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It’s been 10 years since Mauritanian–Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako last directed a film, but his much-anticipated return is suffused with a lightness that belies the long wait. A soft-focus romantic drama that channels some of the same humanism that steeped its way into “Timbuktu,” “Black Tea” finds Sissako applying his empathetic gaze towards the service of a much gentler vision.

It starts with a prologue of sorts set on the Ivory Coast. Aya (Nina Mélo), an Ivorian woman in her thirties, is about to get married but has just discovered that her future husband has been unfaithful. In a memorable opening image, a black insect walks through the folds of her white dress — an ominous fly in the ointment — as she waits for the nuptials to begin, her face twisting with uncertainty. At the altar, she astonishes her family by refusing to say “I do,” choosing instead to walk...

The 74th Berlin International Film Festival unveiled its full lineup Monday at its official press conference in the House of World Cultures in Berlin. Berlinale managing director Mariëtte Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian presented the films that will compete for this year’s Golden and Silver Bears both in the competition and encounters sections.

Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios, a Berlinale regular and two-time Silver Bear winner — for A Cop Movie in 2022 and Museo in 2018 — returns to Berlin competition with his English-language feature debut La Cocina. Rooney Mara and The Cop Movie alum Raúl Briones star in the drama set over the course of a single day in a bustling New York City restaurant. Briones plays an undocumented cook in a relationship with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to their relationship. Fifth Season and WME are selling North American rights to La Cocina with HanWay handling international sales.

Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy ’In The Sub For Love’ is another new acquisition for French studio.

French studio Gaumont has unveiled a hefty genre-hopping Cannes slate complete with all new acquisitions Gilles de Maistre’s family adventure Moon The Panda, Stéphane Brizé’s romance drama Out Of Season and Lucas Bernard’s romantic comedy In The Sub For Love in addition to a slew of market premieres and official selection festival titles.

New acquisitions

Moon The Panda is the latest film from the master of the human-animal adventure tale Gilles de Maistre following Mia And The White Lion and The Wolf And The Lion.

The Perfumed Hill

A project that has been gestating perhaps not that long after the release of Timbuktu (2014), Mauritanian-born Malian filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was indeed stranded on the tarmac for a bit but La Colline Parfumee finally did get taxied out with filming taking place in both Africa and Taiwan for a drama romance set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. Production began before September of last year with the likes of Nina Melo, Han Chang, and Ke-Xi Wu. Sissako mentioned that he was inspired to tell this story after discovering in 2005 a restaurant called La Colline Parfumée that was run by an Afro-Chinese couple.…...

At long last, after years of development, Abderrahmane Sissako is set to embark on his first feature since 2014’s Timbuktu. The Mauritanian-born Malian director’s next work is The Perfumed Hill, which will begin shooting this month.

As reported by Variety, the romantic drama, scripted by the director and Kessen Tall, will star Nina Melo (Girlhood), Han Chang (Little Big Women), and Ke-Xi Wu (Nina Wu) in an ambitious story set “between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast, and Cape Verde.” Picked up for a U.S. release by Cohen Media Group and Gaumont in France, the project has come to TIFF for buyers, and thus an expanded synopsis has arrived:

The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai,...

Eight years after delivering his Oscar-nominated film “Timbuktu,” Abderrahmane Sissako is set to make his anticipated directorial comeback with “The Perfumed Hill.” Gaumont is representing in international markets and will introduce it to buyers at at Toronto. The French studio will also distribute the film in France, while Cohen Media Group will release it in the U.S.

Re-teaming Sissako with his “Timbuktu” co-writer Kessen Tall, “The Perfumed Hill” is a romance drama set between China’s tea hills, the Ivory Coast and Cape Verde. It stars Nina Melo (“Girlhood”), Han Chang (“Little Big Women”) and Ke-Xi Wu (“Nina Wu”).

The movie follows the journey of Joice, who leaves the Ivory Coast to start a new life in Guangzhou, China, after saying “no” on her wedding day. She finds a job at a tea boutique owned by Cai, a Chinese man, in the vibrant region of Guangzhou, known as the “Chocolate City.

Wolf Warrior 2, the highly-anticipated action-packed sequel to the 2015 Chinese war action film Wolf Warrior opens in theaters July 28. Reprising his role of a Special Forces operative and an expert marksman will be the martial arts star Wu Jing (Shaolin, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), who has also written and directed the film. Wu Jing is also known to some of his fans as Jacky Wu.

The Mandarin and English language sequel co-stars Frank Grillo (Captain America: Civil War), Celina Jade (The Man with the Iron Fists), Yu Nan (The Taking of Tiger Mountain) and Hans Zhang (TV series Boss & Me). Jade is reuniting with her Legendary Assassin co-star and director Wu Jing after a gap of 11 years.

The Wolf Warrior Leng Feng (Wu Jing) in the new film has settled to a quiet life by the sea, with his career in tatters. But when his path crosses...

Superb filmmaking! Edward Yang's chronicle of the children of Chinese exiles in Taiwan follows one teen's strange story of accidental delinquency, muted romance and pervasive violence in a closed society fed on American Rock 'n' Roll and Cold War militarism. Almost exactly as long as Gone With the Wind, Yang's intimate epic is one of those 'best movies ever' that few Americans have heard of. A Brighter Summer Day Blu-ray The Criterion Collection 804 1991 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 236 min. / Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date March 22, 2016 / 39.95 Starring Chen Chang, Lisa Yang, Kuo-Chu Chang, Elaine Jin, Chuan Wang, Han Chang, Hsiu-Chiung Chiang, Stephanie Lai, Chi-tsan Wang, Lawrence Ko, Chih-Kang Tan, Ming-Hsin Chang, Chun-Lung Jung, Hui-Kuo Chou. Cinematography Hui Kung Chang, Longyu Zhang Film Editor Po-Wen Chen Written by Hung Hung, Mingtang Lai Produced by Wei-yen Yu Directed by Edward Yang

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Stars: Andy On, Jessica Cambensy, Michael Wong, Terence Yin, Abby Fung, Jack Kao, Han Chang, Heng-yin Chou, Sharon Hsu, Philip Ng, Chi Zhang, Kwok Cheung Tsang, Candy Ka-Man Yuen | Written and Directed by Joe Chien

A sequel to Joe Chien’s zombie horror-cum-torture porn flick, Zombie 108, Zombie Fight Club sees Andy (Andy On) and Jessica (Jessica Cambensy) – real originality in naming your characters there – escaping a zombie overrun apartment block in the corner of near-future devastated Taipei city (as seen in the original film). In the midst of this zombie holocaust, with all social structures on the brink of collapse, contaminated drugs cause hordes of rappers and strippers to become infected and join the aggressive flesheaters. When a Swat team arrives on the scene, it seems the cavalry have arrived, but they only want the stash of drug cash…

2012′s Zombie 108 was something of a cause célèbre within the horror community.