Movies

Kowloon Walled City — one of Hong Kong’s most famous landmarks, or infamous trouble spots, depending on your point of view — fell prey to the developers’ bulldozer 30 years ago. But it remains an icon of the territory’s gritty spirit and is being painstakingly re-created for action thriller feature “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.” The

Filming has begun on Tom Waller’s true-crime thriller, “Kiss of the Con Queen,” with real-life victim Eoin O’Brien (“The Last Full Measure”) taking the lead role. He plays actor duped by an impersonator to travel to Indonesia on the promise of auditions for a leading role in a DC origins series, only to discover that

Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor in the “Rust” case, resigned on Tuesday, saying she did not want questions about her dual roles as a legislator and prosecutor to “cloud” the issues. The move is another setback for the prosecution of Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who are accused of involuntary manslaughter in the death

“White Snow,” the latest project from celebrated Indian filmmaker Praveen Morchhale, is his “artistic revolt” against political systems that repress artists. The project has been selected for the 21st Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart (March 13-16). Set in and around Kargil, a Muslim-dominated town in the

Nepal’s “Bhunte” marks the feature debut of Bikas Neupane, who previously directed two acclaimed shorts. The project has been selected for the 21st Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart (March 13-16). The film will follow 12-year-old Bhunte, who lives with his poor father and mother in a

Heavy-hitters from show business and the global beauty industry put their best faces forward over Oscar weekend, celebrating the 2023 honorees at the annual Variety + Armani Beauty’s Makeup Artistry Dinner. The Edition West Hollywood’s Ardor restaurant played host for an evening celebrating the work of transformative artists Allan Avendaño, Alex Babsky, Kelsey Deenihan Fisher,

A24, the scrappy indie studio that has built a brand for itself as a home for hip and cutting-edge movies, triumphed over its deeper-pocketed rivals at the Oscars on Sunday. It scored a leading nine wins, topping that of its closest competitor, Netflix, which had to settle for six trophies. Plus, A24 not only captured

Last year, Harvey Weinstein was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury — though in a mixed verdict, jurors could not reach a unanimous decision on all counts, with the judge declaring a mistrial on three of seven charges. On Tuesday, the judge dismissed those three remaining charges, and ruled that she would not be

After presenting the screenplay prizes at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield have begun formulating plans to share the screen again, as co-stars in the upcoming film “We Live in Time.” The two Academy Award-nominated actors are in talks to star in the StudioCanal project, which is described as a “funny, deeply moving

Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has revealed the first titles of its 54th edition, which runs April 21 to 30. The event will open with the world premiere of “Nightwatchers” by Juliette de Marcillac, which was filmed at night in an idyllic Alpine resort a stone’s throw from the French-Italian border. As night

The recent reopening of the mainland Chinese box office, including a $1 billion Chinese New Year holiday season, has put a different complexion on the global theatrical industry. Few companies could be closer to that change in fortune than Imax China, a stock market-listed subsidiary of the Imax Corp. The company operates as both a

Some folks have it easy, and others make life difficult for themselves. Guess which type “Problemista” is about. The perpetually unsatisfied title character, a demanding New York art critic played by Tilda Swinton as a hag with hair the color of hibiscus tea, is obsessed with archiving the life’s work of her late husband (RZA),

The American French Film Festival, formerly known as COLCOA, has set the dates of its 2023 edition to Oct. 18-22. Organized by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, the festival will host its 27th edition at the Directors Guild of America Theater on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. “Created by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, this event is the

Pauly Shore is over the moon about his “Encino Man” co-stars Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan becoming Oscar winners at the 95th Academy Awards. Fraser took home the Oscar for best actor thanks to his acclaimed performance in “The Whale,” while Ke Huy Quan won best supporting actor for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,”

Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has revealed the first slate of films to screen as part of its Special Presentations program at the 30th edition of the festival, running April 27 to May 7 in Toronto. The Special Presentations program, which features high-profile subjects, award-winning films and filmmakers, and original perspectives on current

Prepare for an earlier return to Oz. “Wicked,” Universal’s big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, is landing in theaters on Nov. 27, 2024 — a month ahead of schedule. The movie was initially scheduled to open on Dec. 25, but the studio felt it would be better positioned around Thanksgiving compared to Christmas. Though

Santiago Requejo has not only turned his hit short, “All in Favor,” into a theatrical play set to premiere in Buenos Aires in April, he’s also working on a feature film version. The award-winning work, which was shortlisted for this year’s live-action short film Oscar, sets the scene with a friendly meeting of apartment owners

Tull Stories has acquired the BIFA-winning feature film “Our River…Our Sky,” which will be released in U.K. cinemas in September. The film won Best Ensemble Performance at the 2022 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for two other BIFA awards, including Best Casting (Leila Bertrand) and Best Supporting Performance (Zainab Joda). “Our River…Our Sky”

Jose Pozo, director of the celebrated Spanish short “Plastic Killer,” is traveling to the Western U.S. for his next feature film, “Unusual Cowboys,” which he plans to shoot this year. The story follows Milton, a peaceful rancher and occasional musician who loses his daughter in a traffic accident. Her death has a further tragic impact

U.K.- and Hong Kong-based company Phoenix Waters Prods. has formally partnered with Hong Kong’s Agog Films to create Phoenix Waters Asia, a new venture aimed at increasing content production in Asia. The venture was announced on the sidelines of a film investment conference held Tuesday in Hong Kong at the FilMart rights market, where Phoenix

Malaga’s Animation Day showcases some of the most important animation features in the pipeline in Spain, all made with international partners.  On Tuesday, March 14, five recent outstanding Spanish animated works in progress will be pitched by their producers to the international industry during the event. Animation Day forms part of Spanish Screenings Content at Malaga

David Pujol, whose enchanting drama “Waiting for Dalí” premiered at the Malaga Film Festival on Sunday, has a new feature film project and an international TV series in the works. Pujol has just completed the script for “Rehearsal for a Kiss,” the story of a passionate yet hapless movie theater owner in Barcelona whose love

Barcelona-based production-distribution-sales outfit Filmax has taken on international sales on Spanish director Víctor García León’s new comedy “One Hell of a Holiday!” Filmax is presenting the trailer to international buyers at this week’s Malaga Film Festival at Mafiz’s Spanish Screenings Content, a massive industry platform where Filmax is also talking up a raft of titles

Denver-based distributor Fathom Events and Spain’s Bosco Films are teaming to release this September in 700 U.S. theaters the Spanish documentary “Libres” (“Free”). Portraying the cloistered life of 12 monasteries in Spain, “Free” will be the fourth feature both partners jointly release stateside. Their distribution relationship kicked-off last year, with the U.S. release of faith-based

Based on the deafening cheers that shook the walls of the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on Monday, the SXSW Film Festival premiere of “John Wick: Chapter 4” was a rousing success — and that’s before the film had even started. All it took was star Keanu Reeves to step on stage at the behest of

In “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the epic culmination of the flamboyantly brutal death-wish-meets-video-game-meets-the-zen-of-Keanu-Reeves action series, our hero finds himself in a Berlin nightclub that resembles a pulsating Bauhaus Eurodisco by way of “Fellini Satyricon.” It’s like a concrete cathedral, with giant mosh pits of dancers throwing their arms up to the heavens as waterfalls cascade

The writing team of Iran’s Jafar Panahi and Nader Saeivar, who won best screenplay at Cannes for “3 Faces” (2018) directed by Panahi, have reunited for “The Witness.” To be directed by Saeivar, the project has been selected for the 21st Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won big-time at the 2023 Academy Award ceremony, taking home seven trophies from 11 nominations, including the highest honor of best picture. Seven Oscars for one film does not happen often, and only a couple dozen other films have achieved the status. Before “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Slumdog Millionaire”

Hong Kong-based indie sales agent Good Move Media has added Japanese music drama “Plastic” to its FilMart slate. The film is directed by Miyazaki Daisuke, the Japanese helmer behind “Yamato (California),” which had festival play in 2016, and 2019 slacker youth title “Tourism” in 2019. The new picture is the story of teenagers Juna and

“The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu,” a multi-generational comedy starring “Crazy Rich Asians” actor Lisa Lu, is set for a March 17 premiere at the Laemmle Theater in North Hollywood, following the film’s acquisition by Picturehouse. The coming-of-age story will then have a one-week theatrical run. Reflective of the feature’s expansive crew of female filmmakers, “The