A headteacher asked more than 100 boys for naked pictures on Facebook. Nick Clayton from Holyake sent creepy messages to boys as young as 10 while working as the head of a British international school in Iraq.
05.09.2022 - 08:29 / variety.com
Naman Ramachandran Prolific Indonesian producer KawanKawan Media, which has Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” in competition at the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons strand, has a raft of projects on its slate. The company, led by Yulia Evina Bhara, scored a hat trick of wins at Locarno over the last few years with Yosep Anggi Noen’s “The Science of Fictions” (2019), Carlo Francisco Manatad’s “Whether the Weather Is Fine” (2021) and Ming Jin Woo’s “Stone Turtle” (2022), and won an award at CPH:DOX for Fanny Chotimah’s documentary “You and I” in 2020. Noen’s “Gaspar,” which is set in the Javanese city Semarang in 2032 and is an adaptation of Sabda Armandio’s novel “24 Hours of Gaspar,” has just wrapped production. It stars Reza Rahadian, Shenina Cinnamon, Laura Basuki, Sal Priadi, Kristo Immanuel and Dewi Irawan.
Gaspar (Rahadian) is a dilettante detective working on a mass slaughter case involving the government, in which he encounters an informant who gives him a hint towards the mysterious disappearance of his childhood friend, Kirana, which points him towards Wan Ali, a human-trafficking crook. The film, a co-production between KawanKawan Media and Visinema Pictures, is next bound for the Busan Asian Project Market. Noen, who is KawanKawan’s co-founder, is currently developing his new feature, the Bali-set “Jilah and the Man with Two Names,” where adventures on a dating app go awry. Writer-director Kamila Andini (Toronto winner “Yuni”) is on board as co-writer. The busy Noen is also in post with documentary “Voice of Baceprot,” following the ups and downs of an all-girl metal band. “Tiger Stripes,” by Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu, is in post. In the film, an 11-year-old girl reaches puberty when her body begins
A headteacher asked more than 100 boys for naked pictures on Facebook. Nick Clayton from Holyake sent creepy messages to boys as young as 10 while working as the head of a British international school in Iraq.
K.J. Yossman Hargobind Tahilramani, the alleged “Hollywood Con Queen,” has spoken publicly for the first time after taking the stand in court on the first day of his extradition trial. The U.S. government has formally requested the self-described food blogger be extradited from the U.K. to face eight charges in California, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Tahilramani is accused of being the “mastermind” behind a $1 million scam targeting film industry professionals, in which he is alleged to have posed as dozens of mostly female Hollywood executives and their assistants in a bid to lure victims out to Jakarta in Indonesia with the promise of work. Among those he is accused of impersonating are producer Gigi Pritzker, Disney exec Dana Walden and Annapurna Pictures founder Megan Ellison (pictured above, left to right).
A fraudster known as the 'con Queen of Hollywood' impersonated well-known figures to dupe more than 300 victims out of one million US dollars by offering non-existent work in the film business, a court has heard.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japan’s biggest film group Toho announced that it has taken a controlling stake in TIA (previously Toho Interactive Animation), a production company behind the “100 Nichikan Ikita Wani,” film and anime series “iii icecrin,” “iii icecrin2” “Ninja Collection” and “That Is the Bottleneck.” Originally known as I&A, the company was established in 2017 by ILCA and Anima. The name changed to TIA after Toho bought a nearly 35% from the two founders in 2020. Toho has now bought out Anima’s stake, giving it a 67.4% majority holding and cause to rename the company again, this time to Toho Animation Studio. Deal terms were not disclosed.
Marta Balaga LevelK continues to terrify international distributors with Finnish horror “The Knocking,” directed by Max Seeck and Joonas Pajunen. The film has now been sold to over 70 countries, Variety has learned, with the company sealing further deals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Alamode Film), Latin America (Gussi), CIS (Capella Film), France (KMBO), Indonesia (PT. Falcon) and Taiwan (AV-Jet International Media). “We have been looking at many Nordic projects, especially the Finnish ones. We definitely see a shift in not just more genre projects emerging, but also in the subjects and the creativity,” says CEO Tine Klint.
Music is universal!
Naman Ramachandran Leading web novel platform Wattpad will launch a series of podcasts created by popular Wattpad authors, exclusively on Spotify. Some of the biggest names in web novels in Indonesia and the Philippines will bring their stories to life through a range of podcasts, with 20 titles available to Spotify listeners. Authors include Pit Sandi, whose story “My Ice Girl” has some 22 million reads on Wattpad, Ma. Cristina Lata, author of 321 million-read title “The Four Bad Boys and Me” and Ariesa Jane Domingo of “For Hire: A Damn Good Kisser,” which has 42.1 million reads. These podcasts are not audio versions of the popular stories but rather an exploration of various topics from the authors ranging from discussions about the authors’ creative journey to personal musings on everyday life from the lens of the author and behind-the-scenes commentary on their stories.
Tiger Pictures Entertainment has acquired worldwide distribution rights outside of mainland China for hit sci-fi comedy film “Moon Man.“ The film, which has collected some $430 million at the Chinese box office to date, tells the story of “the last human in the universe” as an astronaut finds himself stranded on the moon after an asteroid wipes out life on earth. It is directed by Zhang Chiyu, who previously directed 2017 sports comedy hit “Never Say Die.” It was produced by Mahua FunAge, a consistently successful comedy production firm. FunAge’s “Goodbye Mr. Loser” and “Never Say Die” starred Shen Teng and Ma Li and “Moon Man” brings together the comedy duo once again.
EXCLUSIVE: Marcus Dunstan, the writer of Saw 3D and Saw VI, is set to direct the horror flick All My Friends Are Dead. Film Mode Entertainment and Roundtable Entertainment will launch sales on the project at the Toronto Film Festival.
Widespread optimism months ago that domestic box office might readily return to pre-Covid levels has given way to a new sense of pragmatism about the movie business.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Prolific Japanese film director Miike Takashi and Indonesian genre specialist Kimo Stamboel will be among the star names in the ‘On Screen’ section of the Busan International Film Festival given over to TV series. Miike has made “Connect,” a Korean-language crime fantasy thriller about a man who is kidnapped and has one of his eyes removed by a gang of organ harvesters and transplanted into the body of a notorious serial killer. The unwilling donor now has terrible visions as he witnesses terrifying attacks on the residents of Seoul. The show was written by Nakamura Masaru and Heo Dam (“Monstrum”). It features Korean talent including Jung Haein (“Snowdrop,” “Start-Up,” “Tune in for Love”) in the lead role and Ko Kyungpyo (“Decision to Leave,” “Seoul Vibe,”) as the serial killer, and Kim Hyejun (“Inspector Koo,” “Kingdom,” “Sinkhole”) as the mysterious Irang.
Björk has shared a video for new song "Atopos." The single is the first release from upcoming album Fossora, announced last month. In a tweet about the song, Björk said "Atopos" is "a good intro .... kinda like Fossora´s passport.
David Simonsen is joining Amazon and taking over the new position of Director Prime Video, Southeast Asia. He will be based in Singapore and is starting on Monday, September 5.
Forget the overly poetic title, Makbul Mubarak’s terrific Indonesian thriller Autobiography — which premieres in the Venice Film Festival’s Horizons section — is a genuine discovery here, a taut and elegantly staged two-hander that transcends regional politics to make a profound comment on the state of the world today.
Naman Ramachandran Feature debutant Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography,” which premieres in Venice’s Horizons strand on Saturday, is a deeply personal tale informed by his own experiences. The film, which is being sold by Alpha Violet, follows young Rakib (Kevin Ardilova), whose father is in prison and whose brother works abroad. He works as the housekeeper in a mansion in a rural Indonesian town belonging to retired general Purna (Arswendy Bening Swara). Purna returns to the town to start his mayoral election campaign and Rakib, whose clan has worked for the general’s family for centuries, serves as his assistant. An act of vandalism during the campaign triggers an escalating chain of violence.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix on Friday announced a slate of upcoming films and TV series from Indonesia. The company says this is its most ambitious outreach in the populous and influential Southeast Asian country. The seven new titles span sci-fi thriller, comedy and period drama genres and involve big name creators Joho Anwar (“Satan’s Slaves,” “Impetigore”), Timo Tjahjanto (who is also part of the creative duo Mo Brothers) and Kamila Andini (“The Mirror Never Lies,” “Yuni”). They were announced at an in-person event in Jakarta called Waktu Netflix Indonesia (which translates as ‘Time for Netflix Indonesia). The company said that the slate reflects its “commitment to helping the [Indonesian] industry build compelling content from the country and taking these stories to the world.”
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Indonesia is often described as the world’s most populous Muslim nation. But the country’s development as a global-scale media market has been uneven and full of promises unfulfilled. Many of the old connections between media ownership and political influence appear to have been transplanted from the analog era into the digital one, making it a tricky place for foreign film, TV and (latterly) streaming companies to operate in. The slate announcement and Friday’s Jakarta event, however, appear to normalize Netflix’s position in Indonesia after a politically-charged and controversy-laden first few years. The presentation included a gushing video message from Sandiaga Uno, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy.
travel is back in a big way and Australian tourists are once again flocking to Indonesia, one of the nation’s favourite overseas holiday spots.WATCH: Child-friendly luxury accomodation, Mulia BaliBut after two years in lockdown most travellers aren’t content with the stock-standard beach holiday anymore.They want excitement and unique experiences and many of them have the cash to afford something a little different, which is exactly what luxury liveaboard The Seven Seas offers.Operating as a dedicated dive cruise and yacht charter around some of Indonesia’s most beautiful and untouched islands, the boat is a traditionally built Indonesian sailing schooner that offers everything a traveller could want – and then some.So what’s it really like to live on a boat in Indonesia for a week? I gave it a try, so keep reading to find out.Luxury liveaboard boat The Seven Seas offers unique travel around Indonesia's best hidden gems.Most Aussies hear the word “cruise” and picture a mid-60s couple on a massive ship full of tiny cabins who spend their days wandering around port cities.The Seven Seas is nothing like that. Serving primarily as a dive boat, guests are encouraged to dive, snorkel or swim around remote reefs and untouched beaches.You can swim with Manta Rays at Komodo Island or see Whale Sharks feeding near Sumbawa, which is a hell of a lot cooler than packing onto a commercial cruise ship with a bunch of oldies.Just know that all the salt water will leave your hair feeling worse than straw, especially if you’re a bottle blonde, and you’re guaranteed to encounter a few stingers in the water.For most people, they just feel like a tiny zap.