Busan Film Festival Director Huh Moonyung to Depart

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, June 9 to 18, has unveiled the titles in contention for awards in its four main feature-length sections: main competition, Asian New Talent, Animation film and documentary. These are eligible for the festival’s prestigious Golden Goblet Awards, winners of which will be announced at the Shanghai Grand Theater on the evening of June 17. While SIFF remains the only mainland China festival to be accredited as a so-called A-list event by the International Federation of Film Producers (FIAPF), its selections are largely separate and distinct from those at other major international festivals.

From the Palme d’Or for “Parasite” to a stint on the following jury to a Best Actor prize all of his own with last year’s “Broker,” Song Kang-ho has become a recent fixture at Cannes. This year he made a late-break for Croisette with “Cobweb,” a slight-but-entertaining film about the movies from director Kim Jee-woon.

Heidi Klum inadvertently became part of the "free the nipple" movement, when her titillating gown couldn't hold her together. The 49-year-old judge attended the  premiere Wednesday at the 76th annual Cannes Film Festival and, while walking the red carpet at Palais des Festivals, all eyes were on Klum, who looked stunning in an aurora yellow Zuhair Murad gown with a hip-high leg slit, crossed neckline and bejeweled sleeves.With her trademark blonde locks flowing, Klum smiled as she raised her arms, and therein lay the problem — when she raised her arms to extend her long cape she suffered a bit of a wardrobe malfunction with a nip slip. Not that she's ever been shy about nudity.Back in February, Klum and her husband, Tom Kaulitz, appeared to have stripped down to their birthday suit to celebrate their four-year wedding anniversary.«Love of my life ❤️,» Klum wrote in her celebratory post.A post shared by Heidi Klum (@heidiklum)The model's dedication to her husband led with a video of her and Kaulitz sharing a kiss in bed.

BTS is getting ready to celebrate a big milestone — their 10th anniversary!

Marta Balaga Denmark’s “Norwegian Offspring,” by Marlene Emilie Lyngstad, from Den Danske Filmskole, was chosen as the winner of the 26th edition of La Cinef. In the story, a mother passes away and her estranged son – obsessed with theories about the repression of male sexuality in modern society – starts longing for offspring of his own. “The jury was captivated by this bold filmmaker,” said Ildikó Enyedi, who presided over the jury. “It made us laugh and cringe at the same time.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Hong Sang-soo’s latest film “In Our Day,” which will premiere on closing night of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, has been acquired by Cinema Guild for North America. Cinema Guild will release the film in theaters following its North American festival premiere later this year. “In Our Day” stars Kim Minhee as Sangwon, an actress who has recently returned to South Korea and is temporarily staying with her friend, Jungsoo (Song Sunmi), and her cat, Us. Elsewhere in the city, the aging poet Uiju (Ki Joobong) lives alone, his cat having recently passed away. On this ordinary day, each of them has a visitor: Sangwon is visited by her cousin, Jisoo (Park Miso) and Uiju, by a young actor,Jaewon (Ha Seongguk). Each of them wants to learn about a career in the arts, but they alsohave bigger questions.

Irina Shayk donned a daring look at the Cannes Film Festival. The 37-year-old model stepped out wearing only lingerie and diamonds at a party hosted by  and Chopard.Shayk wowed in a black bra and panty set, which she paired with gloves, a sheer slip, thigh-high stockings and heels.

every year, and 2023 is no different. Among all the diamonds and show-stopping gowns are the beauty looks, both classic and experimental, that are just as much of a spectacle as the outfits.Take Helen Mirren, who switched up her signature silver strands for a very modern .

Jennifer Lawrence made sure to keep things comfortable on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.The 32-year-old Oscar winner attended a special screening of the film and walked the carpet in Cannes, France, while wearing a stunning Christian Dior couture cherry red gown.But when Lawrence lifted her gown to walk down the steps, she revealed that she was rocking some black flip flops underneath the elegant look.Lawrence attended the screening with Sahra Mani, the director of the new documentary she produced,, and fellow producer Justine Ciarrocchi.Earlier on Sunday, Lawrence attended the photocall for while wearing a silver mesh look and heels. is a documentary following Afghan women under the control of the Taliban.

Lise Pedersen Newcomer Docs-by-the-Sea, the international documentary Labs and Forum for creative doc projects from Asia, will present and works-in-progress showcase for the first time at the Marché du Film’s Cannes Docs.  Featuring four films in late production stage, the showcase is highly necessary, argues its curator, Gugi Gumilang, the executive director of In-Docs, the non-profit org behind Docs by the Sea.   A member of last year’s Docs-in-Progress jury, he said this gave him a chance to see what people are looking for. “There’s a lack of Asian representation [in documentaries],” he tells Variety, adding: “It’s really tough for documentary filmmakers in Asia, few countries have film funds,” he said, citing Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines and, more recently, Hong Kong. “There are few dedicated festivals, the biggest being South Korea’s DMZ. Other international film festivals like Busan, Singapore and Jeonju cater for documentary film, but the competition is tough as they don’t just focus on Asian projects.”

Seoul-based sales agent Finecut has sold Hong Sangsoo’s In Our Day to France’s Capricci, Spain’s L’Atalante Cinema and Ama Films for Greece. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “In Our Day,” the film by South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo which closes the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes film festival, has seen distributors in multiple territories move early to strike rights deals. French rights were picked up by Capricci), Spanish rights by L’Atalante Cinema and Greek rights by Ama Films. The film has its official premiere on May 25. Seoul-based Finecut has long been the sales agent for Hong’s plentiful output. In addition to the deals on “In Our Day,” Finecut signed agreements with L’Atalante, with France’s Ariona Films and Taiwan’s Cola Films for “In Water,” Hong’s first film of 2023 which premiered in the Encounters section in Berlin in February. The film was previously sold to Cinema Guild for North America.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired the international rights of Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir’s debut feature “City of Wind.” The film is in post-production and will be ready for a world premiere in fall 2023. Purev-Ochir is known for several high-profile short films, including “Mountain Cat,” which was in Cannes Competition in 2020, and won best short in Busan in 2020, and “Snow in September,” which was awarded the Golden Lion for best short in Venice, and best short in Toronto last year. Ze is a timid 17-year-old shaman. He studies hard at school to succeed in the cold, callous society of modern Mongolia, while communing with his ancestral spirit to help those in his community. But when Ze encounters Maralaa, his senses are awakened and another reality seems possible.

Hong Sang-soo shows no signs of slowing down, does he? After two feature films a year for the past two years, the South Korean director will do it again in 2023, with his 30th film, “In Our Day,” ready to close the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival on May 25. Hong’s latest comes after “In Water” premiered at the Berlinale in February to universal acclaim.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwan-based Screenworks Asia is using the Cannes Market to launch international rights sales on “Lost in Perfection.” The film, previously titled “Love is a Bitch,” is a female-led psychological thriller that marks the live-action debut of Sung Hsin-ying, who is already established as an award-winning animation director. The story follows a TV anchor, played by Shao Yu-Wei, whose apparently perfect life unravels when she discovers that her father may have become the victim of a romance scam. To make matters worse, the scammer is accused of murdering men she dated. In an attempt to protect her family, the woman partners with the local prosecutor to investigate the crime. Yet, she quickly finds herself lost in the twists and turns while uncovering the truth.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amanda Nell Eu’s “Tiger Stripes,” which had its premiere this week in Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, is being celebrated as a punchy female-driven debut feature and as the first film by a Malaysian woman director in any section Cannes. The story focuses on a small group of 11 or 12-year-old girls. When one of the friends enters puberty she finds her body changing in unexpected ways. Relations with her friends and family start morphing too. Eu’s finished film straddles the metaphorical drama and body horror genres. “Tiger Stripes” is also a triumph for the now highly-developed global network of project markets, talent development programs, script and production workshops (often labelled as ‘labs’) and grant schemes. These are intended to encourage diversity and nurture film-making talent in countries where that is a rarity or where commercial films crowd out more experimental art-house titles.

James Gunn is showing off his geeky side.

Uma Thurman had a special date on hand as she kicked off her time at the Cannes Film Festival!On Tuesday, the 53-year-old  Fiction actress walked the carpet during the opening ceremony at Palais des Festivals with her 21-year-old son, Levon Thurman-Hawke. The mother-son duo was picture perfect as they made their high-fashion arrival. Thurman was stunning in a floor-length gown, that she completed with a red drape that had a dramatic train trailing behind her.

Japan’s most prolific and successful contemporary filmmaker, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, is back in a favorite place, Cannes, for the unveiling of his latest effort, a return to his Japanese storytelling roots and a good one at that. For his seventh film in the main Cannes competition and his ninth overall (counting two that appeared in Un Certain Regard), Monster represents the first movie since his 1995 debut feature Mabofosi that the director has not had a screenplay credit on — this film being written by Sakamoto Yuji — but clearly with its humanist family-centered themes is right in this master craftsman’s wheelhouse.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Richa Chadha and the U.K.’s William Moseley will headline the cast of India-U.K. co-production “Aaina.” The film, set between London and India, is a drama about the impact of the cycle of violence, both within cultures and on human beings in the form of PTSD. It marks the feature directorial debut of Markus Meedt, who previously directed several acclaimed shorts, including “Shelter” and “Anonymous” and episodes of mini-series “Let’s Get Macho.” Chadha starred in “Gangs of Wasseypur” and “Masaan,” both of which debuted at Cannes. She was most recently in Disney+ Hotstar series “The Great Indian Murder.” Moseley made a mark as a child actor in the Narnia franchise. He was one of the leads in “Land of Dreams,” which debuted at Venice, and was also in Indian film “Margarita With A Straw,” which had festival play at Toronto, Busan and London.