Chinese Propaganda Film ‘1921’ Bounces Back Despite Prior Nationalist Boycott

Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Rushed, an indie thriller directed by Vibeke Muasya that stars Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Robert Patrick, Jake Weary and Peri Gilpin. A theatrical release is planned.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFrance- and Dubai-based sales agency Cercamon has picked up international rights to Chinese crime drama “Streetwise,” which will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, in the Un Certain Regard section. Before that, Cercamon has released a trailer.The film (aka “Gaey Wa’r”) is the debut feature effort of Na Jiazuo, who is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy and had previously directed shorts.

Rebecca Davis editorStar-powered propaganda flick “1921” hit number one at the Chinese box office this week, bringing in $11.6 million from pre-screenings ahead of its July 1 debut, according to Maoyan data. The historical drama debuted earlier this month as the opening night title of the Shanghai Intl.

Vivienne Chow Rom-coms and crime stories dominated submissions to the first Chinese-language scriptwriting competition co-presented by Taiwan’s Studio76 and MediaCorp in Singapore.Unveiled at the Taiwan Creative Content Fest last year, “Rising Stories” received 520 submissions, far higher than the 100-150 organizers had anticipated, Studio76’s CEO and managing partner Dennis Yang told Variety.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBeijing- and Amsterdam-based sales agency Fortissimo Films has added to its Cannes slate feature-length Chinese documentary “Keep Running.” It will be first pitched to distributors during the Cannes Market.The picture tracks a team of teenagers form underprivileged backgrounds who live in Gen He, the coldest part of China, and run every day despite the harsh circumstances.It is the first full-length picture directed by Sun Getting, who previously made TV series

Rebecca Davis editor“Moneyboys,” the China-set first feature from up-and-coming helmer C.B. Yi, dropped its first trailer Wednesday.

Victoria Wang In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) cancelled its physical red carpet events and pivoted to a combination of offline and online activities.

Colosseum-esque exhibition currently boasts 433 million views on the Chinese media platform Weibo. In the shocking footage of the show — titled “Tuoling Legend,” or “The Legend of Camel Bell” — wolves can be seen pursuing performers across the stage sans any leashes or safety harnesses.

Rebecca Davis editorAnimation luminary Fred Seibert’s FredFilms will team up with Chinese content production firm DeZerlin Entertainment for an incubator projected called “Hot Pot! Cartoons,” which hopes to bring emerging Chinese talent and content out to the global market.In the project, FredFilms’ U.S.-based development and production team and Qingdao-headquartered DeZerlin will supervise up-and-coming Chinese creators to develop animated shorts for global distribution.“Often what’s happening

Rebecca Davis editorHong Kong on Friday issued new amendments to its film classification rules, effectively injecting Beijing’s strict censorship standards on the previously liberal territory.Hong Kong censors previously screened content merely to rate it for typical metrics like violence or obscenity, classifying them into one of three categories to indicate age appropriateness.Now, they will have to actively intuit what will displease Beijing.

Rebecca Davis editorThe Shanghai International Film Festival (SHIFF) will kick off this year with the Chinese propaganda film “1921” as its opening night gala, the event announced late Tuesday evening local time with just three days to go before the premiere.This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of China’s ruling Communist Party on July 1, a key political date that for the past year already has sent censors into high alert and film companies scrambling to develop content lauding

On Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight”, John Oliver brought to light the little-known story of the Chinese survivors of the Titanic tragedy.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“F9,” the latest installment of Universal’s action-packed “Fast & Furious” franchise, is the teased “planetary blockbuster” heading to the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned.Starring Vin Diesel, John Cena and Michelle Rodriguez, the highly anticipated movie is already a major international B.O. milestone, having grossed over $250 million worldwide, including $203 million in China (as of June 6).

Ashley Hume “It’s going to be Washington Heights that is going to show the world how to get up again,” declared director Jon M. Chu as he addressed the audience ahead of the special preview screening of Warner Bros.’ “In the Heights.” “Because it showed me how to get up again.”Chu’s sentiments reflected the overall atmosphere of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), held Thursday night at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

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Haley Bosselman editorAfter going virtual last year with the online initiative LALIFF Connect 2020, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival returned as an in-person event on Wednesday. The premiere of “7th and Union” served as the opening night film at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.The Broken English production is the second feature film from director Anthony Nardolillo.