News

Universal’s “Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy” continued its box office dominance in the U.K. and Ireland, bringing in £6.8 million ($8.7 million) in its second weekend, according to Comscore. The highly anticipated fourth installment in the “Bridget Jones” franchise has now reached $34.6 million, maintaining a firm grip on the No. 1 spot.

Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World” remained in second place with $3.7 million in its second weekend, pushing its total to £13.21 million ($16.74 million).

Universal’s “Dog Man” stayed in third place, earning $2.5 million in its third weekend. The animated family hit has now amassed $13.9 million. Black Bear’s “The Monkey” opened in fourth place with $1.3 million). The Stephen King adaptation, directed by Osgood Perkins and starring Theo James, Adam Scott and Elijah Wood, proved to be a strong draw for horror fans.

Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” continued its steady run in fifth place, earning $742,349 in its 10th weekend.

Hong Kong Filmart prides itself on the fact that each year it alerts the global entertainment industry to which way the winds of the content business are flowing across Asia.

So expect much attention going into this year’s 29th in-person edition of the event to be on what’s happening online and, specifically, the event’s decision to sharpen its digital platform into what organizers are describing as “a comprehensive IP Catalogue.”

Whereas the primary focus of the online platform across previous editions was on “exhibition planning and operation” — meaning it functioned “like an online booth” — this new format will allow exhibitors “to showcase their projects in detail, creating a more efficient marketplace for IP trading,” according to event organizers, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (Hktdc).

It will also help those heading to Hong Kong to prepare for what’s ahead. While the physical edition of Filmart is...

The Hong Kong Film Development Council (Hkfdc) has enhanced its film financing scheme with increased funding and relaxed measures in a bid to further bolster the local film industry and sustain its long-term development.

The Film Production Financing Scheme 2.0, which was launched yesterday (January 15), will see government support increased from $1.15m (Hk$9m) to $1.28m (Hk$10m) per project. Eligible projects will be provided with the maximum financing amount equivalent to 40% of the approved production budget but no more than $1.28m (Hk$10m). Production budget must not exceed $3.2m (Hk$25m).

A bigger portion of the funding will be disbursed...

The Hong Kong Film Development Council (Hkfdc) has revamped its film financing program with the launch of a new scheme to support the local industry through a bumpy post-pandemic market.

The new scheme, “Film Production Financing Scheme 2.0”, is already active and enhances the “Relaxation Plan” that Hkfdc introduced during the height of the pandemic in mid-July 2020. Hong Kong film production ground to a halt during the pandemic, due to stringent border controls and anti-Covid measures, and while the industry has been busy for the past few years, the market has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

The Relaxation Plan aimed to increase local film production and create more jobs and development opportunities. It has funded 23 Hong Kong film projects, including A Guilty Conscience, which grossed $12.8M (Hk$100M) in 2023 and is now the second highest-grossing film ever at the Hong Kong box office. Other projects funded by the scheme, including Philip Yung’s Papa,...

The Asian Film Awards Academy (Afa Academy or Afaa) announced the nominations for the 18th Asian Film Awards (AFA18) and the Jury President for this year in Hong Kong today.

Thirty outstanding films from 25 countries and regions have been shortlisted to compete for 16 awards at AFA18, which celebrates artistic and technical achievements in Asian cinema. The prestigious lineup of nominees from around Asia includes seven Japanese films: Teki Cometh, Desert of Namibia (Yamanaka Yoko), All the Long Nights, My Sunshine, Happyend (Sora Neo), The Box Man (Ishii Gakuryu) and Black Ox.

Korean auteur Jang Jae-hyun’s Exhuma received eleven nominations, making it the most nominated film this year. It will compete for Best Film with Yoshida Daihachi’s Teki Cometh, Cannes Grand Prix-winning film All We Imagine as Light (Payal Kapadia), China’s Black Dog (Guan Hu), which was screened in the 37th TIFF Gala Selection, and Hong Kong’s...

Hong Kong’s box office in 2024 saw local films record a bigger market share than Hollywood blockbusters for the first time since 2004, but overall takings for the year dropped 6.2% to $172.7m (Hk$1.34bn) – the lowest in 13 years.

In a rare coup, two local hits topped the annual chart. Soi Cheang’s action feature Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In and Anselm Chan’s funeral business drama The Last Dance made history as the second and third local film to ever reach the Hk$100m milestone, taking $13.94m (Hk$108.44bn) and $18.28m (Hk$142.26bn) respectively. The latter also smashed all records...

Anselm Chan’s The Last Dance has broken multiple records, rejuvenating the Hong Kong box office after a lacklustre six months since the release of blockbuster Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In.

Just nine days after its opening on November 9, the Hong Kong drama has grossed almost $7.7m (Hk$60m) at the local box office so far.

This includes $1.1m (Hk$8.6m) – or $1.2m (Hk$9.18m) inclusive of Macau – on November 16 alone, surpassing 2016’s Cold War 2 to take the biggest single-day box office for a Hong Kong and Chinese-language film.

The data is provided by Hong Kong Box Office, a...

The almost unimaginable grief of a husband and father is chronicled in “Papa,” an affecting drama based on the true story of a 15-year-old boy whose murder of his mother and sister shocked Hong Kong in 2010. Featuring an outstanding lead performance by Sean Lau, “Papa” is played in a low key that produces high emotional impact — giving great depth and complexity to its protagonist’s unwavering determination to still love his son and understand what caused this tragedy. With expert tonal control over a non-linear screenplay that follows the aftermath of the crime and examines the love story that brought this family into being, writer-director Philip Yung’s delicately crafted film should find a large and appreciative audience when it opens in Hong Kong on December 5, following its world premiere in competition at Tokyo.

A big change of pace from the flashy-trashy glitz of his fact-based 2022 cops-‘n’-triads saga “Where the Wind Blows,...

Hong Kong film critic turned director Philip Yung’s latest feature begins with a harrowing crime committed by an unlikely culprit: One night, without any prior warning or explanation, a troubled 15-year-old boy named Ming (Dylan So) picks up a meat cleaver in the kitchen and then proceeds to murder his mother and sister in cold blood.

Yung explores the before and after of that shocking event through the eyes of Ming’s father, Yuen (Sean Lau), who tries to piece his life back together while also trying to figure out what may have caused his son to carry out such a horrendous act. In that sense, Papa is reminiscent of the director’s 2015 murder mystery, Port of Call, except this time the plot is not about who did it, but why. And even more so, it’s about how to go on living after facing such utter tragedy.

Shifting...

In a year in which two of world cinema’s oldest industries, Japan and Italy, have signed a long-awaited co-production treaty, jury members at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) were talking up the importance of both film history and the theatrical experience on the first full day of the festival.

After praising TIFF for its selection of established and emerging Asian filmmakers, Hong Kong actor and jury president Tony Leung Chiu-wai also pointed to the festival’s in-depth programmes of classic movies observing that they play an important role in “introducing Italian directors like [Federico] Fellini and Japanese filmmakers like [Akira] Kurosawa to younger audiences.

“They are not only introducing what is current, but also the vast history of cinema, which is a wonderful opportunity for audiences to learn about the past,” the star of In The Mood For Love and Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings said.

As the biggest festival in one of the world’s biggest film markets, the Tokyo International Film Festival has always been held under the glare of painfully high expectations. But taking place towards the end of Asia’s crowded autumn festival season, then struggling through the brutal years of the pandemic, it hasn’t been easy for the event to create a global footprint.

Ando Hiroyasu, who came on board as chairman in 2019, was determined to change all that and started to restructure the festival during the pandemic. In 2021, Shozo Ichiyama, a veteran producer (Caught By the Tides) and former Tokyo Filmex director, joined TIFF as Programming Director and helped to reorganize and streamline the program. Under Ando’s management, the festival also moved from Roppongi to the Ginza-Hibiya district, which has more cinemas, leisure and cultural venues, and introduced a series of high-profile filmmaker talks, known as the TIFF Lounge Talk Sessions.

The 37th Tokyo International Film Festival, taking place from October 28 to November 6, has announced a lineup opening with Shiraishi Kazuya’s 11 Rebels and closing with Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio, in-between featuring new Asian directors, an animation sidebar, restored Japanese classics, and Akira Kurosawa’s favorite films (among them Breathless and Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A Time to Live and a Time to Die). Complementing these will be masterclasses from Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Sammo Hung, as well as a Béla Tarr-led symposium. I’ll be traveling there from October 28 to November 2, with coverage to follow.

The main competition’s jury is spearheaded by Tony Leung and features Johnnie To, Chiara Mastroianni, Ildikó Enyedi, and Ai Hashimoto, while the 15-film lineup comprises an eclectic mix: nine world premieres of predominantly Asian titles, five Asian premieres, one international debut, and only a handful of European features among them.

See the competition lineup below...

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled its program for 2024, featuring a diverse selection of films and starting a new initiative to promote women in cinema. Running from October 28 to November 6, the festival continues to grow as a major event in Asian film.

A key part of this year’s festival is the Main Competition, with 15 films vying for top awards. World premieres in the competition include “Big World” from Chinese director Yang Lina, Philip Yung’s “Papa” out of Hong Kong, and “The Englishman’s Papers” by Portuguese filmmaker Sergio Graciano. A jury led by renowned Hong Kong actor Tony Leung will judge the films.

Another important element is the new Women’s Empowerment Section, created with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Programmer Andrijana Cvetkovikj curated nine movies that highlight female directors or stories. One selection is “My Favourite Cake” by banned Iranian directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, who...

The Tokyo International Film Festival revealed its full 2024 lineup on Wednesday, including its main competition program and the Asian Future section for emerging regional filmmakers, as well as the all-new Women’s Empowerment section, which highlights nine films directed by women or involving female-focussed stories.

Tokyo’s 15-title main competition reveals a preference for securing world premieres over previously shown titles by established festival names. There are eight world premieres in the section — including Big World and My Friend An Delie by China’s Yang Lina and Dong Zijian, respectively; Papa from Hong Kong’s Philip Yung; The Englishman’s Papers from Portugal’s Sergio Graciano; and three Japanese features, among others (see full lineup below). Additional highlights include the international premiere of Midi Z’s The Unseen Sister and Huang Xi’s recent Toronto Film Festival entry Daughter’s Daughter, starring Sylvia Chang.

As previously announced, the competition titles will...

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today revealed the lineup for its 37th edition, which includes world premieres of features from China, Japan and Hong Kong among its competition strands.

The festival, which is set to run from October 28 to November 6, will include 120 films and three series across the 10 main sections. The selection was made from 2,023 entries, up from 1,942 last year.

Scroll down for full competition lists

The majority of the 15-strong Competition strand hails from Asia with three films from Japan and three from China as well as titles from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Kazakhstan.

The films from Japan...

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today revealed the lineup for its 37th edition, which includes world premieres of features from China, Japan and Hong Kong among its competition strands.

The festival, which is set to run from October 28 to November 6, will include 120 films and three series across the 10 main sections. The selection was made from 2,023 entries, up from 1,942 last year.

Scroll down for full competition lists

The majority of the 15-strong Competition strand hails from Asia with three films from Japan and three from China as well as titles from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Kazakhstan.

The films from Japan...

Tokyo International Film Festival has announced its full line-up including its main international and Asian Future competitions, as well as the nine films selected for its Women’s Empowerment Section.

The new female-focused section will screen Iranian drama My Favourite Cake, directed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, who are banned from travelling by the Iranian authorities and were unable to attend the film’s premiere in Berlin.

Other titles in the Women’s Empowerment Section include Turkish director Ceylan Ozgun Ozcelik’s In Ten Seconds; Hong Kong filmmaker Oliver Chan’s Montages Of A Motherhood; Memories Of A Burning Body, from Costa Rica’s Antonella Sudasassi Furniss; and the world premiere of Japanese director Naoki Tamura’s Doctor-x The Movie, among other titles.

Co-hosted with Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Women’s Empowerment Section is programmed by Andrijana Cvetkovikj and focuses on films directed by female filmmakers and/or with female-focused narratives.

The Tokyo International Film Festival has unveiled a competition section with as many Chinese titles as Japanese for its 37th edition.

Announced on Wednesday the festival’s full lineup runs to a compact 110 films, culled from a huge 2,023 applications, and functions partly as discovery event, partly as a Japanese showcase and also as best-of the year international art house compendium.

The 15-title competition includes Midi Z’s “The Unseen Sister,” “Big World,” by Yang Lina and “My Friend An Delie,” by Dong Zijian from China. Adding rising star Hong Kong director Philip Yung’s “Papa” and Huang Xi’s Sylvia Chang-starring “Daughter’s Daughter,” fresh from Toronto, and the competition will resound to Chinese accents. From Japan comes “She taught Me Serendipity,” by Ohku Akiko, “Teki Cometh,” by Yoshida Daihachi and “Lust in the Rain,” which is a Japan-Taiwan coproduction directed by Katayama Shinzo.

Other competition selections include “The Englishman’s Papers,...

Update — 6:34 am Pst: Crucindo Hung, chairman of the Federation Of Motion Film Producers of Hong Kong, has told local press that Hong Kong’s Oscars submission, A Light Never Goes Out, was disqualified due to a conflict of interest.

Hung said he had changed the 13 members of the selection committee earlier this year after receiving a notice from AMPAS that members couldn’t vote if they’d been on the Federation’s board for more than six years. However, one of the new committee members is also an actor in the selected film. Detecting a conflict of interest, AMPAS asked Hong Kong to submit another film, but the invitation was declined.

Kyrgyzstan also declined an invitation to submit another film this year when the country’s Oscars submission, Aktan Arym Kubat’s This Is What I Remember, was disqualified because it was released before the required window of December 1, 2022 to October 31, 2023. However,...

Where the Wind Blows is a classic case of a genre clash (or crash) that never quite fully quenches one’s thirst for either. Initial excitement ensues as we enter the much beloved universe of world cinema; dying to sink our teeth into another Parasite or more to the tone of this, Infernal Affairs; yet despite a meaty narrative this fails to fulfill our appetites.

Following law enforcement officer Lui Lok, through the overtly detailed lens of corrupt practices within the police force, we quickly get to grips that Lui and his colleague Nam Kong have amassed influence here. Doing what the hell they want, when they want, – including chain smoking and busting out a tap dance every now and then. Lui’s initial strong sense of justice is put to the test as he experiences the rampant corruption first hand. Quickly he realises he’s going to need back...

‘The Creator’ is opening in 655 cinemas through Disney.

Original sci-fi blockbuster The Creator leads the new titles at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, opening in 655 cinemas through Disney.

Directed by UK filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz, The Creator is set in a future where humans are at war with artificial intelligence, and a former soldier finds a secret robot weapon in the form of a young child.

The Creator is Edwards’ fourth feature film. His debut Monsters, also a sci-fi in which humans are battling for survival, opened to £348,577 in 2010, finishing on £952,963. He has...

Lionsgate sets widest franchise opening with ‘Saw X’.

Original sci-fi blockbuster The Creator leads the new titles at this weekend’s UK-Ireland box office, opening in 655 cinemas through Disney.

Directed by UK filmmaker Gareth Edwards, who wrote the screenplay with Chris Weitz, The Creator is set in a future where humans are at war with artificial intelligence, and a former soldier finds a secret robot weapon in the form of a young child.

The Creator is Edwards’ fourth feature film. His debut Monsters, also a sci-fi in which humans are battling for survival, opened to £348,577 in 2010, finishing on £952,963. He has...

Hong Kong stars Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai play corrupt police officers in Philip Yung’s ambitious but over-the-top crime epic

This stunning-looking but chronologically restless Hong Kong-set crime epic unfurls across 50-odd years from the mid-20th century; it revolves around two frenemy protagonists, corrupt police officers played here by Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who were inspired by real-life Hong Kong cops/triad front men back in the day. Altogether, it’s a heady mix of potted history, period detail, violence, gangster lore, lust and lawlessness on which writer-director Philip Yung (Port of Call) really goes to town, splashing budget money like petrol all over the place and then throwing a lighted match on top just to see the pretty flames. The ambition and swagger is undeniably admirable, but the end result is a bit of a charred mess – or perhaps more flatteringly a burnt offering...

Where The Wind Blows

25th August 2023, London UK – Director Philip Yung's eagerly-awaited Where The Wind Blows, featuring two of Asian cinema's biggest stars, is released in UK cinemas from 29th September.

Philip Yung's long-awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed Port of Call is an ambitious, genre-bending epic loosely based on the rise and fall of the notorious “Four Great Sergeants” in 1960s Hong Kong. The film centres on the friendship and rivalry between two resourceful police detectives, Lui Lok and Nam Kong, who forge dangerous alliances with organised crime.

This first onscreen pairing of superstars Aaron Kwok (Port of Call) and Tony Leung Chiu-wai (Infernal Affairs) also boasts a scene stealing performance from Hong Kong Cinema icon Michael Hui (Godspeed). Director Yung says, “filming my favourite actors and actresses was like I had travelled back in time to grow with the old dreamy, glamorous Hong Kong”.

As well as being a glorious,...

The story behind the eventual release of “Where the Wind Blows” is a script in itself. Originally set for release at the end of 2018, its release was delayed due to trouble getting approved by the National Radio and Television Administration, probably due to the presentation of the true true-life stories of two of the “Four Great Sergeants” – the most notoriously corrupt police officers in 1960s and '70s Hong Kong and the impact the Kmz had in Hong Kong had after Chiang Kai-shek's defeat. The 144-minute epic was scheduled to make its world premiere and open the 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival on 1 April 2021, but was pulled from the lineup three days before. Eventually, it had its premiere the following year and opened the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival on 15 August 2022 instead and was theatrically released in Hong Kong on 17 February 2023. It was also selected as the Hong...

Supported by the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office, London, Focus Hong Kong brings the very best in new and classic Hong Kong cinema to London in July, with a diverse programme of screenings at the presBgious BFI Southbank. Films include three of the most acclaimed and popular Hong Kong films of the year, with the UK Premieres of all-star crime epic Where the Wind Blows from award-winning director Philip Yung and horror anthology and international festival favourite Let it Ghost, and a special screening of social justice courtroom thriller A Guilty Conscience, one of Hong Kong's biggest box office hits of 2023 so far. Also included is the UK Premiere of a new 4K version of the Hong Kong New Wave classic Nomad, re-edited by director Patrick Tam after being heavily censored on its original release, starring the immortal Leslie Cheung in an early breakthrough role, screening to mark the 20th...

Bali International Film Festival (Balinale) kicks off its 16th edition from Thursday, 1 June until Sunday, 4 June 2023 bringing together a diverse group of acclaimed filmmakers and prominent professionals from the film, entertainment, and creative industries to celebrate cinema.

Balinale showcases the finest Indonesian and International movies.

Over our 4-day event will present forty-five films from thirteen countries at Park23 Creative Hub Cinema Xxi, Tuban Kuta, Bali. Several of these films are world, Asian, and international premieres. Opening Balinale is A Guilty Conscience directed by Jack Ng. actor, Dee Ho, will be at the festival to present the film.

Notable films include Sisu from Finland, directed by Jalmari Helander; Klondike from Ukraine, directed by Maryna Er Gorbach; Where the Wind Blows from Hong Kong, directed by Philip Yung; and Women Talking from the United States, directed by Sarah Polley.

In competition 2023

In 2023, the festival's juried competition will present awards in several artistic and technical categories: Narrative Features,...

Distribution

Anthony Lapaglia‘s upcoming factual series “The Black Hand” is set to be distributed internationally by eOne.

The three-part series will explore Australia’s Italian community, looking at the difficulties they face, their politics, the threat of war and the mafia. According to the series synopsis, The Black Hand is the name for a gang of Italian criminals in Australia.

Alan Erson, Lapaglia, Michael Tear exec produce. Adam Grossetti and Kate Pappas produce. “The Black Hand” is directed by Kriv Stenders and written by Grossetti, Stenders and Anya Beyersdorf.

The series was produced by Wildbear Entertainment for ABC in Australia. The deal with eOne excludes Australia and Scandinavia.

“The Black Hand is truly the definition of premium factual,” said Kate Cundall, eOne’s VP for acquisitions. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to take to market a hugely popular genre like true crime with some amazing auspicious.”

***

Meanwhile,...

Udine Far East Film Festival is back with a record line-up to celebrate its 25th edition. 78 films, 14 countries, 9 world premieres – Golden Mulberry for Lifetime Achievement to Baisho Chieko – On the red carpet also Johnnie To, Watanabe Hirobumi and Jang Sun-woo.

If there are 78 films (record number!) and they come from 14 countries, it should certainly be emphasized that the line-up includes 15 women directors and 12 newcomers. In brief, the 2023 selection aims to restore great complexity more than ever of Asia. A selection that combines the recent past with today, seamlessly, among different communities, different expectations and choices of life, languages and dialects, politics, religions, habits, inclinations, beliefs, myths and legends and, last but not least, different gender identities. A selection that tells in real time how the cinematography of East and Southeast Asia have re-emerged from the sad period of the pandemic, not all in the same way, and not all with the same results.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car was awarded best feature at this year’s Asian Film Awards (March 12), along with prizes for best editing and best original music. The multiple award-winning Japanese film premiered at Cannes film festival in 2021 and also won the Oscar for Best International Feature last year.

Another Japanese filmmaker, Hirokazu Kore-eda, took best director for Broker, the Korean-language film that has also been on an awards streak since premiering at Cannes film festival last year.

Best actress went to Chinese actress Tang Wei for her role in Korean director Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave, while Hong Kong’s Tony Leung Chiu-wai took best actor for Philip Yung’s Where The Wind Blows and was also presented with the Asian Film Contribution Award. Decision To Leave was also awarded best screenplay, for a script written by Park and Chung Seo-kyung, as well as best production design.

An unusual five films picked up ten or more nominations for the Hong Kong Film Awards, with court room drama, “The Sparring Partner” picking up 16. But the event was partially overshadowed by a row over “To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self,” a documentary feature.

“To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self” is a warm portrait of six girls at a Hong Kong school that was made over a period of ten years. It was co-directed by the veteran Mabel Cheung, who has tackled thorny historical subjects in “The Soong Sisters,” and was producer of 2010 hit “Echoes of the Rainbow,” a nostalgic elegy to old Hong Kong.

The film played at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in August last year and was released theatrically earlier this year. But it was withdrawn from the city’s cinemas this week after one of the youngsters featured in the film published a complaint in a newspaper, saying that...

‘My Nineteen-Year-Old Self’ withdrawn over public screening consent issues.

Courtroom drama The Sparring Partner has received 16 nominations for the 41st Hong Kong Film Awards, which saw the last-minute withdrawal of Mabel Cheung’s documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self.

The Sparring Partner, which marks the feature directorial debut of Ho Cheuk Tin, leads the pack with nominations in all but three categories. Based on the true story of a gruesome double murder case, its nods include best film, best director and five nominations for performers including lead actors Mak Pui Tung and Yeung Wai Lun. The film has become Hong Kong...

Philip Yung delivers an ambitious decade-spanning true crime thriller with Where The Wind Blows, Hong Kong’s entry for the International Feature Oscar. Previously known as Theory of Ambitions, it’s a technically impressive feat with an equally impressive cast lead by Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Fast-paced and dense with detail, it challenges the audience to keep up with its complex story of two cops rising up the ranks in Hong Kong in the 1960s and beyond.

Kwok plays Lui Lok, an initially sympathetic character whose principles set him apart from other policemen. His reluctance to accept bribes means he’s despised and even attacked, so he tries to find a way of surviving while doing some kind of good. Nam Kong (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) also wants to shake things up in a corrupt force, but may be more susceptible to temptation. While the two men are ostensibly in business together,...

Lui Lok (Aaron Kwok) became a police officer in order to uphold justice. But the rampant corruption within the police force made it impossible for him to remain independent. As a result, he decides to make a name for himself within the police force by controlling organized crime. (Source: Mubi)

Previously known as Theory of Ambitions, director-writer Philip Yung’s (Port of Call) true-crime drama is loosely based on the notorious “Four Great Sergeants” in 1960s Hong Kong. This movie boasts the first on-screen pairing of Hk megastars, Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung. The stellar cast also includes Michael Hui, Michael Chow, Elaine Jin, Tse Kwan-ho, Du Juan, Jessie Li and Patrick Tam Yiu-man. It finally received its world premiere at the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival earlier in August this year, after a four year delay widely known to be due to Chinese censorship. Where the Wind...

The courtroom drama is also being rolled out in the US, UK, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.

Hong Kong courtroom drama The Sparring Partner has emerged as the fourth highest grossing local film of 2022 and the third highest grossing Chinese-language film of all time with a restrictive category III rating, as it rolls out in other territories around the world.

The feature directorial debut of Ho Cheuk Tin had taken 4.6m (HK37m) at the Hong Kong box office as of December 12, following its opening on October 27.

It retained the top spot from November 28 to December 10 (except December 4), despite facing...

Over the course of 144 minutes, Philip Yung’s true-crime drama Where the Wind Blows covers an awful lot of ground. An epic in the style Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in New York, it pairs Asian superstars Tony Leung and Aaron Kwok in a story spanning several decades of police corruption in Hong Kong during its time as a British colony. The detail is sometimes dense, but the tone turns playful and refreshingly light at times, and there’s even a memorable musical routine for “The God of Dance” Kwok.

Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders International award-season event Saturday, Yung explained his reasons for wanting to make the film. “Hong Kong ended its colonial era in 1997, so it’s been 25 years,” he said. “Many changes have happened since then, and many people who lived during that time have gotten old or passed away. I wanted to leave behind...

Hong Kong has selected the crime thriller Where the Wind Blows as its official submission to this year’s International Feature Oscar race.

Directed by Philip Yung, the film follows four corrupt police officers who rose to power in 1960s Hong Kong played Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Aaron Kwok, Patrick Tam, and Michael Chow.

Photo Gallery: Best International Feature Film Oscar Winners

With a reported budget of 38m, the crime epic is one of the most expensive Hong Kong films of all time.

The film was set to open the 2021 edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, but it was pulled from the lineup shortly before its world premiere with festival organizers citing “technical reasons.”

Vague technical issues have increasingly become a common euphemism for last-ditch censorship efforts by Chinese film regulators. Similar “technical issues” were cited when the Shanghai film festival yanked the Huayi Brothers’ big-budget Chinese war drama...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

Keep track of all the submissions for best international feature at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Entries for the 2023 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.

Scroll down for profiles of each Oscar entry

An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.

Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submissions to the Academy is October 3, 2022.

A shortlist of 15 finalists is...

Deauville Unveils American Indie-Focused Competition Selection

Nick Richey’s coming-of-age drama 1-800-hot-nite, Sophia Silver’s pre-teen friendship tale Over/Under and Jamie Sisley’s Berlinale 2022 selection Stay Awake, about siblings growing up with a prescription drug-dependent mother, are among the 12 features selected for the main competition of the Deauville American Film Festival (September 2-11). “Ever since 1995, the year when the festival became a competition, it has been our ambition to showcase the best of American independent cinema,” said festival director Bruno Barde. Further titles in competition include Riley Stearns’ Dual, John Patton Ford’s Emily The Criminal, Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s Montana Story, Jamie Dack’s Palm Trees And Powerlines, Tyler Riggs’s Peace In The Valley, Vivian Kerr’s Scrap, Chloe Okune’s [/link]Watcher and Gina Gammell and Riley Keough’s War Pony which world premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard this year. Polish director Agnieszka Smoczyńska...

The two titles are star-studded and long-postponed.

Two long-postponed and star-studded films – Philip Yung’s Where The Wind Blows and Ng Yuen Fai’s Warriors Of Future – will open the 46th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff) in August. It was announced today (July 27) at a media event in Hong Kong.

Where The Wind Blows was selected as one of Hkiff’s opening films last year, but it pulled out just a few days before its world premiere due to “technical reasons”.

The crime drama features two of Asia’s biggest stars, Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Aaron Kwok as two...

Festival was forced to cancel April dates after a wave of Covid cases.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff) has announced it will host its 46th edition from August 15-21, after previously being forced to postpone due to a rapid rise of Covid-19 cases in the city.

Organisers are planning a hybrid approach of in-person and online screenings for the 17-day festival, similar to the approach Hkiff took in 2021 after being cancelled altogether in 2020 at the start of the outbreak. The full programme will be unveiled in July.

Hkiff’s Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival, which usually takes...

The Hong Kong International Film Festival has scrapped its opening-night world premiere of Where the Wind Blows, a widely anticipated crime thriller directed by local industry veteran Philip Yung.

The festival said in a statement that the cancellation was made “upon request from the film owner” due to “technical reasons.” Over the past several years, such references to vague “technical problems” have become a common euphemism for last-minute censorship complaints by China’s increasingly repressive film regulators.

Early promotion suggested that Where the Wind Blows would hew to the classic Hong Kong gangster genre, a category second only to martial ...

The Hong Kong International Film Festival has scrapped its opening-night world premiere of Where the Wind Blows, a widely anticipated crime thriller directed by local industry veteran Philip Yung.

The festival said in a statement that the cancellation was made “upon request from the film owner” due to “technical reasons.” Over the past several years, such references to vague “technical problems” have become a common euphemism for last-minute censorship complaints by China’s increasingly repressive film regulators.

Early promotion suggested that Where the Wind Blows would hew to the classic Hong Kong gangster genre, a category second only to martial ...

The Hong Kong International Film Festival has announced the cancelation of its world premiere screening of crime thriller “Where the Wind Blows.” The move appears to be part of the accelerating ‘mainlandization’ of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry.

The festival said Monday evening in a statement that screenings of “Where the Wind Blows” (previously known “Theory of Ambitions”) had been cancelled at the request of the film’s owner.

“Upon request from the film owner, the screenings of ‘Where the Winds Blows’ originally scheduled at 5.30 p.m. on 1 April and 2.30 p.m. on 4 April are cancelled due to technical reasons,” the festival said in a statement in English and Chinese.

The film was produced by Hong Kong’s Mei Ah Film Production in a co-venture with mainland Chinese firms Dadi Century and Global Group. Its production budget has been reported as $38 million.

The film is directed by Philip Yung, who...

The Hong Kong International Film Festival, running April 1-12 this year as joint online/in-person event, will open with the premiere of two high-profile local features: Philip Yung’s Where the Wind Blows, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Aaron Kwok, and Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, an omnibus film co-helmed by seven acclaimed Hong Kong directors including Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark.

The lineup was unveiled Wednesday in a video presentation by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society’s executive director Albert Lee. “For the first time in our history, we ...

The Hong Kong International Film Festival, running April 1-12 this year as joint online/in-person event, will open with the premiere of two high-profile local features: Philip Yung’s Where the Wind Blows, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Aaron Kwok, and Septet: The Story of Hong Kong, an omnibus film co-helmed by seven acclaimed Hong Kong directors including Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Yuen Woo-ping, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark.

The lineup was unveiled Wednesday in a video presentation by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society’s executive director Albert Lee. “For the first time in our history, we ...

The Hong Kong International Film Festival has unveiled a familiar lineup of titles, talks and retrospectives for its 45th edition, which will return to its normal springtime slot after disruptions last year caused by the coronavirus.

“For the first time in our history, we will be presenting a hybrid festival consisting of both in-theatre and virtual screenings and events. While our belief in watching films communally on a big screen is unwavering, recent lockdowns and social distancing measures have accelerated our need to explore uncharted waters by embracing an additional online component,” said Hkiff Society executive director Albert Lee.

“The program is well balanced and covers a broad spectrum, from rarely-seen silent classics to contemporary filmmakers’ latest work. I am particularly thrilled to note that the festival will open with two significant Hong Kong films for the first time in recent years. So much for the talks of the demise of Hong Kong cinema!

Philip Yung’s Where The Wind Blows and Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong will open the festival.

The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival has announced it will open with the world premiere of Philip Yung’s Where The Wind Blows and the gala premiere of omnibus Septet: The Story Of Hong Kong.

However, Where The Wind Blows is being announced as “Tbc” suggesting that it still needs to finalise mainland China censorship clearance. Aaron Kwok and Tony Leung Chiu-wai star in the big-budget crime drama, based on the true stories of two notoriously corrupt Hong Kong police officers...

The Chinese filmmaker Mei Feng is best known as the regular screenwriter for Ye Lou’s films, including “Summer Palace” (2006), Cannes title “Spring Fever” (for which Mei won the Best Screenplay award) and, most recently, “The Shadow Play” (2018). His directorial debut “Mr. No Problem” (2016) premiered at Tokyo International Film Festival and toured across the East- and South-East Asia afterwards. Mei’s second directorial effort, “Love Song 1980”, also premiered at Tokyo, while its European premiere took place at the competition of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

“Love Song 1980” could be accurately described as an unofficial prequel to Mei’s debut screenwriting work, “Summer Palace”, dealing with the milieu of the students in Beijing during the times of the great change and paradigm change that occurred in the 80s. While the plot of “Summer Palace” takes place in the year of Tienanmen, “Love Song 1980” is situated at the beginning of the decade,...