Back to Normal Selection for Second Virtual Edition of Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum

Shares of KuaishouTechnology, China’s second-most popular short-form video app behind TikTok owner ByteDance, rocketed nearly 300 percent Friday in their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Shortly after the opening bell, the stock was selling at more than HK$330, nearly triple the initial public offering list price of HK$115 and valuing the company at $179 billion.

Rebecca Davis editorThe dGenerate Collection at indie distributor Icarus Films will release the journalistic Hong Kong doc “Lost Course” in the U.S. starting March 5.The Chinese-language film about a democratic village uprising against corruption known as the “Siege of Wukan” and its aftermath won the best documentary prize at Taiwan’s 2020 Golden Horse Awards, an event sometimes described as Asia’s Oscars.

Vivienne Chow Twenty-one projects have been selected to take part in the upcoming Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum’s Work-in-Progress section. It will be operated virtually alongside the Hong Kong FilMart that runs March 15-17, 2021.The ten documentary and eleven fiction film projects were selected from the 129 submissions, organizers said on Tuesday.The WIP section, open to projects that are in the later stages of production, is in its fifth year as part of the HAF project market.

Vivienne Chow Hong Kong cinema operators and filmmakers are crying for help following a government announcement on Monday that COVID-19 social distancing measures will remain in place until Feb. 17.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Alex de la Iglesia is back on set with “El cuarto pasajero,” Laurine Garaude departs Reed Midem, Chinese video app Kuaishou stuns investors in Hong Kong, Tencent finalizes its Universal Music Group share increase, Mopar Studios hire Jessica Pope as creative director and Pluto TV launches six new networks in Latin America.Spanish genre master Álex de la Iglesia, hot off the heels of his hit HBO horror series “30 Coins,” is back on set to shoot road movie

Vivienne Chow Hong Kong auteur Stanley Kwan will be featured as the filmmaker-in-focus at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentWarner Bros.’ “The Little Things” launches Jan. 29, marking the end of a 28-year journey for writer-director John Lee Hancock.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorGLAAD is teaming up with Outfest to host the first virtual Queer House during the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong-based boutique distributor Lightning International has acquired the U.K.’s documentary streaming service Docsville.Docsville was set up and launched in 2018 by award- winning documentary maker Lawrence Elman and Nick Fraser who had previously been a high-profile executive with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since the hit show Normal People appeared on our screens and made us all fall in love with Marianne and Connell.

Also Read: Steve McQueen on How John Boyega's 'Star Wars' Experience Shaped His 'Small Axe' RoleBoyega, who broke out in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy, most recently starred in one of the five installments of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe” anthology, “Red, White and Blue.” He is currently at work on “They Cloned Tyrone” opposite Jamie Foxx.De Niro recently joined the cast of David O.

Angelina Jolie was back at her beloved Target with an important assistant on hand to help her pick up the essentials. Her 12-year-old son, Knox Jolie-Pitt, was spotted steering the shopping cart during their January 24 trip to the superstore and he looked so old. Even while wearing a protective face mask, the tween is now the spitting image of his famous father, Brad Pitt. Just take a look at Knox in the photos below and you’ll totally agree.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFollowing Cannes, the AFM, Toronto, Rome and the Hong Kong’s Filmart, UniFrance’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema was for many film players at least the sixth virtual market since the start of the pandemic, but it was still a much-needed kick-off for French sales agents who launched a flurry of projects and market premieres during the event.The Rendez-Vous started Jan.

Naman Ramachandran After a virtual 2020 edition, the 42nd annual Banff World Media Festival (June 14-July 16) is set to go the same route for 2021, this time on a new bespoke online platform designed specifically for the entertainment business.Through this new platform, the festival will feature more formats to connect participants with each other one-on-one and in groups.

Vivienne Chow Documentary feature “Inside the Red Brick Wall,” which chronicles one of the most dramatic chapters of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, bagged the best film at the 27th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.The best director prize went to Peter Chan Ho-sun for “Leap,” a sports drama based on the trajectory of China’s national women volleyball team.

Vivienne Chow The Hong Kong government will provide another $361 million (HK$2.8 billion) to rescue city’s troubled Ocean Park, which has seen losses increased by the effect of COVID-19. The venture is to be transformed from a traditional theme park into a travel destination and marine conservation hub that can be financially self-sufficient.The park will receive a one-off injection of $251 million (HK$1.67 billion) as working capital.

A Hong Kong Internet service provider on Thursday said it had blocked access to a pro-democracy website to comply with the city’s national security law. In a statement emailed on Thursday, Hong Kong Broadband Network said that it had disabled access to HKChronicles, a website that compiled information on "yellow" shops that supported the city’s pro-democracy movement and released personal information and pictures of police and pro-Beijing supporters during anti-government protests in 2019.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.A talented musician who emigrated from Paisley to Hong Kong to pursue his career died suddenly on New Year’s Day.Davie Colquhoun had planned to return home to the town for good later this year.Tributes have flooded in from both the former colony and back home from his Paisley pals.The guitarist and singer - who died aged 72 of a suspected asthma attack - had become something of a celebrity of the Far

EXCLUSIVE: Endeavor Content has recruited Alistair Jennings, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s former vice president of sales in South East Asia, as its SVP of international TV sales in Asia Pacific.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Hong Kong International Film Festival, delayed last year by the coronavirus outbreak, has announced plans to return to its normal Springtime slot.