Hong Kong Streamer HMVOD Preparing for Post-Pandemic Expansion

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNorwegian director Anders Hammer did not set out to make another war film when he traveled to Hong Kong in 2019 to document the political protests that had brought an estimated two million people to the streets of self-proclaimed Asia’s World City.Hammer has previously chronicled real, hot war situations in Kabul and Iraq. There, bullets and rockets were flying daily, and more lives were in imminent danger.

TheHong Kong International Film Festivalhas scrapped its opening-night world premiere of Where the Wind Blows, a widely anticipated crime thriller directed by local industry veteran Philip Yung.

Vivienne Chow Dedicating her time and energy to strategizing ticket purchases for a young idol was never part of Chung Ling’s life plans. This 40-something-year-old working mother says she gave up on Hong Kong’s once huge Cantonese-language pop scene, a decade ago.

Derek Tsang's youth drama Better Days, nominated this year for the best international film Oscar, has given Hong Kong its first shot at Academy Awards glory since Farewell My Concubine got the nod in 1993. But in a mysterious move, it appears that the Oscars ceremony is set to go unaired in Hong Kong for the first time in over 50 years.

Bloomberg).But the move comes amid reports that China’s Communist party told all local media outlets to downplay live coverage of the ceremony stemming from the nomination of the documentary short “Do Not Split,” which focuses on the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, and past comments made by Chinese-born “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao.Other local TV broadcasters in Hong Kong also do not have the broadcast rights, as reported by the Hong Kong news outlet The Standard.Also Read: Why

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Hong Kong International Film Festival has announced the cancelation of its world premiere screening of crime thriller “Where the Wind Blows.” The move appears to be part of the accelerating ‘mainlandization’ of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry.The festival said Monday evening in a statement that screenings of “Where the Wind Blows” (previously known “Theory of Ambitions”) had been cancelled at the request of the film’s owner.“Upon request from the film

Despite securing its first Oscar nomination since 1993, Hong Kong looks set to not broadcast the Academy Awards this year after local station Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) opted not to renew its deal.

Better Days,” the territory’s leading free-to-air TV network Television Broadcasts (TVB) will be dropping television coverage of the Oscars ceremony.The network Monday confirmed that it did not have rights to broadcast the show this year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn Hong Kong, where unsmiling mainland Chinese authorities have asserted their “comprehensive jurisdiction,” satire has become a dangerous form of humor. But at least one new satirical segment is soon set to brave the Special Administrative Region’s airwaves.From next month, activist and broadcaster James Ockenden is launching “The Alphard Wars” on RTHK.

“Godzilla vs.

Can’t y’all just let Scarlett Johansson headline blockbuster movies in peace?

Vivienne Chow An award-winning documentary about Hong Kong’s 2019 protests that has been effectively banned in its hometown has been set as the showpiece of the Taiwan International Documentary Festival.“Inside the Red Brick Wall” will play as the festival’s opening film, organizers announced on Thursday. The festival is set to run April 30 – May 9, 2021.The film chronicles the 13-day standoff between police and protesters at Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University in November 2019.

EXCLUSIVE: MGM is in advanced negotiations for a multi-territory pre-buy of writer-director Zach Braff’s feature A Good Person, we can reveal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefRakuten Viki, a streaming platform specializing in Asian content and fan-generated sub-titles, is launching a transactional VOD function in North America. The new functionality kicks off with two recent Korean movies, “Josee” and “New Year Blues.”Backed by Japanese e-commerce and entertainment group Rakuten, Viki currently operates an ad-supported video service (AVOD) and two tiers of subscription video (SVOD).

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentThe pandemic has led to changes in production that could well be permanent, but its effect on content going forward is less clear.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentFollowing his win of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival for “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” 42-year-old Hamaguchi Ryusuke suddenly finds himself catapulted to the directorial front ranks in his native Japan.It’s not that he’s exactly obscure there: Hamaguchi’s 2018 romantic drama “Asako I & II” was selected for the Cannes competition while his 2015 breakthrough, the five-hour-plus drama “Happy Hour,” won a group best

Vivienne Chow Television Broadcasts, Hong Kong’s leading TV group, is set to boost its variety and music programs following a recent management reshuffle. It aims to bring back veteran entertainers who have experience and profile on the mainland Chinese market in order that the station can expand its foothold in the Greater Bay Area.The new appointments come after a difficult year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBerlin Grand Jury Prize winner “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy,” Japanese writer-director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s deft three-story reflection on chance, the legacy of love and the contrariness of erotic desire, has clinched further key territory sales for its sales agent M-Appeal World Sales.Fast on the footsteps of clinching the top Berlinale 2021 Silver Bear in March 5’s Berlin prize announcement, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” this week closed Spain