FIRE d: Deepa Mehta
Fire (1996)
Direction and screenplay: Deepa Mehta. Cast: Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Jaaved Jaaferi, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Ranjit Chowdhry, Kushal Rekhi, Alice Poon
By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica:
I watched the 1996 Canadian film Fire by Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta after having long heard of its taboo nature based mainly on its depiction of lesbianism. And while not a [...]
NO REGRET Playing in LA & NY
Leesong Hee-il’s Huhwihaji anha / No Regret, which has been billed as the "first gay film from South Korea" (I’m not sure if that’s true), focuses on Sumin (Lee Young-Hoon), a young man who leaves the orphanage where he grew up to study art design in Seoul. After losing his job at a factory [...]
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT
Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
Direction: Shoijiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Jong-Sik Nam. Screenplay: Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Jordan Goldberg, David S. Goyer, Josh Olson, Greg Rucka; based on Bob Kane’s character. Voices: Kevin Conroy, David McCallum, Gary Dourdan, Corey Burton, Jason Marsden, Jim Meskimen, Kevin Michael Richardson, George Newbern
Batman: Gotham [...]
Gays in Bollywood Films
"Disassociating queer from sleazy" — though the "aberrant" label remains — in the Times of India:
"Real people with an aberrant sexual orientation have also led to Bollywood tentatively moving away from its song-and-dance routine for fresh cinema. Deepa Mehta’s Fire, released in 1998, ventured into forbidden terrain by exploring the sensual relationship of a young [...]
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: Great To Be Nominated
Ang Lee’s thrilling 2000 Best Picture nominee Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon — to date, the non-English-language film with the most Oscar nominations — will be the next feature in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences‘ "Great To Be Nominated" series. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be screened on Monday, June 23, at 7:30 [...]
SISTERS OF THE GION d: Kenji Mizoguchi
Gion no shimai / Sisters of the Gion (1936)
Direction: Kenji Mizoguchi. Screenplay: Kenji Mizoguchi and Yoshikata Yoda; from Aleksandr Kuprin’s novel. Cast: Isuzu Yamada, Yôko Umemura, Benkei Shiganoya, Fumio Okura
Business is contingent upon profitable commercial transactions. Exchanges that removed from human instigation are cold but necessary for survival. Success, no matter strategy or plan, is [...]
JUMNO PHOUM BAKPREA Clip
The video below, posted on youtube by khmerboyz148, is from the Cambodian film Jumno Phoum Bakprea. (Translation??) I couldn’t find it listed on the IMDb, and I found precious little info about it online.
I’d never seen a Cambodian production before, so this clip was worth a look. Also, I can’t recall ever seeing [...]
SANSHO THE BAILIFF d: Kenji Mizoguchi
Sanshô Dayû / Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Direction: Kenji Mizoguchi. Screenplay: Fuji Yahiro; from the old legend and Ogai Mori’s 1915 short story “Sansho the Steward.” Cast: Shindô Eitarô, Kyoko Kagawa, Yoshiaki Hanayagi
By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica:
One of the nostra about Japanese film director Kenji Mizoguchi is that he is ‘the most Japanese of all filmmakers.’ [...]
Asian Film Awards 2008
2007 Asian Film Awards
2007 Asian Film Award nominations: January 17, 2008.
2007 Asian Film Award winners: Grand Hall, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, March 17, 2008
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
Best Film
Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (Iran)
I Just Didn’t Do It (Japan)
Lust, Caution (Taiwan / China / USA)
* Secret Sunshine (South Korea)
The Sun [...]
Oldest Surviving Korean Film
In the Korea Times, Cathy Rose A. Garcia reports that the Korean Film Archive (KOFA) has screened the oldest surviving Korean film, the silent, black-and-white social drama Cheongchun’s Sipjaro.
Directed by An Jong-hwa, Cheongchun’s Sipjaro was first screened at Seoul’s Joseon Theater in September 1934.
As per Garcia’s article, there are two other Korean films known [...]
Asian Festival of 1st Films Awards - 2007
2007 Asian Festival of 1st Films Awards
2007 Asian Festival of 1st Films: Singapore between November 27-December 4, 2007.
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
Bhavna Talwar’s Dharm follows a devout Hindu Brahmin (Pankaj Kapur) who proclaims that, as a Brahmin, he belongs to the highest of castes. The Brahmin’s worldview changes radically after he develops [...]
Metro Manila Film Festival Awards - 2007
33rd Metro Manila Film Festival Awards - 2007
The 33rd Metro Manila Film Festival was held between December 25, 2007 and January 5, 2008.
The 33rd Metro Manila Film Festival award winners were announced at the SMX Exhibition Center of the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on January 5, 2008. The ceremony was hosted [...]
33rd Metro Manila Film Festival
The Metro Manila Film Festival, which comes to a close on Jan. 5, 2008, has had its usual share of controversy. Last year, actress Celia Rodriguez accused the festival of placing commercialism above art. This year, the issues have been the excessive number of sequels (sounds just like Hollywood) and the fact that in [...]
Blue Dragon Awards - 2007
28th Blue Dragon Awards - 2007
The 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards cover Korean films released between November 2006 and October 2007.
The 28th Blue Dragon Film Award winners were announced at the National Theater of Korea in Seoul, on November 23, 2007.
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
Han Jae-rim’s violent gangster comedy-drama-action flick The Show [...]
Golden Horse Awards 2007
44th Golden Horse Awards - 2007
The 44th Golden Horse Award nominees were announced on Oct. 27, 2007.
The 44th Golden Horse Award winners were announced on Dec. 8, 2007.
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
Lust, Caution has been nominated for 11 Golden Horse Awards, in addition to a nomination for director Ang Lee as [...]
DONSOL Is the Philippines’ Entry for the 2007 Oscars
Writer-director Adolfo Alix Jr.’s drama Donsol has been chosen as the Philippines’ entry in the best foreign-language film category for the 80th Academy Awards. Veteran film director Eddie Romero headed the selection committee.
Set in the fishing town of Donsol, known as a good spot for whale shark-watching, the plot revolves around the relationship that develops [...]
LUST, CAUTION Controversy at Venice Film Festival 2007
Based on a semi-autobiographical short story by Eileen Chang, the two-and-half-hour Se, jie / Lust, Caution, Ang Lee’s first Chinese-language film since the 2000 martial-arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, stars Tony Leung as a powerful politician who is seduced by a young woman (newcomer Tang Wei) involved with a group of revolutionary students. The [...]
Shanghai Film Critics Association Awards 2007
During the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival, the Shanghai Film Critics Association announced their best of 2006 list. Here it is:
Top 10 Chinese films: Tokyo Trial, The Knot, Courthouse on the Horseback, Jia Zhang-ke’s Sanxia haoren / Still Life, The Old Summer Palace, Loach Is Fish Too, Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower, [...]
Cannes 2007 Opens with MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS
About 300 journalists crammed into a 200-seat room to hear director Wong Kar Wai, actor Jude Law, and singer-turned-actress Norah Jones discuss their film, My Blueberry Nights, a romantic drama that opened the 60th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
"Sometimes the tangible distance between two persons," Wong explained, "can be quite small but the emotional [...]
Hong Kong Film Awards - 2007 Winners
Fu zi / After This Our Exile, Patrick Tam’s first directorial effort in 17 years, won the top prize at the 26th Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony held tonight at the harborfront Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui.
“Thank you for the judges’ support for me,” Tam said on the stage. “… I thank all [...]
Hong Kong Film Awards - 2007 Nominations
The 2007 Hong Kong Film Award winners will be announced this coming Sunday, April 15.
A huge box-office hit in China, Zhang Yimou’s historical epic-cum-dysfunctional family drama Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia / Curse of the Golden Flower (top) leads the pack of nominees, with a total of 14 nods including best film, best [...]
Hong Kong Film Awards - 2006
26th Hong Kong Film Awards
The 26th Hong Kong Film Award nominations were announced on February 1, 2007.
The 26th Hong Kong Film Award winners were announced at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Tsim Sha Tsui on April 15, 2007.
Hong Kong Film Awards 2006 Winners - Article
Hong Kong Film Awards 2006 Nominations - [...]
Asian Film Awards - 2007 Winners
"It’s almost strange that it’s the first ceremony," remarked French director Luc Besson at the 1st Asian Film Awards presentation held this evening at Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Centre, as part of the 31st Hong Kong International Film Festival which kicked off last night.
"Good films come from everywhere," added Besson. "Artists are like mushrooms, [...]
Asian Film Awards - 2007 Nominations
The nominees for the 1st Asian Film Awards (AFA) were unveiled this past Jan. 29. The awards ceremony, to be held on March 20, will open the 31st Hong Kong Film Festival.
According to AFA’s mission statement, the awards were created to "to acknowledge the finest of Asian Cinema, and bestow honor in various categories [...]
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards - 2006
13th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards- 2006
The 13th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award winners were announced on January 24, 2007.
Johnnie To’s Election 2, a follow-up to Hong Kong Film Critics Society 2005 winner Election, revolves around more power struggles among the denizens of Hong Kong’s organized crime underworld. To also took the best [...]
