San Sebastian Premiere ‘A Journey in Spring’ Takes on the Cyclical Nature of Life: ‘It’s Birth and Death, Come and Go’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The inaugural edition of the Cinema at Sea – Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival will be held next month (Nov. 23-29) on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome Film Fest opener “There’s Still Tomorrow,” a bold period dramedy that marks the directorial debut of popular Italian actor Paola Cortellesi, has scored a slew of international sales. The film, shot in black-and-white and set in post-World War II Rome, riffs on Italy’s neorealist past, albeit with a female empowerment element angle and a contemporary A-list Italian cast.

Naman Ramachandran Classic cult film streamer Cultpix has signed a content rights partnership with the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI), formerly known as the Taiwan Film Institute. The agreement, the fast-growing streamer’s 50th, will kick off with two films, “The Fantasy of the Deer Warrior” (1961) and “The Bride Who Returned from Hell” (1965), which have both been digitally restored by the TFAI. The partnership was revealed at the ongoing Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France.

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have added an Eden Sessions show to their joint 2024 UK and Ireland tour – find out how to get tickets below.The bands, who toured Europe together in 1993 before recreating the line-up for a North American tour in 2022, recently announced a joint UK and Ireland tour for next year. Both acts head to Japan, Singapore and Taiwan this winter for other shared dates.Today (October 16) the Manics and Suede have revealed a fresh date for the tour, which sees them stop by Cornwall to play the Eden Sessions on June 29, 2024.

After knowing each other for a mere matter of days, Married at First Sight stars Ella Morgan and JJ Slater stunned viewers at home, when the news emerged that they were going to kiss behind the backs of their spouses and re-enter the experiment as a brand new couple in the wake of the cheating scandal. As regular viewers will already know, Ella’s husband Nathanial Valentino revealed at the start of the experiment that he had left during filming, but in a surprising moment it was soon revealed that his departure was actually because Ella and JJ were unfaithful in an explosive twist to the original couple's rocky tale.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer The South by Southwest Music Festival has announced its initial lineup for its 38th annual event, descending on Austin, Texas from March 11-16. Organizers have revealed the first slate of 149 musicians set to perform during the festival, including Lo Moon (from Los Angeles), Cumgirl8 (New York), Omar S (Detroit), Rawayana (Caracas), Dry Cleaning (London), Hinds (Madrid) and Red Axes (Tel Aviv).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese actors King Jieh-wen and Hsueh Shih-ling and Indonesia’s Angga Yunanda are set to star in “Malice,” a multinational Asian thriller that will shoot next year. The film’s producers, actors and government backers presented the fully-assembled package to press and industry on Monday at the Busan International Film Festival. The film, pitched as “a road movie at sea,” is a dark tale of three men who put out to sea in search of a particular, large swordfish that had been rumored to have died out.

Taiwanese actors Jieh-Wen King and Hsueh Shih-Ling and Indonesian actor Angga Yunanda have been cast in Lim Lungyin’s action adventure Malice, an amitious co-production between Taiwan, Czech Republic and Indonesia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Big-budget, Korean-language fantasy-crime-action series “Moving” emerged as the big winner on Sunday at the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, claiming six prizes, including the ‘best creative’ prize. The Disney+ original, which debuted in August, also received the best visual effects award and the best writer award, which was presented at the Busan Cinema Centre’s main stage to webtoon artist turned filmmaker Kang Full. Actor Ryu Seung Ryong, who portrayed a father with a superpower attempting to save his family, was awarded the best lead actor prize, while the show’s Lee Jung Ha was named best newcomer and Go Youn Jung was named best actress. The 20-episode series has received critical acclaim for its narrative structure, dynamic action sequences and breathtaking storytelling.

Disney+ superhero series Moving was the big winner at Busan Film Festival’s Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, scooping six prizes, including Best Creative and Best Writer for Kang Full.

Bradley Liew of Epicmedia Productions (Philippines), Stefano Centini of Volos Films (Taiwan/Italy) and Singapore’s Huang Junxiang have reunited to launch two genre projects at the Busan International Film Festival‘s Asian Contents and Film Market. The trio previously teamed on Sundance Midnight hit, “In My Mother’s Skin” by Kenneth Dagatan, which was recently ranked number six on Variety’s Best Horror Movies of 2023. The film was acquired by Amazon Studios and will stream on Prime Video from Oct.

Salli,” a film which has its world premiere this week in the Busan International Film Festival’s A Window on Asian Cinema program. The Mandarin-, Taiwanese-, English- and French-language film follows a lonely middle-aged chicken farmer Hui-Chun, who doesn’t speak English and develops a romantic relationship through an app with a French man who calls himself Martin. In the online world, Hui-Chun is Salli.

Seoul-based sales company Finecut has got off to a busy start at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) closing a trio of deals on webtoon adaptation Brave Citizen, and picking up international rights to inspirational drama Victory. 

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The Match Factory has sold Sofia Coppola‘s “Priscilla” to distributors worldwide, the sales agency revealed Friday ahead of its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival last month, and won the Coppa Volpi award for best actress for Cailee Spaeny’s performance. Adding to the previously announced sales in France (ARP SAS), The Match Factory has secured distribution in Australia and New Zealand (Madman Entertainment), Spain (Elastica Films and BTeam Pictures), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), CIS (Capella Film), Scandinavia and Iceland (Nordisk Film), Poland (Best Film), Greece (Spentzos Film), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), Hungary (ADS), Middle East and North Africa (Front Row Filmed Ent.), Israel (Lev Cinemas), former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic), Japan (GAGA Corporation), Taiwan (Moviecloud) and worldwide airline distribution (Echo Lake Distribution).

The Match Factory has announced a raft of world sales for Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla ahead of its North American premiere as the Centrepiece selection of the New York Film Festival on Friday.

Academy Awards. The film had its debut in the Critics’ Week section of the Cannes film festival in May and was directed by first-time feature filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu. The announcement was made on Thursday by Malaysia’s Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil following selection by the National Film Development Corporation (FINAS). The film was a eight-way coproduction involving companies from Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Indonesia and Qatar, and emerged from a succession of labs, project markets and international funds. Since winning the Grand Prix at the Critics’ Week, “Tiger Stripes” has been a popular choice on the festival circuit, with stops so far at Neufchatel, The Hamptons, Sitges, London, Fantasia, Taipei and next week’s Pingyao events.Dir. Amanda Nell Eu. International sales: Films Boutique. All submissions and materials for the 2023 race must be received by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences by 5 p.m. on Oct. 2. And films must meet all the qualifying conditions between Dec. 1, 2022, and Oct. 31, 2023. A shortlist of 15 will be announced on Dec. 21. Final nominees will be announced on Jan. 23, 2024. The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024. Argentina, the South American country with the best Academy Awards history, has chosen as its Academy Awards submission “The Delinquents,” Rodrigo Moreno’s incorrigibly playful heist movie, which world premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard, delighting critics.

Busan’s industry platform, Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM), is a marketplace where sales agents set up their stalls to sell projects in development and completed films. But increasingly, it’s also becoming a place where producers can find the stories and other source material they need to bring those films and series to life. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A clutch of Chinese movies released for the end of September holiday season dominated the global box office over the latest weekend. Mainland Chinese-produced films took first, third and fifth places across the planet, according to U.S.-based data service Comscore. Comscore shows “Under the Light,” which released only in mainland China, grossing an estimated $54 million between Friday and Sunday.

The San Sebastian Film Festival awarded O Corno (The Rye Horn) with the Golden Shell for Best Film. San Sebastián native Jaione Camborda took the top prize of the night for the feature she directed.

Holly Jones As it plays in competition at San Sebastian’s Works In Progress Latam strand, Buenos Aires-based sales agency Meikincine has swooped on international sales rights for mother-daughter relationship drama “Maybe It’s True What They Say About Us” (“Quizás Es Cierto Lo Que Dicen De Nosotras”). Produced by Storyboard Media (“Santiago, Italia” “El pacto de Fuga”), the film is directed by Chilean filmmaking duo Camilo Becerra (“El último sacramento”) and Sofía Paloma Gómez (“Quiero morirme dentro de un tiburón”).