The Golden Angel Awards ceremony in San Gabriel, California, was an occasion that kept politics in the foreground, but which simultaneously managed to downplay the frosty current state of U.S.-China diplomatic relations.
The awards event on Friday night also served as the opening ceremony of the 18th edition of the Chinese American Film Festival (Caff) and Chinese American TV Festival (Catf), annual events which showcase Chinese movies in the home state of American moviemaking.
After an elegant fashion show by Chinese womenswear brand Yu Tai Xiang, U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu took to the stage to speak about the upcoming midterm elections in the U.S., talk up Chinese-American history, and to rail against the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S.
“We need the [U.S.] public to know that Aapi [Asian American and Pacific Islander] history is American history,” she said.
Caff organizer James Su laid down a similarly laudable message.
The awards event on Friday night also served as the opening ceremony of the 18th edition of the Chinese American Film Festival (Caff) and Chinese American TV Festival (Catf), annual events which showcase Chinese movies in the home state of American moviemaking.
After an elegant fashion show by Chinese womenswear brand Yu Tai Xiang, U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu took to the stage to speak about the upcoming midterm elections in the U.S., talk up Chinese-American history, and to rail against the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S.
“We need the [U.S.] public to know that Aapi [Asian American and Pacific Islander] history is American history,” she said.
Caff organizer James Su laid down a similarly laudable message.
- 11/7/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Zhang Zhao, the former CEO and chairman of Le Chuang Entertainment, previously known as Le Vision Pictures, died of cancer on Wednesday. He was 58.
Known as a businessman with an artist’s temperament, Zhang was one of the most film influential execs thanks to a storied career in which he laid the foundation for much of China’s industry as it stands today. He successively founded Enlight Pictures in 2006 and Le Vision Pictures in 2011, going on to sign a roster of big-name directors to the latter that included Zhang Yimou, Lu Chuan, Tsui Hark and Guo Jingming.
As a producer, he was best known for his work on Zhang Yimou’s Matt Damon-starring US-China co-production “The Great Wall,” family drama “Coming Home,” and arthouse actioner “Shadow,” as well as Guo’s infamous, lucrative saga of the young and beautiful, “Tiny Times.”
“In his life and his career, Zhang Zhao embodied,...
Known as a businessman with an artist’s temperament, Zhang was one of the most film influential execs thanks to a storied career in which he laid the foundation for much of China’s industry as it stands today. He successively founded Enlight Pictures in 2006 and Le Vision Pictures in 2011, going on to sign a roster of big-name directors to the latter that included Zhang Yimou, Lu Chuan, Tsui Hark and Guo Jingming.
As a producer, he was best known for his work on Zhang Yimou’s Matt Damon-starring US-China co-production “The Great Wall,” family drama “Coming Home,” and arthouse actioner “Shadow,” as well as Guo’s infamous, lucrative saga of the young and beautiful, “Tiny Times.”
“In his life and his career, Zhang Zhao embodied,...
- 2/3/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Fyzal Boulifa’s Lynn + Lucy, Hamish Bennett’s Bellbird and Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy were also among the winners at the Asian gathering. Us-based Russian writer-director Kirill Mikhanovsky’s feature Give Me Liberty has emerged as the big winner of the Best Film Award at the fourth International Film Festival & Awards‧Macao (Iffam). Headed up by Iffam artistic director Mike Goodridge, the festival ran from 5-10 December and wrapped with the awards ceremony held at the Macao Cultural Centre. The Official Competition jury, chaired by Chinese director-producer-screenwriter Peter Chan Ho-sun, and comprising president and CEO of Vrega Ellen Eliasoph, Indonesian actress Dian Sastrowardoyo, Myanma director Midi Z and British actor Tom Cullen, handed the $60,000 award to Give Me Liberty, saying about their decision: “This is a farcical and poignant portrait of a day in the life of America’s challenged and disenfranchised. The film starts with hilarious, inexhaustible energy, and then weaves.
- 12/11/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Fyzal Boulifa won best director for UK title ‘Lynn + Lucy’.
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) closed on Tuesday night (10) with the top award going to Us film Give Me Liberty directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky.
Stars such as Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche were on the red carpet for the festival, which showed 43 films including 10 in International Competition and six in the New Chinese Cinema Competition. It ran from December 5-10 in and around the Macau Cultural Centre.
Chinese filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun headed the jury for first and second-time directors in the international competition. He was joined...
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) closed on Tuesday night (10) with the top award going to Us film Give Me Liberty directed by Kirill Mikhanovsky.
Stars such as Carina Lau and Juliette Binoche were on the red carpet for the festival, which showed 43 films including 10 in International Competition and six in the New Chinese Cinema Competition. It ran from December 5-10 in and around the Macau Cultural Centre.
Chinese filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun headed the jury for first and second-time directors in the international competition. He was joined...
- 12/10/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
Kirill Mikhanovsky’s “Give Me Liberty” and Gu Xiaogang’s “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains won the best picture prizes in the international and Chinese cinema sections on Tuesday at the International Film Festival and Awards Macau (Iffam).
“This film shouldn’t have existed because there were so many obstacles. Everything was a miracle. Us being here is an utter miracle,” said Mikhanovsky, who took the stage with his producer Alice Austen to describe the frenzy of trying to shoot their film for a quarter of their original budget.
“If someone had asked us a year ago if we’d like to show our film in Macau, we’d have said man, you’re out of your mind,” he laughed, before thanking the festival. “This is such a gathering of minds and intellects and true lovers of cinema, which is very rare. You’ve truly crafted a one-of-a-kind global event.
“This film shouldn’t have existed because there were so many obstacles. Everything was a miracle. Us being here is an utter miracle,” said Mikhanovsky, who took the stage with his producer Alice Austen to describe the frenzy of trying to shoot their film for a quarter of their original budget.
“If someone had asked us a year ago if we’d like to show our film in Macau, we’d have said man, you’re out of your mind,” he laughed, before thanking the festival. “This is such a gathering of minds and intellects and true lovers of cinema, which is very rare. You’ve truly crafted a one-of-a-kind global event.
- 12/10/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Attendees include Peter Chan Ho-sun, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
- 12/5/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
Attendees include Peter Chan Ho-sun, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit opened the fourth International Film Festival & Awards Macao (Iffam) at the Macao Cultural Centre on Wednesday (December 4).
International guests in town for the festival include Peter Chan Ho-sun, head of the international competition jury, and fellow jury members Ellen Eliasoph, Tom Cullen, Dian Sastrowardoyo and Midi Z, as well as New Chinese Cinema competition jury head Cristian Mungiu and his fellow jury members Qiu Yang, Kirsten Tan, Tricia Tuttle and Noah Cowan.
Director Mattie Do and her The Long Walk team including actor Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy...
- 12/5/2019
- by 134¦Jean Noh¦516¦
- ScreenDaily
The fourth edition of the International Film Festival & Award kicked off in fine style Thursday night. The opening night event allowed plenty of chance for mingling before and after a quadri-lingual ceremony that still managed to wrap up in just 45 minutes.
After a trio of tenors opened proceedings with “Over The Rainbow” it was evident that glamour and celebration were the intended take-aways, not the challenging themes presented by several of the Iffam’s selected films, and certainly not political discourse.
Macau is the well-behaved Special Administrative Region, just a ferry ride away from Hong Kong, the larger and more troublesome S.A.R. which these days stands as the front line of the ongoing clash between liberal democracy and China’s authoritarian version of economic development.
Outside the breathless ceremony, security guards were highly visible and widely dispersed, seemingly posted on every corner within a half mile zone. Inside,...
After a trio of tenors opened proceedings with “Over The Rainbow” it was evident that glamour and celebration were the intended take-aways, not the challenging themes presented by several of the Iffam’s selected films, and certainly not political discourse.
Macau is the well-behaved Special Administrative Region, just a ferry ride away from Hong Kong, the larger and more troublesome S.A.R. which these days stands as the front line of the ongoing clash between liberal democracy and China’s authoritarian version of economic development.
Outside the breathless ceremony, security guards were highly visible and widely dispersed, seemingly posted on every corner within a half mile zone. Inside,...
- 12/5/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
It could be said the Chinese historical drama is marked before Zhang Yimou and after Zhang Yimou. Transporting foreign audiences to his country’s long, often violent history in the most lush of compositions and stunning of action sequences–that is to say, sequences built on action as a concept of movement, shifting light, rustling fabric–and the tradition continues with Shadow, which premiered last year to largely awed reviews. Key is his collaboration with cinematographer Zhao Xiaoding, with whom Zhang has worked since 2002’s monumental Hero.
I had the fortune to interview Zhao at this year’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE, during our time gathering information on their philosophies of action filmmaking, quality control in an increasingly poor climate, and, of course, Shadow‘s wealth of silver.
Thanks to Shadow producer Ellen Eliasoph, who provided on-site translation.
The Film Stage: Do you and Zhang work with a certain philosophy, a set of principles,...
I had the fortune to interview Zhao at this year’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE, during our time gathering information on their philosophies of action filmmaking, quality control in an increasingly poor climate, and, of course, Shadow‘s wealth of silver.
Thanks to Shadow producer Ellen Eliasoph, who provided on-site translation.
The Film Stage: Do you and Zhang work with a certain philosophy, a set of principles,...
- 11/18/2019
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Roland Emmerich’s big-budget World War II film “Midway” was no match for local drama “Better Days” at China’s box office, bringing in $3 million less than the top-earning Chinese title, which is already in its third weekend in theaters. One of the more expensive independent films ever made on a budget of $98 million, the American blockbuster took in a meager $15.7 million during its opening weekend in China, signaling that it will likely struggle to be profitable.
Instead, “Better Days,” Hong Kong director Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang’s melodramatic saga about schoolyard bullying starring Zhou Dongyu and TFBoys heartthrob Jackson Yee, led the box office with $18.6 million, according to consultancy Artisan Gateway. That tally even exceeded the $17.5 million that “Midway” made in the U.S., where it led a lackluster domestic box office by beating out “Doctor Sleep.”
“Midway” was made possible by Chinese financing, with Hong Kong-listed Starlight Entertainment putting...
Instead, “Better Days,” Hong Kong director Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang’s melodramatic saga about schoolyard bullying starring Zhou Dongyu and TFBoys heartthrob Jackson Yee, led the box office with $18.6 million, according to consultancy Artisan Gateway. That tally even exceeded the $17.5 million that “Midway” made in the U.S., where it led a lackluster domestic box office by beating out “Doctor Sleep.”
“Midway” was made possible by Chinese financing, with Hong Kong-listed Starlight Entertainment putting...
- 11/11/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
“Guilt by Design,” a Hong Kong film produced by Perfect Village Pictures and starring Nick Cheung, has received a North America release on former Wanda executive Jack Gao’s new digital distribution platform Smart Cinema USA. Subsequently, Well Go USA will be releasing the film on all of its digital and TV platforms and channels.
Together, the moves represent of a kind of “larger, pioneering deal for the release of a Chinese film in North America,” “Guilt by Design” producer Ellen Eliasoph, Perfect Village CEO, told Variety.
The U.S. Well Go release after its digital stateside debut will give the “film wide sequential distribution following its initial run on the Smart Cinema platform,” and “ensure that fans of Hong Kong police thrillers, fans of Nick Cheung and fans of Chinese films in general will be able to enjoy this exciting new film simultaneously with its China release, and continually...
Together, the moves represent of a kind of “larger, pioneering deal for the release of a Chinese film in North America,” “Guilt by Design” producer Ellen Eliasoph, Perfect Village CEO, told Variety.
The U.S. Well Go release after its digital stateside debut will give the “film wide sequential distribution following its initial run on the Smart Cinema platform,” and “ensure that fans of Hong Kong police thrillers, fans of Nick Cheung and fans of Chinese films in general will be able to enjoy this exciting new film simultaneously with its China release, and continually...
- 11/9/2019
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The New Chinese Cinema section returns for the second year.
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its 2019 programme, including the return of the New Chinese Cinema section with a jury headed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.
Mungiu will oversee a five-person jury watching six films from Chinese-speaking territories. His jury consists of BFI London Film Festival artistic director Tricia Tuttle; former Sffilm (San Francisco Film) executive director Noah Cowan; and filmmakers Kirsten Tan from Singapore and Qiu Yang from China.
Scroll down for the line-up
The films in the section include Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which...
The 4th International Film Festival & Awards Macao has unveiled its 2019 programme, including the return of the New Chinese Cinema section with a jury headed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.
Mungiu will oversee a five-person jury watching six films from Chinese-speaking territories. His jury consists of BFI London Film Festival artistic director Tricia Tuttle; former Sffilm (San Francisco Film) executive director Noah Cowan; and filmmakers Kirsten Tan from Singapore and Qiu Yang from China.
Scroll down for the line-up
The films in the section include Anthony Chen’s Wet Season, which...
- 11/6/2019
- by 1101321¦Ben Dalton¦26¦
- ScreenDaily
Taika Waititi’s provocative Nazi comedy “Jojo Rabbit” has been set as the opening night gala screening at the fourth edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao.
The festival packs together a competition section that includes recent festival favorites Gitanjali Rao’s animation “Bombay Rose,” and barely fictionalize modern-day slavery drama “Buoyancy,” by Rodd Rathjen, alongside gala screenings of “Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon,” and Japan’s “Dance With Me,” by Shinobu Yaguchi.
A strong Chinese presence includes “Better Days,” by Derek Tsang; Cannes Critics Week film “Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains,” by Gu Xiaogang; “To Live To Sing,” by Johnny Ma; and Singaporean director Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season.”
The World Panorama strand films by celebrated directors, includes “The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmao,” winner of Un Certain Regard, “Little Joe,” for which Emily Beecham won best actress in Cannes, and “Proxima,” for which director Alice Winocour won...
The festival packs together a competition section that includes recent festival favorites Gitanjali Rao’s animation “Bombay Rose,” and barely fictionalize modern-day slavery drama “Buoyancy,” by Rodd Rathjen, alongside gala screenings of “Shaun The Sheep 2: Farmageddon,” and Japan’s “Dance With Me,” by Shinobu Yaguchi.
A strong Chinese presence includes “Better Days,” by Derek Tsang; Cannes Critics Week film “Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains,” by Gu Xiaogang; “To Live To Sing,” by Johnny Ma; and Singaporean director Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season.”
The World Panorama strand films by celebrated directors, includes “The Invisible Life Of Eurídice Gusmao,” winner of Un Certain Regard, “Little Joe,” for which Emily Beecham won best actress in Cannes, and “Proxima,” for which director Alice Winocour won...
- 11/5/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Chinese company Perfect Village Entertainment has bought spec script Widow: The Way Of The Raven from UK writer Joanne Reay in a mid-six-figure deal.
Set in California in the late 1800s, the project is a Western inspired by the law of ‘widow’s succession’, which allowed for the wife of a deceased sheriff to inherit his badge. In the screenplay, a young Chinese wife takes over from her assassinated husband and is determined to see through the execution of a man who murdered a Chinese girl in a racist attack.
Directors and several Chinese stars are said to be circling the project.
Production and finance outfit Perfect Village is a joint venture between Chinese media conglomerate Perfect World and Australian company Village Roadshow. It was launched in 2017 with support from Endeavor (then Wme | Img) and is headed up by longtime China-based exec Ellen Eliasoph.
Perfect World has a slate financing deal with Universal,...
Set in California in the late 1800s, the project is a Western inspired by the law of ‘widow’s succession’, which allowed for the wife of a deceased sheriff to inherit his badge. In the screenplay, a young Chinese wife takes over from her assassinated husband and is determined to see through the execution of a man who murdered a Chinese girl in a racist attack.
Directors and several Chinese stars are said to be circling the project.
Production and finance outfit Perfect Village is a joint venture between Chinese media conglomerate Perfect World and Australian company Village Roadshow. It was launched in 2017 with support from Endeavor (then Wme | Img) and is headed up by longtime China-based exec Ellen Eliasoph.
Perfect World has a slate financing deal with Universal,...
- 10/14/2019
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ is among the films in competition for the Aacta Best Asian Film Award.
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has unveiled some of the films that will compete for a nomination for the 2019 Best Asian Film award.
The selected films were announced at a gala dinner in Shanghai, where Aacta is also hosting an China | Australia film forum and panel discussion as part of its ongoing Asia International Engagement Program.
The Best Asian Film award is designed to honour the finest films of the past year from 19 Asian regions, reflecting the popularity and importance of Asian films in Australia.
Among the Chinese-language films in competition is Australian-Chinese co-production The Whistleblower, which shot in Victoria late last year.
It will go up against the second highest-grossing film of all time in China, Frant Gwo sci-fi The Wandering Earth, as well as three of the...
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) has unveiled some of the films that will compete for a nomination for the 2019 Best Asian Film award.
The selected films were announced at a gala dinner in Shanghai, where Aacta is also hosting an China | Australia film forum and panel discussion as part of its ongoing Asia International Engagement Program.
The Best Asian Film award is designed to honour the finest films of the past year from 19 Asian regions, reflecting the popularity and importance of Asian films in Australia.
Among the Chinese-language films in competition is Australian-Chinese co-production The Whistleblower, which shot in Victoria late last year.
It will go up against the second highest-grossing film of all time in China, Frant Gwo sci-fi The Wandering Earth, as well as three of the...
- 6/17/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
The Chinese film industry may not yet have emerged from a “cold winter” production freeze, nor its box office kept pace with 2018. But but those inclement elements did not put a chill on the pageantry at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
The opening ceremony for the festival’s 22nd edition went ahead Saturday with the usual red carpet parade, and with the habitual speeches and formalities. But it did so without the scheduled world premiere screening of Guan Hu’s “The Eight Hundred.”
News that the historical war film had been cancelled “for technical reasons” was abruptly circulated just 24 hours earlier — too late for the festival to arrange another new film to take its place. The screening of the second opening film, Chinese drama “Beautiful Voyage,” went forward as planned.
The usual inclement seasonal weather, known locally as “plum rains” held off, permitting a red carpet parade that showcased mainland and Hong Kong stars,...
The opening ceremony for the festival’s 22nd edition went ahead Saturday with the usual red carpet parade, and with the habitual speeches and formalities. But it did so without the scheduled world premiere screening of Guan Hu’s “The Eight Hundred.”
News that the historical war film had been cancelled “for technical reasons” was abruptly circulated just 24 hours earlier — too late for the festival to arrange another new film to take its place. The screening of the second opening film, Chinese drama “Beautiful Voyage,” went forward as planned.
The usual inclement seasonal weather, known locally as “plum rains” held off, permitting a red carpet parade that showcased mainland and Hong Kong stars,...
- 6/15/2019
- by Patrick Frater and Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Greater professionalism within the Chinese film industry could lead to higher standards and greater overseas success. That was the unsurprising conclusion of the “Global Film Industry Value Chain Forum” held in Shanghai on Saturday on the eve of the city’s showcase annual film festival.
Speakers from China, the U.S., and Europe identified a need for improvement in screenwriting, production skills, and understanding of international markets as factors that could help Chinese movies to make a global breakthrough.
Ever the optimist, industry financier Bennett Pozil of EastWest Bank predicted: “In the next 12-18 months there will be a Chinese movie that has global pull. Chinese films are going to find their voice internationally,” though his reasoning was external to China and predicated on the growing importance of streaming and the consolidation of Hollywood studios.
“Disruption in the U.S. is good for Chinese films. P&a (print and advertising...
Speakers from China, the U.S., and Europe identified a need for improvement in screenwriting, production skills, and understanding of international markets as factors that could help Chinese movies to make a global breakthrough.
Ever the optimist, industry financier Bennett Pozil of EastWest Bank predicted: “In the next 12-18 months there will be a Chinese movie that has global pull. Chinese films are going to find their voice internationally,” though his reasoning was external to China and predicated on the growing importance of streaming and the consolidation of Hollywood studios.
“Disruption in the U.S. is good for Chinese films. P&a (print and advertising...
- 6/15/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Endeavor Content has boarded its first predominantly China-sourced film title, “Guilt by Design.” The company has also appointed Chia Chou as its first China-based sales executive. Both will make their debut at FilMart in Hong Kong this week.
“Guilt,” an action drama, comes from co-financiers and co-producers Grand Canal Pictures, Perfect Village Entertainment and Mei Ah Films. Derek Yee, Jason Guo and Ellen Eliasoph are producing. Endeavor will handle all rights outside China. It will be distributed in China by Mei Ah later this year.
“Guilt” is written and co-directed by Hong Kong filmmakers Lai Siu Kwan, Sze Pak Lam and Yongtai Liu, making their feature-filmmaking debut. It stars Nick Cheung as a juror on a high-profile case who learns that his daughter has been kidnapped. He is forced to decide whether to use his special skills to influence the case as demanded by the kidnappers.
Chou has worked in...
“Guilt,” an action drama, comes from co-financiers and co-producers Grand Canal Pictures, Perfect Village Entertainment and Mei Ah Films. Derek Yee, Jason Guo and Ellen Eliasoph are producing. Endeavor will handle all rights outside China. It will be distributed in China by Mei Ah later this year.
“Guilt” is written and co-directed by Hong Kong filmmakers Lai Siu Kwan, Sze Pak Lam and Yongtai Liu, making their feature-filmmaking debut. It stars Nick Cheung as a juror on a high-profile case who learns that his daughter has been kidnapped. He is forced to decide whether to use his special skills to influence the case as demanded by the kidnappers.
Chou has worked in...
- 3/17/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Korean drama movie, “Clean Up” took the best film prize on Friday night at the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival and Awards Macao.
The jury, which comprised Chen Kaige, Danis Tanovic, Mabel Cheung, Paul Currie, and Tillotama Shome, said: “’Clean Up’ is a powerful, visceral film which is symbolic and naturalistic at the same time… The director unfolds a psychological drama with simmering intensity, and humanists the criminal without condoning the heinous crime in any way.”
The festival, completing its third edition, wrapped up with another breezy and efficient closing ceremony, kept largely on schedule thanks to its local live broadcast.
Celebrities on the red carpet included Phillip Noyce, Aaron Kwok and Ben Wheatley. Industry executives in attendance included Ellen Eliasoph, Michael J. Werner and Shekhar Kapur.
The closing ceremony was also the occasion for Variety and the festival to present awards to Asia’s next wave of talent.
The jury, which comprised Chen Kaige, Danis Tanovic, Mabel Cheung, Paul Currie, and Tillotama Shome, said: “’Clean Up’ is a powerful, visceral film which is symbolic and naturalistic at the same time… The director unfolds a psychological drama with simmering intensity, and humanists the criminal without condoning the heinous crime in any way.”
The festival, completing its third edition, wrapped up with another breezy and efficient closing ceremony, kept largely on schedule thanks to its local live broadcast.
Celebrities on the red carpet included Phillip Noyce, Aaron Kwok and Ben Wheatley. Industry executives in attendance included Ellen Eliasoph, Michael J. Werner and Shekhar Kapur.
The closing ceremony was also the occasion for Variety and the festival to present awards to Asia’s next wave of talent.
- 12/14/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Dramatic diets for the sake of on-screen authenticity are most frequently associated with Western screen stars Christian Bale or Matthew McConaughey. But festival-goers in Macau this month will have a chance to witness an equally amazing transformation wrought by Deng Chao, one of China’s top actors.
Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow” has been added as the closing feature for the International Film Festival & Awards Macao. In the film, Deng plays both a 6th century general and his body double. The complication is that one version of the warrior is fighting fit, the other is hollowed out and dying.
Zhang and Deng achieved the incredible bluff by shooting all of Deng’s buff warrior scenes first. Production was then interrupted for nearly two months while Deng engaged in a crash diet, to emerge skeletal, goggle-eyed and aged.
Picking up the shoot after the break was harder than envisaged. The script calls...
Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow” has been added as the closing feature for the International Film Festival & Awards Macao. In the film, Deng plays both a 6th century general and his body double. The complication is that one version of the warrior is fighting fit, the other is hollowed out and dying.
Zhang and Deng achieved the incredible bluff by shooting all of Deng’s buff warrior scenes first. Production was then interrupted for nearly two months while Deng engaged in a crash diet, to emerge skeletal, goggle-eyed and aged.
Picking up the shoot after the break was harder than envisaged. The script calls...
- 12/1/2018
- by Patrick Frater and Becky Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Australian-Chinese co-production, ‘Guardians of the Tomb’.
As part of the organisation’s Asia International Engagement Program, Aacta will host a China Australian Film Forum in Sydney in December with aims to encourage further collaboration between filmmakers of the two countries.
The forum is timely, as this year has seen production on two of the largest China-Australia co-pros, The Whistleblower and Legend of Sun and Moon, which follow on the footsteps of other co-productions At Last, The Longest Shot, Guardians of the Tomb, The Dragon Pearl, 33 Postcards and Children of the Silk Road.
A panel moderated by Shanghai International Film Festival’s Max Yang, will discuss the Chinese market and trends, new opportunities and challenges, and the status of a number of current co-pros and collaborations.
Speakers include:
China-based director and member of Aacta’s 2018 Best Asian Film Grand Jury Renny Harlin; Chinese screenwriter and Aacta Best Asian Film Grand Juror...
As part of the organisation’s Asia International Engagement Program, Aacta will host a China Australian Film Forum in Sydney in December with aims to encourage further collaboration between filmmakers of the two countries.
The forum is timely, as this year has seen production on two of the largest China-Australia co-pros, The Whistleblower and Legend of Sun and Moon, which follow on the footsteps of other co-productions At Last, The Longest Shot, Guardians of the Tomb, The Dragon Pearl, 33 Postcards and Children of the Silk Road.
A panel moderated by Shanghai International Film Festival’s Max Yang, will discuss the Chinese market and trends, new opportunities and challenges, and the status of a number of current co-pros and collaborations.
Speakers include:
China-based director and member of Aacta’s 2018 Best Asian Film Grand Jury Renny Harlin; Chinese screenwriter and Aacta Best Asian Film Grand Juror...
- 11/4/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Production is under way on “The Whistleblower,” one of the biggest Australian-Chinese co-production movies ever made. The film is a thriller about a Chinese expatriate who discovers a conspiracy at the firm he is working for.
The film is directed by Chinese woman director Xue Xiaolu, who achieved a critical breakthrough in 2010 by putting Jet Li in a drama role in “Ocean Heaven.”She achieved commercial success with 2013 romance “Finding Mr Right.”
The cast is headed by Lei Jiayin (“Guns and Roses”) and “Lust, Caution” and “Finding Mr Right” star Tang Wei, with Xi Qi and John Batchelor (“Red Dog”). Dialog is in Mandarin and English.
The official co-production film has a gross budget of some $39 (A$55 million) before rebates and incentives. At least $28.5 million (A$40 million) is being spent in the state of Victoria, where the Dockyards Studios are being used. Filming continues through October.
Production is by Australia-Chinese joint venture company Perfect Village,...
The film is directed by Chinese woman director Xue Xiaolu, who achieved a critical breakthrough in 2010 by putting Jet Li in a drama role in “Ocean Heaven.”She achieved commercial success with 2013 romance “Finding Mr Right.”
The cast is headed by Lei Jiayin (“Guns and Roses”) and “Lust, Caution” and “Finding Mr Right” star Tang Wei, with Xi Qi and John Batchelor (“Red Dog”). Dialog is in Mandarin and English.
The official co-production film has a gross budget of some $39 (A$55 million) before rebates and incentives. At least $28.5 million (A$40 million) is being spent in the state of Victoria, where the Dockyards Studios are being used. Filming continues through October.
Production is by Australia-Chinese joint venture company Perfect Village,...
- 9/27/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Cmc Pictures has picked up multi-territory rights to ‘Shadow,” the Zhang Yimou-directed action drama that premiered this week at the Venice Film Festival. The film continues its run this week at the Toronto Film Festival.
The China-based Cmc Pictures has acquired rights in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Africa in a deal with Los Angeles-based Bloom. Rights for North America, the U.K, Australia and New Zealand were previously licensed to WellGo USA.
A unit of Li Ruigang’s China Media Capital, Cmc Pictures has until now been better known as an investor and sales agent than a distributor. Other recent titles include “Wolf Warrior 2” and “Detective Chinatown 2.” “Cmc has established itself as a leader in the multi-territorial distribution of Chinese films,” said “Shadow” producer Ellen Eliasoph, president and CEO of Perfect Village Entertainment Group.
The film is set in an ancient period...
The China-based Cmc Pictures has acquired rights in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Africa in a deal with Los Angeles-based Bloom. Rights for North America, the U.K, Australia and New Zealand were previously licensed to WellGo USA.
A unit of Li Ruigang’s China Media Capital, Cmc Pictures has until now been better known as an investor and sales agent than a distributor. Other recent titles include “Wolf Warrior 2” and “Detective Chinatown 2.” “Cmc has established itself as a leader in the multi-territorial distribution of Chinese films,” said “Shadow” producer Ellen Eliasoph, president and CEO of Perfect Village Entertainment Group.
The film is set in an ancient period...
- 9/8/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Well Go USA has nabbed North America, UK, and Australia/New Zealand rights to Zhang Yimou’s action-epic Shadow ahead of its world premiere in Venice and its North American premiere at Toronto.
The deal was negotiated by Dylan Marchetti for Well Go USA. Endeavor Content and Bloom handled the deal. Pic will get a theatrical release in 2019, according to the distributor.
Mandarin-language film Shadow is set in Pei, a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, where the military commander faces peril both inside and outside the palace walls. But he has a secret weapon: a ‘shadow’, a look-alike who can fool both Pei’s enemies and the King himself. In his obsessive quest for a long-sought victory over a rival kingdom, the commander must execute an intricate plan involving his wife, the Shadow, and the kings of both kingdoms, leading up to a major invasion.
Cast includes Chao Deng,...
The deal was negotiated by Dylan Marchetti for Well Go USA. Endeavor Content and Bloom handled the deal. Pic will get a theatrical release in 2019, according to the distributor.
Mandarin-language film Shadow is set in Pei, a kingdom ruled by a young and unpredictable king, where the military commander faces peril both inside and outside the palace walls. But he has a secret weapon: a ‘shadow’, a look-alike who can fool both Pei’s enemies and the King himself. In his obsessive quest for a long-sought victory over a rival kingdom, the commander must execute an intricate plan involving his wife, the Shadow, and the kings of both kingdoms, leading up to a major invasion.
Cast includes Chao Deng,...
- 9/5/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Chinese star Deng Chao plays two separate characters in the historical drama.
Tencent Pictures, one of Chinese tech giant Tencent’s two film divisions, has boarded Zhang Yimou’s Shadow as co-investor alongside Perfect Village Entertainment and Le Vision Pictures.
Tencent’s participation in the film is expected to result in the seamless leveraging of its marketing and distribution strengths across all traditional and social media platforms.
The news was announced at Tencent’s annual “Tencent Night” at Shanghai International Film Festival, attended by Tencent Pictures CEO Edward Cheng, Perfect Village Entertainment CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Zhang Zhao, CEO of Le Vision Pictures.
Tencent Pictures, one of Chinese tech giant Tencent’s two film divisions, has boarded Zhang Yimou’s Shadow as co-investor alongside Perfect Village Entertainment and Le Vision Pictures.
Tencent’s participation in the film is expected to result in the seamless leveraging of its marketing and distribution strengths across all traditional and social media platforms.
The news was announced at Tencent’s annual “Tencent Night” at Shanghai International Film Festival, attended by Tencent Pictures CEO Edward Cheng, Perfect Village Entertainment CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Zhang Zhao, CEO of Le Vision Pictures.
- 6/16/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
<!--[Cdata[
Few U.S. film executives' ties to China run as deep as those of Ellen Eliasoph. Fluent in Mandarin, she originally came to China in the 1980s as a member of the first group of American students invited to study in the country after the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. After a distinguished international law career, she became the first Hollywood exec to be based in China when she helped establish Warner Bros.' Beijing office in 1993. She later moved to Village Roadshow, where she oversaw the production of nine Chinese films, including Stephen Chow's ...
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Few U.S. film executives' ties to China run as deep as those of Ellen Eliasoph. Fluent in Mandarin, she originally came to China in the 1980s as a member of the first group of American students invited to study in the country after the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. After a distinguished international law career, she became the first Hollywood exec to be based in China when she helped establish Warner Bros.' Beijing office in 1993. She later moved to Village Roadshow, where she oversaw the production of nine Chinese films, including Stephen Chow's ...
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- 6/15/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
<!--[Cdata[
Few U.S. film executives' ties to China run as deep as those of Ellen Eliasoph. Fluent in Mandarin, she originally came to China in the 1980s as a member of the first group of American students invited to study in the country after the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. After a distinguished international law career, she became the first Hollywood exec to be based in China when she helped establish Warner Bros.' Beijing office in 1993. She later moved to Village Roadshow, where she oversaw the production of nine Chinese films, including Stephen Chow's ...
</!--[Cdata[...
Few U.S. film executives' ties to China run as deep as those of Ellen Eliasoph. Fluent in Mandarin, she originally came to China in the 1980s as a member of the first group of American students invited to study in the country after the normalization of diplomatic relations with the U.S. After a distinguished international law career, she became the first Hollywood exec to be based in China when she helped establish Warner Bros.' Beijing office in 1993. She later moved to Village Roadshow, where she oversaw the production of nine Chinese films, including Stephen Chow's ...
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- 6/15/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The emerging art house film sector in China is to get a further boost from the launch of a $16 million (RMB100 million) specialized acquisition fund. The initiative is backed by five companies already operational in the sector.
The A.R.T. Project fund is intended to invest in 15 films by Chinese directorial talent over a period of five years. All are to be guaranteed Chinese theatrical release, international festival representation and overseas sales.
The backers include: Perfect Village Entertainment, the merged production operations of Perfect World and Village Roadshow in China; Hong Kong and Chinese-based distributor and exhibitor, Edko Films; Hong Kong producer Irresistible Films; Chinese marketing firm and website operator Maoyan Media, and state-owned distributor, Huaxia Film Distribution.
“The A.R.T. Project partners all agree that there is nothing more important than nurturing the new generation of Chinese filmmaking talent. We are up and running at full speed,...
The A.R.T. Project fund is intended to invest in 15 films by Chinese directorial talent over a period of five years. All are to be guaranteed Chinese theatrical release, international festival representation and overseas sales.
The backers include: Perfect Village Entertainment, the merged production operations of Perfect World and Village Roadshow in China; Hong Kong and Chinese-based distributor and exhibitor, Edko Films; Hong Kong producer Irresistible Films; Chinese marketing firm and website operator Maoyan Media, and state-owned distributor, Huaxia Film Distribution.
“The A.R.T. Project partners all agree that there is nothing more important than nurturing the new generation of Chinese filmmaking talent. We are up and running at full speed,...
- 4/17/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Perfect Village, Edko, Huaxia, Irresistible Films and Maoyan join forces for A.R.T. Project.
Five Chinese industry heavyweights, including Perfect Village Entertainment, Edko Films and Huaxia Film Distribution, are joining forces in an alliance to finance and distribute local Chinese arthouse films.
The new alliance, A.R.T. Project, also involves production and investment outfit Irresistible Films and leading online ticketing platform Maoyan Media.
The five partners will jointly invest $16m (RMB100m) in 15 Chinese film projects over the next five years, with a focus on high-quality, low-budget films from rising Chinese directorial talents. The projects will be provided with support including development,...
Five Chinese industry heavyweights, including Perfect Village Entertainment, Edko Films and Huaxia Film Distribution, are joining forces in an alliance to finance and distribute local Chinese arthouse films.
The new alliance, A.R.T. Project, also involves production and investment outfit Irresistible Films and leading online ticketing platform Maoyan Media.
The five partners will jointly invest $16m (RMB100m) in 15 Chinese film projects over the next five years, with a focus on high-quality, low-budget films from rising Chinese directorial talents. The projects will be provided with support including development,...
- 4/17/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Award-winning Hong Kong film star Nick Cheung is set to star in Guilt by Design, a forthcoming courtroom action drama from growing Chinese mini-studio Perfect Village Entertainment, working in partnership with Grand Canal Pictures.
The film is based on an original script from young Hong Kong filmmakers Lai Siu Kwan, Sze Pak Lam and Yongtai Liu. The trio will also co-direct the project as their feature-filmmaking debut.
“Guilt by Design is a quintessential high-concept Hong Kong action/suspense thriller that marks the directorial debut of a brilliant trio of young Hong Kong writer/directors," Ellen Eliasoph, president and CEO of Perfect Village Entertainment. "This is...
The film is based on an original script from young Hong Kong filmmakers Lai Siu Kwan, Sze Pak Lam and Yongtai Liu. The trio will also co-direct the project as their feature-filmmaking debut.
“Guilt by Design is a quintessential high-concept Hong Kong action/suspense thriller that marks the directorial debut of a brilliant trio of young Hong Kong writer/directors," Ellen Eliasoph, president and CEO of Perfect Village Entertainment. "This is...
- 3/20/2018
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nick Cheung will star in the film, to be directed by a trio of Hong Kong directors.
China’s Perfect Village Entertainment has joined Grand Canal Pictures and Hong Kong’s Mei Ah Films Production to produce Hong Kong courtroom drama Guilt By Design.
Nick Cheung will star in the film, which has been written and will be directed by a trio of Hong Kong filmmakers – Lai Siu-kwan, Sze Pak-lam and Lau Wing-Tai. Derek Yee, Jason Guo and Ellen Eliasoph will produce.
Selected for Haf in 2016 (under the title Hypnotize The Jury), the project tells the story of a juror...
China’s Perfect Village Entertainment has joined Grand Canal Pictures and Hong Kong’s Mei Ah Films Production to produce Hong Kong courtroom drama Guilt By Design.
Nick Cheung will star in the film, which has been written and will be directed by a trio of Hong Kong filmmakers – Lai Siu-kwan, Sze Pak-lam and Lau Wing-Tai. Derek Yee, Jason Guo and Ellen Eliasoph will produce.
Selected for Haf in 2016 (under the title Hypnotize The Jury), the project tells the story of a juror...
- 3/20/2018
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Village Roadshow Entertainment is teaming with China's Perfect World Pictures and Wme-img to launch Perfect Village Entertainment, a Chinese film and TV production venture. The new company will have offices in Beijing and Hong Kong and will be headed up by Village Roadshow's Ellen Eliasoph, who currently runs Asia operations for the company. That arm of the business will be folded into Perfect Village. The company will produce film, animation and premium online TV content…...
- 6/20/2017
- Deadline
Perfect Village to produce range of content including features and online TV.
Beijing-based Perfect World Pictures, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (Vreg) and Wme Img China are joining forces on a new China-based production venture.
With offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, the new company, Perfect Village, will produce film, animation and premium online TV content for China and international markets.
Perfect World and Vreg will contribute their IP and production and distribution capabilities, while Wme Img China will provide access to its brand relationships, as well as global packaging, sales and distribution infrastructure.
Ellen Eliasoph, currently head of Vreg’s Asia operations,...
Beijing-based Perfect World Pictures, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (Vreg) and Wme Img China are joining forces on a new China-based production venture.
With offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, the new company, Perfect Village, will produce film, animation and premium online TV content for China and international markets.
Perfect World and Vreg will contribute their IP and production and distribution capabilities, while Wme Img China will provide access to its brand relationships, as well as global packaging, sales and distribution infrastructure.
Ellen Eliasoph, currently head of Vreg’s Asia operations,...
- 6/20/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Perfect Village to produce range of content including features and online TV.
Beijing-based Perfect World Pictures, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (Vreg) and Wme Img China are joining forces on a new China-based production venture.
With offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, the new company, Perfect Village, will produce film, animation and premium online TV content for China and international markets.
Perfect World and Vreg will contribute their IP and production and distribution capabilities, while Wme Img China will provide access to its brand relationships, as well as global packaging, sales and distribution infrastructure.
Ellen Eliasoph, currently head of Vreg’s Asia operations, will serve as president and CEO of the new company, based at the Perfect World headquarters in Beijing.
Perfect Village’s initial slate includes cyber-hacker thriller Reborn and two projects co-produced by Vreg Asia – sci-fi action title Bleeding Steel, starring Jackie Chan, and Zhang Yimou’s Shadow (pictured).
Reborn stars Chinese actors Han Geng...
Beijing-based Perfect World Pictures, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (Vreg) and Wme Img China are joining forces on a new China-based production venture.
With offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, the new company, Perfect Village, will produce film, animation and premium online TV content for China and international markets.
Perfect World and Vreg will contribute their IP and production and distribution capabilities, while Wme Img China will provide access to its brand relationships, as well as global packaging, sales and distribution infrastructure.
Ellen Eliasoph, currently head of Vreg’s Asia operations, will serve as president and CEO of the new company, based at the Perfect World headquarters in Beijing.
Perfect Village’s initial slate includes cyber-hacker thriller Reborn and two projects co-produced by Vreg Asia – sci-fi action title Bleeding Steel, starring Jackie Chan, and Zhang Yimou’s Shadow (pictured).
Reborn stars Chinese actors Han Geng...
- 6/20/2017
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Wanda Pictures general manager speaks on panel about marketing Us films in China.
Speaking at the Ucfti Expo on Tuesday, Wanda Pictures general manager Jiang Defu called on Hollywood to cooperate with China to raise the professionalism of Chinese film executives.
“China is lacking producers and marketing executives,” said Jiang, speaking on a panel about marketing Us films in China. “Only a few dozen people graduate from Beijing Film Academy every year and hundreds of Chinese companies are trying to snatch them. There’s a big gap in the Chinese movie industry. If we cooperate, we can match the level of sophistication in Hollywood and build a healthy film industry.”
Speaking on a separate panel on “The Art of Dealmaking”, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia president Ellen Eliasoph advised Western companies to spend more time getting to know the Chinese audience when setting up co-productions and other collaborations. “You need to understand who you’re making the film...
Speaking at the Ucfti Expo on Tuesday, Wanda Pictures general manager Jiang Defu called on Hollywood to cooperate with China to raise the professionalism of Chinese film executives.
“China is lacking producers and marketing executives,” said Jiang, speaking on a panel about marketing Us films in China. “Only a few dozen people graduate from Beijing Film Academy every year and hundreds of Chinese companies are trying to snatch them. There’s a big gap in the Chinese movie industry. If we cooperate, we can match the level of sophistication in Hollywood and build a healthy film industry.”
Speaking on a separate panel on “The Art of Dealmaking”, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia president Ellen Eliasoph advised Western companies to spend more time getting to know the Chinese audience when setting up co-productions and other collaborations. “You need to understand who you’re making the film...
- 11/3/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Wanda Pictures general manager speaks on panel about marketing Us films in China.
Speaking at the Ucfti Expo on Tuesday, Wanda Pictures general manager Jiang Defu called on Hollywood to cooperate with China to raise the professionalism of Chinese film executives.
“China is lacking producers and marketing executives,” said Jiang, speaking on a panel about marketing Us films in China. “Only a few dozen people graduate from Beijing Film Academy every year and hundreds of Chinese companies are trying to snatch them. There’s a big gap in the Chinese movie industry. If we cooperate, we can match the level of sophistication in Hollywood and build a healthy film industry.”
Speaking on a separate panel on “The Art of Dealmaking”, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia president Ellen Eliasoph advised Western companies to spend more time getting to know the Chinese audience when setting up co-productions and other collaborations. “You need to understand who you’re making the film...
Speaking at the Ucfti Expo on Tuesday, Wanda Pictures general manager Jiang Defu called on Hollywood to cooperate with China to raise the professionalism of Chinese film executives.
“China is lacking producers and marketing executives,” said Jiang, speaking on a panel about marketing Us films in China. “Only a few dozen people graduate from Beijing Film Academy every year and hundreds of Chinese companies are trying to snatch them. There’s a big gap in the Chinese movie industry. If we cooperate, we can match the level of sophistication in Hollywood and build a healthy film industry.”
Speaking on a separate panel on “The Art of Dealmaking”, Village Roadshow Entertainment Group Asia president Ellen Eliasoph advised Western companies to spend more time getting to know the Chinese audience when setting up co-productions and other collaborations. “You need to understand who you’re making the film...
- 11/3/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Jackie Chan is certainly on a mission and this time he is back with a new sci-fi epic “Bleeding Steel”. This will be the first time ever Jackie Chan will appear in a Sci-Fi movie and i am very excited about this news.
Bleeding Steel is set to have the most money ever pumped into a Chinese movie and his to start shooting in Australia, with Jackie Chan producing and Leo Zhang Directing.
Jackie is set to lead a group of special forces to protect a woman from a ruthless gang. Jackie Chan also has a line of new movies waiting for release, they include Skiptrace, Kung Fu Yoga, The Foreigner and Railroad Tigers.
“We are thrilled to be working with Heyi Pictures on Bleeding Steel,” said Ellen Eliasoph, President and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures Asia. “Given Village Roadshow’s deep roots in Australia, the film’s concept resonates...
Bleeding Steel is set to have the most money ever pumped into a Chinese movie and his to start shooting in Australia, with Jackie Chan producing and Leo Zhang Directing.
Jackie is set to lead a group of special forces to protect a woman from a ruthless gang. Jackie Chan also has a line of new movies waiting for release, they include Skiptrace, Kung Fu Yoga, The Foreigner and Railroad Tigers.
“We are thrilled to be working with Heyi Pictures on Bleeding Steel,” said Ellen Eliasoph, President and CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures Asia. “Given Village Roadshow’s deep roots in Australia, the film’s concept resonates...
- 6/18/2016
- by kingofkungfu
- AsianMoviePulse
Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) is teaming with Heyi Pictures to co-finance and co-produce sci-fi thriller Bleeding Steel, starring Jackie Chan.
Written and directed by Leo Zhang (Chrysanthemum To The Beast), the film is scheduled to start shooting in July in Sydney.
The film is expected to be the biggest-budget Chinese production ever to shoot in Australia. It’s also Chan’s first film to be shot primarily in Australia since Mr. Nice Guy was filmed in Melbourne in 1996. Additional filming will take place in Taiwan.
Chan plays a special forces agent in the future who fights to protect a...
Written and directed by Leo Zhang (Chrysanthemum To The Beast), the film is scheduled to start shooting in July in Sydney.
The film is expected to be the biggest-budget Chinese production ever to shoot in Australia. It’s also Chan’s first film to be shot primarily in Australia since Mr. Nice Guy was filmed in Melbourne in 1996. Additional filming will take place in Taiwan.
Chan plays a special forces agent in the future who fights to protect a...
- 6/16/2016
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
The film will be released in Japan in Q3 2016.
Hark & Company has acquired the Japanese rights to Chinese director Larry Yang’s Mountain Cry, which recently premiered as the closing film of the 20th Busan International Film Festival, with a theatrical release in Japan scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.
Based on a short novel set in an isolated mountain village in the mid-1980s, the film follows a mysterious mute widow who becomes increasingly attached to a fellow villager assigned to care for her and her children after the death of her husband. The cast features Lang Yueting and Wang Ziyi.
“This modest film from director Larry Yang has a very powerful moving story and a message that I am confident will resonate with our audiences in Japan. The two leads are very appealing with fresh faces and great acting talent,” said Satoru Iseki, director of Hark & Company, who is a long-time supporter of quality cinema...
Hark & Company has acquired the Japanese rights to Chinese director Larry Yang’s Mountain Cry, which recently premiered as the closing film of the 20th Busan International Film Festival, with a theatrical release in Japan scheduled for the third quarter of 2016.
Based on a short novel set in an isolated mountain village in the mid-1980s, the film follows a mysterious mute widow who becomes increasingly attached to a fellow villager assigned to care for her and her children after the death of her husband. The cast features Lang Yueting and Wang Ziyi.
“This modest film from director Larry Yang has a very powerful moving story and a message that I am confident will resonate with our audiences in Japan. The two leads are very appealing with fresh faces and great acting talent,” said Satoru Iseki, director of Hark & Company, who is a long-time supporter of quality cinema...
- 10/14/2015
- ScreenDaily
Fortissimo Films has acquired global rights to Larry Yang’s Mountain Cry, which will receive its world premiere as the closing film of this year’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on October 10.
The film is the first of an initial slate of five films to be produced jointly by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) and China’s Hairun Pictures.
Set in a remote mountain village in the mid 1980s, it follows a mysterious young mute woman and her two children who upend the village’s tight-knit community structure. Lang Yueting (Office) and Wang Ziyi (Chongqing Blues) head the cast.
The film was produced by Vrpa CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Hairun vice president Victoria Hon with Yanming Liu and Greg Basser serving as executive producers.
Vrpa boarded the project after it won the prize for ‘Best Commercial Potential’ at last year’s Beijing International Film Festival ‘Pitch & Catch’ event.
Vrpa and Hairun will jointly release the film...
The film is the first of an initial slate of five films to be produced jointly by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) and China’s Hairun Pictures.
Set in a remote mountain village in the mid 1980s, it follows a mysterious young mute woman and her two children who upend the village’s tight-knit community structure. Lang Yueting (Office) and Wang Ziyi (Chongqing Blues) head the cast.
The film was produced by Vrpa CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Hairun vice president Victoria Hon with Yanming Liu and Greg Basser serving as executive producers.
Vrpa boarded the project after it won the prize for ‘Best Commercial Potential’ at last year’s Beijing International Film Festival ‘Pitch & Catch’ event.
Vrpa and Hairun will jointly release the film...
- 8/26/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Fortissimo Films has acquired global rights to Larry Yang’s Mountain Cry, which will receive its world premiere as the closing film of this year’s Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on October 10.
The film is the first of an initial slate of five films to be produced jointly by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) and China’s Hairun Pictures.
Set in a remote mountain village in the mid 1980s, it follows a mysterious young mute woman and her two children who upend the village’s tight-knit community structure. Lang Yueting (Office) and Wang Ziyi (Chongqing Blues) head the cast.
The film was produced by Vrpa CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Hairun vice president Victoria Hon with Yanming Liu and Greg Basser serving as executive producers. Vrpa boarded the project after it won the prize for ‘Best Commercial Potential’ at last year’s Beijing International Film Festival ‘Pitch & Catch’ event.
Vrpa and Hairun will jointly release the film...
The film is the first of an initial slate of five films to be produced jointly by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) and China’s Hairun Pictures.
Set in a remote mountain village in the mid 1980s, it follows a mysterious young mute woman and her two children who upend the village’s tight-knit community structure. Lang Yueting (Office) and Wang Ziyi (Chongqing Blues) head the cast.
The film was produced by Vrpa CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Hairun vice president Victoria Hon with Yanming Liu and Greg Basser serving as executive producers. Vrpa boarded the project after it won the prize for ‘Best Commercial Potential’ at last year’s Beijing International Film Festival ‘Pitch & Catch’ event.
Vrpa and Hairun will jointly release the film...
- 8/26/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Village Roadshow Asia has signed a five-picture deal with China’s Beijing Hairun Pictures that will include a feature film on former NBA player Stephon Marbury’s experiences playing in the Middle Kingdom. The deal, described as a “a long-term partnership in the joint development, financing, production and distribution of feature films,” was announced today by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Liu Yanming, chairman of Hairun Media & Entertainment Group…...
- 4/20/2015
- Deadline
Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) and Beijing-based Hairun Pictures have entered into a strategic film production alliance and unveiled a slate of five features.
The two partners will jointly develop, finance, produce and distribute a slate of films, initially consisting of Sino-foreign co-productions, with plans to also co-produce English-language content in the near future.
The alliance was signed today at the Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff) by Vrpa CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Liu Yanming, chairman of Hairun Media & Entertainment Group.
Larry Yang’s Mountain Cry, the partners’ initial project together, originated at last year’s Bjiff Pitch and Catch event, where it was awarded as the project with “Top Commercial Potential”. The film is currently in post-production.
The other four projects on the Vpra/Hairun slate include:
Ipo, a fast-paced contemporary drama depicting the dark underworld of China’s booming financial markets;
My Other Home (working title), a biopic of Stephon Marbury, the former...
The two partners will jointly develop, finance, produce and distribute a slate of films, initially consisting of Sino-foreign co-productions, with plans to also co-produce English-language content in the near future.
The alliance was signed today at the Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff) by Vrpa CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Liu Yanming, chairman of Hairun Media & Entertainment Group.
Larry Yang’s Mountain Cry, the partners’ initial project together, originated at last year’s Bjiff Pitch and Catch event, where it was awarded as the project with “Top Commercial Potential”. The film is currently in post-production.
The other four projects on the Vpra/Hairun slate include:
Ipo, a fast-paced contemporary drama depicting the dark underworld of China’s booming financial markets;
My Other Home (working title), a biopic of Stephon Marbury, the former...
- 4/20/2015
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Village Roadshow Pictures Asia has signed a deal with Beijing Hairun Pictures for the joint development, financing, production and distribution of movies and unveiled an initial slate of five feature films. The pact was announced by Village Roadshow Pictures Asia's CEO Ellen Eliasoph and Liu Yanming, chairman of Hairun Media & Entertainment Group during a signing ceremony at the Beijing Film Market. The first project is Mountain Cry, which debuted at last year's Beijing festival pitching event. Shooting is completed and the movie is currently in post-production. Eliasoph and Liu said they will start production this year and in
read more...
read more...
- 4/20/2015
- by Clifford Coonan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Australia’s biggest ever delegation to the Beijing Film Festival includes producer Alan Lindsay, who is seeking Chinese partners for the animated family film Piccolo The Dolphin Prince, written and directed by Greg Mclean, whose gory breakout film was Wolf Creek.
“It is Romeo and Juliet set in the world of dolphins,” said Lindsay, who is managing director of Vue Group. Since Mclean brought him the concept two years ago there has been considerable R&D on the dolphin characters and continued development on the underlying theme of the human impact on dolphins.
Lindsay will also be meeting with potential partners on Silver Spoon (working title), which he describes as “Downton Abbey set in Shanghai during the turbulent 1930s”. The live action drama inspired by real life focuses on a Chinese family that owns a lavish department store and once lived in Australia.
Lindsay regards China as his “second home” and has developed many partners there. His latest...
“It is Romeo and Juliet set in the world of dolphins,” said Lindsay, who is managing director of Vue Group. Since Mclean brought him the concept two years ago there has been considerable R&D on the dolphin characters and continued development on the underlying theme of the human impact on dolphins.
Lindsay will also be meeting with potential partners on Silver Spoon (working title), which he describes as “Downton Abbey set in Shanghai during the turbulent 1930s”. The live action drama inspired by real life focuses on a Chinese family that owns a lavish department store and once lived in Australia.
Lindsay regards China as his “second home” and has developed many partners there. His latest...
- 4/16/2015
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
More than 50 Australian producers and screen industry representatives are heading to China for the 5th Australia-China Film Industry Forum (Acfif) and the Beijing International Film Festival and Beijing Film Market.
That.s the largest ever delegation from Australia, including VFX and post-production businesses and federal and state government officials.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason and Ausfilm CEO Debra Richards are leading the mission to pursue co-production opportunities with China.
Co-hosted by Ausfilm and Screen Australia, the forum is part of the Beijing Film Market.s Industry Conversations program.
Two panels of Australian, Chinese and international producers and screen industry decision makers will discuss opportunities for co-production, locations, studios, facilities and visual effects, and. focus on Australia.s federal and state incentives for international production.
The participants will include Ellen Eliasoph, president/CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, director/producer Pauline Chan, Alex Sangston, Screen Australia.s senior manager, producer offset and co-productions,...
That.s the largest ever delegation from Australia, including VFX and post-production businesses and federal and state government officials.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason and Ausfilm CEO Debra Richards are leading the mission to pursue co-production opportunities with China.
Co-hosted by Ausfilm and Screen Australia, the forum is part of the Beijing Film Market.s Industry Conversations program.
Two panels of Australian, Chinese and international producers and screen industry decision makers will discuss opportunities for co-production, locations, studios, facilities and visual effects, and. focus on Australia.s federal and state incentives for international production.
The participants will include Ellen Eliasoph, president/CEO of Village Roadshow Pictures Asia, director/producer Pauline Chan, Alex Sangston, Screen Australia.s senior manager, producer offset and co-productions,...
- 4/15/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Yang Zi’s film is based on a Chinese novel by Ge Shuiping.
China’s Hairun Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) are co-developing Mountain Cry, written and to be directed by Yang Zi.
Us-based Story Mining & Supply Co, through its strategic development alliance with Vrpa, and Ivanhoe Pictures, through its recently-launched Asia production arm, are also boarding the project to contribute in the areas of development, finance and international marketing strategy.
The film is based on a Chinese novel of the same name by Ge Shuiping. The script won the prize for best artistic potential at last month’s Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff) Pitch and Catch event.
Set in a remote mountain village, the story begins with the sudden death of a husband and father whose family to new to the tight-knit local community. Following his death, the villagers come to know the man’s widow, a beautiful mute with the power to tell...
China’s Hairun Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures Asia (Vrpa) are co-developing Mountain Cry, written and to be directed by Yang Zi.
Us-based Story Mining & Supply Co, through its strategic development alliance with Vrpa, and Ivanhoe Pictures, through its recently-launched Asia production arm, are also boarding the project to contribute in the areas of development, finance and international marketing strategy.
The film is based on a Chinese novel of the same name by Ge Shuiping. The script won the prize for best artistic potential at last month’s Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff) Pitch and Catch event.
Set in a remote mountain village, the story begins with the sudden death of a husband and father whose family to new to the tight-knit local community. Following his death, the villagers come to know the man’s widow, a beautiful mute with the power to tell...
- 5/20/2014
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
SHANGHAI -- Filmmakers from around the world are eager to tap into the vast potential of China's entertainment market, but many hurdles are still barring the way, panelists said Wednesday at a Shanghai International Film Festival session.
The good news is that the number of screens, people who can afford tickets and boxoffice revenue are all rapidly increasing, European Producers Club president Jean Cazes said.
China is adding 300-400 screens annually, and boxoffice revenue has climbed from $197 million in 2004 to about $340 million in 2006.
"Everyone is interested because China retains a huge untapped potential, but many obstacles remain, and the situation is not improving," Cazes added.
Discussion touched on such problems as quotas, the lack of a pay TV market, strict censorship, rampant piracy and the fact that only China Film Corp. can import foreign films -- the same issues foreign producers have long faced in China.
Warner Bros. vp Ellen Eliasoph has blazed the trail in this frontier.
The good news is that the number of screens, people who can afford tickets and boxoffice revenue are all rapidly increasing, European Producers Club president Jean Cazes said.
China is adding 300-400 screens annually, and boxoffice revenue has climbed from $197 million in 2004 to about $340 million in 2006.
"Everyone is interested because China retains a huge untapped potential, but many obstacles remain, and the situation is not improving," Cazes added.
Discussion touched on such problems as quotas, the lack of a pay TV market, strict censorship, rampant piracy and the fact that only China Film Corp. can import foreign films -- the same issues foreign producers have long faced in China.
Warner Bros. vp Ellen Eliasoph has blazed the trail in this frontier.
- 6/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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