Movies

In a drive for authenticity, Chile’s Parox, producer of “Invisible Heroes,” has attached Katherina Harder to direct “Silver Bridge” (Puente de Plata), a Latin American drug trade origins saga billed by Parox and Harder as a feminist romantic melodrama. Produced by Alvaro Cabello and Parox founders Sergio Gándara and Leonora González, “Silver Bridge” weighs in

The talented and amazing Kurt Russell celebrates his 70th birthday on March 17. A staple of the Hollywood industry for over five decades, Russell navigated being a teen idol and graduating to become one of the most bankable and skilled actors of his generation. To celebrate, we chose 10 of the best performances of his

“Her Lullaby” from Hong Kong and “The Catch” from India were the winners of the top fiction prizes at the 2021 edition of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum. A total of 17 cash and in-kind prizes worth a combined HK$1,200,000 ($157,000) were awarded at the conclusion of the three day (March 15-17, 2021) project

Amazon Prime Video is making its first foray into Indian feature movie co-production with Bollywood film “Ram Setu,” starring Akshay Kumar. Directed by Abhishek Sharma (“Parmanu”) with Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi (“Prithviraj Chauhan”) as creative producer, the film is an action-adventure drama that is rooted in Indian cultural and historical heritage. The title is a reference

The Chinese government has reportedly told its local media channels not to transmit live coverage of the Oscars and to downplay the awards ceremony. The move follows the nomination of “Do Not Split,” a 35-minute chronicle of the pro-democracy struggles in Hong Kong, in the documentary short subject category. The order reportedly came from the

Phoebe Dynevor, star of Netflix’s global smash “Bridgerton,” plays the lead in Sky original “The Colour Room.” The film charts the rise to fame of Stoke-on-Trent ceramic artist Clarice Cliff, played by Dynevor. Cliff, a determined, working class woman in the 1920s, broke the glass ceiling and revolutionized the workplace in the 20th century, while

“Folk horror” is a term of relatively recent vintage — or at least popularity — that only grows more broad as “Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched” spends three and a quarter hours trying to define it. Still, a slippery thesis doesn’t detract from the pleasures of this documentary from genre scholar and programmer Kier-La Janisse.

Beneath the eerily calm surfaces of Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor’s terrific “Rose Plays Julie,” a transgressive story bides its time. It’s a tale that feels ancient in structure, but terrifyingly modern in detail, mapping MeToo-era revelations and a contemporary preoccupation with fractured identities onto a deceptively simple revenge plot that could have been plucked

It’s tricky to pull off the kind of cryptic mystery labyrinth that “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” attempts, and Jacob Gentry’s film only works to a point — whatever point at which the viewer decides this thriller’s elusive menace is just too vague to generate sufficient urgency or suspense. As long as the promise outweighs the frustrating

The question of how to convey characters speaking a language other than English in a fully English-language production is one that many a director of an exotically-set Hollywood production or lumpy Europudding has faced over the years. For those who simply cannot resort to subtitles, the artifice of heavily accented English dialogue is a stilted

Despite the ongoing trade war and frostier than ever ties between China and the U.S., “Detective Chinatown 3” producer and financier Shawn Yue (aka Yue Xiang) is still betting on collaboration in the film industry — though perhaps not in the way you’d expect. Chinese production budgets and visual ambitions have lately begun to outgrow

Legendary documentarian Wang Bing is at HAF this year with his new project “I Come from Ikotun,” which follows two Nigerian families with a foothold in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou over the course of the pandemic. Known for his epically long, unflinching works that have previously tackled sensitive issues like China’s brutal re-education

A new documentary from Bhutan will share the Himalayan Buddhist kingdom’s unique philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH) with the world. Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuk came up with the phrase in 1972 when he said that GNH is more important than Gross Domestic Product. The landlocked country with fractious giants China and India as

From growing up as a film buff to becoming one of Hong Kong’s most iconic film directors, Stanley Kwan is known as a filmmaker who stays true to himself. That has earned him a 13-title retrospective screening series at the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival. From his 1985 directorial debut “Women” to two of

Japanese writer-director Ogigami Naoko has a track record of creating sensitive, emotionally-healing dramas that are serious enough to grab festival attention, but which are spirited enough to also achieve commercial releases. Her next project, “Blind Forest,” being pitched at the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), is unlikely to stray far from that

A late addition to the Nikkatsu lineup for FilMart is “First Gentleman,” a local co-production between Nikkatsu, Toei and Nippon TV. Directed by Kawai Hayato (“Prince of Legend”) from a novel by Harada Maha, this comedy stars Nakatani Miki (“Sweet Little Lies”) as the leader of an opposition party in Japan’s parliament. The plot moves

A film studio since 1920, Japan’s Shochiku has a back catalogue filled with works by master directors including Ozu Yasujiro and Kinoshita Keisuke as well as 1960s New Wave leaders Oshima Nagisa and Shinoda Masahiro and studio stalwart Yamada Yoji, maker of the enduringly popular Tora-san series. Shochiku has been digitally remastering its classics in

Korean Oscar-winner “Parasite” gleefully poked fun at South Korea’s bourgeoisie. Hur Jin-ho’s “The Dinner” is set to give the middle classes another skewering. The project is an adaptation of Dutch novel ‘Het Diner’ (“The Dinner”) written by Herman Koch. With the setting transposed to Asia, Hur will peek under the tablecloth to uncover another dirty

Hong Kong director Fruit Chan, who somehow manages to be an industry veteran and an enfant terrible at the same time, is currently in post-production on “Coffin Homes.” The film is a satirical horror anthology, that probes the city’s eternal housing problem, especially its micro dwellings known as cubicle apartments or coffin homes. Chan, who

Comedian Matt Oswalt once said, “so far 2021 is just 2020 with bangs.” Perhaps nothing encapsulates that sentiment more than the possibility that MoviePass, the Icarus of subscription services, may rise again from the ashes. MoviePass launched in 2017 and offered customers the option to see one movie per day for $9.99 a month. Though

Paul Fronczak’s story is true, but it is filled with the kind of wild twists and turns that you might expect from an overstuffed detective novel. At age 10, Fronczak happened across a trove of newspaper clippings about his parents, Dora and Chester, who made international headlines when their baby was kidnapped from his hospital

Ireland has long been known as a nation of storytellers, home to giants of literature and theater such as Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats and James Joyce. In recent years, Ireland’s storytelling tradition has started to thrive in the screen industries too. Indigenous and co-production successes include John Crowley’s “Brooklyn,” Lenny Abrahamson’s “Room,” Yorgos

Paul Mescal emerged as one of the breakout stars of 2020 thanks to his performance in BBC and Hulu drama “Normal People.” Ireland has seen a slew of such acting talent establish themselves in recent years, like Jessie Buckley with her star turn as the pregnant wife of a doomed Russian fireman in “Chernobyl” and

To understand the ambition, talent and artistry of the Irish animation industry, it’s worth watching Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers” on Apple TV Plus. A hand-drawn adventure set in 1650s Ireland, “Wolfwalkers” was nominated for an Oscar this week. It’s the latest in a string of Oscar nominations for Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, which has previously been nominated

The 93rd Oscar nominations have finally been announced, recognizing films released during a year where movie theaters were largely closed. If you’re looking to catch up on all of the nominees, we’ve compiled a list of every film that was nominated for an Academy Award this year and where to stream them. Competing for best

Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino is adapting her stage show “Amy and the Orphans” into a feature film at Netflix. Ferrentino will write and direct the movie, marking her feature directorial debut. Aggregate Films is producing “Amy and the Orphans.” The story follows estranged siblings Maggie and Jake, who are adults by the time their elderly father

Veteran studio executive Lee Rosenthal is leaving Paramount Pictures, it was announced internally on Tuesday. In a memo from Paramount Motion Picture Group President Emma Watts, staff was informed that Rosenthal was “departing Paramount Pictures to pursue other opportunities.” His most recent title was head of physical production. “Lee has been a driving force in

“Men always seem to end up on top,” goes “Women Is Losers,” the Janis Joplin song that lends writer-director Lissette Feliciano’s 1960s-set feature debut its title. It’s a fitting line to ponder in the context of her over-enthusiastic yet frustratingly clumsy feminist film, which declares “inspired by real women” in its first frame before going

The William Morris Endeavor agency has launched a new division for representing and servicing celebrity and brand estates. Run by Phil Sandhaus, a veteran estate manager and consultant to late icons like Frank Sinatra, Buddy Holly and Whitney Houston, the new WME shingle will bring trailblazing artists and iconic brands into the modern business landscape.

Celine Sciamma’s Berlinale competition title “Petite Maman” has been sold by MK2 Films around the world with some bidding wars in multiple territories. The critically acclaimed film, which marks Sciamma’s follow-up to “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” has been sold to Alamode (Germany), Culture (Japan), Challan (South Korea) Sun (Latin America), Avalon (Spain), Madman