Brett Hogg to Head Film and TV for Sony Pictures Entertainment in Asia

The affinity for urban street culture that informed Ramin Bahrani's early New York indies, Man Push Cart and Chop Shop, is all over the writer-director's mordant adaptation for Netflix of Aravind Adiga's 2008 Booker Prize winner, The White Tiger. An immersive plunge into the chasm separating the servant class from the rich in contemporary India, the drama observes corruption at the highest and lowest levels with its tale of innocence lost and tables turned.

Watch Video: 'The White Tiger' Trailer: An Indian Servant Won't Wait for a 'Slumdog Millionaire' RescueHe realizes that his only ticket out is to get a job as a driver for Ashok (Rajkummar Rao), the U.S.-educated son of the town’s landlord.

Soul” continues to charm China with sales of $13.8 million over its second weekend, more than double its $5.5 million Christmas debut, thanks to strong word of mouth. It was the highest-grossing foreign import of the New Year weekend, far outstripping “Wonder Woman 1984” and even Hayao Miyazaki’s older but beloved animation “Ponyo.”The weekend was huge.

Here’s our rundown of the 10 storylines set to dominate the international film business in 2021.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese director Guan Hu is riding high right now: Despite languishing in government censorship purgatory for over a year, his patriotic war epic “The Eight Hundred” has risen to become the highest grossing film in the world in 2020, with sales of $461 million. His next confirmed move? More jingoistic propaganda.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced the merger of four of its film media units, Films Division, Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Archives, and Children’s Film Society, with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).The NFDC will now carry out all the functions that were being performed by the separate film units, as a single entity.

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Hugh Grant recalls doubt over Renee Zellweger’s casting in the now iconic role of Bridget Jones in a BBC2 documentary; RSVP and Guilty By Association team on a new Indian spy thriller; the Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival will honor Juliette Binoche and Hayao Miyazaki while Natpe recognizes Disney exec Diego Lerner; and Defunct Films makes “We Will Sing” free to stream with donations going to Irish homeless organizations.1.2 million people

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFilm industry relations between China and Europe have been kept alive throughout the coronavirus outbreak by Bridging The Dragon, an informal trade organization now in its sixth year.After its regular event held during the Berlin film festival in February, further seminars, presentations and mixers should have taken place in Cannes in May and in Beijing in November.

The National Film Board of Canada is pulling “An Inconvenient Indian” from “active distribution” following an apology from the documentary’s director, Michelle Latimer, over questions regarding her Indigenous heritage.

The National Film Board of Canada announced Tuesday that it will withdraw Michelle Latimer’s documentary Inconvenient Indian from “active distribution.”

Lionsgate has renewed the contract for its India office managing director Rohit Jain, and promoted him to grow the studio's South Asian businesses and drive the Starz premium subscription platform into emerging Asian markets. Terms of the new multiyear deal were not disclosed.

Naman Ramachandran Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest co-production market, has revealed 21 eclectic projects from several countries and in a welter of languages, for its 2021 online edition.The selected filmmakers will pitch their projects virtually to a curated audience of Indian and international producers, distributors, festival programmers, financiers and sales agents at an open pitch session.

AMC Entertainment Monday unveiled plans to change its board structure in an agreement with majority shareholder Wanda America Entertainment, a division of Dalian Wanda Group of China.

EXCLUSIVE: Russian director and producer Timur Bekmambetov, whose creation of the innovative Screenlife format has spawned hit movies such as Profile and Unfriended, is setting his sights on India by striking a partnership with local players Graphic India and Reliance Entertainment.

The New York Film Critics Circle has unveiled its annual awards, honouring the late Chadwick Boseman with the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the Spike Lee-directed “Da 5 Bloods”.

A vivid look at what it means for populations to rise up against governments intent on curbing their liberties, Ai Weiwei's Cockroach takes us to the streets of Hong Kong in 2019, as young people violently resist measures chipping away at their independence from mainland China. The third doc Ai has released this year (following Coronation and the Sundance entry Vivos), it's among his most effective films to date —tightly focused and morally urgent.