Notícias

The acclaimed filmmaking duo Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji are completing their new feature film “A Woman Builds,” a multilingual drama exploring themes of independence, identity, and belonging in contemporary Asia.

Huang and Otsuka previously collaborated on “Stonewalling” (2022), which premiered at Venice and won the Golden Horse Award for best narrative feature, and “The Foolish Bird” (2017), which debuted at the Berlinale.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

With a budget of $622,000 and $339,000 already secured from private investors and producer participation, the project is seeking additional financing and sales partners at the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (Haf).

The film follows Lynn, a woman living separately from her husband Kenji and daughter in China, where she pursues her dream of building a house in her hometown, now evolving into a tourist destination. Her growing attraction to a married colleague and confrontations with gender bias and bureaucracy complicate her journey, ultimately leading her to question the personal...

Indonesia is booming with local content, international co-productions and a vibrant box office, although overseas distribution and the absence of film incentives remain weaknesses, said film professionals currently working in Indonesia, on a panel at Hong Kong’s Filmart.

Indonesia’s culture minister, Fadli Zon, was also present at the panel, alongside a delegation from the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong.

Justin Kim, head of international production at Cj Enm, has been steadily growing the Korean entertainment powerhouse‘s footprint in Indonesia since 2014.

Kim said that Cj Enm’s foray into the Indonesian film industry started out with the conglomerate giving out a few awards at Busan’s Asian Project Market in 2014, including for a “most anticipated” project, which was given to Joko Anwar’s A Copy of My Mind.

At that time, Kim was an international sales manager and Cj Enm ended up representing the film. Anwar’s feature travelled to the Venice,...

French fashion brand Ami has been announced as the new main sponsor of Cannes Critics’ Week, replacing Nespresso which supported the section for close to 15 years.

Launched by the French Union of Film Critics in 1962, the parallel Cannes section showcases first and second features, as well as shorts, by emerging talents, occasionally showcasing directorial debuts from more established cinema names.

High profile selections of recent years have included Charlotte Wells’ multi-award-winning, father and daughter drama Aftersun, Belgian 2025 Oscars entry Belgium Julie Keeps Quiet and Malaysian breakout Tiger Stripes.

Under the new partnership with Ami, the section’s international jury will award Le Grand Prix Ami Paris to one of the seven movies in competition this year.

Founded in Paris in 2011 and taking inspiration from its French capital home, Ami takes its name from the initials of Alexandre Mattiussi, its founder and creative director.

“Cinema is one of my greatest passions,...

Japanese director Chie Hayakawa, whose “Plan 75” received a special mention at Cannes, has secured Indonesian powerhouse KawanKawan Media as a co-production partner for her upcoming film “Renoir,” it was revealed at the Hong Kong FilMart.

KawanKawan is collaborating with Japan’s Loaded Films, with Eiko Mizuno-Gray and Jason Gray serving as producers. Indonesia joins an already robust international co-production spanning Japan, France, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Hayakawa’s new film tells the poignant story of Fuki, a quirky and sensitive 11-year-old girl navigating a challenging summer during Japan’s late 1980s bubble economy. The coming-of-age drama follows Fuki as she copes with a terminally ill father and stressed-out working mother while encountering various adults dealing with their own struggles.

KawanKawan is the production company behind Makbul Mubarak’s Venice winner “Autobiography” and Amanda Nell Eu’s Cannes-winning “Tiger Stripes.”

“We are thrilled to work alongside Loaded Films on Chie Hayakawa’s ‘Renoir.

International co-productions have become an essential strategy for filmmakers seeking funding, wider distribution, and creative collaborations across borders. While these partnerships unlock new opportunities, they also present unique challenges, as discussed by a panel consisting of Sam Chua (Singapore), Will Manalang (Philippines), Yulia Evina Bhara (Indonesia), Justine O (Taiwan).

Diverse Paths into Film Production

The panelists shared their unique journeys into filmmaking, each shaped by distinct cultural and industry landscapes. Justine began her career in Algeria and mainland China, working alongside renowned directors before launching her own production company back home. Post-pandemic shifts in the Chinese film industry led her to explore collaborations across Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Cambodia, Nepal, and Japan.

Bhara recounted her transition from theater to film. With Indonesia’s limited financial infrastructure for independent cinema, she initially self-funded her debut feature, which premiered at Locarno in 2016. Her co-production experience expanded through projects with Malaysia, France, and Singapore.

Exclusive: Taiwanese production and sales outfit Flash Forward Entertainment has unveiled new titles for Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM), including fantasy romance Time Loop With the Moon and Moonlight, Ripples!.

Patrick Mao Huang leads Flash Forward, and he has co-produced titles like Karlovy Vary best director prize-winner Pierce, as well as Tiger Stripes, which picked up the Grand Prix at Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique in 2023.

Huang unveiled Time Loop With the Moon as a new title on the company’s slate for EFM. Currently in development, the fantasy-infused coming-of-age romance was adapted from the best-selling novel of the same name by Misa.

The project follows a teenage girl who makes a wish to reunite with her lost friend. She soon wakes up in the past, inhabiting the body of another person on the night of a tragic event. Trapped in an endless time loop, she must unravel the...

Dark Star Pictures has swooped in to acquire North American rights to “Heads or Fails,” the sophomore feature from Belgian directing duo Harpo and Lenny Guit. The deal marks a continued partnership between the indie distributor and the Guit brothers, whose midnight sensation “Mother Schmuckers” made waves at Sundance 2021.

The acquisition was finalized between Dark Star Pictures president Michael Repsch and Best Friend Forever co-founder Charles Bin.

Fresh off its world premiere at last year’s Fantastic Fest, where it earned critical acclaim, “Heads or Fails” follows Armande Pigeon, Brussels’ reigning queen of misfortune. Unable to resist a bet, she finds herself perpetually on the wrong side of Lady Luck – until a fateful night when she joins forces with Ronnie, leading to an unprecedented winning streak that tests their judgment.

The comedy features a stellar ensemble including Maria Cavalier-Bazan in the lead, alongside “Mother Schmuckers” alums Axel Perin and Maxi Delmelle.

2024 was a breakout year for horror films from across the globe, the likes of which deserve just as much attention and accolades as any domestic genre achievements.

2024 has been a fascinating year for film. Still reeling from 2023’s SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes and pushed back release dates, movie audiences have continually embraced the safe and soothing nostalgia of franchise fare and superhero cinema. Nearly every film from 2024’s top ten highest-grossing titles are sequels, which is creatively frustrating on some level, but this trend hasn’t impeded the horror genre from making significant cinematic gains.

Horror has seen incredible success in 2024, whether it’s The Substance accruing five major Golden Globe nominations, Terrifier 3 and Smile 2 setting new franchise records, and the critical acclaim of original releases like I Saw the TV Glow, Abigail, and Cuckoo. These domestic horror movies all bring something original to the table,...

The 19th edition of Indonesia’s Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff) was its most successful one yet and the inaugural Jaff Market proved to be an auspicious debut. Variety was present to report on both.

To put matters in context, films from Indonesia now routinely get selected and win prizes at major international festivals. The local market in Indonesia, which has the fourth-largest population in the world with 283 million, is rapidly expanding with homegrown productions accounting for a significant share of the local box office. Indonesia is also bolstering its cultural policies that include an annual $13 million international co-production grant.

Here are some key takeaways from the festival and market:

An energetic and buzzing festival and market

“Energy” and “buzzing” were the two words most bandied about during the festival and market and with good reason too. Despite running on similar dates to the 25th edition of neighboring Singapore’s...

The Ministry of Culture of Indonesia and Embassy of France have launched the inaugural Indonesia-France Film Lab at the first-ever Jaff Market, running Dec. 3-5 alongside the Jogja-Netpac Asian Film Festival (Jaff).

Six emerging projects have been selected for the intensive four-day workshop, which features mentorship from an international slate of industry experts. Indonesian filmmaker Makbul Mubarak, whose debut feature “Autobiography” was a collaboration between eight countries, and French producer Louise Bellicaud (In Vivo Films) will serve as group leaders.

Additional mentors include French director Rachid Hami, sales executive Sébastien Chesneau from Cercamon, Japanese producer Eiko Mizuno, distributor Fernanda Renno and Singaporean producer Tan Si En. The mentors are providing guidance on co-production opportunities between Southeast Asia, Europe and France.

Selected projects include:

“First Breath After Coma” (Studio Antelope/Base) from director Jason Iskandar and producer Florence Giovanni follows three estranged Chinese-Indonesian siblings grappling with their father’s coma amid...

A series adaptation of Tawada Yoko’s award-winning novel “The Last Children of Tokyo” is being developed as an international co-production between Japan’s Nhk and Taiwan’s Betula Films and Flash Forward Entertainment, with principal photography targeted for spring 2026.

The project, directed by Edmund Yeo, who won best director at the Tokyo International Film Festival for “We, the Dead,” takes place in a dystopian Japan where the elderly have stopped ageing, but children face early mortality. The story follows a 108-year-old man caring for his fragile great-grandson in a society that has isolated itself from the world.

The creative team includes producer Itagaki Maiko from Nhk, who previously collaborated with Yeo on his Venice Film Festival-premiered short “Kingyo,” and veteran Taiwan producer Patrick Mao Huang, founder of Flash Forward Entertainment, known for producing Karlovy Vary winner “Pierce” and the Cannes prize-winning “Tiger Stripes.”

The project is at the Taiwan...

A new project examining the decline of Vietnam’s state-run film industry and its impact on veteran filmmakers is being developed by director Vu Minh Nghia, set for production in 2025.

“Waiting for Godard” follows a young independent director who interviews former filmmakers from the Vietnam Feature Film Studio, exploring the aftermath of the studio’s 2017 sale to a transportation company – a move that left numerous industry veterans unemployed.

The project is selected for Taipei’s Taiwan Creative Content Fest (Tccf) where it is part of the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (Taicca) and Produire au Sud feature film pitch. Vu discussed the cultural shifts that inspired the project with Variety. “When Vietnam entered the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Western culture flooded in quickly, especially music and movies. American and Hong Kong films dominated the market, making people no longer interested in wartime propaganda films,” he explained.

“In the past 20 years,...

Following a 2023 that definitely belonged to Malaysia, with titles like “Tiger Stripes“, “Abang Adik”, “La Luna” and a number of others, it seems that 2024 belongs to another Asean country, Indonesia. For us that we have been following local cinema for some years, this does not come as a surprise, since the stories were already there and it seemed that the industry just needed some nurturing in order to fully bloom. Following investment by Cj, it was when streamers and particularly Netflix started investing in local content, that the leap that was bound to happen finally became reality. Headed by Joko Anwar, Kamila Andini, Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto and a number of others, local cinema seems to be in good hands, as the movies in the following list eloquently highlight. At the same time, the same can be said about the actors, with names like Laura Basuki, Shenina Cinnamon, Yusuf Mahardika,...

Taiwanese producer Patrick Mao Huang has set up China-based company Eyes Wide Open Productions, with Busan’s New Currents competitor As The River Goes By as its debut feature.

In recent years, Huang has been involved in the production of several acclaimed Southeast Asian and international collaborations through his Taiwan-based Flash Forward Entertainment, including Cannes 2023 Critics’ Week winner Tiger Stripes and Karlovy Vary 2024 best director winner Pierce.

Specialising in film production and development, Eyes Wide Open supports new mainland Chinese directors to expand into overseas markets. It has several Chinese-language projects in development and at funding stage, including Before The...

Veteran Taiwanese producer Patrick Mao Huang unveiled several new projects at Busan’s Asian Contents and Film Market on Saturday. They are to be co-produced by his Taipei-based Flash Forward Entertainment.

Directed by Shen Ko-Shang (“Two Juliets”), “Deep Quiet Room” is a feature film. “After his pregnant wife Yi-ting unexpectedly committed suicide, Ming decides to take care of his father-in-law, only to find out the unbearable truth of Yi-ting’s family that leads to her death,” reads the synopsis. The project participated at the 2022 Mia Market in Rome, the 2022 Tokyo Gap-Financing Market and the 2020 Taipei Golden Horse Fpp Project Market.

“The Sleepless Girl,” by feature debutant François Chang, won the most creative project award at the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival Market. “​As a Japanese girl, sleepless for 17 years, finally succumbs to slumber, the world teeters on the brink of catastrophe. Meanwhile, a Taiwanese YouTuber unravels a staggering revelation, thrust into a maelstrom of arduous decisions,...

These are not easy times for film festivals, with many of the world’s largest buffeted by political and financial headwinds, and South Korea’s highly-regarded Busan International Film Festival (Biff) has not been immune to the current instability.

Following last summer’s management turmoil, during which many of the festival’s founders and top executives quit, Biff put interim leaders in place and achieved a level of stability for its October 2023 edition. Earlier this year, Park Kwang-su, a veteran filmmaker with long ties to the festival, was appointed as chairman. Ellen Y.D. Kim, also an industry veteran who has previously worked at Biff and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, was appointed as head of Biff’s industry platform, Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm).

But the recruitment process for a permanent festival director did not yield the desired results. With time running out for this year’s edition, former...

The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market (Tgfm) has revealed the 20 projects selected for financing and development at Tiffcom, the content market of Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF).

The 5th edition of Tgfm is set to take place from October 30 to November 1 and includes five more projects than last year due to a special focus on Italy. This follows the signing of a co-production agreement between Italy and Japan in 2023, which came into effect last month.

Scroll down for full list of titles

Several international projects hail from successful producers who have teamed with young directors.

They include family drama 9 Temples To Heaven,...

“Stranger Eyes,” Singaporean director Yeo Siew Hua‘s feature on modern surveillance culture, has been sold by Playtime to a raft of territories ahead of its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

The film, which is in contention for the Golden Lion at Venice, revolves around a young couple who is grappling with the mysterious disappearance of their baby daughter when they start receiving strange videos, realizing that someone has been filming their daily life. The police set up surveillance around their home to catch the voyeur, but the family starts to crumble as secrets unravel under the scrutiny.

In the run up to its premiere on the Lido, the film has been sold by Playtime to Italy (Europictures), Spain (La Aventura), Baltics (A-One), Portugal (Leopardo Filmes) and Benelux (September Films).

The helmer explained in the press notes for the film that Singapore was the ideal backdrop for...

Busan International Film Festival has revealed the full line-up for its 29th edition, which will open with the world premiere of Netflix period drama Uprising, produced and co-written by Park Chan-wook, and close with Eric Khoo’s Spirit World, starring Catherine Deneuve.

At a press conference in Seoul today (September 3), it was also announced that Japanese auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa will receive the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award, while organisers addressed ongoing funding challenges facing the festival.

Uprising marks the first time a streaming title has been set as the opening feature of Asia’s largest film festival. The South...

Korea’s Busan International Film Festival has unveiled the full program of its 29th edition, which will open with the world premiere of Uprising, produced and co-written by Park Chan-wook, and close with Spirit World, starring Catherine Deneuve and directed by Singapore’s Eric Khoo.

Directed by Kim Sang-Man, Uprising marks Park’s first collaboration with Netflix. Gang Dong-won and Park Jeong-min star in the period epic, which Park co-scripted with Shin Chul, about two childhood friends who are turned into bitter adversaries.

Spirit World stars Deneuve as a legendary singer who flies to Japan for a final sold-out concert after which she embarks on an unexpected life in the spirit world with one of her biggest fans as her guide. Masaaki Sakai also stars in the film, a France-Singapore-Japan co-production that is being sold internationally by Goodfellas.

Busan also announced that Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa has been named Asian Filmmaker Of The Year.

Fran Borgia of Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia (“Tiger Stripes”), who’s at the Venice Film Festival this week with Yeo Siew Hua’s Golden Lion contender “Stranger Eyes,” has unveiled two new projects on his production company’s fast-growing slate, including a limited series from Yeo, whose “A Land Imagined” won the Locarno Film Festival’s top prize in 2018.

“We are excited to announce that we are expanding our horizons beyond Southeast Asia, embarking on ambitious new projects in collaboration with partners from China, Japan and India,” Borgia told Variety. “These international co-productions present new challenges and opportunities, allowing us to push creative boundaries and expand our artistic skills.”

Described by the producer as “a captivating and innovative addition to [Yeo’s] body of work,” the Singaporean filmmaker’s seven-part psychological police thriller series “The Fundamentals” delves into small-town paranoia, blending science, cultism and procedural elements. Created by Yeo and written by Yeo,...

French outfit Still Moving has joined forces with Switzerland’s GoldenEggProduction to co-produce “Tropical Malaise” (“Malestar tropical”), a Colombia-set drama project directed by Jorge Cadena, whose short “Flores del otro patio” snagged a Special Jury Award at 2023’s SXSW Film Festival.

“Tropical Malaise” features among the 14 projects being brought to market at San Sebastian’s 2024 Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum edition.

Produced by Gabriela Bussmann and Yan Decoppet at Geneva-based GoldenEggProduction, “Tropical Malaise” is at financing stage, planned for an early 2026 shoot.

Co-writers include Jacques Toulemonde, a co-scribe on Ciro Guerra’s Oscar-nominated “El abrazo de la serpiente” and director of Netflix’s “Historia de un Crimen – Mauricio Leal;” and the Colombian-born and Swiss-trained Cadena, alongside Juana del Río (“Goles en contra”) and “Flores del otro patio” co-scribe Li Aparicio Candama.

Deeply rooted in Colombian reality, “Tropical Malaise” addresses contemporary societal issues, exploring social, political, environmental, and gender (Lgbtqia+) themes.

The...

Singaporean filmmaker Tan Siyou will be presenting her first feature, “Amoeba,” this week at the Venice Production Bridge’s Gap-Financing Market. It’s produced by Fran Borgia of Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia (“Tiger Stripes”), who’s on the Lido with Yeo Siew Hua’s Golden Lion contender “Stranger Eyes.”

“Amoeba” follows a 16-year-old dropout who sparks a rebellion when she returns to her elite all-girls school and starts a gang with three fellow misfits. As they take over the halls and classrooms with their clumsy attempts at being gangsters, the film explores the price of the societal and cultural expectations Singapore places on its citizens and the pressure to conform in the repressive city-state.

Speaking to Variety ahead of the Venice Film Festival, Tan said her debut is an exploration of the “paradox” of her homeland, a country that is “open but narrow-minded, Westernized but rooted in Eastern collectivism,...

France’s Still Moving and Uruguay’s Monarca Films have joined Pablo Lamar’s Paraguayan socio-political drama project “Remanso” as co-producers. The film will feature at the upcoming San Sebastian Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum.

Produced by Gabriela Sabaté (“Paraguayan Hammock”) at Asunción-based Sabaté Films and Pablo Lamar at Sapukai Cine, the project’s broad co-production alliance also includes San Telmo Filmes in Brazil and Tarea Fina in Argentina.

Lamar won the Special Jury Award in the Tiger Competition at the 2016 Rotterdam Film Festival edition for his debut, “La última tierra.”

Written by Sara Pinheiro and based on real-life events, “Remanso” takes place in Paraguay in the ’70s, during one of the most violent periods of Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship (1954–1989).

It follows Carmen, a woman who, upon moving to a new neighborhood, discovers the body of a dead girl in the nearby house of a colonel. Her friends and loved ones insist she stay silent,...

Lion And Cubs

Indian superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who was recently in Locarno for a celebration, has teamed up with his sons Aryan Khan and AbRam as the voice cast of the Hindi-language version of Disney’s upcoming feature film “Mufasa: The Lion.”

The film is directed by Barry Jenkins and tells the story of the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, while also introducing an orphaned cub called Mufasa, a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline—and their expansive journey alongside an extraordinary group of misfits. The film has original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and an English voice cast of Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Donald Glover as Simba and Braelyn Rankins as Young Mufasa.

The film will reach Indian theatres on Dec.20 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions.

Watch the trailer here:

Format Duo

Nippon TV has finalized a deal...

Singapore-based production company Akanga Film Asia has been set as the newly-launched Spanish Audiovisual Hub in Asia. It will seek to expand connections between the film, TV, animation and games industries of Spain and those in Asia.

Akanga is headed by Fran Borgia, a Spanish producer who has Asian film production credits including Boo Junfeng’s “Apprentice,” Yeo Siew Hua’s Locarno-winning “A Land Imagined,” Kamila Andini’s “Yuni” and Amanda Nell Eu’s “Tiger Stripes.”

The company was selected after a tender process initiated by the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Singapore, representing Icex Spain Export and Investment. Borgia is appointed as the “Consultant for the Audiovisual Sector of Spain in Asia” and will work closely with veteran producer and festival consultant Lorna Tee.

“The project aims to enhance Spain’s positioning as a production country and as a destination for filming, post-production of live-action and digital images,...

One of this year’s most hotly anticipated horror movies finally arrives in theaters this weekend, and it’s joined by seven other brand new horrors being unleashed in theaters and at home.

Here’s all the new horror releasing July 8, 2024 – July 14, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist) stars in the new possession horror movie The Exorcism, which Vertical brought to Digital at home this week. You can rent the film for $19.99.

Joshua John Miller, who wrote 2015’s The Final Girls and also starred in films including Near Dark and And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird, directed The Exorcism.

Joshua John Miller also wrote the script with M.A. Fortin (The Final Girls). This one is personal for Miller, as his late father was the star of the best possession movie ever made.

“The Exorcism follows Anthony Miller (Crowe...

Coming of age is about discovering your unique qualities and waving your freak flag high. But how freaky can that really get? It stands to reason that plenty of adolescent-inspired stories would dip their toes in some reasonably freakish content, but Tiger Stripes takes things to a whole other level. Last year's international indie horror scene witnessed the release of some exceptional foreign-language films that deal with coming-of-age themes, with French-Canadian films Red Rooms and Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person both tackling the subject in completely opposite ways. But it's one unlikely debut from Malaysia that takes the cake for the most outrageous approach yet.

Roaring towards its 23rd edition, the Neuchatel Intl. Fantastic Film Festival (Nifff) built its reputation as a haven for outré fare, pulling in a reliable (and renewable) youth crowd eager for wild thrills and hard-to-source Asian titles, while becoming a fixture on the horror festival circuit as a lakeside home-away-from-home for a stable of filmmakers who return year and again.

For the past half-decade or so, the Swiss showcase has also branched outward, welcoming new faces and diverse voices into the mix, all while pairing a more expansive vision of fantasy and with an intersectional programing remit that explores sociological questions through genre – or, if you will, that sees in fantasy a more crystalline reflection of the wider world.

“Fantasy is the cinema of the margins, the cinema of the forbidden,” says Nifff director Pierre-Yves Walder. “It is the tool that underrepresented or minority communities use to tell their own stories,...

Newcomer Amanda Nell Eu's body-horror coming-of-age flick, “Tiger Stripes,” has been the hot topic of Southeast Asian horror in the last year. Eu won the Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize, and her first feature garnered laurels since at the Asian Film Awards, Fantasia, Neuchatel, Pingyao, and more. The film had also represented Malaysia for its Best Foreign Language Film entry to the 2023 Oscars – but had to do so under intense scrutiny. Domestic theatrical release of “Tiger Stripes,” which follows Zaffan's (played by the tenacious Zafreen Zairizal) first encounter with puberty, faced strict censorship. The Malaysian release in turn removed scenes like a rambunctious TikTok dance, an explicit shot of period blood, and schoolgirls trying on a friend's bra for the first time.

Now, in the advent of “Tiger Stripes'” US premiere, we had the fortune to speak to Eu over Zoom. Over the course of the half-hour, we exchanged horoscopes (we're both Sagittariuses!

Filmmakers in Malaysia are predicting more arrests and criminal investigations if the government pushes through proposed guidelines to the country’s censorship system and expands the remit of the Film Censorship Board (Lfp).

Malaysia has in recent years gained itself an intolerant reputation after numerous bans or restrictions on Hollywood and Asian films that have been widely released elsewhere. These have included Pixar’s “Buzz Lightyear” and Marvel’s “Thor: love and Thunder,” apparently due to their LGBT subplots or characters, and 2017 Indian blockbuster “Padmaavat” on religious grounds.

But the Freedom Film Network says that by expanding film censorship the government is undermining the development of the local, Malaysian, film industry that authorities proclaim to support.

“Filmmaking is now a dangerous vocation in Malaysia and far from the internationally competitive industry the Prime Minister imagines,” the organization said this week in an open letter. “With the new Lpf guidelines we...

Your browser does not support the video tag.

Director Amanda Nell Eu spoke with MovieWeb's Greg Archer about the new film Tiger Stripes, which is released June 14, 2024. The first among her friends to hit puberty, 12-year-old Zaffan discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by the community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free, she must embrace the body she feared.

One of the most acclaimed horror movies of the year, A24’s I Saw the TV Glow heads home this week, and it’s joined by three other horror movies as well as an anthology TV series.

Here’s all the new horror released June 10 – June 16, 2024!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up, Gravitas Ventures released G.S. Foxwood’s horror film Wild Eyed and Wicked on VOD outlets this past Tuesday, June 11. The film blends elements of horror, familial drama, and fantasy to “create a unique, emotionally powerful, and terrifying experience.”

Molly Kunz (Widows, The Irrational), Michael X. Sommers (Sense8), Stefanie Estes (Soft & Quiet), and Colleen Camp (Clue) star in the indie horror film Wild Eyed and Wicked.

Wild Eyed and Wicked follows Lily Pierce (Kunz) in her attempt to strike back at the medieval creature that’s haunted her family for generations.

Tiger StripesImage: Dark Star Pictures

Horror has historically, and quite aptly, been the genre of choice for exploring the whirlwind of physical and emotional sensations inherent to experiencing one’s first menses. There’s the 1970 Czech dark fantasy hallmark Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders, Stephen’s King’s novel...

Zafeen Zairizal shines in the lead role, showcasing depth beyond her years in the unique coming-of-age film, Tiger Stripes. Amanda Nell Eu's direction and Jimmy Gimferrer's cinematography create stunning visuals that draw audiences in. Despite its rushed ending and unanswered questions, Tiger Stripes cleverly intertwines body horror with themes of female empowerment.

The coming-of-age genre has seen a wide variety of approaches to the formula, ranging from the more lighthearted My Girl to the Oscar-winning Moonlight, though they most typically take a grounded and straightforward route to the story. Then along comes Tiger Stripes, the body horror movie that was Malaysia's entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars following its acclaimed debut at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Melding gut-wrenching body horror with unique parallels between puberty and transformation, writer-director Amanda Nell Eu's feature debut is thoughtful and intriguing, even if it doesn't fully soar.

Tiger Stripes...

The 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, has revealed the 37 projects from 22 countries selected for the 2024 Naff Project Market, including 23 Naff It Projects, 5 Spotlight Indonesia projects, 4 Nordic Genre Invasion projects, and one project each for the Blood Window, the Sitges FanPitch and Cannes' Fantastic 7.

323 projects from 52 countries around the world were submitted for this year's Naff Project Market. That's 44 more projects submitted from 12 more countries compared to last year, demonstrating the growing influence of Naff as a platform for the global genre film industry. The submissions represented a wide range of genres and cinematic tastes, including history, fantasy, thriller, Sf, action, and high-concept mystery. The jury commented: “There were many projects that broke new ground by incorporating the voices of diverse members of society in terms of subject matter and characters. The bold challenges, diverse genres and cinematic tastes are expected to explore new horizons in the film industry.” The...

Our Summer Horror Preview 2024 is here! The 2024 slate of summer horror releases looks packed, which is excellent news, considering the year has gotten off to a sluggish start for the genre at the box office. Not only is the release schedule so stacked that it’s guaranteed to keep us distracted while we wait for Halloween, but this summer also brings some of the year’s most anticipated titles from MaXXXine to Alien: Romulus and Longlegs.

This guide covers the highlights of what’s already been announced, but as always, expect a handful of streaming, Digital, and VOD releases to pop up over the next few months as well.

Here are 24 horror movies you don’t want to miss in Summer 2024…

Under Paris – June 5 (Netflix)

French filmmaker Xavier Gens (Mayhem!, Frontier(s)) ensures this summer is stuffed to the gills with shark horror. This time, a shark swims into...

Upcoming projects from award-winning filmmakers Nelson Yeo, Patiparn Boontarig, Kenneth Dagatan and producers of Cannes drama Viet And Nam are among the selection for this year’s Network of Asian Fantastic Films (Naff) market.

Held during South Korea’s Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifan), some 37 titles from 22 countries have been selected for the project market, which runs July 6-9 alongside Asia’s largest genre festival. One-to-one meetings will take place with producers, investors, and distributors.

Titles in the It Project selection include Vietnamese horror The Heirloom, set to be the feature directorial debut of Le Hoang from the producers of Viet And Nam,...

Puberty and junior high have absolutely no business happening at the same time and yet here we are. One of lifes earliest horrors can lead to plenty of shame and awkwardness, both of which arent in the least bit helped by the stigma surrounding those intensely difficult years. Perhaps thats why filmmakers and authors have so often focused their stories on that unpleasant time in a young persons life and the universal experience that affects us all. The latest horror helmer to do so is Amanda Nell Eu, who makes her directorial debut with the Malay-language movie, Tiger Stripes. Collider can now share an exclusive sneak peek spotlighting the terrors of Zaffan's (Zafreen Zairizal) early teenage years as she is bullied by other girls in her class.

From Jekyll and Hyde to the Wolfman, to much more recent twists on atavistic transformations, the concept of shape-shifting has always been a popular one in fiction — with storytellers turning the dial up or down on the potential social commentary therein, according to taste and preference. In “Animale,” the closing film of this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week section, director Emma Benestan is rather more interested in the interpersonal dynamics navigated by 22-year-old female bull-runner Nejma (Oulaya Amamra) than in really savouring some promising horror implications. She gives Dr. Jekyll center stage, as it were, rather than getting too involved with Mr. Hyde.

Nejma works at a ranch in Camargue, France, where bulls are raised to compete in the arena for baying crowds of exhilarated spectators. It is a traditionally masculine environment: From the bulls to the men who wrangle them, the emphasis is on displays of physical strength and ferocity.

Indonesia’s KawanKawan Media has boarded Singaporean filmmaker Nelson Yeo’s sophomore feature “The Drought,” it was announced at the Cannes Film Festival.

Yeo’s debut feature “Dreaming & Dying” debuted at last year’s Locarno Film Festival where it won the Golden Leopard – Filmmakers of the Present and Best First Feature awards.

A dystopian horror-dark comedy set in a time of an uninhabitable drought, “The Drought” follows Kai as he struggles with his retracting genitals and his wife, Ling, who demeans him for this impotency. Their widowed neighbor, Daming, grieves over the death of the last of his three sons, while his mother devises a secret plan for another grandson.

The project participated at the Philippines QCinema project market last year, where it won a prize.

Lead producers are Singapore’s Momo Film Co.’s Tan Si En and Sophia Sim who produced “Dreaming & Dying,” and Yeo’s award-winning shorts “Dreaming,...

Award-winning Malaysian filmmaker Woo Ming Jin has wrapped principal photography on his latest film, “The Fox King,” the producers revealed at the Cannes Film Festival.

Set in a coastal Malaysian town in the early 2000s, “The Fox King” tells the story of Ali and Amir, inseparable fraternal twins with a telepathic bond. The brothers are forced to fend for themselves when their father abandons them after remarrying a younger bride. The arrival of a new teacher, Lara, tests their brotherly bond.

The film is headlined by Indonesian star Dian Sastrowardoyo (Netflix’s “Cigarette Girl”) alongside Idan Aedan (“Blood Flower”), Amerul Affendi (“I.D.”), Chew Kin Wah (“Rain Town”) and newcomer Hadi Putra.

“The Fox King” participated in the Tokyo gap financing market and the QCinema project market in 2023. The film is a Sunstrong Entertainment (Venice selection “Snow in Midsummer”) production in collaboration with fellow Malaysian companies Greenlight Pictures and Da Huang Pictures...

Josh Krasinski’s If leads the charge at the UK and Ireland box office in 650 cinemas for Paramount.

The family film about imaginary friends is Krasinski’s widest opening as a director following A Quiet Place Part II which arrived in 563 cinemas in 2021.

If includes an ensemble cast of A-listers, both on-screen and on voice duties, including Ryan Reynolds, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fiona Shaw, Steve Carrell, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper and Emily Blunt. Cailey Fleming leads the cast as a girl who, having recently experienced a traumatic loss, begins seeing everyone’s imaginary friends.

Krasinski previously wrote and directed A Quiet Place...

Cannes parallel section Critics’ Week opens Wednesday with French director Jonathan Millet’s psychological manhunt thriller Ghost Trail (Les Fantômes), starring Adam Bessa as man in in pursuit of a faceless, former torturer.

Running from May 15 to 23, the compact line-up will showcase 11 first and second works features by emerging directors, seven in competition, as well as 13 short films.

Deadline caught up with Artistic Director Ava Cahen on the eve of the 63rd edition.

Deadline: You’re on your third selection as Critics’ Week artistic director. How was it this year?

Ava Cahen: We always put the counters back to zero. So everything felt new, even if it’s my third year. We received a few more films than normal and screened 1,050 features. It’s hard when you’ve only got 11 slots. Obviously there were a lot more than 11 films that we would have liked to have welcomed. There was a lot of discussion.

Brazilian director Marcelo Caetano’s Critics’ Week title Baby has been sold to Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment for North America in advance of its Cannes premiere later this week.

Germany’s M-Appeal is handling sales on the film about an 18 year-old boy is released from a juvenile detention centre, only to find himself alone and adrift on the streets of São Paulo.

The film is a Brazil-France-Netherlands co-production involving Cup Filmes, Desbun Filmes, Plateau Produções, Still Moving, Circe Films and Kaap Holland Film.

Further recent Dark Star releases include 2023 Critics; Week winner Tiger Stripes and Fantastic Fest winner Property.

Disney’s “Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.8 million ($4.7 million), according to numbers from Comscore.

Universal’s “The Fall Guy” dropped down to second place with £948,970 and now has a running total of £6.7 million. In third place, in its third weekend, Warner Bros.’ “Challengers” collected £333,281 for a total of £4.7 million.

In fourth position, in its fifth weekend, Studiocanal’s “Back to Black” earned £211,408 for a total of £11.2 million. Rounding off the top five was Sony’s “Tarot,” which read the cards to the tune of £140,983 in its second weekend and now has a total of £923,013.

The only other debut in the Top 10 was Trafalgar Releasing’s opera recording “Madama Butterfly,” which bowed in ninth place with £96,727.

The mid-week releases coming up include Trafalgar’s “Transformers: 40th Anniversary Event,” where episodes of the animated 1984 series will be screened alongside original voice-over talent,...

The feature “Tales of Taipei” is a tribute to the low-pressure, culturally rich city, which has been shaped by its regional neighbors, taken in diverse peoples and distilled the multiple competing influences into a messy, happy-go-lucky morass.

Produced by Bowie Tsang and Amy Ma, the film calls on 10 directors hailing from Malaysia, France, Bhutan and Hong Kong, and Taiwanese locals Yin Cheng-han and Remii Huang to contribute.

“Everything is possible in Taiwan, everything exits side by side,” says Tsang, who was born in Hong Kong. “We have old Chinese myths. We believe in the afterlife. Churches exist side by side with temples. We are still trying to figure out how to tell our stories.”

As in the film, juxtapositions exist throughout the Taiwan film industry. Theatrical B.O. improved last year, but from a low 2022 base. Last year, Taiwan productions increased market share from 10% to nearly 16%, helping to lift the...

Cannes Critics’ Week, now in its 63rd year, is always an opportunity to explore uncharted work from new and emerging filmmakers — and away from the glitter and glitz of the Croisette, where the main competition bows. Recent Critics’ Week Grand Prize winners have included everything from “Tiger Stripes,” a Malaysian coming-of-age debut opening in stateside theaters later this month, to 2019’s honoree “I Lost My Body,” the animated favorite that went on to be nominated for an Oscar.

Coming up in the Special Screenings category of Critics’ Week, Alexis Langlois makes their feature directorial debut with “Queens of Drama,” a French pop/punk musical that brings a mid-aughts camp sensibility to Cannes this year. Below, IndieWire shares an exclusive clip for the film along with a first-look image. “Queens of Drama” premieres at Critics’ Week on Saturday, May 18, with Charades handling sales.

Per the synopsis, in 2005, Mimi Madamour, the young pop idol,...

First-time feature filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu takes on puberty for “Tiger Stripes,” the critically acclaimed feature that won the Grand Prize of Critics’ Week during the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

Set in a rural Malaysian village, “Tiger Stripes” follows 12-year-old Zaffan (Zafreen Zairizal) as she discovers a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be free she must embrace the body she feared, emerging as a proud, strong woman, all while trying to balance her mother (Jun Lojong) and father’s (Khairunazwan Rodzy) expectations.

The film is shot on phones and incorporates TikTok, with Jimmy Gimferrer serving as cinematographer. “Tiger Stripes” made history at Cannes 2023 by being the first feature from a Malaysian female director to play at the festival.

The IndieWire review called “Tiger Stripes” a “well-made, eminently watchable illustration of the ‘monster’ that so many young girls are told to see themselves as.

In a celebration of talent and cinematic excellence, Kering and the Festival de Cannes have announced Malaysian director Amanda Nell Eu as the recipient of the prestigious 2024 Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award. This accolade, decided upon by Swiss director and 2023 awardee Carmen Jaquier, underscores the burgeoning influence of female directors in the film industry. The award, which includes a €50,000 grant, is designed to support the creation of the recipient’s next film project.

Women In Motion

The official presentation of the award is set to take place during the esteemed Women In Motion dinner in Cannes. Here, industry giants including Dame Donna Langley, Chairman of the NBCUniversal Studio Group and Chief Content Officer, will be present to celebrate the achievements of women in film. Both the Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award and the Women In Motion Award will be presented by François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering,...