Animal, with Thursday previews of just over $1.25 million, looks set for the biggest North American Bollywood opening day since Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva last year. Both star Ranbir Kapoor.
13.11.2023 - 05:02 / variety.com
Guneet Monga Kapoor (“The Elephant Whisperers”) and Michelin-starred chef and filmmaker Vikas Khanna (“The Last Color”) have boarded Oscar-qualified animated short “American Sikh” as executive producers. The film tells the true story of an American-born, turban-wearing Sikh illustrator, writer, performance artist, diversity speaker and creator of Sikhtoons.com, Vishavjit Singh, who after a lifetime of facing prejudice, self-doubt and violence, finally finds acceptance in a superhero costume.
Singh is publicly known for his Captain America persona — a turbaned and bearded Sikh — fighting against bigotry, intolerance and perceptions of what an American should look like post 9/11. “American Sikh” was created in partnership with Singh as the director-producer and director Ryan Westra (live action short “Red, White and Beard,” starring Singh).
It was animated by Studio Showoff, a Melbourne-based production house founded by Ivan Dixon and Sean Zwan that has produced work for Childish Gambino, HBO and Cartoon Network. The film has won best short animation at Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama, best animation at San Diego International Film Festival, the grand jury award for best short documentary at and the audience choice award at the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle, a special mention at Chicago International Film Festival and an honorable mention at Tallgrass Film Festival.
Production is now under way on anthology film “Good Goodbye,” from Singapore production firm MM2 Entertainment. It comprises three interconnected stories about attitudes towards death, dying and palliative care.
Animal, with Thursday previews of just over $1.25 million, looks set for the biggest North American Bollywood opening day since Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva last year. Both star Ranbir Kapoor.
Naman Ramachandran Indian actor R. Madhavan is soaking up the accolades for “The Railway Men,” the first production from YRF Entertainment, the streaming production arm of India’s Yash Raj Films. The four-part series deals with the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy and marks the first in a creative partnership between Netflix and Yash Raj.
Naman Ramachandran Yosep Anggi Noen, whose “24 Hours with Gaspar” premiered at Busan and is playing at the Red Sea and Singapore festivals, has lined up his next movie, an untitled horror film. The film is produced by Palari Films, the Jakarta-based production company behind Edwin’s “Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash,” which won the Golden Leopard at Locarno in 2021. Noen is no stranger to Locarno glory himself, having been nominated in 2012 for “Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses” and in 2016 for “Solo, Solitude” and scored a special mention in 2019 for “The Science of Fictions.” The untitled horror-drama-thriller film, produced by Palari’s Muhammad Zaidy and Meiske Taurisia, will unite acclaimed actors Happy Salma and Putri Marino for the first time.
Callum McLennan Animation! has announced the winners of its 2024 Mentorship Program designed specifically for Latin American female animation directors. No one country was singled out, as projects from five countries took the honors. “The global convergence of creativity in this year’s selection truly signifies the universal language of animated storytelling,” said Animation! manager Silvina Cornillón.
EXCLUSIVE: The Native American Media Alliance (NAMA) announced today they have selected 8 participants for the 5th Annual Native American Animation Lab, a talent development program that aims to boost the careers of Native Americans in the field of animation.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The QCinema Project Market, the industry initiative that accompanies The Philippines’ QCinema International Film Festival, revealed its winners list on Tuesday delivering almost $500,000 of grants and in-kind support. The prizes followed a two-day networking and pitching event on Nov. 18 and 19 for 19 feature-length fiction film projects from Southeast Asia.
Brendan Fraser has lined up his next role!
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Brendan Fraser, a newly minted Academy Award winner, is set to star in the Searchlight Pictures comedic drama “Rental Family.” Japanese filmmaker Mitsuyo Miyazaki, who goes by Hikari and worked on Netflix’s “Beef,” is directing and producing the film. She’s also co-writing the script with Stephen Blahut, whom she collaborated with on the docu-drama “37 Seconds.” Principal photography will begin this spring in Japan, with release plans to be announced at a later date.
EXCLUSIVE: After taking his time in finding his next big role after winning this years best actor Oscar, Brendan Fraser looks to have zeroed in on that role as sources tell Deadline he is set to star in Searchlight’s Rental Family. Beef helmer Hikari will direct from a script she co-wrote with Stephen Blahut. Hikari has been developing the project since 2019 and will produce along with Shin Yamaguchi as well as Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev of Sight Unseen Productions.
Disney original animation is looking at a comeback this Thanksgiving. The princess pic Wish is looking at as much as $45M-$50M over five days after the studio suffering a setback over last year’s holiday with Strange World, which did $18.8M.
Naman Ramachandran “The Railway Men,” the first production from YRF Entertainment, the streaming production arm of India’s Yash Raj Films, was a carefully considered choice from studio head Aditya Chopra, director Shiv Rawail has revealed. The four-part series is a tribute to the unsung heroes of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy and marks the first venture in a multi-year creative partnership between Netflix and Yash Raj Films. In 1984, a cloud of toxic gas escaped from an American pesticide plant in the central Indian city of Bhopal.
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Belgium’s Stenola Productions, behind Joachim Lafosse’s 2022 Cannes Competition player “The Restless” and this year’s San Sebastian’s Golden Shell contender “A Silence,” has boarded “Elena,” written by Cannes Camera d’Or winner César Díaz (“Our Mothers”) and a potential highlight at this month’s Ventana Sur Proyecta forum. Stenola, which looks set to handle part of post-production, joins Norwegian lead producer Staer, founded by Elisa Fernanda Pirir, and Lithuania’s Just a Moment on a film which marks the anticipated feature debut of Dalia Huerta Cano, whose “Flesh That Remembers” won best doc short at Mexico’s Morelia Film Festival and DF Docs.
disinformation. As a self-proclaimed proud Cree woman, the Oscar-winning singer-songwriter and social activist has spent her entire career fighting for and focused on the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the United States and Canada.But a new blockbuster investigation by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation claims that Sainte-Marie is nothing but a fake.
Canadian Broadcast Corporation feature on the singer-songwriter has led to accusations that Sainte-Marie is a “pretendian” — the term coined for people who fake having Indigenous ancestry. Sainte-Marie, 82, claimed that she was born on a Piapot Cree reservation in Canada and was adopted by white parents as part of the country’s infamous Sixties Scoop in which Indigenous children were removed from their families and adopted by white families in a government policy of forced assimilation.But the recent CBC report cites a birth certificate that states the singer was born “Beverly Jean Santamaria” in Stoneham, Massachusetts to parents of European lineage.
Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Deep Sea,” an innovative Chinese-made animation film that has played the international festival circuit throughout this year, will release in North American theaters later this month. Theatrical rights were acquired by Viva Films from Netherlands-China sales outfit Fortissimo Films. Viva plans an outing on Nov.
Naman Ramachandran Mira Nair has boarded Indian filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur’s Sundance-winning documentary “Against the Tide” as an executive producer. The film follows Mumbai-based fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh who are inheritors of the great Koli fishing knowledge system — a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology.
While most people who make it far on American Idol are having the time of their lives, others have decided to leave the show in the middle of the competition for various reasons.
Valerie Wu Intern Disney Branded Television has acquired first-generation Taiwanese American filmmaker Sean Wang’s award-winning documentary short, “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó.” “Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó” features dialogue in both Mandarin and English and is a “multigenerational story” that celebrates Sean Wang’s two grandmothers, one on his father’s side and the other on his mother’s side. The film premiered at the SXSW film festival, where it took home the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award.
EXCLUSIVE: The Unforgettable Gala, the annual ceremony that honors the biggest and most impactful Asian Pacific Islanders in entertainment, arts and culture, is getting a broadcast and streaming home for its 2023 edition, which has been set for December 16 at the Beverly Hilton.
David Beckham and Lionel Messi have formed a partnership ever since the former Barcelona player moved to Inter Miami CF. Beckham was a pivotal figure in making the historic move happen, resulting in Messi becoming the first MLS player to win the Ballon d’Or. Beckham is making it clear that the moment is worth celebrating, and that the two will enjoy it the “Miami way.”Victoria Beckham’s workout routine: ‘Dumbbell, barbell, and bodyweight work’Leo Messi is a Maluma fan! The beloved athlete was captured at the Colombian artist’s Miami concertBeckham handed Messi’s trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, discussing how exciting it was to be working with the best player in the world.