Hong Kong’s Oscar-Winning Production Designer Tim Yip Launches ‘Love Infinity’ Art Film Series (EXCLUSIVE)

Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi is joining the cast of “Silent Night,” the next film from action movie auteur John Woo — a film entirely free of dialogue. “Silent Night” stars Joel Kinnaman (“The Suicide Squad”) and is currently filming in Mexico City.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorLimonero Films, a boutique distributor of factual shows and documentaries, based in London, has announced a string of sales ahead of MipTV.Make Waves Media’s “Thirties in Color: Countdown to War” has been sold to Japan’s NHK, Italy’s RAI, Spain’s RTVE and Germany’s RTL, which also licensed “Victorian Britain on Film” and “Wild Relations.”The wildlife title “Wild Relations” was picked up by KBS in Korea and Radio Television Hong Kong.“Framed in Miami: The Versace Connection,” Limonero’s first true crime series, was picked up by Discovery in Italy, and their food and travel show “Hidden Flavors of India: North East” by Discovery Asia.Andy Cohen’s “Beijing Spring,” about the Chinese cultural revolution of 1979, was licensed to Sweden’s SVT and Switzerland’s RSI.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese filmmaker, artist and influencer Yi Zhou has launched a cluster of companies that have begun making feature movies for the metaverse.Zhou, who departed China in 2011, trained in Paris and London, before settling in Rome for several years where she worked as an installation artist, fashion influencer for Chinese streaming site Tudou (now part of Alibaba) and short film director. Three of her shorts have played in Sundance, while another played at the Venice Festival.In 2018, Zhou relocated to Los Angeles in order to increase her focus on developing entertainment endeavors.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterCatalina Sandino Moreno and Harold Torres have been cast in “Silent Night,” an action-thriller starring Joel Kinnaman.Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo (“A Better Tomorrow”) is directing the film, which is currently in production in Mexico City. The story centers on Godlock (Kinnaman), a father on a mission to avenge his young son, who was tragically caught in the crossfire of gang violence on Christmas Eve.

Martin Scorsese’s Boston gangster movie “The Departed” was loosely based on the thrilling Hong Kong crime epic “Infernal Affairs” that starred Asian superstars Tony Leung and Andy Lau. Well, the pair of actors are reuniting for a new thriller, “Goldfinger,” aka, “Once Upon A Time In Hong Kong,” that will be written/directed by Felix Chong, who penned the “Infernal Affairs” trilogy.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHit by mandatory closures through 40% of 2020-21, the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park and resort trimmed its losses to HK$2.4 billion ($308 million), management reported on Monday.The park and its hotels operate a financial year that runs from October to September and reported the figures nearly six months in arrears. The park and hotels are currently closed, following yet another government order in early January 2022.

Rebecca Souw Chinese-owned streaming platform iQiyi added its first Thai original series and two additional shows from Taiwan to its slate of content destined for markets outside mainland China.The additions were revealed Thursday as part of the Hong Kong FilMart rights market being held virtually this year for the third time. The Thai series is “KinnPorsche,” a ‘boys love’ action series starring Mile Phakphum Romsaithong (“Ladytwenty” and “Khamin Rak Kap Poon”) and Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (“Chart Suer Pun Mungkorn” and “Pra Teap Rak Hang Jai”).The Taiwanese productions, “Lesson in Love” and “Oh No! Here Comes Trouble” are both set in high school.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong’s broadcasters and streamers were active buyers of content ahead of this week’s FilMart. Pay-TV platform, Now TV picked up a nine-title package of factual content from All3Media International.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAfter “Parasite” and “Squid Game” struck planet-wide notes with their critique of elitism, Trevor Choi’s “Smashing Frank” is a timely Hong Kong twist on the revenge-against-the-rich theme. It is being pitched at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) that this week runs alongside the FilMart rights market.“This is a comedy-drama about four millennials who form a squad to rob the rich. During the course of the crime, they are outraged as they gradually realize that the older generation will never change their ways.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPhilippines star Jericho Rosales (“Basurero,” “Siargao,” “Pacquiao: The Movie”) has been announced as headlining the cast of “Sellblock” an upcoming scripted TV prison series. The show is hatched by Manila-based ABS-CBN and its production partner BlackOps Studios Asia.It was first announced last month as part of BlackOps’ genre slate of projects with its creative partner Psyops8, and its coproduction partners Story Arch Pictures and Agog Film Productions.

The last few years have seen an uptick in the number of genre films directed by women, and it’s been interesting to see the impact of that on such a traditionally male-dominated field. Directed by Irish-born actress Antonia Campbell-Hughes, It Is In Us All, which had its world premiere in the Narrative Feature lineup at SXSW, is one of the strangest yet: a gore-free body horror that manages to be completely unnerving without conforming to any of the usual expectations that come with the territory. A very rough comparison would be David Cronenberg’s 1996 psychodrama Crash (or, more specifically, the much darker source novel by J.G. Ballard), but the sense of dread here is much less tangible, even though car accidents feature prominently.

Vivienne Chow Hong Kong’s ongoing anti-COVID restrictions are forecast to cost the city’s cinemas HK$1.5 billion ($192 million) in lost box office receipts and cause the unemployment of thousands of people in the cinema business.The Hong Kong Theatres Association, which represents the city’s cinema operators, says that the damage to the industry in 2022 will be worse than in the past two years.Cinemas have been ordered to remain closes from Jan. 7 until at least April 20, 2022 (a minimum of 104 days) reflecting the course of the virus’ fifth wave in the city, which has turned out to be by far the most deadly.Hong Kong cinema are certain to lose both the Lunar New Year and the Easter holiday seasons, two of the peak viewing periods.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFree Stone Productions has added a quartet of new Japanese film titles to its sales slate for this week’s virtual edition of Hong Kong FilMart. The female-led company is selling romance “Leave in Summer” and drama film “Yes, I Can’t Swim” both of which will release later this year.Directed by Igashi Aya, “Leave in Summer” is a tale of a lost soul and his spiritual guide. It depicts a man washing up in a seaside town at the end of the season and seeking to stay so that he can reconnect with his recently deceased wife.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSouth Korean indie studio More In Group is using Hong Kong FilMart to launch its new feature film project “19 39.”Director Park Jae-ho is setting a quick turnaround for the comedy-drama movie which has not yet been filmed, but which he plans to release in summer this year.The story, written by Kim Min-Jung transports five 39-year-old women back to their childhoods, to experience high school and first love. Their happy memories contrast with present day reality as women on the cusp of middle age.

Mirror singer and actor Anson Lo has joined the cast of Bizhan Tong’s upcoming action thriller Chungking Mansions. Billed as Hong Kong’s biggest zombie film ever, the Phoenix Waters Productions pic, in co-production with AMM Global and Salon Films Japan, has also added Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korea’s Choi Si-Hun and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSequoia Entertainment is taking advantage of Taiwan’s gay-friendly culture to launch urban comedy series “The Nipple Talk.” The show is in pre-production and is expected to be delivered by early 2023.Taiwan, which is self-ruled and democratic, has a more liberal culture than other parts of Greater China. In 2019, Taiwan legalized same sex marriage and is now more actively producing queer content than Hong Kong or mainland China.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAsian sports streaming platform SPOTV has launched in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines. The move was announced on the first day of the virtual FilMart rights market.The service is available as a subscription-based app that includes linear channels and on demand event coverage. The sports it covers include MotoGP World Championships and World Superbike Championships; World Badminton Federation Tour; the Korean Baseball League; V.League Japan and Formula E motor racing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefOrganizers of Hong Kong FilMart, normally Asia’s biggest film and TV rights market, are putting on a brave face despite their prestige event being forced into an online-only format for the third time in a row.The city’s borders are closed to travelers from several key countries and its onerous quarantine on-arrival conditions show no sign of being lifted during the current fifth wave of COVID-19 infections.But, while many Asian industry executives have been unable to attend an in-person festival or market for some two years now, and are keenly awaiting the first opportunity, these days they are also vastly more experienced at dealing with virtual markets, video conferencing and online screenings. The number of companies participating as exhibitors at FilMart 2022 is set to reach 750, compared with 680 last year.