Hong Kong Film Festival Firms Up August Dates

Disney is to cut a significant number of jobs in Hong Kong over the coming months, staff have been told.It is understood that the plans, which have been hatching for some months, were explained formally to staff on Friday. Unconfirmed estimates of the number of job losses run from 100-150.

festival announced Thursday.The romantic comedy, written and directed by Allen, stars Elena Anaya (“Wonder Woman”), Louis Garrel (“An Officer and a Spy”), Gina Gershon (“The Insider”), Sergi López (“Pan’s Labyrinth”), Wallace Shawn (“Marriage Story”) and Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”).Allen shot the film last summer in and around San Sebastian, a town located in the mountainous Basque region of northern Spain.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Start waving, start waving” urged a manager walking behind rows of youthful park staff lined up on both sides of Main Street at Hong Kong Disneyland. It was seconds after 10 a.m.

Hong Kong's Filmart, Asia's largest film and television content market, is going virtual. The international film industry confab previously was postponed from its usual dates in March, as organizers sought to wait out the coronavirus pandemic in hopes of holding a full-scale physical event in August.

Vivienne Chow Battered in its home market in Hong Kong, the once dominant free-to-air TV broadcaster Television Broadcasts (TVB) is eyeing further expansion of its international OTT platform through the co-production of drama series. It also wants a piece of the Asian e-commerce market.The company was once one of the leading broadcasters in Asia and owns perhaps the largest library of Chinese-language content.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterFilmart, the key Asian film and TV market which takes place in Hong Kong, has been forced to migrate its 2020 edition into an online format due to continuing challenges produced by the pandemic.The event had originally been scheduled to take place March 25-28 but moved to August 26-29.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong FilMart, the largest film rights market in Asia, and the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) have given up on plans to be held in physical form this year. Instead, both will hold virtual, online editions in August.FilMart will migrate to a virtual platform, FILMART Online, running Aug.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefShares in NetEase made a strong start in Hong Kong, where they began trading on Thursday. The Chinese company is the world’s second largest games firm by revenue.The company is already listed in on the U.S.’s NASDAQ market.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterHong Kong’s two major theme parks, Disneyland and Ocean Park, are set to re-open as part of the local government’s plans to reboot the region’s economy.The South China Morning Post is reporting that Ocean Park will open to visitors from Saturday (June 13), with the Disneyland resort on Lantau Island set to follow soon on an unspecified date.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTheme parks, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park are to reopen shortly, it was announced Monday. The parks, both government-owned, have been closed since late January due to the spread of the coronavirus.Ocean Park, which recently revealed that it is close to bankruptcy and sought a government bailout, will open from Saturday (June 13), according to the territory’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Edward Yau.

Dates for the 2020 International Film Festival & Awards Macao (IFFAM) have been announced, with the fifth edition of the event set to take place Dec. 3-8.

The much-awaited Cannes Film Festival which happens around May every year was cancelled this year owing to the Coronavirus pandemic. Indian celebrities like , , and others who usually walk the red carpet for brands also did not get to put down their best fashionable foot forward.

The selections for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival have been announced despite this year’s live event being cancelled.

«What are next year's Oscars going to look like?» It's a question the industry, awards forecasters and armchair pundits alike have been wondering as release schedules are scuttled and film festivals are canned amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s heavy-handed response to George Floyd protests has given China’s propaganda machine invaluable fodder to slam the U.S. for hypocrisy in its support of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

By Patrick Frater

Despite growing concerns about the global pandemic, an industry that’s still in lockdown, and festivals being canceled left and right, the 2020 edition of the Telluride Film Festival will still go on as planned over Labor Day weekend.

By Patrick Frater

SEOUL, South Korea -- Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei believes the newly passed national security law for Hong Kong augurs the end for the semi-autonomous city.

By Patrick Frater