Anthony Chen Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen is on a roll – his English-language debut Drift is premiering at Sundance Film Festival, he has Chinese-language drama The Breaking Ice being readied for festival play later this year, and several other directing projects in different languages at various stages of development and pre-production. 

The majority of submissions for this year’s International Feature Oscar category deal with serious issues, from major to minor, and while He Shuming’s feature debut Ajoomma (the title translates as Auntie) isn’t exactly the heaviest of them all, it does make a point of focusing on a character type that is vastly underrepresented in cinema across the globe: the older female.

Rebecca Souw TITLE: Behind The Scenes For Singapore-Korea Co-Production “Ajoomma” And Its Journey Ahead Post-Busan The past few weeks have gone by in a blur for Singapore-Korean co-produced comedy film “Ajoomma.” In a short span, it had a world premiere at the 27th Busan International Film Festival, earned four Golden Horse nominations including best actress, best new director, best original screenplay and best supporting actor. And Singapore has selected the film as itOscars contender. But it took seven years to get his far. At a Busan workshop on Saturday, first-time director He Shuming, co-founder of Giraffe Pictures and the film’s executive producer Anthony Chen and co-producer Lee Joon-han discussed the how the film came to life. “Ajoomma: The Curious Case Study of a Singaporean-Korean Co-production” was presented by mylab at the Asian Contents & Film Market.

Naman Ramachandran Celebrated filmmakers Anthony Chen (“Wet Season”), Anurag Kashyap (“Dobaaraa”), Ifa Isfansyah (“Losmen Bu Broto”), Joko Anwar (“Impetigore”) and Ho Yuhang (“The Ghost Bride”) are serving as directing mentors for the ongoing Malaysian Development Lab for Fiction Feature Films (mylab) initiative at the Busan International Film Festival. The directing mentors will work with the filmmakers of mylab and participate in depth conversations and exchanges on cinema and filmmaking. An incubator program for scriptwriters, directors, producers to work on developing scripts and film projects under lectures and the guidance of regional and international experts in scriptwriting, directing, producing, distribution, and markets and festivals, mylab focuses on projects at an early stage of development, with a team of scriptwriter, director and/or producer attached, targeted at regional or international audiences. 

EXCLUSIVE: Filipino production company Daluyong Studios, which co-produced Plan 75, Japan’s Best International Feature submission for the Oscars, is partnering with Tan Si En’s Singapore-based Momo Film Co to co-produce a slate of features and documentaries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief 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.” 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Singapore government announced that it will continue to restrict and classify media content with LGBTQ themes, even after its planned decriminalization of same-sex relationships.The move to repeal a colonial-era law that criminalized sex between men was announced Sunday by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The law, Section 377A of the Penal Code, was introduced in 1938 and established a two-year jail term for “any act of gross indecency” between two men, either in public or in private.London-based Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo,” “Wet Season”) commended the planned repeal.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we’ll shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. who are shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re speaking with Memento Films International founder Emilie Georges and producer Naima Abed about their company Paradise City, its slate and why now is the time to move into the management and branded content spheres. 

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) will lead cast alongside Being The Ricardos and Arrested Development star Alia Shawkat in Anthony Chen’s (Ilo Ilo) English-language debut Drift.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Call Me By Your Name” producers Emilie Georges and Naima Abed are launching Paradise City, a London- and Paris-based film, TV drama and branded content production and management company. The banner’s slate includes projects by Edward Berger (“Deutschland 83”), Lili Horvát (“White God”), Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo”) and South African author Lauren Beukes (“Slipping”).Georges is the founder and CEO of sales banner Memento Intl., which is at Cannes this year with Tarik Saleh’s competition film “Boy from Heaven,” Dominik Moll’s “La nuit du 12” in Cannes Premieres, Charlotte Le Bon’s “Falcon Lake” in Directors’ Fortnight and Kristoffer Borgli’s “Sick of Myself” in Un Certain Regard.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios has landed Ending Things, an action adventure vehicle for Anthony Mackie and Priyanka Chopra. In competition, Amazon bought a Kevin Sullivan spec script with a True Lies-sque premise. A hit-woman who wants out of the assassin business tells her “business” partner that she’s ending their personal relationship as well. But she comes to realize she doesn’t want to end that part of their bond. In order to survive the breakup – and their last job together – they must join forces for one last night out.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefProduction has wrapped on the long-gestating “Ajoomma,” a feature film that delves into the fascination that Korean pop culture holds for middle-aged women in Asia. The story, said to be based on the mother of director He Shuming, involves a K-drama-obsessed widow from Singapore who tries to find new purpose in life and instead ends up getting lost in Korea. The script was co-written by He and Kris Ong.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Studios is negotiating a feature deal on the Shipli Somaya Gowda novel Secret Daughter, with an impressive package that has Chinese helmer Anthony Chen (llo llo, Wet Season) attached to direct Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sienna Miller in the lead roles. Shruti Ganguly will adapt the novel.

Naman Ramachandran Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen has wrapped shooting of his first Mainland Chinese feature “The Breaking Ice.”Hailed as one of Asia’s brightest young directors, Chen competed in the shorts competition at Cannes in 2007 with “Grandma” and won the Camera d’Or with his debut feature “Ilo Ilo” in 2013. His sophomore feature “Wet Season” premiered in competition at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Asia-based production firm Beach House Pictures has acquired a majority stake in Tan Si En and Kris Ong’s Singapore-based Momo Film Co.Tan Si En’s producer credits include 2021 Cannes selection “The Year of the Everlasting Storm,” and Anthony Chen’s Toronto, London and Pingyao title “Wet Season.” Kris Ong, a script consultant at HBO Asia, is also a writer-director whose latest short film “Sunday” had its world premiere at the Palm Springs International Shortfest in 2019.

The Robert Bresson quote that opens the anthology film “Year of the Everlasting Storm” — “you don’t create by adding, but by taking away” — makes a tidy adage of the time-honored idea that deprivation breeds innovation.

Another Cannes Film Festival line-up announcement, another new round of trailers. Now, we’ve got the first look at Neon’s “The Year of the Everlasting Storm,” an anthology feature featuring seven stories told by an internationally acclaimed roster: filmmakers Jafar Panâhi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor, David Lowery, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

There have been a surprising number of pandemic films that have been released over the last year. In a world where people were on lockdown with very little to do outside of their homes, it seems as if some filmmakers have been able to use that time to still create films.

EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Anthony Chen is re-uniting with his Ilo Ilo and Wet Season stars Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler on the third film in his ‘growing up’ trilogy, We Are All Strangers.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentStrand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season,” which represents Singapore in the Oscar race for best international feature film.The movie world premiered in the Platform section at the Toronto International Film Festival, and is being represented in international markets by Memento Films International.Penned and directed by Chen, “Wet Season” revolves around a Chinese language teacher whose marriage and school

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSingapore has selected cross-generational relationship drama “Wet Season” as its national representative in the Academy Awards best international feature film category.