Im Sang-Soo’s ‘Heaven’ to Open Busan Film Festival

Selome Hailu editorThe Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF) has released the lineup of films and honorees for its 30th edition, which will take place Oct. 8-16.The opening night presentation will be a screening of Samuel D.

EXCLUSIVE: The documentary community, a loose assemblage of independent creatives under the best of circumstances, has labored under the absence of in-person gatherings during the pandemic. For well over a year, most all-documentary festivals have been forced to go virtual, hardly a respite for filmmakers inured to hermitry.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThis year’s Tokyo International Film Festival will give gala positions to two American movies. Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho” has been set as the opening night title and will play on Oct.

One of the few positive things the pandemic has done for movie buffs is left us with an onslaught of leftover 2020 titles held for this year’s fall festival circuit. Case in point: the 59th Annual New York Film Festival.

San Sebastian International Film Festival kicked off this Friday, September 18th, featuring some of the biggest stars of Spanish cinema.

Marion Cotillard shows off her award after being honored with the Donostia during the 2021 San Sebastian International Film Festival held at the Kursaal Palace on Friday (September 17) in San Sebastian, Spain.

Jennifer Lopez is endorsing her man Ben Affleck's new movie! The 52-year-old triple threat shared a stunning throwback video from her time in Venice, Italy, promoting the film,, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKakao Entertainment, part of South Korean internet giant Kakao Corp., is poised to buy leading Korean film production company Zip Cinema from its Singaporean owner Spackman Entertainment. The deal is valued at S$19.8 million ($14.8 million).Zip Cinema is producer of “Broker,” the Korean-language debut of Japanese Palme d’or winner Kore-eda Hirokazu (“Shoplifters”), which is now in post-production and being sold by CJ Entertainment.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorThe 33rd edition of the New York LGBTQ+ film festival NewFest will kick off with the east coast premiere of “Mayor Pete,” the Amazon Studios documentary about Pete Buttigieg run for president in 2020.Now Pres. Joe Biden’s secretary of transportation, the former mayor of Indianapolis had hoped to have been the youngest and first openly gay president of the United States.The 2021 hybrid edition of NewFest will take place Oct.

Jamie Lang Raindance Film Festival, Britain’s largest independent film festival, will return to cinemas this year, reimagined and restructured with a host of new partners and new films. Running Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Shang-Chi And The Legend of The Ten Rings” held on the top place at the South Korean box office for the second weekend. But it failed to sustain overall cinemagoing in what used to be, pre-COVID, the world’s fourth largest theatrical market.“Shang-Chi” earned $2.63 million in its second weekend for a market share of 50%.

Spain’s primary film event, the San Sebastian Film Festival, was one of the few major international fests to host a physical edition last year as the pandemic raged around the world. Flash forward 12 months and Covid is far from behind us, but festivals are pushing on in this strange new world.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are cruising into the Venice Film Festival.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are enjoying a slice of la dolce vita! The couple took their romance to the Venice International Film Festival on Thursday, taking in the sites from a boat on the canal as they made their way to the annual event. The power couple was spotted kissing, wrapping their arms around one another, and whispering in each other's ears as they enjoyed the scenic ride. Upon exiting the boat, the happy pair donned masks and held hands.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s “One Second,” South Korea’s “The Book of Fish,” India’s “The Disciple,” and two Japanese films, “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” and “Wife of a Spy” will compete for this year’s best film prize at the Asian Film AwardsThe awards again will be held again in conjunction with the Busan International Film Festival. The ceremony, on Oct.

Mill Valley Film Festival will open with the California premiere of “Cyrano,” directed by Joe Wright and written by Erica Schmidt, adapted from Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical of the same name, which is based on Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac.” Opening night takes place on Oct. 7 at the Sequoia Theatre and Smith Rafael Film Center.Peter Dinklage stars as Cyrano de Bergerac, who, believing himself to be ugly, feels unworthy of the love of his friend Roxanne (Haley Bennett).

Kate Hudson is turning heads at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. Hudson wore a red Chantilly lace and tulle Valentino gown from the Valentino Resort 2022 Prêt-à-Porter collection to the  premiere in Venice, Italy Sunday.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho, this year’s Venice jury president, famously accepted his 2020 Golden Globe for best foreign film by assuring audiences that “once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”This is especially true at this year’s festival, where in addition to the standard Italian subtitles on every film, another monitor also displays English subtitles — even for English-language

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Marvel’s first movie with an Asian superhero, topped the South Korean box office over its first weekend. But it failed to lift Korean cinema-going to new heights.The film grossed $4.75 million over the opening weekend, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service provided by the Korean Film Council.