“Only when we face death do we understand the value of life.” This line comes towards the end of Halkawt Mustafa’s No Paradise If You Are Killed by a Woman, and it stayed in my mind. Perhaps because most of us rarely think about life in those terms; we rush from one thing to another,…
Tag: Asian Cinema
83rd Venice Film Festival: “Lovers in the Blue Night” Review
Indian women filmmakers have been behind some truly remarkable independent films in recent years. The talent has always been there; the opportunities have not always followed quite so easily, especially when it comes to making that difficult second film. That is one of the reasons it is so exciting to see Anuparna Roy back at…
Asian Cinema at the 70th BFI London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its 70th edition, and Asian cinema will once again form an essential part of the celebration. From long-awaited works by some of the continent’s most respected filmmakers to daring debuts, intimate documentaries and large-scale genre spectacles, this year’s selection reflects the extraordinary breadth of filmmaking…
JIB DREAM FANMEET 7: Acting, Laughter and Everything in Between with Pond and Phuwin – Exclusive Interview
When Pond Naravit and Phuwin Tangsakyuen first began working together, both were at very different points in their careers, still finding their feet as leading actors and probably with little idea of just how much their lives would change over the next few years. Since then, they have grown up in front of an audience,…
The A Festival Is Bringing Asia to Paris – And It’s Much Bigger Than Just K-pop
Paris is hardly short of festivals, but on 24 and 25 October 2026, something rather different is taking shape at the Paris Event Center. The A Festival is setting out to bring several corners of Asian entertainment into the same space: K-pop and T-pop, P-pop, Japanese rock and pop, Chinese artists, Thai hip-hop, music from…
“Kung Fu Soccer” (2026) Review: Stephen Chow’s Ambitious Return Doesn’t Quite Score
Surprisingly announced just one month before its release, Kung Fu Soccer (2026) grossed over 260 million RMB (38 million USD) on its opening day, surging past 2.1 billion RMB (310 million USD) within three weeks. The film quickly secured its place as China’s second-highest-grossing release of the year. The craze was driven by none other…
Trapped Inside the Hive Mind: “Colony” Review
Yeon Sang-ho, the director of Train to Busan (2016) and Peninsula (2020), once again ventures into the zombie film genre he is well-versed in. In Colony, the zombie outbreak takes place in an enclosed high-rise in Seoul. The visceral horror of the film is enhanced by its choreography, sound design, as well as its claustrophobic…
“Perhaps Love” (2005) & Peter Chan’s Path on Climbing Mountains, Walking on Thin Ice
In the last section of Close Encounters with Master Filmmakers – Movie Talks: Peter Ho-sun Chan hosted at the Hong Kong Film Archive, it is revealed that Chan had just wrapped up the latest film he worked on and caught a morning plane from Chengdu to Hong Kong to attend the talk on the same…
“Dog Day Evening” (2026) Review: Absurdity of Ordinary Desperation
Dog Day Evening (2026) was released nationwide immediately after its premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival’s Asian New Talent section. It is director Mak Tin Shu’s directorial debut. Although a “new talent” as a director, Mak was not really new or fresh to the Hong Kong film industry. His scripts for Trivisa (2016) and…
K-EXPO France 2026: Celebrating K-Culture in Paris
K-EXPO France 2026 arrived alongside the Parisian heat on 16-19th June, exploring ‘All About K-Culture’. Over four days in the heart of summer, the event proved to be much more than a simple celebration of the Korean wave. Built around the theme “A Journey of K-Culture, Connected as One,” the expo, spanning publishing and K-food…
Director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s Journey in Creating “Ah Girl” – Exclusive Interview
Having shared the spotlights in Rotterdam, Hong Kong, and ahead of its premiere in Shanghai, director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s debut feature Ah Girl, 13 years in the making, presents a bittersweet self-healing childhood of a 7-year-old curious girl Swee Swee (Xuanjing ONG) in the post-divorce turbulence of her parents. Ah Girl comes from a…
“Ah Girl”: A Heartwarming Look at Family and Loneliness – Review
Inspired by director Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s own childhood experiences and long-held reflections, the Singaporean filmmaker’s debut feature Ah Girl follows the resilient Swee Swee (Ah Girl) as she journeys through a childhood scarred by hardship and bruises. Set in the 1990s, the 7-year-old Ah Girl (Xuanjing ONG), and her younger sister Ah Tian (Sydney…
7co Announces Major Debut With First Anime Tie-In Song “nekojarashi” as the Opening Theme of TV Anime “You and I Are Polar Opposites”
Japanese artist 7co (pronounced Nanako) has announced their major debut single “nekojarashi,” marking a key moment in what is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for the rising act. The track has been selected as the opening theme for Season 2 of the TV anime You and I Are Polar Opposites (Seihantai na Kimi…
Chen Sicheng’s “Being Towards Death”: Finding Life in Its Final Chapter
Chen Sicheng, a Chinese film director, producer, and screenwriter, is behind some of China’s biggest commercial successes, from the hugely popular Detective Chinatown films to thrillers such as Lost in the Stars and Sheep Without a Shepherd. His films often focus on crime, mystery and moral choices, that is why Being Towards Death comes as…
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