Takita Yojiro’s Completed ‘Silence of Smoke’ Adorns Media Asia FilMart Slate

Ben Croll Screening in competition at CPH:DOX, “Girl Gang” offers a behind-the-scenes look at an industry hardly known for reticence. But in this study of adolescent influencer Leonie, her all too eager parents, and the legions of fans liking, sharing and subscribing to the family’s every post, director Susanne Regine Meures offers a more intimate look at the world of modern celebrity.Though set in the suburbs of Berlin, this particular story of social media stardom mirrors those found all around the world. “It is a global phenomenon which actually peaks in the U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese filmmaker, artist and influencer Yi Zhou has launched a cluster of companies that have begun making feature movies for the metaverse.Zhou, who departed China in 2011, trained in Paris and London, before settling in Rome for several years where she worked as an installation artist, fashion influencer for Chinese streaming site Tudou (now part of Alibaba) and short film director. Three of her shorts have played in Sundance, while another played at the Venice Festival.In 2018, Zhou relocated to Los Angeles in order to increase her focus on developing entertainment endeavors.

Emilio Mayorga “Son,” “Cosas de chicos,” “Votamos” and “36” are among eight shorts at this year’s Madrid en Corto, an increasingly key Spanish platform for new talent now in huge demand in a platform age.Recent past editions have included Carlota Pereda’s original “Cerdita,” whose feature version dazzled at January’s Sundance, and shorts from Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, director of Berlin Panorama player “Lullaby,” which swept the Málaga Film Festival on Saturday night, and Javier Marco whose “Josephine” proved a prominent feature debut at September’s San Sebastián. In all, over its 18 editions, titles in Madrid en Corto’s distribution catalog have earned 32 nominations for Spanish Academy Goya Awards. This year, the Goya fiction short winner (Verónica Echegui’s “Totem Loba”) doc short laureate (“Mama”) and “The Monkey,” which snagged best animated short, all feature in Madrid en Corto’s catalog.  Women look likely to make much of the running at this year’s edition, organised by ECAM Distribución, the distribution arm of the enterprising Madrid Film School (ECAM), whose Screen-Incubator has fast become one of the key industry development labs in Spain.

Tiesto and Ava Max top the Official Trending Chart today, as the The Motto heads towards the Top 10 for the first time. 

EXCLUSIVE: Arthouse streamer and theatrical distributor Mubi has acquired all rights to Alice Diop’s We (Nous) in the United States and SVOD rights for the film in multiple territories across Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Rebecca Souw Chinese-owned streaming platform iQiyi added its first Thai original series and two additional shows from Taiwan to its slate of content destined for markets outside mainland China.The additions were revealed Thursday as part of the Hong Kong FilMart rights market being held virtually this year for the third time. The Thai series is “KinnPorsche,” a ‘boys love’ action series starring Mile Phakphum Romsaithong (“Ladytwenty” and “Khamin Rak Kap Poon”) and Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (“Chart Suer Pun Mungkorn” and “Pra Teap Rak Hang Jai”).The Taiwanese productions, “Lesson in Love” and “Oh No! Here Comes Trouble” are both set in high school.

EXCLUSIVE: Rhys Ifans (Spider-Man: No Way Home) has signed on to star alongside Annette Bening and Jodie Foster in the Netflix film Nyad, which marks the narrative directorial debut of Oscar, BAFTA and Emmy winners Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (The Rescue, Free Solo).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong’s broadcasters and streamers were active buyers of content ahead of this week’s FilMart. Pay-TV platform, Now TV picked up a nine-title package of factual content from All3Media International.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAfter “Parasite” and “Squid Game” struck planet-wide notes with their critique of elitism, Trevor Choi’s “Smashing Frank” is a timely Hong Kong twist on the revenge-against-the-rich theme. It is being pitched at the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) that this week runs alongside the FilMart rights market.“This is a comedy-drama about four millennials who form a squad to rob the rich. During the course of the crime, they are outraged as they gradually realize that the older generation will never change their ways.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPhilippines star Jericho Rosales (“Basurero,” “Siargao,” “Pacquiao: The Movie”) has been announced as headlining the cast of “Sellblock” an upcoming scripted TV prison series. The show is hatched by Manila-based ABS-CBN and its production partner BlackOps Studios Asia.It was first announced last month as part of BlackOps’ genre slate of projects with its creative partner Psyops8, and its coproduction partners Story Arch Pictures and Agog Film Productions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefScripted formats are enjoying increasing success in Asia. But what makes them successful varies from case to case.French producer, Harold Valentin of Mother Production (“Call My Agent”), Akehi Yuki (“Mother”), business director at Japan’s Nippon Television, and Hong Kong’s Tommy Lo, executive producer and script supervisor of the Hong Kong version of “Ossan’s Love” joined Content Asia’s Janine Stein on Tuesday at FilMart to discuss.Valentin: “We were very surprised that [‘Call My Agent’] began travelling really after season two, because initially Netflix didn’t know what to do with the strategy. The mixture of drama and comedy had disappeared a bit in U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe shares of China’s largest entertainment and tech companies plunged for a second day on Tuesday as Russia’s war in Ukraine, regulatory warnings and China’s slowing economy all combined to signal tougher times ahead.Alibaba shares crashed 11.7% to reach an all-time low of HK$71.2 in Hong Kong, where they have a secondary listing. Tencent shares plunged by 10.2% to HK$298, their lowest in several years. Both companies have in the past held the title of China’s largest enterprise and are major components of the Hang Seng Index of leading equities.The Hang Seng Index fell by more than 1,000 points and by nearly 6% on Tuesday to close at 18,415.

Mirror singer and actor Anson Lo has joined the cast of Bizhan Tong’s upcoming action thriller Chungking Mansions. Billed as Hong Kong’s biggest zombie film ever, the Phoenix Waters Productions pic, in co-production with AMM Global and Salon Films Japan, has also added Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korea’s Choi Si-Hun and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAnson Lo, part of Hong Kong pop sensation Mirror, has joined the cast of “Chungking Mansions,” an ambitious zombie film that is currently in advanced preparation.Alongside Lo, Hong Kong-Canadian actresses Selena Lee and Jeannie Chan, Korean star Choi Si-Hun, and Hong Kong actor Louis Cheung join the previously announced Japanese action star Rina Takeda and Singaporean actors Desmond Tan and Rebecca Lim.Davika Hoorne, who previously starred in “Pee Mak,” Thailand’s highest grossing film of all time, will also join. She takes over a role previously assigned to Angel Locsin as the assistant to the American protagonist’s pregnant wife.Directed by banker turned producer and director Bizhan Tong (“The Escort”), the film tracks a diverse group of people who, following a zombie attack, try to break into Chungking Mansions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAsian sports streaming platform SPOTV has launched in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and The Philippines. The move was announced on the first day of the virtual FilMart rights market.The service is available as a subscription-based app that includes linear channels and on demand event coverage. The sports it covers include MotoGP World Championships and World Superbike Championships; World Badminton Federation Tour; the Korean Baseball League; V.League Japan and Formula E motor racing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefOrganizers of Hong Kong FilMart, normally Asia’s biggest film and TV rights market, are putting on a brave face despite their prestige event being forced into an online-only format for the third time in a row.The city’s borders are closed to travelers from several key countries and its onerous quarantine on-arrival conditions show no sign of being lifted during the current fifth wave of COVID-19 infections.But, while many Asian industry executives have been unable to attend an in-person festival or market for some two years now, and are keenly awaiting the first opportunity, these days they are also vastly more experienced at dealing with virtual markets, video conferencing and online screenings. The number of companies participating as exhibitors at FilMart 2022 is set to reach 750, compared with 680 last year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Inu-Oh,” the acclaimed Japanese animation that debuted in Venice and Toronto last year, has been sold widely by Fortissimo Films and Asmik Ace.Amsterdam and Beijing based Fortissimo is collaborating with Tokyo-based Asmik Ace on two titles, “Inu-oh” by Yuasa Masaaki and “Missing” by Katayama Shinzo, a former assistant director to “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho on “Mother.”Rock musical animation “Inu-Oh” was licensed to Sun Distribution for Latin America, to Rapid Eye for Germany, Front Row in the Middle East and Cinemaran in Spain. Asmik Ace handles Asian territories, North America, France, U.K. and Benelux.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn support of the Disney Plus streaming service, Disney has expanded its involvement in local production in Asia-Pacific. The company’s APAC head of content and development, Jessica Kam-Engle, gives the keynote presentation on the first day of Hong Kong FilMart.Ahead of her speech she gave a few pointers to Variety readers.Jessica Kam-Engle: From our extensive research, consumers across most Asian markets have a strong preference for local language entertainment content.