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Exactly a year after the world premiere of his drama “Yohanna” here in Rotterdam, Indonesian director Razka Robby Ertanto is back with another attempt at a drama involving strong women. “Midnight in Bali” which screens in Harbour section of IFFR, is a work very different from what Ertanto has done so far. The story lets us into the life of transgender woman Bulan (Juan Bio One) who has found and lost her big love, and is determined to change that.

Midnight in Bali is screening at International Film Festival Rotterdam

Bulan is optimistic by nature, and there is barely anything that can shake her good mood. Barely doesn’t mean never, so even she occasionally can’t help but feel the blues. By day she doesn’t do much but chain smoke and contemplate this and that, by night she is at the local gay bar performing on stage or attending numerous parties.

Two of the most dominant themes in Eric Khoo’s filmography are food (and particularly the hawker stalls) and the eternal antagonism between the international and the local, the modern and the traditional if you prefer. In his episode of HBO Asia’s “Foodlore”, he gets to explore both in the most eloquent way.

Food Lore is available from HBO Asia and HBO

Julie, a French young woman, works as an assistant chef in a high-class French restaurant in Singapore. Her life, however, is not easy, since she has to face a rather obnoxious higher-up, Pierre. Julie wants to show her value to the chef, but Pierre continuously pins her down, while her social life in the country is practically non-existent. This however, changes when on a night out with her colleagues, she has a rather episodic meeting with Irfan, the owner of a hawker stall. Irfan has his own issues to face,...

Despite opening Online Billie with a glimpse of the titular camgirl (Valentine Payen-Wicaksono’s Esther/”Billie”) engaged in a chat room session, she’s not the lead character. Director Lou Assous and co-writer Xavier Bazoge have very clearly created her as a hypothetical instead—a test with which their surrogate in the story (Baptiste Lorber’s Jules) can confront his biases and wrap his head around the revelation that the woman he’s falling for is a sex worker. This isn’t inherently a problem for the whole considering his journey towards acceptance or rejection of this fact can allow the room for her to defend it, but that’s not what happens here. No, Jules is very clearly safe within the film’s male gaze to earn sympathy and force Esther into shame.

Can she be afraid to open up about this part of her life? Sure. It’s...

"I can honestly say I've never killed someone who didn't deserve it." Netflix has debuted an official trailer for an Italian crime drama titled The Ruthless, also known as Lo Spietato in Italian (which just translates to The Ruthless). Set in Milan in the 1980s, the film tells the story of a rebellious teen named Santo Russo who grows up to become one of the city's most ambitious criminals. Riccardo Scamarcio stars as Santo Russo, with a cast including Sara Serraiocco, Valentine Payen, Alessio Praticò, Marie-Ange Casta, Fulvio Milani, and Alessandro Tedeschi. This looks as intense and as brutal as you'd expect for another Italian mafia film, with some of the usual gritty touches. Those greedy mobsters always try to take too much. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Renato De Maria's The Ruthless, direct from Netflix's YouTube: 1980s Milan is an economic boom-town, and youngster 'Santo Russo'...

"The whole world... is under attack!" Vertical Entertainment has unveiled an official Us trailer for the sci-fi spin-off sequel Beyond Skyline, which is indeed a sort-of sequel to the sci-fi disaster Skyline from a few years back. And from the looks of it, this one is going to be just as much of a disaster. The directors of the original film have produced this, though they've let Liam O'Donnell direct this time. Beyond Skyline tells the story of a detective who goes into one of the alien spaceships to rescue his son. Frank Grillo stars, with Bojana Novakovic, Iko Uwais, Callan Mulvey, Valentine Payen, Betty Gabriel, Jack Chausse, and Kevin O'Donnell. I've heard this film is a big mess, but still has some badass action in it. Take a look. Here's the new official Us trailer for Liam O'Donnell's Beyond Skyline, direct from YouTube: You can still watch the...

Xyz Films has released the first trailer and poster for Beyond Skyline, which is a follow-up to the 2010 sci-fi thriller Skyline, with a whole new cast. Leading the way this time is action star Frank Grillo, who teams up with The Raid star Iko Uwais. The studio has also debuted the first poster for Beyond Skyline, which will have its world premiere at the Stiges Film Festival, which runs from October 5 through October 15. No release date has been given yet, but that may be announced soon.

Ain't It Cool News debuted the first trailer and poster, which opens with Frank Grillo's character Mark, a Los Angeles detective who is called in to get his son Trent (Jonny Weston) out of some trouble. The trailer also shows that their family has been fractured after the passing of Mark's wife Rose (Valentine Payen), but that's the least of their problems. On the subway ride home,...

"Do exactly as I say." An international trailer has debuted for the sci-fi spin-off sequel Beyond Skyline, which is indeed related to the odd sci-fi disaster Skyline from a few years back. Anyone else remember that one? Why the directors of the original film have moved on, they did produce this, though their company Hydraulx is no longer involved. Instead, Liam O'Donnell has directed Beyond Skyline telling the story of a detective who goes into one of the alien spaceships to rescue his son. Frank Grillo stars, along with a cast including Bojana Novakovic, Iko Uwais, Callan Mulvey, Valentine Payen, Betty Gabriel, Jack Chausse, and Kevin O'Donnell. This looks kind of cool, I really dig the alien designs, but I have a feeling it's going to be terrible. No matter how much they tried to improve this, it still seems like a huge disaster. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster...