Asian Film Awards Nominations Favor Titles From China, Japan and Korea

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentThe Tokyo International Film Festival’s competition section will skew heavily towards Asian titles, festival organizers said on Tuesday.The festival announced the full lineup for its 34rd edition to be held Oct. 30 – Nov.

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Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn its efforts to broaden the range of activities and programming, the Busan International Film Festival has opened its doors to domination by Korean TV and streaming content.The third edition of its Asia Contents Awards see Korean shows “Move To Heaven,” “Sweet Home,” and “Vincenzo” head the nominations list.Netflix, which has become a major force in Korean content, also picks up multiple nomination for Japanese series “Alice in Borderland.” Chinese content

Rebecca Souw Busan’s Asian Film Maker of the Year Award has become almost indistinguishable from a lifetime achievement award. But that need not diminish either the recipient or the festival.Im Kwon-taek is arguably the best-known South Korean film director to have straddled both the modern era and the earlier time when the country and the film industry were under more authoritarian control.At 85, Im is not only one of the oldest working directors, he has also been one of the most prolific.

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Jamie Lang Isabelle Huppert (“The Lacemaker,” “The Piano Teacher”) has been appointed as the president of the jury that will decide the competition winners at the Tokyo International Film Festival (Oct. 30-Nov.

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If you’re a world cinema lover who does not yet know the name Ryûsuke Hamaguchi—winner of the Best Screenplay prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his adaption of Haruki Murakami’s short story, “Drive My Car” (read our rave review)—that is very likely about to change.

This review of “Prisoners of the Ghostland” was first published after the film’s January 2021 premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.Prolific and wildly eccentric Japanese auteur Sion Sono has spent most of his career at the dizzying point at which arthouse bravado meets grindhouse gonzo, and his best films stretch the limits of narrative so far as to leave viewers simultaneously gobsmacked and exhilarated.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKakao Entertainment, part of South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp., is poised to buy leading Korean film production company Zip Cinema from its Singaporean owner Spackman Entertainment. The deal is valued at S$19.8 million ($14.8 million).Zip Cinema is producer of “Broker,” the Korean-language debut of Japanese Palme d’or winner Kore-eda Hirokazu (“Shoplifters”), which is now in post-production and being sold by CJ Entertainment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Tokyo International Film Festival will showcase the works of director Yoshida Keisuke at next month’s 34th edition. The festival runs Oct.

Tom Cruise, now approaching age 60, has never reacted calmly to frustration. This week his carefully structured life was put on hold by delays of his two heralded mega movies: the Top Gun sequel and the seventh Mission: Impossible.