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Wong Kar Wai’s 30-part television epic “Blossoms Shanghai” will stream on the Criterion Channel later this year, marking the U.S. debut of the auteur’s first-ever series. The North American release extends the global rollout of the project, which previously secured distribution via Mubi across Europe, Latin America, India and Turkey.

The series, adapted from Jin Yucheng’s award-winning 2013 novel, follows the rise of Ah Bao – described as the “Jay Gatsby of Shanghai” – as he navigates the city’s roaring 1990s economic boom. Blending sprawling character arcs with Wong’s signature visual elegance, the show clocked in at nearly 25 hours of screen time when it aired in China in late 2023.

“Blossoms Shanghai” premiered on Tencent Video and CCTV-8, where it became a major ratings and streaming success.

“I am thrilled to continue my long-standing relationship with Criterion with the North American debut of my first series,” Wong said in a statement.

Following a highly successful run in China, where it topped TV ratings and became the most-streamed TV series throughout the country, Wong Kar Wai’s 1990s-set drama “Blossoms Shanghai” will stream exclusively in North America on The Criterion Channel. Comprising 30 episodes, the show tracks the rise of a financial titan whose wealth comes in the wake of Shanghai opening its own stock exchange.

Created and directed by Wong, the filmmaker said of the project in a statement, “I am thrilled to continue my long-standing relationship with Criterion with the North American debut of my first series on the Criterion Channel. The series captures the vitality of Shanghai’s roaring 90s, revealing universal human truths about desire and destiny. We hope the series provides insight into the pivotal moment of China’s reinvention.”

Like many of Wong’s works, “Blossoms Shanghai” contains strong romantic elements amid real-life historical foundations. It was...

Update: The Criterion Channel will premiere Blossoms Shanghai, created and directed by Wong Kar Wai, later this year in North America. Wong commented, “I am thrilled to continue my long-standing relationship with Criterion with the North American debut of my first series on the Criterion Channel. The series captures the vitality of Shanghai’s roaring ’90s, revealing universal human truths about desire and destiny. We hope the series provides insight into the pivotal moment of China’s reinvention.” See video below.

Wong Kar-wai’s long-gestating Blossoms Shanghai first began airing in China way back in late 2023. After three years of filming, the series comprised 30 episodes of around 50 minutes each, but since its premiere it has been radio silence regarding any release outside its native country. Finally, a year-and-a-half later, distribution news has arrived.

Mubi has now acquired the rights to release the series in Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France,...

Exclusive: Music to arthouse film lovers’ ears: Wong Kar Wai’s epic drama series Blossoms Shanghai is finally getting an international release, via Mubi.

Mubi will release the 30-part drama series in Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Turkey and India. Dates haven’t been set yet. There’s still no word on a UK or U.S. release but we hear something could be in the works.

Blossoms Shanghai marks the first ever series for the revered Hong Kong filmmaker, known for acclaimed movies such as Chungking Express, In the Mood for Love and 2046.

Based on the novel Blossoms by Jin Yucheng, Blossoms Shanghai chronicles the ascent of a self-made millionaire Ah Bao, the Jay Gatsby of Shanghai, from the slums to the height of the gilded city. The series explores how Bao personifies the idealism and adventurism that defined the city in the 1990s.

Kang Bo’s Kingdom Of The Insomniacs has picked up the top Busan Award at the Asian Project Market (Apm) in South Korea.

The 27th edition of the Apm wrapped on Tuesday evening (October 8) after four days, taking place at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) during the Busan International Film Festival (Biff). A total of 30 feature film projects from across Asia met with potential finance, co-production partners and international distributors.

Scoll down for full list of winners

Chinese fantasy drama Kingdom Of The Insomniacs marks Kang Bo’s second narrative feature and follows mushroom farmers plagued with insomnia and an aging disease.

Kingdom Of The Insomniacs, directed by China’s Kang Bo, won the Busan Award at the close of this year’s Asian Project Market (Apm) at Busan International Film Festival.

Produced by Xie Meng, the project follows a group of mushroom farmers plagued with insomnia and an aging disease. After his father dies, a young member of the community tries to extricate himself from this wicked kingdom. Kang Bo is a documentary filmmaker whose debut narrative feature Family At Large, starring Hu Ge, is currently in post-production.

Hum, from US-Philippines filmmaker Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, was the only project to win multiple prizes – picking up the Artekino International Award and the Sorfond Award. Produced by Hannah Schierbeek and Alemberg Ang, the project tells the story of a rodeo couple who are haunted when mysterious ecological changes threaten to destroy the stadium they live in.

This year’s Apm introduced two...

After three days of one-on-one meetings within the Asian Project Market, winners were announced at a ceremony in Busan, South Korea, on Tuesday evening.

The project market is held as part of the Asian Contents & Film Market, which is closely aligned with the Busan International Film Festival. Some 30 film projects were pitched by their directors and producers, seeking finance, co-production partners and international distribution. Market organizers reported that they facilitated 706 meetings.

“Kingdom of the Insomniacs” was the winner of the prestigious Busan Award. “Hum” from The Philippines was the only project to win multiple prizes.

Singapore-based producer Tan Si En, who previously produced Venice award winner “Don’t Cry Butterfly,” Sundance award winner “Pop Aye” and Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season,” notably picked up prizes for both her Apm entries, “Levitating” and “Crocodile Rock.”

“Kingdom of the Insomniacs” is a drama thriller set in an old forest farm, “where mushroom farmers...

The Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards, co-hosted by the Ministry of Science and Ict and Busan Metropolitan City, and co-organized by the Busan International Film Festival and the National It Industry Promotion Agency, opened grandly with actors Kang Ki-young and Tiffany Young as hosts, and performances by Nerd Connection and Tri.Be added to the festive atmosphere.

Blossoms Shanghai

First, in the Best Creative category, which recognizes works that contribute to the diversification of content through innovative ideas and fresh formats, director Wong Kar-wai’s first feature series Blossoms Shanghai was honored with the award. Hu Ge, the lead actor of Blossoms Shanghai, also won Best Lead Actor (Male), making the series a double winner. Imperfect Us, the most nominated work this year, earned two awards: Ariel Lin for Best Lead Actor (Female) and Tanya Chua’s “Learn to Live Again” for Best Original Song, a newly introduced category. The People’s Choice Award,...

Top prizes at Busan’s Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards today went to Wong Kar-wai’s first feature series Blossoms Shanghai and Coupang Play’s Boyhood.

Blossoms Shanghai won the Best Creative prize and the series’ Hu Ge won Best Lead Actor (Male). Coupang Play’s Boyhood won Best Ott Original.

Best Director went to Indonesian co-directors Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah for Cigarette Girl.

Imperfect Us, the most nominated work at this year’s awards, received two prizes: Best Lead Actor (Female) for Ariel Lin and Best Original Song for Tanya Chua’s “Learn to Live Again.”

The newly-introduced People’s Choice Award went to Byeon Woo-seok and Kim Hyeyoon from Lovely Runner after receiving approximately 600,000 votes from global viewers via Kinolights.

Netflix’s Mask Girl won Best Supporting Actor awards for both Ahn Jae-hong and Yeom Hye-ran.

The Best Writer honors were awarded to Ju Hwa-mi for The Atypical Family,...

Chinese drama series Blossoms Shanghai scooped two top prizes at the Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards in Busan tonight (October 6).

The series, which marks the first foray into TV for auteur director Wong Kar-wai, won the best creative award for “the most outstanding work” as well as the best lead actor (male) prize for Hu Ge, who plays a self-made millionaire in 1990s Shanghai. The series was released on China’s Tencent Video streaming platform.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Further top prizes went to Coupang Play’s South Korean series Boyhood, which won best Ott original,...

Chinese drama series Blossoms Shanghai scooped two top prizes at the Asia Contents Awards & Global Ott Awards in Busan tonight (October 6).

The series, which marks the first foray into TV for auteur director Wong Kar-wai, won the best creative award for “the most outstanding work” as well as the best lead actor (male) prize for Hu Ge, who plays a self-made millionaire in 1990s Shanghai. The series was released on China’s Tencent Video streaming platform.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Further top prizes went to Coupang Play’s South Korean series Boyhood, which won best Ott original,...

Wong Kar-wai’s series debut “Blossoms Shanghai” won two of the top awards at the Busan International Film Festival‘s sixth annual Asia Contents Awards and Global Ott (streaming) Awards on Sunday. The Tencent Video Chinese series won best creative and best male lead actor for Hu Ge.

Kamila Andini and Ifa Isfansyah won best director for Indonesian Netflix series “Cigarette Girl.” The best female lead actor award went to Ariel Lin for Pts Taiwan’s “Imperfect Us.”

Coupang Play’s Korean show “Boyhood” won best Ott original. Salem Entertainment’s “1286” from Kazakhstan won the best Asian contents award.

Ahn Jaehong and Yeom Hye-ran won the male and female supporting actor awards respectively for Netflix’s Korean show “Mask Girl.” The best male acting newcomer award was shared by Chae Jong-heop for TBS Television’s Japanese show “Eye Love You” and Kim Yo-han for Netflix’s Korean series “A Killer Paradox.

Streaming Sensations

The Busan International Film Festival‘s sixth annual Asia Contents Awards and Global Ott Awards has revealed its nominees across 11 competitive categories.

Pts Taiwan’s “Imperfect Us” leads with five nominations, followed by Indonesian Netflix series “Cigarette Girl” with four. Wong Kar-wai‘s series debut “Blossoms Shanghai” (Tencent Video) and Korea’s “A Killer Paradox” (Netflix) each have three nods. Other multiple nominees include Korea’s “Daily Dose of Sunshine” (Netflix) and “Lovely Runner” (Cj Enm Studios/Bon Factory) and Thai Prime Video series “Enigma” (Gmmtv).

The best lead actor (male) category sees Hu Ge (“Blossoms Shanghai”), Yim Si-wan (“Boyhood”), Choi Woo-shik (“A Killer Paradox”), Wu Kang Ren (“Living”), Cho Jin-woong (“No way Out: The Roulette”) and Sakai Masato (“Vivant”) competing for the award.

For best lead actor (female), nominees include Dian Sastrowardoyo (“Cigarette Girl”), Park Bo-young (“Daily Dose Of Sunshine”), Nikaido Fumi (“Eye Love You”), Ariel Lin...

Leading Chinese film studio, Alibaba Pictures has announced a slate of seven tentpole movies that it hopes will reinvigorate the mainland China box office.

The titles straddle martial arts, drama, history, sci-fi and comedy and are presented as the first elements of the company’s second five year plan.

They were revealed on Monday at a major event within the ongoing Shanghai International Film Festival and with large numbers of relevant producers, directors and stars in attendance.

“At a time when the film market needs vigor, we need more tentpole productions to keep it working,” said Li Jie, Alibaba Pictures president. In notes provided, the company pointed out that the mainland China box office last year recovered to 85% of its pre-pandemic level and that, so far in 2024, the Chinese box office is the world’s largest.

However, there are worries that recent film industry prosperity may falter. Indeed, 2024 box office...

Amsterdam- and Beijing-based Fortissimo Films is to pre-sell Chinese crime drama “Family at large,” kicking off at the Cannes Market.

The film had previously been announced with sales handled jointly by Fortissimo and Rediance. Now, Fortissimo alone is representing rights worldwide, ex-China.

Directed by Kang Bo, the film is set in the chilly far north of the country. A man, nicknamed “Reindeer,”, is released from prison and becomes involved in a child-abduction case across Northeast China. The man, a pregnant young woman and a mute boy wade into the dense forests of the frozen North in search of an abducted child. The film exposes a family-run human trafficking organization and portrays the underworld of the Northern border of China.

The cast is headed by the in-demand Hu Ge “(“The Wild Goose Lake,” Wong Kar-wai’s TV series “Blossoms”), “Angels Wear White” star Wen Qi (aka Vicky Chen), Yan Ni and Song Jia.

Director of “Oxhide” I and II, Liu Jiayin, had not shot anything since the latter and 2009, since he spent most of his time as an associate professor of screenwriting at the Beijing Film Academy. It seems that his days there have also given him inspiration, as the story of his newest movie, “All Ears” focuses on a mediocre screenwriter.

All Ears is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema

The aforementioned character is Wen Shan, who is struggling to make a living in Beijing, as his script writing, and particularly his inefficiency of creating a captivating, full fledged character are causing significant issues for him, while it becomes obvious that the pace of the megalopolis does not suit him exactly. By chance, he ends up writing eulogies, which he does so in the most meticulous fashion, meeting the families of the deceased, observing them carefully, listening to their...

Blossoms Shanghai, a TV series based on a novel by Jin Yucheng, is set to premiere on Tencent Video on December 27, 2023. The series, directed by Wong Kar-wai, is a departure from his usual romantic and dramatic films, offering a glimpse into the intrigues of 1990s Shanghai. The cast includes notable actors such as Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tiffany Tang, and Xin Zhi Lei, and the trailers indicate that the series will be visually stunning and full of drama.

Blossoms Shanghai is an upcoming Chinese TV series and its release date, cast, story details, and trailers have been revealed in anticipation of the dramatic period piece. Based on the novel of the same name by Jin Yucheng, Blossoms Shanghai is a Chinese production set to premiere on Tencent Video, a Chinese streaming service that made headlines for censoring Fight Club. It's been nearly four years of waiting since Blossoms Shanghai was...

A decade after The Grandmaster, the wait for Wong Kar-wai’s next project has been lengthy, with his long-gestating Blossoms Shanghai first announced nearly five years ago. Now, after three years of filming, the series launches next week on China’s Tencent Video. Comprising 30 episodes of around 50 minutes each, the first four installments premiere on December 27, followed by two episodes per day.

Starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and Xin Zhilei, Wong Kar-wai is credited as producer and director. The story based on Jin Yucheng’s novel and follows Hu Ge’s A Bao, a businessman in Shanghai in two time periods: the 1960s and 1990s. “Blossoms would be the third part of In the Mood for Love and 2046,” Wong previously said. “Jin Yucheng’s landmark novel Blossoms has been the perfect backdrop to visualize and share my love for my birth city,” said Wong Kar-wai. “With the series,...

Yang Xiaopei came to Cannes this year hoping to alter what she sees as a commonly held perception about what Chinese content creators can offer the global market.

Much has already been made about China’s epics, its tales of high romance and action set in ancient worlds amongst stunning costumes. While the country’s creators are sure to still play to those strengths going forward, Yang is part of a growing generation of studio heads who want to also share stories of contemporary China with the world.

“The diversification and caliber of Chinese series are flourishing,” says Yang, the founder and CEO of the Shanghai-based Xixi Pictures. “Outside of historical dramas, contemporary urban series have surged in popularity in China thanks to their relevance and thematic richness.”

China’s role as the “Country of Honor” at the 39th edition of MIPCOM Cannes has turned the spotlight on how the...

Going simply by the awards handed out, the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival delivered on its promise to celebrate the emerging stars of both Asian and Chinese cinema.

There were Golden Goblet wins for established markets Japan and China, and those less known, including Uzbekistan. And there were some scene-stealing emotions shared up on stage at the Shanghai Grand Theater, including the moments when two of China’s biggest stars, Hu Ge and Da Peng, were jointly awarded the festival’s best actor prize and then shared memories of their long-lasting friendship.

Japanese director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri was certainly swept up by the occasion, as China’s major festival event marked a return to normalcy — and a return of international guests — after the travel restrictions and assorted uncertainties of the global pandemic.

Kumakiri’s Yoko picked up the festival’s best feature film, best actress and best screenplay awards in the...

Further winners included Spanish documentary ‘Muyeres’.

Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Japanese drama Yoko scored a hat-trick of prizes at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (Siff) Golden Goblet Awards including best film.

The film’s Japanese lead Rinko Kikuchi was named best actress for her performance of Yoko, a 42-year-old single woman who embarks on long journey to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The film also won the best screenplay prize.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Kikuchi previously received an Oscar nomination for 2006’s Babel and worked with director Kumakiri on Hole In The Sky...

Further winners included Spanish documentary ‘Muyeres’.

Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s Japanese drama Yoko scored a hat-trick of prizes at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s (Siff) Golden Goblet Awards including best film.

The film’s Japanese lead Rinko Kikuchi was named best actress for her performance of Yoko, a 42-year-old single woman who embarks on long journey to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The film also won the best screenplay prize.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Kikuchi previously received an Oscar nomination for 2006’s Babel and worked with director Kumakiri on Hole In The Sky...

Japanese drama feature “Yoko” won the Golden Goblet best picture award at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

The jury Grand Prix was awarded to Spain’s “Muyeres” with China’s Liu Jin winning the best director prize. The trio also collected additional prizes making them the only multiple winners in a ceremony that sprinkled its awards widely.

“Yoko,” directed by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi, who earlier this year saw melodramatic “#Manhole” play in Berlin, takes the structure of a road-movie and is a journey of self-discovery of a woman who had been socially isolated in her apartment for many years. Portrayed by global star Rinko Kikuchi, the woman is forced to confront the real world, and herself, when she takes a 658 kilometre cross-country journey to her father’s funeral. Without a cell phone or the money for public transport, she finds herself having to hitch hike. Kikuchi also earned the best actress award.

The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival has given the world a fresh insight into the trends and the talents that are emerging in the Chinese film industry as it gets fully back to business after three years of pandemic-enforced restrictions on access.

Organizers have reported mostly sold-out screenings as China’s movie lovers return en masse to cinemas, and visiting filmmakers have found them fully engaged in post-screening Q&As and the assorted masterclasses the festival has hosted.

The curtain officially comes down on Sunday — after Siff will have screened around 450 films — and The Hollywood Reporter has selected three Chinese films from three Chinese filmmakers that we expect you’ll be hearing more about in the future.

All Ears, directed by Liu Jiayin

Writer-director Liu Jiayin established herself as one of the most exciting and unique talents to emerge from China in the 2000s — and then duly disappeared into academia.

The 25th edition marks a return in-person after being cancelled last year.

Han Yan’s Love Never Ends is set to open the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff), which has also revealed the nominations for its Golden Goblet Awards.

The romance drama is adapted from a cartoon of the same name created by Kang Full. Ni Dahong, Kara Wai, Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Cecilia Yip play two elderly couples who show it is never too late to love.

Director Han previously directed 2015’s Go Away Mr. Tumor and 2020’s A Little Red Flower. Love Never Ends is set for...

Kang Bo’s neo-noir film centres on the world of human trafficking in China.

Beijing-based Fortissimo Films and Rediance are launching Kang Bo’s Chinese-language neo-noir Family At Large at the Cannes market, marking their first international sales collaboration.

Starring Hu Ge of The Wild Goose Lake and Wen Qi from Angels Wear White, the film depicts the little-known world of human trafficking in China while also exploring the concept of family. It marks Kang’s debut narrative feature and is produced by Hehe Pictures.

The story follows an estranged father, nicknamed Reindeer, who is involved in a gruelling human...

Drama stars Hu Ge, from Diao Yinan’s 2019 Cannes Competition title ’The Wild Goose Lake’.

Beijing-based Rediance has acquired worldwide rights to Chinese director Liu Jiayin’s All Ears, a drama starring Hu Ge and executive produced by award-winning filmmaker Cao Baoping.

Rediance will launch sales on the feature at the European Film Market (EFM) this week.

Hu, from Diao Yinan’s 2019 Cannes Competition title The Wild Goose Lake, plays a mediocre screenwriter who turns to writing eulogies to make ends meet. As he listens to the life stories of the ordinary deceased people from their families, he finds a new footing in life.

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSNighthawks.Buenos Aires—1970s Los Angeles—outer space—all of these destinations are contained in Issue 2 of the Notebook print magazine, which will ship out at the end of January. Click here to learn more and subscribe.If you read this New York Times profile of Jennifer Lawrence carefully, you’ll find that she is planning a project with Lynne Ramsay—an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s Die, My Love. In a follow-up tweet, Kyle Buchanan added that Martin Scorsese will produce.X Crucior is the heavy-metal name of the next film project written by Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks—a musical, of course, continuing their momentum with Annette (2021). No director is attached yet, but if it's not too much to ask, a reunion with Guy Maddin would be fun.According to The Times,...

Blossoms Shanghai Trailer 2 — Tencent Pictures has released the second international movie trailer and web series trailer for Blossoms Shanghai (2023). Crew Wong Kar-Wai‘s Blossoms Shanghai stars Hu Ge, Kris Wu, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and Xin Zhilei. Name wrote the screenplay for Blossoms Shanghai. Name created the music for the film. Name crafted [...]

Continue reading: Blossoms Shanghai (2023) Movie Trailer 2: A Self-made Millionaire Tries to Reinvent Himself in Tencent Pictures’ Drama...

Come back to cinema, Wkw! Tencent Pictures is China has debuted yet another new promo trailer for a web series + feature film project called Blossoms Shanghai, also known as only Blossoms (繁花) for China. This has been in the works for years and years. We featured a different trailer for this last year already, but it still hasn't been released yet. It's all rather vague. This is an adaptation of a 2012 novel of the same name from Jin Yucheng, telling the story of a young entrepreneur named Mr. Bao as he seeks wealth, status and romance set against a backdrop of China's 1990s economic boom. The story of a "self-made millionaire" in Shanghai during the 1990s, a young opportunist with a troubled past. Wong has said it is a "deeply personal venture as a return to his hometown of Shanghai," and he has been working on its script and development for five years.

A decade after The Grandmaster, Wong Kar-wai is finally returning next year with his long-gestating new project Blossoms Shanghai. First produced as a TV series, with a movie version also in the works, the drama stars Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, and Xin Zhilei. Ahead of a 2023 release in China, a new trailer has now arrived.

Based on Jin Yucheng’s novel, the story of Blossoms follows three Shanghai residents from the early ’60s, at the end of China’s Cultural Revolution, and through the ’90s. “Blossoms would be the third part of In the Mood for Love and 2046,” the director previously said. The drama is written by award-winning Shanghainese screenwriter Qin Wen, and features visual supervision from Academy Award-winning cinematographer Peter Pau.

“Jin Yucheng’s landmark novel Blossoms has been the perfect backdrop to visualize and share my love for my birth city,” said Wong Kar-wai. “With the series,...

Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai has set an adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s novel Blossoms as his first series project.

Created and produced by Wong, Blossoms Shanghai will be an homage to his birthplace, Shanghai, by exploring its massive economic growth in the 1990s. It follows a self-made millionaire, Mr Bao, and his journey of reinvention from a young opportunist with a troubled past to the heights of the gilded city.

The Wild Goose Lake actor Hu Ge will star in the series, which is written by Qin Wen. Wong will also direct the pilot episode. The project will shoot in Shanghai. Producers are Wong’s Jet Tone. Tencent Penguin Pictures has acquired the rights for China. Block 2 Distribution is handling international sales.

“Jin Yucheng’s landmark novel Blossoms has been the perfect backdrop to visualize and share my love for my birth city,” said Wong Kar Wai. “With the series,...

Hu Ge to star in adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s award-winning novel.

Wong Kar Wai has confirmed that he is creating and producing a TV series, Blossoms Shanghai, based on the award-winning novel Blossoms by Jin Yucheng.

Filmed entirely in Shanghai, where the Hong Kong-based auteur was born, the series is written by award-winning Shanghainese screenwriter, Qin Wen, with cinematographer Peter Pau on board for “visual supervision” and Hu Ge (The Wild Goose Lake) set to star. Wong Kar Wai will direct the first episode.

Wong War Wai’s Jet Tone is producing with sister company Block 2 Distribution handling international sales.

Diao Yi'nan's The Wild Goose Lake is being shown exclusively on Mubi from February 28 - March 28, 2020 in the United Kingdom in the series The New Auteurs.Illustration by Alix Pentecost FarrenEarly into Diao Yi’nan’s The Wild Goose Lake, Fan Liao’s Captain Liu stands before a group of plainclothes cops and a half-charted map. Liu and fellow officers are hunting down a gangster by the name of Zhou (Ge Hu), and the map shows his last known whereabouts: a town in southern China nestled along the Wild Goose Lake. Many of the cops aren’t locals, so the briefing doubles as a warning against the thug and one against the place itself. “Be well aware of the complexity of the lake area,” Liu says of the alien turf: “it’s a lawless place that no-one really controls.” In the sinisterly seductive world of Diao’s fourth feature, the...

The Wild Goose Lake will screen at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar) Saturday, Nov 9 at 9:45pm and Monday, Nov 11 at 9:25pm as part of this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival.Ticket information can be found Here and Here

Fleeing from the law and seeking redemption, gangster Zenong Zhou (Ge Hu) crosses paths with innocent-looking Aiai Liu (Lun-Mei Kwei), a girl with a secret who is risking everything to gain her freedom. As they are hunted on the shores of the Wild Goose Lake, Zhou must decide what he is willing to sacrifice both for this stranger and for the family he left behind. When the film debuted at Cannes this year, even Quentin Tarantineo queued up. The La Times writes: “It’s not often that you see a Cannes auteur checking out the competition. But Tarantino was clearly as eager as anyone to see ‘The Wild Goose Lake,...

Is it just us or is there a hell of a lot of Assassins around these days? Originally know as ‘The Butterfly Lovers’ Jingle Ma’s 2008 martial arts love tryst of an action flick has been butched up, and is set for a U.S bow on U.S DVD with the far “manlier” title....The Assassins Blade. The celebrated cast includes Charlene Choi, Chun Wu, Ge Hu and Siu-Wong Fan and it goes on sale May 7th. Synopsis: Based upon a famous Chinese legend, Blade tells the story of Zhu Yanzhi (Charlene Choi), who chooses to disguise her female identity in order to be accepted into the country’s most prestigious male-only martial arts academy, where she immediately finds herself at odds with her superior, Liang (Chun Wu). But soon, a stronger connection develops between the two, and as their attraction grows, so does the danger of Liang discovering Zhu’s gender.