Bong Joon-ho Leads Protest Against Korean Police and Media Following Suicide of Actor Lee Sun-kyun

Every human being, to some degree, takes for granted their loved ones, those who are present in their lives. But appreciating the fragility of who you have, and for the brief time you may have them, is difficult to consider when you’re a teenager trying to live your life and discover your place in the world.

EXCLUSIVE: After making a splash at Sundance with his first narrative feature Kneecap, which Sony Pictures Classics swooped on ahead of its Thursday night premiere, filmmaker Rich Peppiatt has signed with Anonymous Content and WME.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Argentina’s newly elected president Javier Milei is bent on keeping his chainsaw-wielding campaign promise to cut state spending, including scrapping the country’s national film institute (INCAA) and its film schools (ENERC). His mega draft bill, aimed at reining in Argentina’s hyper-inflation, has prompted more than 300 directors, producers, actresses, critics and colleagues from across the world, led by Academy Award winners Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cannes winners Aki Kaurismäki (“Autumn Leaves”) and the Dardenne Brothers (“Rosetta”), to sign a communiqué protesting the far-right libertarian’s proposal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean rights sales firm Finecut is to handle the international distribution of “A Traveler’s Needs,” which on Monday was confirmed as debuting in the main competition section of next month’s Berlinale. Remarkably, it is director Hong Sang-soo’s sixth selection for Berlin since 2020. The picture is also the third time that French acting icon Isabelle Huppert stars in a film by the Korean veteran director, following their previous joint efforts “Claire’s Camera” and “In Another Country.” A synopsis provided reads: “She came from France.

Anyone who thought this year’s Sundance lineup was a bit ennui, didn’t see A24’s electric Love Lies Bleeding tonight at the Eccles Theatre in Park City, UT. The Rose Glass directed and co-written lesbian romance crime bender starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian, drew hoots and hollers and big cheers throughout in an ultraviolent, twisty and turny tale of familial revenge.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning,’ a Korean-made animated horror film, has been added to the European Film Market slate of sales agent Finecut. The picture is derived from a novel and webtoon that are among the most successful in Korean history, about four individuals bestowed with special powers rooted in religion, the supernatural, and legend. The book sold 10 million copies and recorded 238 million views online. The film’s narrative is an origin story and recounts the first adventure of the foursome – an excommunicated priest, a young woman with telekinesis, a man who lost his sister to a malevolent spirit, and a child prodigy skilled in arcane magic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Film and TV Producers’ Groups Call for Government Regulation of Streamers, Protection of Indie Sector Against ‘Market Failure’ and Loss of IP Streaming platforms could be subject to tighter regulation and forced to loosen their control of intellectual property if national governments heed a call for action launched Thursday by film and TV producers’ trade organizations around the world. The “global screen producers’ statement on streaming platform regulation and intellectual property protections,” was published by some 20 groups including Australia’s Screen Producers Association, Germany’s Produzentenverband, Screen Producers Ireland, multinational Spanish-language group Federación Iberoamericana de Productores Cinematográficos y Audiovisuales and Belgium’s Union des Producteur.ices Francophones de Films & Series. They say that they, “share a commitment to securing regulation from our respective governments that will ensure that our industry continues to both be sustainable and maintains our nation’s cultural sovereignty.” Among the nine principles, that the groups want governments to follow, two stand out and would likely require regulation.

Emily Longeretta Following its sweep at the Golden Globes, Netflix’s “Beef” took home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Creator Lee Sung Jin accepted the honor with a heartfelt and funny speech. “Wow, thank you.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Korean film sales agent Finecut has picked up international distribution rights to “Noise,” a contemporary horror film by first time director Kim Soo-jin. The film will be launched next month a the European film Market in Berlin. The story follows a woman with a hearing impediment who is haunted by sounds linking to her sister’s disappearance and the presence of a malevolent spirit.

Adam Sandler has taken to social media to express his condolences following the loss of Alec Musser.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” dominated the nominations for the 17th edition of the Asian Film Awards. Both picked up six nominations, including those in the best film category. The nominations were announced on Friday afternoon in Hong Kong, ahead of a ceremony on March 10, that will return to the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District and the Qiyu Centre.

Parasite director Bong Joon-ho and several South Korean creatives have called for a probe into the circumstances behind renowned actor Lee Sun-kyun’s death.Last month, the 48-year-old actor was found dead in an apparent suicide. At the time of his death, Lee had been undergoing a highly publicised investigation by South Korean police on suspicions of drug use.Earlier this week, the newly established Association of Solidarity of Cultural Artists released a statement calling for an investigation into Lee’s death, per The Korea Herald.

Lee Sun-kyun died at age 48. Lee starred as the father of a wealthy family in “Parasite,” which was the first non-English-language movie to win best picture in the Oscars’ 92-year history.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief KCON, the Korean pop music and culture convention operated by CJ ENM, will hold five editions in 2024, organizers said on Thursday. The first of the year will be Hong Kong, a new destination for the convention series, before moving on to KCON Japan in May 10-12 and KCON LA July 26-28. Other editions will be held in Saudi Arabia and Europe at unspecified dates in the second half of the year. The Hong Kong edition will be held at March 30-31 at the AsiaWorld Expo, a 10,000 seater venue adjacent to the airport.

South Korean arts and culture organizations, artists and filmmakers, including Bong Joon-ho, have joined together to call for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of actor Lee Sun-kyun. Lee, whose credits include Bong’s Oscar winning Parasite, died last month in an apparent suicide at the age of 48.

Without a doubt, one of our most anticipated films of 2024 is “Mickey 17.” It’s Bong Joon Ho’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning film, “Parasite.” Not only that, the cast is led by Robert Pattinson, who doesn’t seem to do anything other than make interesting films. So yeah, March can’t come soon enough.

Lee Sung Jin is ready to cook up more Beef.

Beef is having a good night at the Golden Globes.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean film and TV director Kim Hong-sun has signed with U.S. talent agency Creative Arts Agency (CAA) for representation. A prolific director and producer, Kim specializes in genre television, including action, thrillers and horror.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A strong December for local films helped make up for an otherwise miserable 2023 at the South Korean box office – previously the fifth largest cinema territory worldwide. And while theatrical markets in other major territories have recovered to reach at or near pre-pandemic levels, Korea finished 44% below 2019. Data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service showed annual gross revenues of KRW1.261 trillion ($964 million at Jan 2024 rates of exchange) in 2023. That represented a gain of 9% on 2022, but it was far below the KRW1.91 trillion ($1.46 billion) recorded in 2019, the last pre-COVID year. The bleak trend was mirrored in terms of attendance or ticket sales, which remains the country’s preferred performance measure.