News

The second annual Gold List has released its TV Honors ahead of the Emmys, honoring “the most exceptional achievements by Asian creatives in television this past year.”

Spotlighted titles this year include “Squid Game” for its second season helmed by Hwang Dong-hyuk and starring Lee Jung-jae, Hulu’s “Deli Boys” for creator Abdullah Saeed and actors Poorna Jagannathan and Saagar Shaikh, and performances from Dichen Lachman (“Severance”), Chase Sui Wonders (“The Studio”), Young Mazino (“The Last of Us”), Utkarsh Ambudkar (“Ghosts”), and Ken Leung (“Industry”). “Pachinko,” and many more. “The White Lotus” and “Interior Chinatown” actors made the Honorable Mentions, as did directors Andrew Ahn and Nisha Ganatra (“Deli Boys”), Arvin Chen and Sang-il Lee (“Pachinko”), and Wei-Ning Yu (“Severance”).

“From the nuanced characters we’re seeing portrayed across all genres to the visionary writers, directors, and artisans reshaping television behind the scenes, our Asian Pacific community is not just...

Exclusive: Lea Salonga is set to star in The Vale – Origins, a hybrid live-action and animated short film that will precede the forthcoming middle grade novel of the same name by Abigail Hing Wen.

Wen’s novel will release Sept. 16, 2025 through Aapi publishing house Third State Books, founded by Stephanie Lim and Charles Kim. The short film is in post production and slated for completion this summer. Wen wrote and directed the short film, which also has an animation team of John Aoshima attached as director and Neil Blevins Incredibles I, II, Wall-e, Up) as animation designer.

The short film follows the Lees, a grieving inventor family in Silicon Valley who find healing and connection through their young son’s creativity in The Vale, a virtual reality fantasy world they made. The family-friendly short film shifts between the real, live action world and the animated world,...

When Sunja (Yuh-jung Youn) confronts a new friend (Jun Kunimura) about dark secrets she’s dug up from his past, he reacts with the resignation of someone who’s long since come to terms with them. He does not act out in shock or denial. He offers explanations that are not quite excuses. He accepts that she’s right that his history cannot be changed. But, he asks, “What are we supposed to do then? Spend the rest of our lives chained to it?”

Sunja does not provide an answer, and neither does her series. Down to its very format, which cuts between two timelines, Apple TV+’s Pachinko presents itself as a reflection on the impossibility of finding one. Seeds planted years or decades or generations earlier have a way of shooting up at unexpected times, in unexpected ways. And as she did in the series’ breathtaking first chapter,...

La serie continúa su épica historia de amor y supervivencia a través de cuatro generaciones. © Apple TV+

Apple TV+ ha publicado el tráiler de la segunda temporada de “Pachinko,” la galardonada y aclamada serie dramática. Un tráiler a ritmo de una nueva y emocionante versión de “Viva La Vida” de Coldplay, realizada por la superestrella mundial Rosé, del grupo de K-pop Blackpink.

Basada en la exitosa novela homónima, “Pachinko” es una épica y conmovedora historia de amor y supervivencia a través de cuatro generaciones, contada a través de los ojos de una extraordinaria matriarca, Sunja. En la segunda temporada, de ocho episodios, las historias paralelas continúan en la Osaka de 1945, donde Sunja se ve obligada a tomar decisiones peligrosas para la supervivencia de su familia durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y en el Tokio de 1989, donde Solomon explora nuevos y humildes comienzos.

La segunda temporada, creada y escrita por Soo Hugh,...

The first series of Apple TV+'s sweeping yet somehow incredibly intimate, multiple generations spanning trilingual family saga Pachinko blew us away with its bold, intellectual, emotional, and incredibly cinematic brand of serialised storytelling. And if the first trailer for the second season of the streamer's Min Jin Lee adaptation is anything to go by, then showrunner Soo Hugh is set to take us on another incredible timey-wimey journey as the Baek family's story continues with S2. Here we see lovers Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) and Sunja (Minha Kim) reunite in war-torn Osaka, Japan in 1945 as businessman Solomon (Jin Ha) continues to wrestle with his identity in 1989 Tokyo. Check it out:

How about that 'Viva La Vida' cover from Blackpink's Rosé? That's sweeping, epic, bold, and emotional right there! And the trailer ain't half bad, either. The first series of Pachinko introduced us to Baek family matriarch Sunja,...

Today, Apple TV+ unveiled the trailer for the upcoming second season of Pachinko, the award-winning and globally acclaimed sweeping drama series by creator and executive producer Soo Hugh.

Hailing from Media Res and told in three languages — Korean, Japanese, and English — the eight-episode second season of Pachinko will premiere globally on Friday, August 23, with one episode, followed by one episode weekly every Friday through October 11.

The trailer debuts a brand-new moving cover of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida” by global superstar Rosé of the record-breaking K-pop group Blackpink. In addition to debuting as the series’ trailer anthem, Rosé’s cover is featured in the Pachinko season two finale.

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a sweeping and deeply moving story of love and survival across four generations, told through the eyes of Sunja, the remarkable matriarch.

In the second season, parallel stories...

Apple TV+ has unveiled the trailer for “Pachinko” Season 2. Based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee, the second eight-episode season will premiere globally Aug. 23.

“Pachinko” chronicles four generations of a Korean family who moved to Japan before the start of World War II. According to an official synopsis for Season 2, “the parallel stories pick up in Osaka in 1945, where Sunja is forced to make dangerous decisions for her family’s survival during World War II, and in Tokyo in 1989, which finds Solomon exploring new, humble beginnings.”

In the trailer, Koh Hansu (Lee Min-ho) reunites with Teen Sunja (Minha Kim) in war-torn Osaka, Japan after almost two decades apart. “It’s been 14 years. How did you find me?” Sunja asks upon seeing Hansu. “I never lost you,” he responds.

Other cast members for Season 2 include Yuh-Jung Youn, Jin Ha, newly minted Emmy nominee Anna Sawai, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, Junwoo Han,...

The trailer for Season 2 of Pachinko has arrived (above), and so has the end of World War II in the multigenerational saga that spans decades.

“Your grandfather, he always wanted me to fly,” Sunja (Minha Kim) tells her son Noa Baek (Kang Tae ju) in the clip as a kite flies out in the fields where Sunja and her sister-in-law Kyunghee (Eunchae Jung) work. Sunja and Kyunghee look up to see bomber plans flying in droves toward their hometown of Osaka, Japan.

Rosé of Blackpink’s cover of Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” starts up as Koh Hansu (Lee Minho) confronts Sunja after 14 years, telling her he never lost track of where she was. In addition to featuring in the trailer, the cover will also play in Season 2’s finale.

Based on Min Jin Lee’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, Pachinko is a sweeping and...

Love (including the unexpected kind) and war (as in World War II) both loom large in the first trailer for Season 2 of Apple TV+’s acclaimed Pachinko.

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee and epic in scope, Pachinko chronicles the hopes and dreams of a Korean immigrant family across four generations as they leave their homeland in a quest to survive and thrive. Starting in South Korea in the early 1900s, the story has been told through the eyes of a remarkable matriarch, Sunja, who triumphs against all odds.

More from TVLinePresumed Innocent: Which...

“Pachinko” will continue to break hearts and inspire tears with a second season.

The critically acclaimed Apple TV+ epic drama series returns August 23, with one-episode weekly installments every Friday through October 11. The eight-episode season is produced by Media Res.

Told in three languages — Korean, Japanese, and English — “Pachinko” follows one family across four generations. The first season received eleven international awards including a Peabody Award, an American Film Institute Award, a Critics Choice Award, and a Gotham Independent Film Award.

“Pachinko” is created and written by Soo Hugh who serves as executive producer alongside Media Res’ Michael Ellenberg and Lindsey Springer, and Theresa Kang for Blue Marble Pictures.

Season 2 stars “Shogun” breakout Anna Sawai, Lee Minho, Minha Kim, Yuh-Jung Youn, Jin Ha, Eunchae Jung, Soji Arai, Junwoo Han, and Sungkyu Kim.

The season will be directed by Leanne Welham, Arvin Chen, and Sang-il Lee.

Showrunner Hugh told IndieWire that the...

Feature debut of Arvin Chen, “Au Revoir Taipei” may have very little to do with anything France, but still won the Netpac Award at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival, among a number of other awards around the world, while also being a commercial success in Taiwan.

Follow our tribute to Taiwanese by clicking on the image below

Kai's girlfriend has just left for Paris, supposedly to wait for him there, while he spends his days working in his parent's tavern during the days and in a bookstore learning French during the night. While there, Susie, a feisty girl who works in the shop, takes an interest in him, although he doesn't seem to have the slightest clue. When his girlfriend ditches him on the phone though, Kai decides to travel to France, and to do so, asks for money from a local loan shark who frequents his parent's restaurant,...

I.E. Entertainment, the global distribution outfit founded and run by industry veterans Indra and Erlina Suharjono, has come on board to handle worldwide sales for Cathay Film Company’s “Coolie.”

The TV miniseries is inspired by the little-known history of enslaved Chinese ‘coolies’ in Cuba in the 1860s. It begins shooting this week in the Dominican Republic and will also include locations in Panama.

I.E. Entertainment will introduce “Coolie” to buyers for the first time at the Asia Television Forum & Market (Atf), which runs this week in Singapore.

The eight-episode English and Chinese language drama series is a global production from Meileen Choo’s Singapore-based Cathay Film Company and features a multinational ensemble cast from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cuba and Colombia.

Arvin Chen is directing. In-Ah Lee (“Land of Plenty,” “Don’t Come Knockin’” “The Way I Spent the End of the World”) is the series’ executive producer. Ed Buhr...

Arvin Chen is to direct “Coolie,” a limited series featuring enslaved Chinese workers in 19th century Cuba.

The eight-part series is the first to emerge from Cathay Film Company, a recent production venture launched by Singapore-based industry veteran Meileen Choo.

In the mid-1800s, when the African slave trade was outlawed throughout the Americas, plantation owners in Cuba instead began trafficking indentured servants from China and other parts of Asia. These, so-called coolies were often treated as slaves, but some integrated into Cuban society and joined the country’s fight for independence from Spain. The provided a low-cost workforce for farms, restaurants, factories and were instrumental in setting up Chinatowns across the world.

With Hong Kong actor Louise Wong in the lead role as a young woman who departs from southern China to marry a political exile working on a sugarcane plantation in Cuba, the narrative sees her join forces...

“Love in Taipei,” the Paramount+ original movie based on Abigail Hing Wen’s book “Loveboat, Taipei,” ends with main character Ever Wong (Ashley Liao) making several big decisions, but it also marks a significant departure from where Wen’s book concludes.

Sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taiwan for the summer, Ever gets in better touch with her heritage while embarking on her own journey of self-discovery. As she struggles through Mandarin calligraphy classes, Ever blossoms socially with the help of Sophie Ha (Chelsea Zhang), and she further solidifies her desire to pursue dancing as her dream career, not the practical path of medical school that her parents have coached her into since they came to the United States from Taiwan. She also meets two very different young men who relate to her obstacles in various ways — Boy Wonder Rick Woo (Ross Butler) and troublemaker Xavier...

Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including red carpets for the MPTF NextGen Summer Party, Love in Taipei and Wif’s Valley Girl screening.

MPTF NextGen Summer Party

Darren Criss, Colman Domingo, Ben Barnes, Camilla Belle, Yvette Nicole Brown, Cristo Fernández, Max Greenfield, Olivia Holt, Michael Rooker, Reid Scott and Harry Shum Jr. were among the stars who attended the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s NextGen Summer Party on Sunday.

Yvette Nicole Brown, Colman Domingo and Max Greenfield Olivia Holt and Bailee Madison Michael Rooker, Cristo Fernandez, Paloma Cinco and Yvette Nicole Brown

Love in Taipei premiere

Paramount+ hosted a special premiere screening for it’s new film on Tuesday in Los Angeles, with support from director Arvin Chen, author/executive producer Abigail Hing Wen and producer Matt Kaplan.

Arvin Chen and Abigail Hing Wen Matt...

Love in Taipei is a teen romantic comedy film directed by Arvin Chen from a screenplay by Mackenzie Dohr and Charlie Oh. The film is based on the New York Times’ Best-Selling Novel Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen and it follows an American teenager Ever Wong as she is surprised by her parents with a trip to Taipei, Taiwan for a cultural immersion program. For Ever this trip becomes a chance to make friends, make some mistakes, and fall in love. Love in Taipei stars Ashley Liao, Ross Butler, Chelsea Zhang, and Nico Hiraga.

So, let’s see what we know about Love in Taipei including its cast, when is it coming out, what is it about, and most importantly where can you watch it.

Love in Taipei – When Did it Come Out? Credit – Paramount+

Love in Taipei came out exclusively on Paramount+ on August 10, 2023.

Love in Taipei – How to Watch It?...

Love in Taipei is a teen romantic comedy film directed by Arvin Chen from a screenplay by Mackenzie Dohr and Charlie Oh. The film follows an American teenager Ever Wong as she is surprised by her parents with a trip to Taipei, Taiwan for a cultural immersion program. For Ever this trip becomes a chance to make friends, make some mistakes, and fall in love. Love in Taipei stars Ashley Liao, Ross Butler, Chelsea Zhang, and Nico Hiraga. So, if you loved Love in Taipei here are some similar movies and shows you could watch next.

To All the Boys: Always and Forever (Netflix) Credit: Netflix

Synopsis: As Lara Jean Covey prepares for the end of high school and the start of adulthood, a pair of life-changing trips lead her to reimagine what life with her family, friends, and Peter will look like after graduation.

Xo, Kitty (Netflix) Credit – Netflix...

Abigail Hing Wen’s novel “Loveboat Taipei” is coming to the small screen with the help of director Arvin Chen. Wen executive produced the film, which landed on Paramount+ Aug. 10. In “Love in Taipei,” Ever Wong (Ashley Liao) finds herself shipped off to a cultural immersion program full of Mandarin calligraphy classes, fan dance and bo staff lessons and more to learn about her Taiwanese roots. Her parents send her to the program, known more commonly as Loveboat, the summer before she is supposed to attend medical school.

While she doesn’t expect this change in plans, Ever still hopes to film her audition for a dance company out of the way of her parents discovering, since they don’t realize her true passion lies in dance. Apart from the two career paths, dreams and languages Ever learns to navigate at Loveboat, she also meets two very different boys — Rick...

While “Love in Taipei” promises transportive and transformative escapades with its adaptation of Abigail Hing Wen’s novel “Loveboat, Taipei,” the story’s core strengths are undervalued in the translation from book to screen. This Paramount Plus feature, centered on a young woman embarking on a life-changing overseas journey, only pays lip service to the struggle of a first-generation Asian-American caught between two worlds. Instead, it places more emphasis on her romantic entanglements with two young men who all too often motivate her foundational change. Director Arvin Chen cleverly brings us into her psyche through whimsical aesthetic techniques and fantastical asides, but doesn’t make her emotions palpable enough to touch our hearts.

Eighteen-year-old Ever Wong (Ashley Liao) has always felt like an outsider in her tiny suburban town of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, being one of only three Asian-American students in her predominantly white school. Her parents (Jacko Chiang and...

Ashley Liao (the upcoming The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) stars in Love in Taipei, a coming of age comedy based on the bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen. Paramount+’s first trailer for the young adult film introduces the key players, including Liao’s Ever Wong who discovers her educational trip to Taipei is also a chance to spread her wings and have a little fun.

The cast includes Ross Butler (To All The Boys franchise) as Rick Woo, a prominent sports and scholastic prodigy; Nico Hiraga (Booksmart) as Xavier Yeh, a free-spirited artist and heir to an international tech empire; Chelsea Zhang (Titans) as Ever’s friend Sophie, whom she meets at Loveboat; and Cindy Cheung (13 Reasons Why) as Ever’s Aunt Shu.

Charlie Oh and Mackenzie Dohr adapted Abigail Hing Wen’s novel, with Hing Wen serving as an executive producer.

Paramount+ today released the official trailer and key art for the young adult film “Love in Taipei,” based on the New York Times’ best-selling novel “Loveboat, Taipei” by Abigail Hing Wen.

The film stars Ashley Liao as Ever Wong, whose parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program over the summer. The novel also follows Ever’s adventures at the program, inspired by an actual program attended by thousands of Chinese and Taiwanese diaspora youth. In addition to self-discovery and exploring identity, she also embarks on a journey of friendship and romance.

Instead of homework and history lessons, she finds a summer-long, free-for-all the locals and other students call “Loveboat.” She meets Sophie Ha (Chelsea Zhang) on the way to the program, where she finds herself caught in a love triangle between Rick Woo (Ross Butler) and Xavier Yeh (Nico Hiraga), two very different boys...

“Love in Taipei,” the film adaptation of Abigail Hing Wen’s New York Times bestseller “Loveboat, Taipei,” has been acquired by Paramount+ and will premiere in the U.S. this summer, the streamer announced Monday. An official release date has not yet been set.

In the novel, a young American woman is sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taipei – inspired by an actual program attended by thousands of Chinese and Taiwanese diaspora youth – where she begins a new journey of self-discovery and romance. The “Loveboat” isn’t an actual ship, and is not to be confused with the classic TV series “The Love Boat.”

Ashley Liao (“Fresh Off the Boat”) plays Ever Wong, whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program. Ever is surprised to discover that she hasn’t signed up for homework and history lessons,...

Exclusive: Paramount+ on Monday announced their acquisition of the YA romance Love in Taipei, based on the New York Times bestselling novel of the latter name by Abigail Hing Wen.

The film directed by Arvin Chen (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?), which stars Ashley Liao (Fresh Off the Boat), Ross Butler (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) and Nico Hiraga (Booksmart), will premiere this summer exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada, on a date that has not been disclosed, also coming to the service in the UK, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and South Korea. Paramount Global Content Distribution will distribute the film, with additional territories to be announced.

Love in Taipei tells the story of the young American Ever Wong (Liao), whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program.

Taipei- and Hong Kong-based sales agency Distribution Workshop heads to Berlin with a rich slate that includes one of the mainland Chinese hits from the recent Lunar New Year season and an anticipated supernatural horror film from Taiwan. The company will present to buyers in person at Berlin’s European Film Market next week.

Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and pop star turned actor Wang Yibo, Huang Lei and Zhou Xun, “Hidden Blade” is a lusciously presented espionage story that runs from the 1920s to the period Second Sino-Chinese War. It is directed by Cheng Er, who previously directed 2017’s “The Wasted Times.”

(Wang and Zhou also both appear in “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” a Chinese short film by Zhang Dalei that plays in next week’s Berlin short film competition.)

As nationalist, Communist and Japanese factions fan out across China and Japanese-occupied Manchuria, the narrative sees espionage agencies operating behind enemy lines,...

Leading Taiwan actor Kai Ko was seriously injured by a camera-carrying drone while filming Mandarin-language fantasy series “Agent From Above.” The show is set to play on Netflix.

The incident happened on Dec. 27, 2022, but was first reported this week by Taiwan’s United Daily News. It has subsequently been confirmed by the producers. They told Variety that production has resumed, but said that Ko (aka Ko Chen-tung) has not yet returned to work.

Ko’s manager told Taiwan media that the star had suffered “serious disfigurement” after he was hit in the face, close to his cheekbone. The manager said that he required 20-30 stitches.

The fantasy drama is produced by Singapore’s mm2 Asia and Taiwan’s Good Films Production.

“Kai Ko was involved in a drone accident during the production of ‘Agent From Above’ on 27 December 2022. The shoot was operating within standard safety guidelines. The drone’s propeller...

London East Asia Film Festival (Leaff) is back with a diverse programme from East and Southeast Asia, including international and UK premieres. Seven strands runs throughout the festival: Official Selection, Competition, Documentary Competition, Actor Focus: Lee Jung-Jae, Filmmaker Focus: Cinematographer Mark Lee, Classics Restored and Halloween Horror Special.

The festival screenings and events will take place at five venues around London. Following the Opening Gala at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on 19th October, Leaff will continue for 11 days at Odeon Luxe West End, the Cinema at Selfridges, Chiswick Cinema and the Cinema Museum in London! Squid Game star, Lee Jung-Jae will be attending Leaff for the Opening Gala screening of “Hunt”.

Leaff aims to champion the growing collaboration in East Asian filmmaking with a philosophy that marks a shift in the cinematic landscape of East Asia, and moves away from cultural and cinematic borders. The Festival vision is to bring a much wider,...

The 20th edition of the festival will return as a full in-person event in July.

The New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) has unveiled the full line-up for its 20th edition, which will include honorary awards for Japanese horror director Takashi Shimizu, acclaimed Japanese actor Hiroshi Abe and South Korean rising star Kim Hye-yoon.

This year will mark Nyaff’s fully-fledged return to the big screen, following a virtual 2020 edition and a hybrid event in 2021. More than 60 new and classic titles from Asia, including six world premieres, will be presented as in-person screenings at Film at Lincoln Center (Flc) and the Asia Society,...

For the first time in two years, the New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) will have a full return to big-screen viewing as they celebrate their 20th Anniversary!

Following a fully virtual 2020 edition and a hybrid 2021 edition, Nyaff is delighted to present this year’s 60+ new and classic titles fully in person at Film at Lincoln Center and the Asia Society, from July 15 to July 31. Mark your calendars now to celebrate this major cinematic anniversary in July!

We’ll be announcing more titles and exciting guests in coming weeks, but here are some initial highlights to look out for:

Thailand Fast & Feel Love © 2022 Gdh 559 Co.,Ltd.

The 20th Anniversary edition of Nyaff will kick off with the international premiere of the propulsively-paced Thai romantic comedy Fast & Feel Love, directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and starring Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund, who will be honored on stage with the Screen International Rising Star Award.

The line-up includes Korean thriller ‘Confession’ and Hong Kong comedy ‘Table For Six’.

The New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) has unveiled the first films for its 20th edition, including Yoon Jong-seok’s Korean mystery thriller Confession, Sunny Chan’s Hong Kong comedy Table For Six, Arvin Chen’s Taiwanese romantic drama Mama Boy and Kazuya Shiraishi’s Japanese serial-killer thriller Lesson In Murder, all of which are North American premieres.

This year will mark Nyaff’s full return to the big screen, following a virtual 2020 edition and a hybrid 2021 edition. More than 60 new and classic titles from Asia will...

Chow Yun Fat’s ‘One More Chance’ to be relaunched at the market.

Taiwan’s Distribution Workshop is set to introduce Cannes buyers to Philip Shih’s horror Antikalpa and relaunch Chow Yun-fat drama One More Chance.

Antikalpa is a Taiwanese supernatural horror that centres on a group of high school students who are lured into practicing mysterious rituals with demonic results. Adapted from a bestselling novel by Ling Jing, the film is set for a November release.

The cast includes Huang Guan-Zhi (TV series Detention), Regina Lei (The Sadness) and Tseng Wan-Ting (Gatao - The Last Stray). It marks...

A gentle tale of growing pains and self-discovery, “Mama Boy”, Arvin Chen’s third feature film, presents itself as a comedy, with a lurid poster and an odd-looking protagonist but it turns out to be more than the sum of its parts.

“Mama Boy” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

Xiao-hong (Kai Ko) is the classic mama boy, a cocooned young man of almost 30 years of age, with an overprotective mother, but to call him a spoiled boy would sound too derogatory as he is a sweet human being, almost a child in a man’s body, struggling in relating with fellow humans, especially girls. “A bit shy”, his mum would say. “Not normal”, her bitter co-worker would reply. Xiao-hong works with his pesky cousin in a fish and aquarium store; wearing the shop bright orange polo shirt, he looks like a giant goldfish, big eyes wide open and silent mouth.

The Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine has set Chinese-Italian co-production “The Italian Recipe” as the opening title of a revived, largely in-person event.

The film, directed by Hou Zuxin, sees an unexpected series of events bring together a Chinese reality TV show contestant and a woman already resident in Italy. The collision of personalities, connections and chemistry between stars Liu Xun and Yao Huang resemble those of “Roman Holiday,” festival organizers suggest. The film has its world premier on Friday next week, launching a nine-day event that runs until April 22-30.

The 2022 selection runs to 72 titles, selected from over 400 submissions, numbers that organizers say, is proof that Asian filmmaking was not halted by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The fear, not unreasonable, given all the halted productions, dismantled sets and release dates announced and then postponed for months, that there wouldn’t be many films to choose from was...

Lionsgate is set to handle the global sales of “Loveboat, Taipei” a U.S.-Taiwanese YA romance film that started production in Taiwan shortly before Christmas.

The picture is based on a best-selling novel by Abigail Hing Wen in which a young American woman is sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taipei. The trip turns into a summer of romance and she has to choose between the attention of two attractive, but significantly different, young men and her true passion of dancing.

“Lionsgate is handling all global sales on the film though it’s too early to discuss specific territories,” a company spokesman told Variety in an emailed statement.

With its blend of Asian-American characters, romantic decisions and dance moves, the story has been pitched as a mix of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “La La Land.”

Taiwanese-American director Arvin Chen (“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow...

Exclusive: Cindy Cheung will star alongside Ashley Liao, Ross Butler, Nico Haraga and Chelsea Zhang in Loveboat, Taipei, a YA romance, which is currently in production in Taipei.

The film directed by Arvin Chen (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?) is based on Abigail Hing Wen’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name, which HarperCollins imprint HarperTeen published in January of 2020. Wen drew on her experiences as a teen to tell the story of Ever Wong (Liao), whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program. Ever is surprised to discover that she hasn’t signed up for homework and history lessons, but instead for a summer-long free-for-all the locals and other students call “Loveboat.” It quickly lives up to its name when Ever finds herself trying not to fall for two attractive,...

Image Source: Getty / Jc Olivera

A new summer love story is already in the works, and Ross Butler is here to make us sigh longingly as we patiently wait for it to hit our screens. On Nov. 11, the To All the Boys: P.S I Still Love You star announced that he would be taking on his first role as executive producer with a movie adaptation of Abigail Hing Wen's New York Times Bestselling novel Loveboat, Taipei, directed by Arvin Chen.

"Here we go! Very excited to announce my next project that also happens to be my first venture into producing!" he wrote in an Instagram post. "I also [cannot] wait for you to meet the charismatic @ashleyjliao who I will be playing opposite in this hilarious romantic adventure. In the end, what drives me the most is knowing that we are all still here working hard to unearth and redefine the Asian American identity.

Exclusive: Ashley Liao and Ross Butler (Netflix’s To All The Boys franchise, Shazam!) have signed on to star in Loveboat, Taipei, a romance film from Ace Entertainment and 1 Productions Film Co., which will enter production in Taipei later this month.

The film from director Arvin Chen (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?) is based on Abigail Hing Wen’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name. It centers on Ever Wong (Liao), whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program. Ever is surprised to discover that she hasn’t signed up for homework and history lessons, but instead for a summer-long free-for-all the locals and other students call “Loveboat.” It quickly lives up to its name when Ever finds herself trying not to fall for two attractive, but wildly...

Film scholar and former director of Taiwan’s Film Archive Huang Jianye is set to chair the jury for the 58th iteration of the Taipei-based Golden Horse Awards, the festival said Wednesday.

The awards are now heading into the third year without participants from China after a controversial awards speech in 2018 included mentions of Taiwanese independence. The comments led Beijing to order its citizens to make a hasty retreat that year and impose a ban on attending what had once been known as the Oscars of Asia.

Without China’s presence, the Golden Horse Awards have shrunk in scope, but are still soldiering on. Festival screenings are set to begin Nov. 11 ahead of the awards ceremony on Nov. 27 in Taipei.

Joining Huang on the jury this year will be Japanese producer Osaka Fumiko, a frequent collaborator of Hou Hsiao-hsien and Jia Zhangke; producer Lee Lieh; director Chen Yu-Hsun (“My Missing Valentine...

Kai Ko and Vivian Hsu star in romantic drama, which starts shooting later this month in Taipei.

Taipei-based Distribution Workshop has picked up international rights to Taiwanese-American filmmaker Arvin Chen’s latest film Mama Boy.

The romantic drama stars Kai Ko (You Are The Apple Of My Eye) as a shy young man who finds himself attracted to a single mother, played by Vivian Hsu (Little Big Women), at a sex hotel. Filming will start at the end of March in Taipei, with a release targeted for November this year.

The key crew include producer Aileen Li, whose credits include...

Demi Lovato is returning to scripted television in a food issues comedy that is in the works at NBC.

Lovato, who got her break in the Disney Channel’s Camp Rock franchise and starred in Sonny with a Chance, is to star in and exec produce Hungry, which has received a put pilot commitment from NBC.

The single-camera comedy is being written and exec produced by Will & Grace writer and Hot In Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin. It comes from Hazy Mills and Sb Projects in association with Universal Television.

Hungry follows a group of friends who belong to a food issues group help each other as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.

Lovato, herself, appeared in a guest role in the final season of Will & Grace, her first role since guest starring on Glee in 2013. The singer,...

The 19th New York Asian Film Festival (Nyaff) has announced the names of the recipients of its Rising Star Award and Action Cinema Award, as well as the international jury members who will select the winner of the Nyaff “Uncaged” Competition Award during the upcoming virtual edition, running from August 28-September 12 on the Smart Cinema USA app. Tickets for this year’s special virtual edition go on sale August 23.

The 2020 Screen International Rising Star Award goes to South Korean actress Lee Joo-young for Baseball Girl, making its international premiere and screening throughout the festival. The award recognizes her daring choice of roles across her already diverse body of work, as well as her fierce commitment to every performance, whether in indie cinema, where she already stands as a star, or the TV drama scene. These notable traits are exemplified by her tour-de-force turn as the eponymous underdog female athlete in Baseball Girl.

Amazon Studios has put in development The Undesirables, a half-hour comedy series that hails from Ken Cheng and Arvin Chen, who will write and executive produce the project that hails from from Crab Club Inc. and Sb Projects.

The deal marks the first scripted series project to stem from Amazon Studios’ first-look deal with Sb Projects, Scooter Braun’s management/production company whose recent TV credits include FX Networks’ hit Dave and YouTube’s docuseries Justin Bieber: Seasons.

Created by Cheng and Chen, whose credits together include Imagine Entertainment’s upcoming pic Ellie In Wonderland, The Undesirables is a half-hour comedy set in a near-future Los Angeles that explores the unexpected relationships that form when a group of outcasts are forced to bond under unusual circumstances.

Executive producers also include Sb Projects’ Braun, Scott Manson and James Shin and Crab Club’s Jessica Gao and Jimmy O. Yang.

Cheng,...

Amazon is developing a half-hour comedy series with Crab Club Inc. and Sb Projects.

The series is titled “The Undesirables.” It is set in a near-future Los Angeles that explores the unexpected relationships that form when a group of outcasts are forced to bond under unusual circumstances.

Ken Cheng of Crab Club and Arvin Chen will write and executive produce. Jessica Gao and Jimmy O. Yang of Crab Club will executive produce along with Scooter Braun, Scott Manson, and James Shin for Sb Projects. The show is the first to be set up under Sb Projects’ first-look deal with Amazon.

Cheng’s past TV credits include shows like “Wilfred,” “Betas,” and “Sin City Saints.” He is also currently writing the feature “Easter Sunday” that he will executive produce along with Yang and Gao. Chen is known for writing and directing the feature “Au Revoir Taipei.” His other features include “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?...

Stone, the Taiwanese performer who has gone from being the guitarist in Mayday to a promising acting career, drew crowds on Friday, the first full day of the Singapore International Film Festival.

Speaking at Projector, the indie theater inside the historical Golden Mile building, some two hundred fans gathered to hear the artist share career experiences and artistic insights.

Films that featured Stone include: Arvin Chen’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”; Tom Lin Shu-yu’s “Zinnia Flower”; and Ho Wi Ding’s “City of Last Things.”

Despite these successes, Stone said that expressing himself through music is more comfortable than acting.

“Music is easier for me. One piece of music sticks to one [emotional] element: sadness, friendship, love, encouragement, courage, etc. It is easy to put such emotions in a melody, rhythm or a pattern when writing songs. And one can relate to the emotions instantly. It’s musical power.

Ivanhoe Pictures, which produced “Crazy Rich Asians,” has partnered with Jeffrey Sharp and Sharp Independent Pictures to finance and co-produce “The Baccarat Queen” about Chinese gambler Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun.

The project is inspired by Michael Kaplan’s article “The Baccarat Machine,” published in Cigar Aficionado, about Sun amassing millions of dollars of winnings by teaming with “King of Poker” Phil Ivey and using a technique known as edge sorting — recognizing the use of playing cards in which the edges on either side are unevenly cut by fractions of an inch.

Ivanhoe plans to develop a predominately English-language film featuring Asian characters. Ivanhoe and Sharp will produce.

“‘The Baccarat Queen’ is a truly captivating story that will feature a diverse international cast, a goal that Ivanhoe continues to pursue as global storytellers,” Ivanhoe Pictures president John Penotti said. “We are thrilled to partner with Sharp as we tell this exciting,...

Ivanhoe Pictures, a division of Sk Global and the production company behind Crazy Rich Asians, has teamed with Jeffrey Sharp of Sharp Independent Pictures to produce The Baccarat Queen (working title), a film about Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun, the skilled Baccarat player who is considered the most successful female gambler in modern history.

Based on Michael Kaplan’s Cigar Aficionado article, The Baccarat Machine (which is also Sun’s nickname), the predominately English-language film will feature Asian characters for the global market.

The film will tell the true story of Sun, a young Chinese woman who turns a painstakingly developed talent and obsession for payback into one of the most ingenious legal gambling runs ever documented. Over the course of less than a year playing baccarat in major casinos around the world, Sun amasses winnings in the 10s of millions of dollars. With major casinos conspiring to bar her from their properties,...

The list includes films from Liu Jian, E J-yong and Arvin Chen.

Source: The Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum

Haf meeting

The Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf) has announced this year’s line-up of 25 projects, which includes new titles from Liu Jian, E J-yong and Arvin Chen.

Chinese filmmaker Liu Jian, whose Have A Nice Day premiered in competition at the Berlinale last year, is attending Haf with his third animated feature, Art College, revolving around two art students in the 1990s.

Critically-acclaimed Korean director E J-yong (Bacchus Lady) is bringing The Big Picture, about a lawyer who kills a man and steals his identity, while Taiwan’s Arvin Chen (Au Revoir Taipei) will present Naïve Melody about an introverted young man who falls into a relationship with a brothel’s mama-san.

The line-up also includes new projects from China’s Emily Tang, Japan’s Tomina Tetsuya and three Indonesian filmmakers – Loeloe Hendra, Edwin and [link...

Korean director E J-yong, Taiwanese helmer Arvin Chen and Chinese animation filmmaker Liu Jian will headline the 16th Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf), which is set to be held March 19-21.

E, the critically acclaimed director behind Bacchus Lady (2016), Actresses (2009) and Scandal (2003), will present new project The Big Picture at the film investment and business networking platform. The project revolves around the accidental killing of a man and his identity stolen by the killer.

Chen, who won the Asian Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival with his directorial debut Au Revoir Taipei (2010), will...

This article was produced as part of the Locarno Critics Academy, a workshop for aspiring journalists at the Locarno Film Festival, a collaboration between the Locarno Film Festival, IndieWire and the Film Society of Lincoln Center with the support of Film Comment and the Swiss Alliance of Film Journalists. The following interview, conducted by a member of the Critics Academy, focuses on a participant in the affiliated Filmmakers Academy program at the festival.

With no prior film education, filmmaker Wei Liang Chiang relocated to Taiwan to participate in the sixth Golden Horse Film Academy under the mentorship of filmmakers Hou Hsiao-hsien and Arvin Chen. Like his cinematic mentors, Chiang’s work, varying from realist portraits to melodramas, captures the intersection of the personal and political with patience and warmth.

His 2015 film, “Anchorage Prohibited,” won the Audi Short Film Award at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Comprised of long takes and minimal dialogue,...

Exclusive: Taiwan-based sales and production company Double Edge Entertainment has sold The Kids to Japan’s Digital Works Entertainment.

The film, which won a Netpac award at the Hawaii festival last year, is about a teenager who drops out of school when his girlfriend becomes pregnant.

Produced by Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow director Arvin Chen, it is the directorial debut of Sunny Yu and stars rising actors Wu Chien-Ho and Wen Chen-Ling.

Formerly known as Digital Zero Inc, Digital Works Entertainment is a Japanese company specialising in computer graphics and post production.

South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), Asia’s largest genre film fest, has announced 21 titles from 12 countries to be presented during the Network of Asian Fantastic Films (Naff) genre film project market.

Dubbed It Project, the market has in past years showcased films such as Arvin Chen’s Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? and Lisa Takeba’s Haruko’s Paranormal Laboratory, which have screened at festivals including Tribeca, Berlin and Rotterdam.

Naff will run July 19-22 during BiFan, which will run July 16-26. Previously known as PiFan, the fest changed its name earlier this year in belated accordance with the current system of Romanizing Korean names. Thus it now uses ‘Bucheon’ instead of ‘Puchon’ to indicate the pronunciation of the name of the satellite city of Seoul that hosts this fest.

Aside from arranging business meetings, Naff will hand out post-production awards and a total of KW66m ($59,300) in cash prizes.

BiFan said this...