‘HARBIN’ TO BE PRESENT AT CHRISTMAS
Poised to be one of the biggest blockbusters of an uneven year for Korean cinema, “Harbin” is finally confirmed to release on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). The movie had its premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival but its distributor and financier CJ ENM chose to hold back the commercial release in its native Korea until the busy end-of-year season.
The period action film follows Korean independence activists who launch a daring attack against the Japanese occupying forces in Manchuria (modern-day China).
It is directed by Woo Min-ho and stars Hyun Bin (“Crash Landing on You”), Park Jeong-min (“Decision to Leave”) and Jeon Yeo-been (“Cobweb”), who were all in action at a press launch event Monday in Seoul.
APPLE CIDER
Netflix has unveiled a trailer for Australian-produced “Apple Cider Vinegar,” a limited series which it will upload in 2025. The six-part drama chronicles the rise and fall of nutrition guru Belle Gibson (portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever), who built a corporate empire on a fake story in the early days of Instagram.
The show was created and co-written by Samantha Strauss (“Nine Perfect Strangers”) and directed by Jeffrey Walker (“The Clearing”). Production is by See Saw Films and Picking Scabs and shot on-location in Melbourne, Australia with support from VicScreen through its Victorian Production Fund. Post Production took place in NSW with support through Screen NSW and its PDV Fund.
Watch the trailer here.
BANGKOK PRIZES
The World Film Festival of Bangkok wrapped on Sunday with the presentation of four Lotus Awards and screenings of Miguel Gomes’ Asian-set “Grand Tour” and Pedro Almodovar’s English-language debut “The Room Next Door.”
“Desert of Namibia” directed by Yôko Yamanaka was named the best film. The Jury Prize was awarded jointly to “Viet and Nam,” directed by Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, and “Pepe” by Nelson Carlos De los Santos Arias. Matthew Rankin picked up the best director prize for “Universal Language.” There was also a special mention for “MA Cry of Silence,” directed by The Maw Naing.
Prizes were determined by a panel comprising Yeo Siew Hua, Freddy Olsson, Kim Young-Woo, Anke Leweke, and Chananan Chotirungroj.
GOLDEN ROOSTER PRIZES
China’s Golden Rooster Awards named Zhang Yimou’s “Article 20” as the best film at an awards ceremony in Xiamen on Sunday. The comedy drama, about legitimate defense law, was released at Lunar New Year time and was a huge box office success. Its male lead Lei Jiayin also picked up the best actor award. Chen Kaige was named best director and collected a special jury prize for his patriotic “The Volunteers: To the War.” The documentary award was claimed by “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru,” a WWII tale of Chinese bravery in the rescue of British sailors that was picked as China’s entry to the Oscars, but which was disqualified for containing too much English. Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” was named best foreign film.
MAI MAI
Vietnamese film “MAI” has been named as winner of the ComScore-backed Asia Pacific Box Office Achievement Award, a prize which will be presented on Dec. 12 in Bangkok at the closing ceremony of the CineAsia exhibitors and distributors convention.
Directed by Tran Thanh, “MAI” revolves around the life of a beautiful woman (portrayed by Phuong Anh Dao) with a very special fate. Because she works as a masseuse, Mai often has to face the scrutiny and judgment of those around her. And then Mai meets Duong (Tuan Tran), a romantic playboy. Just when she thought she was no longer passionate about love and pursuing happiness for herself, Mai’s desire to live a new life is reawakened. The film achieved a record-breaking box office gross of VND518 billion ($21 million), to become the highest-grossing Vietnamese film. It also passed $2 million gross box office in the U.S. and Europe.
KOMING SOON
Kyuhyun, a Korean singer who is both a solo artist and a member of K-pop boy group Super Junior, will kick off his career-defining “COLORS” Asia tour in December, celebrating the 10th anniversary of his solo debut. After already selling out the Seoul debut at Olympic Hall in Olympic Park on Dec. 20-22, he will head Kaohsiung (Jan. 4), Hong Kong (Jan. 25), Jakarta (Feb. 8), Taipei (Feb. 22), Yokohama (March 5-6), Bangkok (Mar. 15), Macau (Mar. 22) and Manila (Apr. 5). Kyuhyun also plans to release his first full-length album, “COLORS” on Nov. 27.
GENDER MATTERS
Funding and regulatory body, Screen Australia published 2023-24 key performance indicators for the film and TV projects that it backs. Some 58% of key creative roles across approved development and production funding were held by women, non-binary and/or gender diverse people.
Screen Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Grainne Brunsdon said, “We are encouraged by the growing representation of non-binary and gender diverse people, and for women to have reached or exceeded parity in many categories across successful Screen Australia applications. While the 58% result for the most recent financial year is heartening, this has been influenced by a higher proportion of women, non-binary and/or gender diverse people in producer roles (61%). We know directors and writers are an area of focus particularly in feature drama production and more work is needed to support equity in these fields.”
NOT ZEE END
Punit Goenka, the controversial head of Indian media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., has been granted permission by the group’s board of directors to relinquish his position as managing director. He will however remain as chief executive officer. “With this step, he intends to dedicate his time entirely towards the future of the Company by enhancing its performance and profitability levels,” the company said in a statement. ZEE and Sony‘s Indian division were in negotiations to merge for over two years. But the deal collapsed in January and ZEE has subsequently restructured and sought to improve its performance.
