Zee End Is Nigh
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth. Pulling the Nclt application also makes it somewhat easier for Zee to pursue its arbitration and other legal actions against Sony.
The plan to merge the two mid-size film and TV businesses was on the table for over two years, but finally (acrimoniously) collapsed in January 2024. Sony is also seeking restitution from Zee, which it says failed to live up to the agreed merger terms. Since the wedding bells stopped ringing, Zee has also announced that it will slice its workforce by 15%.
Netflix Starts Filming Guillaume Canet’S ‘Taken’-Style Thriller
Guillaume Canet, whose latest directorial outing “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom...
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., the disappointed bride in the failed engagement between Zee and Sony India, has formally ended its quest for a merger. On Tuesday, it withdrew its application before the industry regulator National Company Law Tribunal and said that it will focus instead on internal growth. Pulling the Nclt application also makes it somewhat easier for Zee to pursue its arbitration and other legal actions against Sony.
The plan to merge the two mid-size film and TV businesses was on the table for over two years, but finally (acrimoniously) collapsed in January 2024. Sony is also seeking restitution from Zee, which it says failed to live up to the agreed merger terms. Since the wedding bells stopped ringing, Zee has also announced that it will slice its workforce by 15%.
Netflix Starts Filming Guillaume Canet’S ‘Taken’-Style Thriller
Guillaume Canet, whose latest directorial outing “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom...
- 4/17/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
A shot of an empty sidewalk with graffiti on the wall. The sounds of cars and people dominate the moment. Slowly, a man dressed in a red robe enters the scene. He is barefoot and has a shaved head. For those familiar with Tsai Ming-liang's works, he is recognisable as Walker, the central figure of a series of meditative experiments which started in 2011. In the latest entry, which marks the character’s tenth appearance, the quiet monk navigates the streets of Washington DC, allowing the hectic American society to unfold before his presence. The Taiwanese director remains consistent in his determination to experiment with time, testing the audience's patience once again and rewarding those who seek tranquillity amid the rush of frantic life.
Played by Lee Kang-Sheng, a frequent collaborator of Tsai, the walker wanders through vast parks, train stations and around the imposing Washington Monument. The static camera...
Played by Lee Kang-Sheng, a frequent collaborator of Tsai, the walker wanders through vast parks, train stations and around the imposing Washington Monument. The static camera...
- 2/24/2024
- by Sergiu Inizian
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Taiwan’s transformation from an authoritarian state to a flourishing democracy determined to decide its own future is charted in the engrossing and highly informative documentary “Invisible Nation.” Centered on President Tsai Ing-wen as she promotes her country’s case for ongoing autonomy in the face of mounting political isolation, as well as China’s claim that Taiwan is part of its territory and must unite with the mainland, Vanessa Hope’s skilfully assembled film delivers a compelling picture of Taiwan’s increasingly precarious position in the region and on the world stage.
Currently enjoying a substantial festival run, “Invisible Nation” has gained an extra note of urgency and its visibility should only increase in the wake of Taiwan’s elections on January 13, 2024. After becoming Taiwan’s first female president in 2016, Tsai will formally complete the two terms permitted under Taiwanese law on May 20. Voters have elected her Democratic Progressive...
Currently enjoying a substantial festival run, “Invisible Nation” has gained an extra note of urgency and its visibility should only increase in the wake of Taiwan’s elections on January 13, 2024. After becoming Taiwan’s first female president in 2016, Tsai will formally complete the two terms permitted under Taiwanese law on May 20. Voters have elected her Democratic Progressive...
- 1/21/2024
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival drifted to a conclusion in midweek, with project awards presented on Wednesday, followed by Thursday’s festival closing events. These involved a screening of portmanteau film “Tales of Taipei” followed by a sit-down dinner-cum-ceremony with a breezy pair of speeches and no prizes.
The film fortnight then sprang to life again on Saturday evening when the 60th edition of the Golden Horse Film Awards represented a new climax. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
For decades the Golden Horse awards had been the most prestigious prize ceremony in the Chinese-language firmament. That high profile has been harder to maintain over the last couple of years, given that the mainland Chinese industry is under government instruction to boycott the event, following a pro-independence speech given by an award winner at the 2018 ceremony.
Parts of the Hong Kong industry have stayed away too.
The film fortnight then sprang to life again on Saturday evening when the 60th edition of the Golden Horse Film Awards represented a new climax. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
For decades the Golden Horse awards had been the most prestigious prize ceremony in the Chinese-language firmament. That high profile has been harder to maintain over the last couple of years, given that the mainland Chinese industry is under government instruction to boycott the event, following a pro-independence speech given by an award winner at the 2018 ceremony.
Parts of the Hong Kong industry have stayed away too.
- 11/25/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Full list of winners at the Film Project Promotion (Fpp) project market revealed.
Chewing Gum, the upcoming feature directorial debut of Taiwan’s Lee Yi-shan, has won the Nt$1m grand prize at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Fpp) project market.
It was one of 17 awards announced at a ceremony that marked the end of this year’s Fpp, which focuses on Chinese-language projects and ran from November 20-22 at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Chewing Gum centres on a young boxer from the lower rungs of society who redefines herself...
Chewing Gum, the upcoming feature directorial debut of Taiwan’s Lee Yi-shan, has won the Nt$1m grand prize at the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (Fpp) project market.
It was one of 17 awards announced at a ceremony that marked the end of this year’s Fpp, which focuses on Chinese-language projects and ran from November 20-22 at the Grand Hyatt Taipei in Taiwan.
Scroll down for full list of winners
Chewing Gum centres on a young boxer from the lower rungs of society who redefines herself...
- 11/22/2023
- by Silvia Wong
- ScreenDaily
Though producer-director Vanessa Hope has spent her career zeroing in on China—from producing Wang Quanan’s The Story Of Ermei and Chantal Akerman’s Tombee De Nuit Sur Shanghai to directing her own short China In Three Words and feature-length debut All Eyes and Ears—Hope’s followup feature is nonetheless a bit of a surprise. An intimate portrait of Taiwan’s first female president Tsai Ing-wen, Invisible Nation weaves the tale of President Tsai’s contemporary rise with the (often buried) history of the long-colonized island itself. Through archival footage and in-depth interviews with activists, historians and, of course, the head of (a disputed) state, […]
The post “Understanding Taiwan on Its Own Terms”: Vanessa Hope on Invisible Nation first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Understanding Taiwan on Its Own Terms”: Vanessa Hope on Invisible Nation first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/15/2023
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Though producer-director Vanessa Hope has spent her career zeroing in on China—from producing Wang Quanan’s The Story Of Ermei and Chantal Akerman’s Tombee De Nuit Sur Shanghai to directing her own short China In Three Words and feature-length debut All Eyes and Ears—Hope’s followup feature is nonetheless a bit of a surprise. An intimate portrait of Taiwan’s first female president Tsai Ing-wen, Invisible Nation weaves the tale of President Tsai’s contemporary rise with the (often buried) history of the long-colonized island itself. Through archival footage and in-depth interviews with activists, historians and, of course, the head of (a disputed) state, […]
The post “Understanding Taiwan on Its Own Terms”: Vanessa Hope on Invisible Nation first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Understanding Taiwan on Its Own Terms”: Vanessa Hope on Invisible Nation first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 11/15/2023
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
It took director Vanessa Hope seven years to make the eye-opening doc “Invisible Nation,” for which she gained unprecedented access to Taiwan’s first female president, Tsai Ing-wen.
A longstanding expert on U.S. and China relations – which Hope first depicted in her 2015 debut doc “All Eyes and Ears” – Vanessa and her husband, producer Ted Hope, struggled with financing issues and the Covid-19 pandemic as they captured Tsai’s two consecutive terms, during which the president performed a delicate balancing act. She bolstered Taiwan’s right to sovereignty, forging closer collaboration with the U.S., while avoiding direct provocation of China amid rising worries about the country’s aggression.
Below, Vanessa and Ted Hope speak with Variety about the complexities of making “Invisible Nation” prior to its international premiere on Nov. 14 at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
Vanessa, you’ve been observing China for a long time. What...
A longstanding expert on U.S. and China relations – which Hope first depicted in her 2015 debut doc “All Eyes and Ears” – Vanessa and her husband, producer Ted Hope, struggled with financing issues and the Covid-19 pandemic as they captured Tsai’s two consecutive terms, during which the president performed a delicate balancing act. She bolstered Taiwan’s right to sovereignty, forging closer collaboration with the U.S., while avoiding direct provocation of China amid rising worries about the country’s aggression.
Below, Vanessa and Ted Hope speak with Variety about the complexities of making “Invisible Nation” prior to its international premiere on Nov. 14 at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
Vanessa, you’ve been observing China for a long time. What...
- 11/13/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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...
- 7/12/2023
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Who needs summer blockbusters when there are so many gripping new and recent books related to the world of cinema? This column includes books highlighting creative heavyweights with new projects on the way, like Paul Thomas Anderson and Roman Polanski, and titans who have left us, like Abbas Kiarostami and Elizabeth Taylor. Other releases swim in the bloody waters of giallo, examine African American westerns, and offer reflections on horror cinema from queer and trans writers.
One thing is certain––unlike Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Fast X, and The Flash––everything here is worth your time and money.
The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha by Ethan Warren (Wallflower Press)
While there have been fine books exploring the work of Paul Thomas Anderson (such as Adam Nayman’s Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks) Ethan Warren’s American Apocrypha stands as an important accounting of PTA’s energy and influence.
One thing is certain––unlike Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Fast X, and The Flash––everything here is worth your time and money.
The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha by Ethan Warren (Wallflower Press)
While there have been fine books exploring the work of Paul Thomas Anderson (such as Adam Nayman’s Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks) Ethan Warren’s American Apocrypha stands as an important accounting of PTA’s energy and influence.
- 6/26/2023
- by Christopher Schobert
- The Film Stage
Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang, the arthouse darling known for works including Venice Golden Lion winner “Vive L’Amour” and “The River,” which scored the Berlin Silver Bear, will be celebrated by the Locarno Film Festival with its Honorary Leopard achievement award.
The iconoclastic auteur, who is a key figure in Taiwan’s so-called Second New Wave, will receive the prize from the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema during an Aug. 6 ceremony held on its 8,000-seat outdoor Piazza Grande venue.
The tribute to Tsai Ming-liang will also involve an onstage conversation with the director on the future of cinema and a screening of the helmer’s 2020 film “Days” (Rizi), as well as an art gallery exhibition of his experimental works.
The Malaysian-born Tsai made his debut in the early 1990s, breaking out internationally with “Vive L’Amour” 1994, followed by “The River” in 1996 and “The Hole,” which bowed in Cannes in 1998. His “The Wayward Cloud...
The iconoclastic auteur, who is a key figure in Taiwan’s so-called Second New Wave, will receive the prize from the Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema during an Aug. 6 ceremony held on its 8,000-seat outdoor Piazza Grande venue.
The tribute to Tsai Ming-liang will also involve an onstage conversation with the director on the future of cinema and a screening of the helmer’s 2020 film “Days” (Rizi), as well as an art gallery exhibition of his experimental works.
The Malaysian-born Tsai made his debut in the early 1990s, breaking out internationally with “Vive L’Amour” 1994, followed by “The River” in 1996 and “The Hole,” which bowed in Cannes in 1998. His “The Wayward Cloud...
- 6/20/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The Locarno Film Festival will fete multi-award-winning Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang with an Honorary Career Leopard award at the upcoming edition running from August 2 to 12.
Regarded as a key figure in the Second New Wave of Taiwanese cinema, Malaysian-born Tsai Ming-liang made his debut in the early 1990s, breaking out internationally with Vive L’Amour, which won Venice’s Golden Lion in 1994.
Other award-winning titles include with The River, which won the Jury Award at Berlin in 1996, while in 2009, his work Visage (Face) became the first film to be included in the collection of the Louvre Museum’s “Le Louvre s’offre aux cineastes”.
Tsai’s connections with the art world have grown over the years and he has been invited to participate in various art exhibitions and festivals, while he developed aesthetic ideas such as “Hand-sculpted Cinema” and “The removal of industrial processes from art making”.
The festival’s celebration...
Regarded as a key figure in the Second New Wave of Taiwanese cinema, Malaysian-born Tsai Ming-liang made his debut in the early 1990s, breaking out internationally with Vive L’Amour, which won Venice’s Golden Lion in 1994.
Other award-winning titles include with The River, which won the Jury Award at Berlin in 1996, while in 2009, his work Visage (Face) became the first film to be included in the collection of the Louvre Museum’s “Le Louvre s’offre aux cineastes”.
Tsai’s connections with the art world have grown over the years and he has been invited to participate in various art exhibitions and festivals, while he developed aesthetic ideas such as “Hand-sculpted Cinema” and “The removal of industrial processes from art making”.
The festival’s celebration...
- 6/20/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Festival to pay tribute to work of the Taiwanese director.
Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang is to receive the Pardo Alla Carriera at the 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, which runs from August 3-13.
The festival will pay tribute to Tsai’s achievements in film and contemporary art with a screening of Days (2020), plus an exhibition of his experimental works including Transformation (2012), Your Face (2018) and The Tree (2021).
Tsai will also be at the centre of a panel conversation on the future of cinema moderated by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival professor for the future of cinema and the...
Taiwanese director Tsai Ming-liang is to receive the Pardo Alla Carriera at the 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, which runs from August 3-13.
The festival will pay tribute to Tsai’s achievements in film and contemporary art with a screening of Days (2020), plus an exhibition of his experimental works including Transformation (2012), Your Face (2018) and The Tree (2021).
Tsai will also be at the centre of a panel conversation on the future of cinema moderated by Kevin B. Lee, Locarno Film Festival professor for the future of cinema and the...
- 6/20/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Though there was no explicit theme across its broad variety of films, much of the international competition at the 2023 Jeonju International Film Festival seemed to address a particular type of alienation in contemporary society. A real standout was Chinese filmmaker Wu Lang’s debut feature, Absence, which premiered earlier this year at Berlinale. Starring frequent Tsai Ming-Liang collaborator Lee Kang-sheng as Han Jiangyu, a man attempting to build a new life with his estranged partner (Li Meng) and the child (Liang Wangling) who only recently learned of his existence following a 10-year prison stint, it owes a clear debt to Tsai’s work, with elements of Jia Zhang-ke also noticeable in its DNA.
As the film’s central story proceeds, seemingly dissolving into obscure fragments following a relatively linear, economical opening stretch, Wu’s richly textured imagery turns the decaying urban environment of modern-day China into a lyrical evocation of...
As the film’s central story proceeds, seemingly dissolving into obscure fragments following a relatively linear, economical opening stretch, Wu’s richly textured imagery turns the decaying urban environment of modern-day China into a lyrical evocation of...
- 5/4/2023
- by David Robb
- Slant Magazine
Having been one of the contributors to the script for King Hu's “Come Drink With Me” while also serving as an assistant director for Hu himself, it should come perhaps as no surprise Taiwanese filmmaker Ting Shan-hsi would follow in the same tradition as his mentor. In the busy 1970s world of wuxia, he created several entries within the genre, with an astonishing nine feature films under his belt three years after his debut. As it also became obvious, the genre needed to explore further territories, with some of its conventions feeling stale and predictable, Shan-hsi decided it was about time to venture into fantasy and other genres. “The Ghost Hill” is the result of this tendency to spice up the wuxia conventions, with some elements indeed working to its advantage, while others not working quite as well.
The Ghost Hill is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
For twenty years,...
The Ghost Hill is screening at Old School Kung Fu Fest
For twenty years,...
- 4/15/2023
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The two directors were in conversation at Tokyo International Film Festival.
Award-winning directors Koji Fukada and Tsai Ming-liang voiced concerns about the state of filmmaking in Japan and Taiwan respectively during an on-stage conversation at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Tsai, whose films have won top prizes at Cannes, Venice and Berlin, reflected on the rich period for Taiwanese art cinema that began in the 1980s with the emergence of directors like Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang before lamenting the move into genre features to make a profit.
“That was a great period for Taiwanese films, but in recent years,...
Award-winning directors Koji Fukada and Tsai Ming-liang voiced concerns about the state of filmmaking in Japan and Taiwan respectively during an on-stage conversation at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Tsai, whose films have won top prizes at Cannes, Venice and Berlin, reflected on the rich period for Taiwanese art cinema that began in the 1980s with the emergence of directors like Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang before lamenting the move into genre features to make a profit.
“That was a great period for Taiwanese films, but in recent years,...
- 10/30/2022
- by Matt Schley
- ScreenDaily
The two directors were in conversation at Tokyo International Film Festival.
Award-winning directors Fukada Koji and Tsai Ming-liang voiced concerns about the state of filmmaking in Japan and Taiwan respectively during an on-stage conversation at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Tsai, whose films have won top prizes at Cannes, Venice and Berlin, reflected on the rich period for Taiwanese art cinema that began in the 1980s with the emergence of directors like Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang before lamenting the move into genre features to make a profit.
“That was a great period for Taiwanese films, but in recent years,...
Award-winning directors Fukada Koji and Tsai Ming-liang voiced concerns about the state of filmmaking in Japan and Taiwan respectively during an on-stage conversation at Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).
Tsai, whose films have won top prizes at Cannes, Venice and Berlin, reflected on the rich period for Taiwanese art cinema that began in the 1980s with the emergence of directors like Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang before lamenting the move into genre features to make a profit.
“That was a great period for Taiwanese films, but in recent years,...
- 10/30/2022
- by Matt Schley
- ScreenDaily
Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh is proud to announce the full programme for its third edition, featuring a packed line-up of Taiwanese films that will be screening between 15 and 20 October in both Summerhall and Everyman Edinburgh cinemas. This year’s programme offers a unique glimpse into Taiwan’s rich film heritage: from short films to documentaries as well as classics both old and new, many of which will be having their UK premiere as part of this year’s festival. This year’s 6 features and 5 shorts are united under the theme of the (un)Usuals, seeking to shine a light on the people, events, relationships that usually fall outside of the mainstream experience.
Tickets are now available to book on taiwanfilmfestival.org.uk. All screenings are priced at £8 and £6 concession.
In recent years, there has been a tangible upsurge in attention towards Taiwanese cinema throughout global film communities. This growing but...
Tickets are now available to book on taiwanfilmfestival.org.uk. All screenings are priced at £8 and £6 concession.
In recent years, there has been a tangible upsurge in attention towards Taiwanese cinema throughout global film communities. This growing but...
- 9/28/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
In exactly two months’ time, the second edition of Electric Shadows will open at De Cinema in Antwerp. Starting today, the films to be screened between 29/9 and 2/10 will be gradually revealed.
Last year’s festival ended with a screening of Tsai Ming-liang’s latest feature film Days (2020) and his work will return during the next edition. A program of his most recent shorts accentuates Tsai’s continued focus on patient observation within small-scale projects.
The Night
The Night (2021) offers a look at street life in Hong Kong after the sun has set and the frenzy of the city Tsai calls the Pearl of the East has subsided. Local music played a vital role in the creation of this short. It did too for The Moon and the Tree (2021), in which Tsai films two performers: ‘Moon singer’ Lee Pei-jing and actor Chang Feng.
Both shorts absorb the rhythm of their locations and the people inhabiting them.
Last year’s festival ended with a screening of Tsai Ming-liang’s latest feature film Days (2020) and his work will return during the next edition. A program of his most recent shorts accentuates Tsai’s continued focus on patient observation within small-scale projects.
The Night
The Night (2021) offers a look at street life in Hong Kong after the sun has set and the frenzy of the city Tsai calls the Pearl of the East has subsided. Local music played a vital role in the creation of this short. It did too for The Moon and the Tree (2021), in which Tsai films two performers: ‘Moon singer’ Lee Pei-jing and actor Chang Feng.
Both shorts absorb the rhythm of their locations and the people inhabiting them.
- 7/29/2022
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
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