Sundance Film Festival unveils slate for 1st virtual edition

Rebecca Davis editorChinese director Guan Hu is riding high right now: Despite languishing in government censorship purgatory for over a year, his patriotic war epic “The Eight Hundred” has risen to become the highest grossing film in the world in 2020, with sales of $461 million. His next confirmed move? More jingoistic propaganda.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFilm industry relations between China and Europe have been kept alive throughout the coronavirus outbreak by Bridging The Dragon, an informal trade organization now in its sixth year.After its regular event held during the Berlin film festival in February, further seminars, presentations and mixers should have taken place in Cannes in May and in Beijing in November.

While we may be talking about the unfortunate death of movie theaters in the US, considering they have yet to fully bounce back from being closed most of the year and 2021 isn’t looking as promising as we hoped, Chinese cinemas are not only open but thriving.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefVeteran executive Brett Hogg has been promoted and made head of Sony Pictures film and television operations across Asia. He will remain at his current base in Singapore.He has been senior VP of international distribution for Sony Pictures Releasing International in the Asia region, supervising the Sony Pictures Releasing operations across Southeast Asia, China and India for theatrical distribution.

The New York Film Critics Circle has unveiled its annual awards, honouring the late Chadwick Boseman with the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the Spike Lee-directed “Da 5 Bloods”.

A vivid look at what it means for populations to rise up against governments intent on curbing their liberties, Ai Weiwei's Cockroach takes us to the streets of Hong Kong in 2019, as young people violently resist measures chipping away at their independence from mainland China. The third doc Ai has released this year (following Coronation and the Sundance entry Vivos), it's among his most effective films to date —tightly focused and morally urgent.

Netflix is adding fantasy film The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity to its pool of high-profile Chinese commercial movies. The feature, directed by youth-favorite filmmaker Guo Jingming, will debut on Netflix on Feb.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGlobal streaming giant Netflix has acquired rights to “The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity,” a period fantasy action film by the ferociously talented and divisive director Guo Jingming. The film is set for a major theatrical release in mainland China on Dec.

down from 118 in 2020 — as it made plans for a nearly all-virtual event from Jan. 28 to Feb.

Earlier today, the Sundance Film Festival revealed its full program for the 2021 incarnation of the fest. Obviously, it won’t be taking place solely in Park City, Utah, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting the industry in a major way.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticThe Sundance Institute announced a smaller, more focused lineup for the upcoming 2021 Sundance Film Festival — down to 72 feature films from last year’s 128.

The fact there are even 72 selections for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival is something of a miracle. The fall festivals had the benefit of movies that mostly shot before the pandemic hit in March.

Also Read: Sundance Film Festival Goes Virtual, But Also National With Screenings in 24 StatesThe slate of 140 films is fewer than usual for Sundance, but the festival itself was shortened to seven days from its usual 11-day run.As usual, Sundance will present a small number of films on opening night, which is Jan. 28.

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival is going to be different than any other previous version of the event. Due to its winter schedule, this year, the American festival was able to come in right before COVID-19 took hold in the US and canceled a bunch of other film events in 2020.

Some 75 miles east of Hong Kong, in China’s Guangdong province lies the coastal fishing village of Wukan. It became the center of a worldwide media story in 2011 when protests broke out over the corruption of local Communist Party officials, who were thrown out of office by angry residents, precipitating a tense police siege of the town and ultimately new elections.

Monster Hunter, which caused the film to be pulled from Chinese cinemas, will be cut from all versions of the movie.This is according to the film’s director Paul W.S. Anderson, who also apologised for the “unintentional offense”, in a statement to Deadline.

In a world starved for blockbuster films, as most get pushed to streaming services or delayed until 2021, “Monster Hunter” looked like it could help drive business to theaters, especially in China. However, one line from the film that echoes a racist chant that kids used to say decades ago is forcing cinemas in the Middle Kingdom to pull the film.

“Monster Hunter”, the new creature feature based on the popular video game, is reportedly being pulled from theatres in China due to a scene that numerous Chinese viewers have deemed to be racist.

Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these” as the chanters would pull at their eyes.The “Monster Hunter” scene in question features rapper MC Jin (Jin Au-Yeung) saying, “Look at my knees.” “What kind of knees are these?” his white male scene partner asks.  “Chi-nese!” Jin’s character responds, emphasizing the “knees” pun.Also Read: 'Monster Hunter' Trailer: Milla Jovovich Fends Off Gigantic Dragons With Fire Swords (Video)Users on Weibo, a popular social media platform in China, quickly

Leave the snow boots, parkas and glove warmers in the closet, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival is coming down from the mountain and straight to your living room.Organizers on Wednesday said that this year they will premiere over 70 films on a custom online platform during the seven day event. There will also be some socially distanced screening opportunities around the country.