Jia Zhangke and Pingyao Film Festival to Return for Fifth Edition

Bitchin’: The Sound and Fury of Rick James,” part of the Tribeca Film Festival, when the movie stopped with 40 minutes still to go.“We will now pause for 15 minutes to watch the fireworks,” an announcer said. Huh? Cannes has never shot off pyrotechnics during a Lars von Trier debut. (Perhaps they should.)The surprise display was Gov.

Victoria Wang In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) cancelled its physical red carpet events and pivoted to a combination of offline and online activities.

One person assembles plastic bottle pumps, another paints areola on sex dolls, and a different individual takes a business etiquette class to learn the proper way to smile (one shows eight teeth…the top ones). All of them are Chinese citizens struggling to find and maintain a foothold in their country’s race towards global domination, and in “Ascension,” they give audiences a peek at what increasingly appears to be a devil’s bargain.

Rebecca Davis editorHong Kong on Friday issued new amendments to its film classification rules, effectively injecting Beijing’s strict censorship standards on the previously liberal territory.Hong Kong censors previously screened content merely to rate it for typical metrics like violence or obscenity, classifying them into one of three categories to indicate age appropriateness.Now, they will have to actively intuit what will displease Beijing.

Rebecca Davis editorOne of the most prominent Chinese propaganda films of the year is set for a flashy, state-sanctioned premiere as the opening night selection of the Shanghai Intl. Film Festival on Friday.

Another early morning, another early announcement from France. As promised by the organizers previously, new titles have been added to the Cannes Film Festival, nine of them in total.

Vivienne Chow The Far East Film Festival returns with a hybrid edition for the first time, screening a total of 63 titles from 11 countries and regions and stretching the festival run from its home town of Udine to across Italy and the digital realm.The 23rd edition of the Udine festival, which has long established itself as a key window to Asian cinema in Europe, will also be expanding its number of physical screenings with five screens, including an open-air cinema accommodating 400

President Joe Biden has rescinded Donald Trump executive orders that would have effectively shut down the popular TikTok and WeChat apps in the U.S.

Andrew Barker Senior Features WriterTaking place across outdoor venues in all five boroughs of New York City, the Tribeca Film Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary June 9-20, screening a bevy of features, shorts, TV series, podcasts and games in what is being billed as the first major in-person film festival to take place in North America since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.Managing all the logistics to mount a proper in-person festival despite such circumstances would be a tall

Rebecca Davis editorThe Shanghai International Film Festival (SHIFF) will kick off this year with the Chinese propaganda film “1921” as its opening night gala, the event announced late Tuesday evening local time with just three days to go before the premiere.This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of China’s ruling Communist Party on July 1, a key political date that for the past year already has sent censors into high alert and film companies scrambling to develop content lauding

It’s been essentially over a year without in-person film festivals. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the SXSW, Cannes Film Festival, and Tribeca Film Festivals were all canceled last year.

One of Universal Pictures‘ biggest franchises is “Fast & Furious,” once focused on a ragtag group of street racers dealing in stolen DVD players. However, the films have evolved into a slightly more digestible for parents.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“F9,” the latest installment of Universal’s action-packed “Fast & Furious” franchise, is the teased “planetary blockbuster” heading to the Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned.Starring Vin Diesel, John Cena and Michelle Rodriguez, the highly anticipated movie is already a major international B.O. milestone, having grossed over $250 million worldwide, including $203 million in China (as of June 6).

Ashley Hume “It’s going to be Washington Heights that is going to show the world how to get up again,” declared director Jon M. Chu as he addressed the audience ahead of the special preview screening of Warner Bros.’ “In the Heights.” “Because it showed me how to get up again.”Chu’s sentiments reflected the overall atmosphere of the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF), held Thursday night at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Haley Bosselman editorAfter going virtual last year with the online initiative LALIFF Connect 2020, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival returned as an in-person event on Wednesday. The premiere of “7th and Union” served as the opening night film at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.The Broken English production is the second feature film from director Anthony Nardolillo.

Warner Music China is expanding its hip hop label Juuice, extending the division’s operations into Taiwan and Hong Kong. The label has also announced the signing of rapper Bohan Phoenix.Confirming all this, Jonathan Serbin – CEO of Greater China for Warner Music Asia – says: “We are delighted to announce the expansion of Juuice across Greater China.

Rebecca Davis editorWarner Music Group is expanding its mainland China hip-hop imprint JUUICE to the Greater China region of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the firm said Thursday. Rapper Bohan Phoenix, one of the few bilingual, bicultural artists to find crossover success on both sides of the Pacific, has signed to the expanded imprint.Bohan Phoenix said he was “thrilled” to join JUUICE.

Jodie Foster will be honored two-fold at the Cannes Film Festival this year, as the actress-director is set to be the guest of honor at the opening ceremony and will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or.In receiving the award, Foster will have a bit of a full-circle moment. When she first attended Cannes as a teenager in 1976, Foster presented Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” which won the Palme d’Or that year.