as unconditional love, meaning she will do anything for her boyfriend to prove her worthiness. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost and sets out to find out what the conditions of love really are.

Bloomgarden recently wrapped on the Netflix/Sony film “Fatherhood” starring Kevin Hart. She previously had a supporting role in the indie feature “Good Girl Jane.” She is repped by Innovative Artists and Grandview.

Iacono’s past credits include “Grand Army” at Netflix, “The Flight Attendant” at HBO Max,...

WarnerMedia has set up two Chinese-language series that will debut later this year. Period drama series “Legacy” hails from mainland China, while crime drama “Trinity of Shadows” is a three-way venture involving partners from Taiwan and Hong Kong.

“Legacy” is a 1920s-set drama that chronicles the lives of the wealthy Yi family and three sisters who vie to inherit their father’s shopping mall business. In a time of upheaval and uncertainty, the three sisters set aside their differences to keep the business afloat and save their family.

Zheng Yu, director of the smash hit series “Yanxi Place,” is credited as creator of the show which is produced by Huan Yu Entertainment.

Together, they have re-assembled several key cast from “Yanxi Palace” including Qin Lan, Wu Jinyan and Yuan Nie. The series also stars Han Geng (“Ex-Files”), Liu Jun (“All is Well”), Miao Pu (“The Rise of the Tang Empire...

Legacy involves talent from Story Of Yanxi Palace, while Trinity Of Shadows is co-produced with Taiwan’s Catchplay and Hong Kong’s Viu.

WarnerMedia has unveiled two new HBO Asia original series, both Chinese-language productions – Legacy and Trinity Of Shadows – at the ongoing virtual Apos conference.

Legacy involves several talents from popular Chinese drama, Story Of Yanxi Palace, while Trinity Of Shadows is a co-production with Taiwan’s Catchplay and Hong Kong’s Viu TV.

Set in the 1920s, Legacy revolves around a wealthy family and its three sisters who vie to inherit their father’s shopping mall business.

The...

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...

HBO Max is packed with new and classic genre titles this Halloween season. From the new Invisible Man and Doctor Sleep, to The Brood and The Blob, here's a look of what HBO Max is offering as part of their "Halloween is Here" lineup:

Hit horror movies you won’t want to stream alone like The Invisible Man, Us, It: Chapter 2, and Doctor Sleep, creepy cult classics Night of the Living Dead, Eraserhead and Scanners, and psychological thrillers like The Haunting, Glass, and Dolores Claiborne will be available to stream alongside TV series such as Lovecraft Country, True Blood, The Outsider, and Raised by Wolves, and scares for all ages such as Scooby-Doo! Haunted Holidays, Gremlins 2, Spooky Buddies, and Adventure Time.

In addition, HBO Max is pulling together a collection of Halloween-themed episodes from fan-favorite series like Friends, Euphoria, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Big Bang Theory,...

This should be a popular one. Rlje Films is releasing Joko Anwar's bloody terrific horror flick Satan's Slaves on DVD and Blur-ray on August 4th. We have three (3) copies to give away to lucky readers in the U.S. Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to Satan’S Slaves from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Satan’S Slaves will be released on August 4, 2020 on DVD and Blu-ray. Written and directed by Joko Anwar (“Halfworlds”), the horror film stars Tara Basro (A Copy of my Mind), Bront Palarae (Belukar), Dimas Aditya (Dear Love), Endy Arfian (Malik & Elsa) and newcomer Nasar Anuz. Rlje Films will release Satan’S Slaves on DVD for...

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

Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to Satan’S Slaves from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. Satan’S Slaves will be released on August 4, 2020 on DVD and Blu-ray.The trailer looks terrifying:

Now you can win the Win the DVD of Satan’S Slaves. We Are Movie Geeks has two copies to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie with the word ‘Satan’ in the title. (mine’s Blood On Satan’S Claw. It’s so easy!)

1. You Must Be A Us Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To Us Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.

2. Winner Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries.

Written and directed by Joko Anwar (“Halfworlds”), the horror film stars Tara Basro (A Copy of my Mind), Bront Palarae (Belukar), Dimas Aditya (Dear Love), Endy Arfian...

The interview was conducted in 2017

Joko Anwar is already an established filmmaker, both in his country and internationally. He started his career in cinema as a film critic, continued as a scriptwriter, while his directorial debut came in 2005, with “Joni’s Promise”. His next two films “Kala” and “Forbidden Door“, received rave reviews from critics, and screened in festivals all over the world. In 2012 he shot “Ritual” and in 2015 “A Copy of my Mind“

We talk to him about his career, his success, making movies, violence and humor, and many more issues.

Before becoming a filmmaker, you were a film critic. Did that affect the way you look at films and the way you deal with critics?

When I was a critic, I was actually looking at films the way I had been before I was a critic: as a fan of films. And I am still now. I never looked for something to criticize.

Salvita Decorte was born in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, and started a career as a model at the age of 15, becoming a brand ambassador for Volcom in 2012. Salvita also inherited a love of art from her parents who were both painters, she specializes in abstract paintings.

Salvita’s career as an actress began in 2014 with a supporting role in the film “Mantan Terindah”. She won the lead role in “Lily: Bunga Terakhirku”, co-starring Baim Wong, and she is best known for “The Night Comes for Us“, “DreadOut” and “Preman”. Besides the big screen, Salvita has a starring role in Season one of the HBO series “Halfworlds”.

We talked with Salvita about her passion for painting, working with Indonesian top directors Joko Anwar and Timo Tjahjanto, going from modelling to kicking asses in action movies, and more.

“Lily: Bunga Terakhirku”

From what I understand, apart from actress, you are also a painter.

Cult Filipino filmmaker, Mikhail Red will direct “Arisaka,” a film named after a World War II Japanese bolt-action rifle. “It’s a Western based on a famous massacre that happened in the Philippines,” Red told Variety.

Philippines production house Ten17P, whose credits include Lav Diaz’s “A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery” and Paul Soriano’s “Mananita,” will produce.

Red is in Singapore to pitch Japan-Philippines sci-fi project “Quantum Suicide” at ScreenSingapore’s Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market. He is also all set to direct the third season of “Halfworlds” for HBO Asia and Cignal TV. The first season was set in Indonesia and the second in Thailand, while the third will be shot in the Philippines from January through May. It stars popular actress Bianca Umali (“Banal”).

“I will be playing the role of Alex, the lead role in the series,” Umali told Variety. “I don’t know...

HBO Asia has given the green light to a third season of fantasy action series “Halfworlds.” The eight-part season will be directed by rising star Philippines filmmaker Mikhail Red.

Production will begin from January, with the completed season to screen exclusively on HBO and HBO Go later in 2020. Season 3 is produced by HBO Asia in partnership with Cignal TV.

HBO said that “Halfworlds” now becomes its longest running original show from Asia. And it will be the first to shoot entirely in The Philippines.

It will be led by Filipino stars Bianca Umali (Sahaya; Barbi D’ Wonder Beki) and Sam Concepcion, and also involve returning cast from the previous seasons.

The updated story relocates from Bangkok to the gun-stricken streets of Manila, where blood thirsty creatures known as Engkangtos live out in the open among humans. Alex, who is half-human and half creature, seeks original source of the dwindling haven...

Four of the most renowned genre filmmakers in the Southeast Asian region – Eric Khoo from Singapore, Joko Anwar from Indonesia, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang from Thailand, and Ho Yuhang from Malaysia – come together in this session to discuss the creation and their involvement in the HBO Asia series “Folklore“. How does folklore inspire and inform horror in each of the directors’ works? What are the research processes and responsibilities of representing their cultures in an internationalised genre film market?

Description

A Fear of Monsters: Folklore and Horror in Cinema

9 June 2019

3 – 4.30pm

Oldham Theatre. Free admission with registration

Speakers:

Eric Khoo (Singapore), director of “Folklore: Nobody“

Joko Anwar (Indonesia), director of “Folklore: A Mother’s Love“

Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Thailand), director of “Folklore: Pob“

Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), director of “Folklore: Toyol“

Moderator:

Wardah Mohammad, Management Assistant Officer (Outreach) at Nus Museum

Wardah Mohamad (b. 1991) graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. Since then...

Nam Ron (alias of Shahili Bin Abdan) was born in 1969 in Kangar, Malaysia. He graduated from the Department of Theatre in the National Arts Academy in 1994, and has since worked in theatre, television and film as a director, writer and actor. His reputation was launched by the play Misi (co-written with Faisal Tehrani), followed by many successful stage performances. He has worked with most reknowned Malaysian filmmakers such as Dain Said, Yasmin Ahmad, James Lee, Tan Chui Mui, acting in main, supporting roles not mentioning many cameo appearances. His directorial debut, “Gedebe” was a loose adaptation of “Julius Caesar” set in the underground Malaysian music scene. In his film works Nam Ron skillfully combines genres cinema with sharp social commentary.

Though he made his acting debut on television in 2000, Bront Palarae, who is a Malaysian of Pakistani-Malay-Thai descent, first gained fame by portraying two characters in Cinta Tsunami, a television series in 2005. Since then,...

“If you have a good idea and can execute well, these days you will definitely find a buyer. That’s a healthy market,” says a source at a one of the major channel operators in Asia, after looking with barely disguised jealously at the Netflix upfronts held in Singapore in mid-November. “This is a golden time to be a producer in Asia.”

As attendees of the Singapore Media Festival, which runs Nov. 28-Dec. 9, know, the definitions of what original content is vs. what is acquired but then relabeled, and what shows would simply have been considered as old-fashioned commissions, are blurred. But there is little doubt that the streaming video era has juiced up the market in Asia for new video and TV content. Much of it is local content that is now crossing borders.

Forecasts by Media Partners Asia suggest that total content investment in TV and online video...

“Crazy Rich Asians” producer Ivanhoe Pictures has teamed with three local production companies to deliver a slate of Indonesian movies. The initial slate of three movies is built around the prolific and versatile director Joko Anwar.

Ivanhoe will work with Indonesian studio Base Entertainment, Korean studio Cj Entertainment, and Indonesian production company Rapi Films. The four companies will co-develop, co-finance and co-produce, and Base will distribute the projects in Indonesia.

Three Indonesian-language theatrical features are currently in development. In order of expected production they are “Impetigore,” “The Vow,” and “Ghost in the Cell.” Each will be directed by Anwar, from his own screenplays.

“Combining expertise of established international production companies like Ivanhoe and Cj Entertainment with that of the skilled local entities Base Entertainment and Rapi Films—which have a vital understanding of Indonesian audiences and the rapidly expanding market—is an exciting venture for our collective companies,” said Ivanhoe president John Penotti.

Korean actress, Lee Chae-Yeon will star in HBO Asia’s new horror anthology, and original drama series, “Folklore.”

Production has wrapped for the six-part hour-long series that was shot in various locations in Asia including Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and South Korea. The series is scheduled to premiere later this year on HBO Asia’s on-air, online and on-demand platforms.

Developed by HBO Asia and created by award-winning Singaporean film maker, Eric Khoo, all six episodes take place across multiple Asian countries including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Each episode is based on each country’s deeply-rooted superstitions and myths, and presented in the local language of the country that the episode is based in, with English and local-language subtitles.

The six directors involved in “Folklore” are Indonesia’s Joko Anwar; Japan’s Takumi Saitoh; Lee Sang-Woo from Korea, Ho Yuhang from Malaysia; Eric Khoo (“12 Storeys”) from Singapore,...

Exclusive: The Halfwords-actor will direct and star in the English-language project.

Malaysian actor and filmmaker Bront Palarae is developing a feature based on the true story of a stock market raid that returned Malaysia’s rubber plantations to local ownership.

Palarae plans to direct the project, Dawn Raid: The Hands That Rattled The Queen, which is currently in development at his production outfit Pixel Play.

Scripted by Redza Minhat and Chew Kin Wah, it recounts events in 1981 when plantation owner Guthrie Group, originally a British trading company, was brought under Malaysian control after the government engineered a raid at the London Stock Exchange.

The English-language project has secured development funding from Malaysia’s National Film Development Corp (Finas). Palarae’s acting credits include Nova and Joko Anwar’s HBO Asia series Halfworlds.

The project is one of a group of select titles with international potential that the Creative Content Association Malaysia (Ccam), the marketing arm of Finas...

Joko Anwar, despite having only a handful of films to his credit, has already become a prominent name among international cinema fans, with a filmography that includes entries in horror, thrillers, comedies, and dramatic romances. With his latest feature A Copy of my Mind making its North American debut at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, Anwar is already onto his next project.

His next project significantly differs, however, in that it’ll see Anwar follow many of his Hollywood contemporaries and make the jump from film to television. The series, titled Halfworlds, will be an HBO Asia original project, with Anwar taking on directing duties, as well as co-writing it with Collin Chang. The synopsis of the series is as follows.

In the bustling streets and back alleys of Jakarta, a parallel world of bloodthirsty creatures from Indonesian mythology has lived alongside humans for generations. Taking on the appearance of humans themselves,...

Indonesian director Joko Anwar - a long time favorite around these parts - makes the move to television with the upcoming HBO Asia original series Halfworlds. A dark fantasy tale about supernatural creatures living amongst us, Halfworlds hits the air November 29th with the debut episode streaming on Facebook shortly after the premiere so that, yes, everyone can see it. And with the premiere coming up soon the full trailer has arrived online!In the bustling streets and back alleys of Jakarta, a parallel world of bloodthirsty creatures from Indonesian mythology has lived alongside humans for generations. Taking on the appearance of humans themselves, the true identity of these "Demit" has been carefully concealed for centuries by a powerful family of mortals. The arrival of a...

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

Here at Twitch we are big fans of Indonesian filmmaker Joko Anwar, and were thrilled by the news back in May that he would be writing and directing Halfworlds, an 8-part original series for HBO Asia.Production is well underway and now we have our first look at the show, described as a dark thriller that "reveals a hidden universe in the alleys and backstreets of present day Jakarta where an underground society of demons known as the Demits have lived among us for centuries. As the series unfolds, this delicate balance is disrupted and will bring mortals and demits hurtling towards their destiny."Halfworlds, due to debut on HBO at the end of the year, stars newcomer Salvita Decorte in the lead, but features a host...

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