Martin King relives his family’s pain in debut documentary

Guy Lodge Film CriticAwards season can often feel like a months-long echo chamber in which the same handful of films and names are discussed to death.

Benedict Cumberbatch says he plans to call on Joe Biden to close Guantanamo Bay after studying the prison for his latest movie "The Mauritanian."  The actor produced the drama and portrays Lt. Colonel Stuart Couch.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTheatrical box office in Hong Kong was down by only 4% over the four-day Easter holidays, compared with the same period in 2019, the last pre-COVID year. The score was achieved despite mandatory seating restrictions still in place.Data published Wednesday by Hong Kong Box Office Limited, showed gross revenues of HK$28.4 million ($3.64 million) between April 2-5, 2021.

For his Oscar-nominated short documentary Do Not Split, director Anders Hammer spent a year in Hong Kong’s streets, capturing the drama and chaos as China cracked down on pro-democracy protests. The work came with inherent danger.

The Mauritanian.The film, which is being produced by SunnyMarch – an independent film and television company that Cumberbatch jointly owns – explores the experiences of Mohamedou Ould Slahi who was incarcerated at Guantánamo Bay for 14 years without charge.After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the offshore prison camp in Cuba was set up to hold suspects relating to terror charges.

Benedict Cumberbatch may have contracted COVID-19 before most people had even heard of the virus.

Tahar Rahim is one of Hollywood’s biggest breakout stars of 2021. After first appearing in streaming shows like and, the 39-year-old French Algerian actor first has emerged as a leading man with opposite Jodie Foster and the true-crime drama, .In the latter, which is now streaming on Netflix, Rahim portrays the 1970s “Bikini Killer” and fraudster, Charles Sobhraj, who was responsible for murdering over a dozen of Western tourists along the Hippie Trail of Southeast Asia.

Ever since the trailer of The Mauritanian was released, the film had garnered a lot of attention. With a stellar cast consisting of Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shailene Woodley, and Tahar Rahim, the film promised some powerful performances.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Warner Bros/Legendary’s Godzilla Vs Kong will slug it out in 38 offshore markets this weekend beginning Wednesday in such hubs as Mexico, Taiwan, Indonesdia and India; followed by Russia, Korea and Australia among others on Thursday and China notably on Friday. The Adam Wingard-directed pic is releasing abroad ahead of domestic which falls on March 31 day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max.