Asian Film Awards: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ‘Evil Does Not Exist’ Wins Best Film, Hirokazu Kore-eda Takes Best Director For ‘Monster’

Nope, that’s not Taylor Swift singing background vocals on Beyonce‘s new album Cowboy Carter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi wowed international audiences and critics with his drama “Drive My Car,” which earned the Best International Feature Film Oscar in 2022. The venerated director is back with “Evil Does Not Exist,” an ecological fable with genre elements about a father and daughter living in the wilderness outside Tokyo.

The 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) will take place on December 8 at the Roundhouse in Camden. The ceremony will mark a return for the BIFAs, which were last held at the storied London venue in 2007. 

Georgian director Elene Naveriani’s late-coming-of-age, female empowerment drama Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry topped the prizes at the Swiss Film Awards in Zurich over the weekend.

Annette Bening‘s first major TV series role has won the five-time Oscar nominee the Best Actress prize at this year’s Series Mania.

With four TV and film projects in as many years, few filmmakers right now are more prolific than Hirokazu Kore-eda. 

Cillian Murphy is officially an Oscar winner!

The cast and crew of Oppenheimer has a lot to celebrate after the 2024 Academy Awards on Sunday (March 10).

Billie Eilish just made history at the 2024 Academy Awards!

Da’Vine Joy Randolph is an Oscar winner!

Robert Downey Jr. is finally an Oscar winner. The 58-year-old “Oppenheimer” star took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 96th Academy Awardslive from the Dolby Theater in LA on Sunday.

That’s a sweep for Da’Vine Joy Randolph. “The Holdovers” star won her first Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress.

Asian Film Awards. The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed.

Naman Ramachandran Indian sales outfit Indywood Distribution Network has sold Rupesh Paul’s “Kamasutra – The Revenge” wide ahead of Hong Kong’s film rights market FilMart. Starring Sherlyn Chopra, Milind Gunaji and Gajendra Chauhan, and produced by San2Creations, the film follows two princesses – one who is robbed of her dreams when forced to accept a middle-aged king as her husband, and another thirsty for revenge. Indywood has sold the film to Twin (Japan, all rights); A2 Filmes (Latin America TV/VOD); Filmbridge (Mongolia, all rights); Pioneer Film (Philippines, all rights) and RFT Films (U.K./Ireland, theatrical).

Veteran Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou will receive both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2023 Highest-Grossing Asian Film Award for his last feature Full River Red at this week’s Asian Film Awards. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou is to be honored twice over at the Asian Film Awards ceremony on Sunday. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a separate prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok took another turn on Wednesday when the trade group National Music Publishers Association sent a letter to its members saying that it does not expect to renew its license with the China-based platform when it expires at the end of next month. “Recently, the press has highlighted concerns around TikTok’s licensing practices, concerns that NMPA has heard directly from many of our members,” the letter reads in part.

All of the major news networks carried Donald Trump‘s Super Tuesday victory speech live, but MSNBC was the first to cutaway, reflecting an debate at news outlets over how to cover the former president’s fusillade of false claims and unfounded accusations.

Jeremy Hunt has been urged not to axe a 'vital fund' which has been a 'lifeline' for vulnerable families in Greater Manchester. More than 170 council leaders, 90 Parliamentarians and five mayors have called on the Chancellor to extend the Household Support Fund.