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The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (Cape) is partnering with Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) to launch Beyond Japan, a program aimed at connecting Japanese filmmakers with Hollywood opportunities. The initiative, backed by the Japanese government, kicks off virtually this month before transitioning to in-person sessions in Los Angeles.

The inaugural cohort features six Japanese filmmakers: Fujimura Akiyo, whose Amazon Prime and Apple TV-streaming feature “Eriko, Pretended” won the Skip City Award and who contributed to Kore-eda Hirokazu-produced anthology “Ten Years Japan”; Yoshida Mayumi, Warner Bros. Discovery Access alumna and associate producer on A24/Apple TV+’s “Sunny” starring Rashida Jones; Tsukikawa Sho, director of Japan Academy Prize winner “Let Me Eat Your Pancreas” and Netflix’s manga adaptation “Yu Yu Hakusho,” with upcoming Netflix rom-com “Romantics Anonymous” starring Oguri Shun and Han Hyo-joo; Tokyo-based international production veteran Ü Inose; Shibuya Yu, Venice Film Festival alumnus (“Jitensha”) whose...

A decade-long love story of two young men is the subject of Netflix’s latest Asian series, Soul Mate.

The drama stars Japanese actor Hayato Isomura and Korean singer-actor Ok Taec-yeon from boyband 2Pm, and will follow their enduring relationship despite the distance. It begins when Rye Narutaki (Isomura), who left everything in Japan, is saved by a boxer named Johan Hwang (Ok) in a foreign land.

Filming has taken place in Berlin, Seoul and Tokyo, with Shunki Hashizume the writer and director. The series was developed following a conversation between Hashizume and executive producer Dai Ota.

“We arrived at the ultimate destiny story, where people from different cultures and backgrounds meet in a foreign land and their lives intersect,” said Ota. “The story, filled with life’s joys and pains, combined with the exceptional performances from Isomura and Taec-yeon, will warm the hearts of viewers.

Expanding its Japanese content, Netflix has set up “Soul Mate,” a live-action series that charts the ten-year romance between a Korean man and a Japanese man.

Traversing Berlin, Germany, Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan, “Soul Mate” starts when a man who left everything behind in Japan (portrayed by Isomura Hayato), is saved by a boxer named Johan (portrayed by Ok Taec-yeon) in a foreign land. The narrative goes on to explore the “profound journey of souls connecting and enduring over the years despite the distance.”

The project greenlight follows details of Netflix’s first Japanese same-sex rating reality show “The Boyfriend,” which will go to air from next month.

“This series is a heartfelt depiction of love and its complexities, including joy, pain and unexplainable deep bonds,” said the streamer.

It is written and directed by up-and-coming creator Hashizume Shunki. The idea for the series began with a conversation...

Exclusive: Netflix’s latest original is a Japanese series adaptation of 2011 French film Les Émotifs Anonymes (Romantics Anonymous).

The project, going under the working title of Romantics Anonymous, will feature talent from Japan and Korea — two of the core countries at the center of Netflix’s strategy in Asia. Shun Oguri (Godzilla vs. Kong), Han Hyo-Joo (Moving), Yuri Nakamura and Jin Akanishi have been cast in the series, with Sho Tsukikawa (Yu Yu Hakusho), who’s also known for numerous romantic films, attached to direct.

Yong Film — the Korean producer behind the likes of Believer 2, The Call, 20th Century Girl and My Name is Loh Kiwan — has developed the project as its first Japanese series.

Lee Ha Jun (Parasite) will lead the production design, including the central chocolate boutique set. Yang Jin Mo (Parasite) will serve as editor, and Dalpalan will work on the music. Production has begun ahead of a 2025 debut,...

Popular French theater director Jean-Christophe Meurisse is making his sophomore film outing with “Bloody Oranges,” a black comedy headlined by Denis Podalydès (“La Belle Epoque”), Blanche Gardin (“Delete History”) and Christophe Paou (“Synonyms”).

Brussels-based outfit Best Friend Forever has acquired international sales rights to the film, which is produced by Rectangle Prods. “(“It Must Be Heaven,” “Climax”) and Mamma Roman.

“Bloody Oranges” marks Meurisse’s follow-up to “Apnee,” which premiered in Cannes Critics’ Week in 2016. Meurisse is also a well-known figure in the world of theater, having launched the Chiens de Navarre theater troupe.

“Bloody Oranges” takes place in contemporary France and weaves the stories of a retired couple overwhelmed by debt trying to win a dance contest, a minister of economy who is suspected of tax evasion, a teenage girl coming across a sexual maniac and young lawyer trying to climb the social ladder. When the shoe drops, the...

Snd, the commercial arm of the French TV network M6, will be launching sales on “Appearances” (“Valses de Vienne”), a psychological thriller headlined by Karin Viard.

“Appearances” is adapted from Swedish author Karin Alvtegen’s bestselling crime novel “Betrayal.” The film revolves around a couple of successful French expats, Eve and Henri, who live in Vienna. Their perfect life spins out of control after Eve discovers her husband’s infidelity and has a revenge one-night stand with a young Austrian man, pulling them into an irreversible spiral.

Viard stars in the film opposite French singer-turned-musician Benjamin Biolay (“On a Magical Night”) and Laetitia Dosch (“Montparnasse Bienvenue”). Now in post, “Appearances” is produced by Thelma Films and Scope Pictures. Snd will be unveiling a promo reel at the Afm, and will be distributing the film in France.

Snd’s Afm roster also includes Gabriel Le Bomin’s “De Gaulle,” a historical...

Beta Film has scored a major deal ahead of MipTV, scooping international rights to high-end period drama “Victor Hugo – Enemy of the State,” which it will bring to the market.

The limited series hails from Quad, the production company behind box office hit “The Intouchables.” The French production will be on France 2 domestically. Production is underway in Paris, northern France, and the Dordogne, and will continue until mid-May. Beta Film will kick off the pre-sales effort in earnest at MipTV.

The four-part drama will tell the story of Hugo, the author of “Les Misérables,” which is itself being remade as a miniseries for the BBC. The series will be a portrait of the novelist, covering his life and family and his beliefs and politics.

Yannick Choirat (“Rust and Bone”) takes the title role. Isabelle Carré (“Romantics Anonymous“) is his lover, Juliette. Jean-Marc Moutout (“The Bureau”) directs.

“When the series begins...

This gentle comedy begins with the heroine, Angélique, singing a French version of Maria's "I Have Confidence In Me" from The Sound of Music while on the way to a meeting of "Les émotifs anonymes" (the film's original title), an Alcoholics Anonymous-style organisation for shy, inhibited people. She then gets a job with a gourmet chocolate company headed by a nervous boss, Jean-René, undergoing analysis for his emotional hang-ups. The company, ailing in the present economic climate, gets a high-sugar fillip from a new line introduced by ace-chocolatière Angélique, though her and Jean-René's edgy relationship remains a few bonbons short of bonheur. It is a pleasant little film, reminiscent in tone of the 1930s comedies of René Clair and Jean Renoir.

DramaWorld cinemaComedyPhilip French

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Chicago – In our special French film festival edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the Chicago showing of the film “Romantics Anonymous” at the opening night of the Music Box Theatre’s Chicago French Film Festival!

The film’s original title is “Les émotifs anonymes”. “Romantics Anonymous” from writer and director Jean-Pierre Améris stars Benoît Poelvoorde, Isabelle Carré, Lorella Cravotta, Lise Lamétrie, Swann Arlaud, Pierre Niney and Stéphan Wojtowicz. Director Jean-Pierre Améris will be at this Music Box Theatre showing in person!

To win your free pass to the opening-night Chicago showing of “Romantics Anonymous” at the Chicago French Film Festival courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This showing is on Friday, July 22, 2011 at 7:45 p.m. at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and win can be found beneath the image below.

The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (April 20-May 1) on Monday announced the first 44 feature films of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival slate, comprising the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections, and one new section: Viewpoints.

In a record year for submissions, the 2011 film slate was chosen from a field of 5,624 entries. Tff 2011 will include feature films from 32 countries, including 43 world premieres, 10 international premieres, 19 North American premieres, seven U.S. Premieres and nine New York premieres.

“It’s our 10th Tribeca Film Festival, and in our relatively brief existence we have evolved dramatically,” said Tff executive director Nancy Schafer in a statement. “The festival has become an integral part of the cultural landscape of New York City as well as a globally recognized platform for storytelling.”

A complete list of the films announced Monday follows, with descriptions provided by the festival.

World Narrative Features

“Angel’s Crest”

Directed by Gaby Dellal

Written by Catherine Trieschmann

(UK,...

The 2011 Tribeca Film Festival (April 20-May 1) on Monday announced the first 44 feature films of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival slate, comprising the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections, and one new section: Viewpoints.

In a record year for submissions, the 2011 film slate was chosen from a field of 5,624 entries. Tff 2011 will include feature films from 32 countries, including 43 world premieres, 10 international premieres, 19 North American premieres, seven U.S. Premieres and nine New York premieres.

“It’s our 10th Tribeca Film Festival, and in our relatively brief existence we have evolved dramatically,” said Tff executive director Nancy Schafer in a statement. “The festival has become an integral part of the cultural landscape of New York City as well as a globally recognized platform for storytelling.”

A complete list of the films announced Monday follows, with descriptions provided by the festival.

World Narrative Features

“Angel’s Crest”

Directed by Gaby Dellal

Written by Catherine Trieschmann

(UK,...

The Tribeca Film Festival announced selections for its World Narrative, World Documentary, and Viewpoints competitions at its 10th annual event, running from April 20 to May 1 in New York. Eighty-eight features (such as Angels Crest, with Jeremy Piven) and 61 short films from 32 different countries were selected from more than 5,600 submissions to screen at the festival. “In programming the Festival this year we had to make some incredibly difficult decisions, but we are excited about the quality, ingenuity, risk-taking and diversity of this year’s program,” David Kwok, Director of Programming, said in a statement. “We are particularly proud that we have...

The nominations for this year’s César Awards (France’s Oscar equivalent) has been announced. In addition the awards ceremony has also chosen Quentin Tarantino as the recipient of the ceremony’s honorary award. Alain Terzian, the president of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma announced at a press conference this morning confirmed that the director would be present to ick up his award in person.

It is also worth noting that there are three American movies among the seven nominees for Best Foreign Film: Inception, The Social Network and perhaps the biggest surprise, Invictus.

The 36th edition of the Césars will take place on February 25 in Paris.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Best Movie

L’arnacoeur by Pascal Chaumeil

Le nom des gens by Michel Leclerc

The Ghost Writer by Roman Polanski

Tournée by Mathieu Amalric

Des Hommes et des Dieux by Xavier Beauvois

Gainsbourg...

Three U.S. films are among the seven nominees for best foreign film in this year’s César Awards, France’s version of the Oscars. Meanwhile, American director Quentin Tarantino has been selected to receive an honorary award and will be at the Feb. 25 ceremony in Paris to accept it, it was announced Friday.

The three American films cited by the Académie des arts et techniques du cinema are Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” David Fincher’s “The Social Network” and Clint Eastwood’s “Invictus,” an Oscar contender in the States last year.

Xavier Beauvois’ “Of Gods and Men” (“Des hommes et des Dieux”) — not one of the nine films still in contention for the best foreign film Oscar — leads with 10 nominations, while Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer” and Joann Sfar’s “Gainsbourg” (“Vie Héroïque”) are also nominated in multiple categories.

Presiding over this year’s awards is American actress and director Jodie Foster.