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A new film festival titled Chinese Cinema Today is set to launch in Japan, featuring 15 Chinese films including four Japanese premieres. The program, running Nov. 22-Dec. 12 at Tokyo’s Cinelibre Ikebukuro before moving to Osaka (Dec. 13-26), spotlights both commercial hits and festival favorites from mainland China’s growing film industry.

The festival is structured in four distinct sections. Director in Deep Focus presents a special spotlight on artist and filmmaker Qiu Jiongjiong, screening three of his works: “Madame,” “Mr. Zhang Believes” and “A New Old Play.” This marks the first special screening of Qiu’s works in Japan.

The Chinese Now Hits section features recent commercial successes, including the thriller “Hidden Blade,” directed by Cheng Er and starring Tony Leung and Wang Yibo. The film marks Cheng’s return after a seven-year hiatus. Also featured are “Like a Rolling Stone,” starring Berlin Film Festival best actress winner Yong Mei,...

Following up Sasquatch Sunset, it was announced the Zellner Brothers would embark on the alien invasion comedy Alpha Gang led by Cate Blanchett. They’ve now amassed quite an ensemble, with Dave Bautista, Steven Yeun, Zoë Kravitz, Léa Seydoux, Riley Keough, and Channing Tatum all coming aboard the project, Deadline reports. Here’s the synopsis: Alpha Gang centers on a group of alien invaders sent to conquer Earth. Disguised in human form as a 1950s leather-clad biker gang, dubbed the Alpha Gang. They are ruthless in their mission, until they succumb to the most toxic and contagious human condition of all: emotions.”

Al Pacino has some new cast members for his next feature. Jessica Chastain, Brendan Fraser, and Bryan Cranston have joined Barry Levinson’s mystery thriller Assassination, scripted by David Mamet. Deadline reports the film explores a new angle on the JFK conspiracy, “centering around Kilgallen (Chastain), one of...

Five Chinese-language genre projects to be selected.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (Hkiff Society) has partnered with talent agency CAA China on an initiative to support the growth and development of Chinese-language genre projects.

The Hkiff Industry-caa China Genre Initiative (Hcg) will select five Chinese-language genre projects, which will be presented as a parallel section to next year’s Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) and scheduled to run together from March 11-13, 2024 during the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (Filmart).

Two of the selected Hcg projects will each be awarded a cash prize of $20,000 sponsored by...

CAA China has teamed up with the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society to unveil a joint initiative that will foster Chinese-language genre film projects.

The Hgc initiative will operate an open call for projects from Monday until the end of October. Five successful projects will be selected and presented at next year’s FilMart rights market and Haf project matching event.

As part of the program, “CAA China will fund $20,000 cash awards to each of two handpicked projects to support their development, with customized guidance from mentors.” CAA China may also choose to board the winning projects later by entering into script development agreements.

“We are witnessing the rise of a new generation of Chinese filmmakers who are the backbone of Chinese cinema,” said Mary Gu, CEO of CAA China. “By collaborating with Hkiff Society, our aim is to discover and support young filmmakers with industry awareness and mainstream expression.

Skip City International D-Cinema Festival which started in 2004 in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, has been held every year as a “gateway for emerging talent” centered on the International Competition and the Japanese Film Competition (features and shorts). The festival launched the careers of Kazuya Shiraishi (Lesson in Murder), Ryota Nakano (The Asadas), Shinichiro Ueda (One Cut of the Dead), Shinzo Katayama (Missing) and many other directors who are leading the Japanese film industry as top runners and whose new movies audiences are looking forward to seeing.

The 20th edition will be held both at theaters and online as a hybrid festival again.

On Wednesday, June 14th, a press conference was held to announce the full line-up consisting of the titles of the whole line-up. This year, the festival will begin with the world premiere of Confetti, which was produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the festival as well as...

The festival will open with ‘Confetti’, produced to commemorate two key anniversaries.

Japan’s Skip City International D-Cinema Festival has revealed a raft of world premieres for its 20th edition, including opening film Confetti and a live-action adaptation of manga A Tail’s Tail.

The festival will open on July 15 with the world premiere of Confetti, which was produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Skip City as well as the 90th anniversary of Kawaguchi City, where the event is held. The coming-of-age drama marks the feature debut of director Naoya Fujita, whose film Stay won best Japanese short at...

Films from China, Chile, Palestine and India picked up prizes.

Qui Jiongjiong’s A New Old Play and Maha Haj’s Mediterranean Fever picked up the top prizes at the Firebird Awards at the Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff).

A New Old Play won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. The story follows a family of Sichuan Opera artists living through a tumultuous era and the prize rounds out a year-long tour of festivals that began with Locarno last August and took in Busan, Tallinn Black Night, Rotterdam and Goteborg among others. The...

The delayed 46th edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival wrapped Wednesday with the award of 13 prizes for its young filmmaker, documentary and shorts competitions.

Hailed by the jury as “one of this year’s most distinguished films both creatively and artistically,” Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play” was named best film for the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language). “A New Old Play” is a tale of a family of Sichuan Opera artists living through a tumultuous era. It also collected the Fipresci Prize, with the jury commending the film for “its masterful approach and inventive visual style.”

In the global category, Palestinian director Maha Haj’s “Mediterranean Fever” was chosen as the Firebird Award winner for being “an all-rounded gem that is at once a thriller, social comedy, and odd couple bromance.”

In the Chinese-language category, Hong Kong’s Mak Pui-tung won the best actor award for “The Sparring Partner.

Mulan International Film Festival (MulanIFF) announces The Trapped Pig by Lin Binghan and The Day Is Over by Qi Rui, as the winners of the first-ever Audience Award for Short Film and Audience Award for Feature Film in the Fountainhead Programme. Cash prizes of 250 and 1000 Canadian dollars are awarded directly to the directors, respectively.

Director Lin Binghan has directed several award-winning genre films, arthouse films and documentaries that focus on social issues in China. The Trapped Pig, tells a haunting, almost surreal story of a Wuhan truck driver, who is travelling home for the Chinese New Year with a precious boar, being trapped in one-person quarantine zone at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Director Qi Rui has been engaging in documentary filmmaking since 2001. He was selected to the Asian Film Academy (Afa) Training Program of the 2006 Busan International Film Festival. The Day Is Over, his debut fiction feature, won...

New umbrella will oversee Haf, Haf Goes to Cannes, Haf Film Lab, Hkiff Collection and the facilitation of co-productions.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival Society (Hkiffs) is bringing all its industry initiatives under one umbrella, Hkiff Industry, as it gears up for a physical edition of its festival and projects market in 2022.

Hkiff Industry will oversee the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), which now includes both development and work-in-progress (Wip) programmes; Haf Goes to Cannes; Haf Film Lab; Hkiff Collection, and the facilitation of third-party co-productions.

Jacob Wong, previously Haf director, has assumed the role of director, Hkiff Industry.