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CinemAsia Film Festival 2025 presents its full program for the 17th edition, running March 6-11 in Amsterdam. Featuring 38 handpicked films – of which 27 feature films and 11 shorts, including 1 world and 4 European premieres – the lineup spans blockbusters, art-house gems, and independent productions.

Hosted at Eye Filmmuseum, Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp, and Rialto Vu, CinemAsia invites audiences on a cinematic journey through Asia’s rich storytelling, stunning visuals, and diverse cultural perspectives.

Grand Opening & Closing Films

Opening Film – Happyend by Neo Sora (Dutch premiere) – Director present at the festival.

The festival opens with the highly anticipated Happyend by Japanese-American filmmaker Neo Sora. Set in a dystopian near-future Tokyo overshadowed by an impending catastrophic earthquake, this visually stunning film explores identity and friendship in a world dominated by control and uncertainty.

Closing Film – Fly Me To The Moon (Hong Kong 2023) by Sasha Chuk (Dutch premiere) – Director present.

CinemAsia 2025 closes with Fly Me to the Moon,...

CinemAsia Film Festival returns on March 6-11, 2025 to Amsterdam, at Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp, Rialto Vu, and Eye Filmmuseum presenting the diversity and depth of Asian cinema. Highlights include the New Visions section, spotlighting the fresh voices of 10 emerging filmmakers. The festival closes with Fly Me to the Moon, the multi-awarded directorial debut by Sasha Chuk and produced by Stanley Kwan. Directors Sasha Chuk (Fly Me to the Moon) and Jota Mun (New Visions film Between Goodbyes) will attend the festival in person.

Closing Film: Dutch premiere of Fly Me to the Moon

(Hong Kong 2023) | Dutch premiere – Director and actress Sasha Chuk present at the festival.

Based on Sasha Chuk’s semi-autobiographical novel, Fly Me to the Moon follows two sisters who migrate from Hunan to Hong Kong in 1997, facing poverty, identity struggles, and their father’s addiction. Spanning two decades, from the Handover in 1997 to 2017, this deeply humanistic drama,...

“The Paradise of Thorns” is a powerful cinematic statement about love, loss, and legal invisibility in modern Thailand. Naruebet “Boss” Kuno directed the film, which is a captivating dramatic thriller that examines the difficulties of homosexual relationships in a nation still battling legal recognition.

Set in a verdant durian orchard, the story follows Thongkam and Sek, a couple whose close world is destroyed by tragedy. When Sek dies, Thongkam is legally impotent, watching as the land they’ve worked together slips from his grip. The farm—more than just land—represents their shared ambitions, love, and future, which are now jeopardized by outdated legal structures that refuse to recognize their union.

The film arrives at a pivotal point in Thai social discourse. While Thailand is widely seen as culturally welcoming of LGBTQ+ people, legislative protections remain frustratingly limited. Kuno’s narrative is set against a stark backdrop of the Constitutional Court’s 2021 verdict,...

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The new law, which replaces the terms “men and women” as well as “husband and wife” in the Civil and Commercial Code with the words “individuals” and “spouses”, will take effect at the beginning of 2025. “The Paradise of Thorns” was created in the atmosphere of waiting for this important change, “The Paradise of Thorns” was created. The full-length debut by Naruebet “Boss” Kuno, who formerly worked on a few TV series such as “I Told Sunset About You” (2020), was screened at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, and the 49th Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie starts by presenting a happy gay couple, Thongkam (Jeff Satur) and Sek (Pongsakorn Mettarikanon). Together, they manage to build a home on a durian farm in a rural area of Thailand. However, their happiness doesn’t last long, as one of them dies in an unfortunate accident.

Thai production powerhouse Gdh 559 is to launch sales of The Red Envelope, a local remake of Taiwanese blockbuster Marry My Dead Body, starring Billkin Putthipong Assaratanakul from blockbuster How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and Pp Krit Amnuaydechkorn.

A first look at Billkin and Pp in the film can be seen above.

The upcoming feature is produced by Banjong Pisanthanakun, director of 2021 horror The Medium, who first saw the original Taiwanese film at the Hong Kong International Film Festival last year. It will be directed by Chayanop Boonprakob.

“After seeing the film, an idea for a Thai remake starring...

Whether or not it means to be, Boss Kuno’s “The Paradise of Thorns” is a delightfully macabre soap opera of betrayal and family secrets; it also just happens to double as political affirmation for same-sex marriage in Thailand. The law legalizing gay unions was approved in June, but is still pending royal approval, making this film’s inquiry into the need for such protections all the more pressing.

“The Paradise of Thorns” tells of a queer couple, Thongkam (Jeff Satur) and Sek (Pongsakorn Mettarikanon), who are married in all ways but final paperwork, and who have made a life together on a sprawling orchard. However, when Sek falls from a durian tree while tending to his stock, his death leaves Thongkam vulnerable to draconian inheritance laws, and family members eager to snatch away what the couple has built.

The orchard, while belonging to both men in spirit, happened to be in Sek’s name.

Exclusive: Powerhouse Thai producer Vanridee Pongsittisak has unveiled more details about Bask Production House — a new collaboration formed between Bangkok-based studio Gdh and Bad Genius director Baz Poonpiriya, which was unveiled earlier this month.

Poonpiriya is set to direct Bask’s first two projects, which have Fast & Furious films director Justin Lin and Anita Gou from Kindred Spirit (The Farewell) onboard as producers.

Lin’s project already has a completed screenplay and is in the process of securing investment, while Gou’s project is currently in the script development stage.

“Baz had been developing a project but due to a scheduling conflict, I couldn’t help produce the film,” said Pongsittisak in an exclusive interview with Deadline. “Baz then reached out to Justin Lin for the project, because Baz admires his talent and vision. After reading the screenplay, Justin found it to be a great fit for him as well.

Twenty-four films comprise Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Discovery section this year, featuring 20 world premieres and representing more than 35 countries.

The first- and second-time filmmaker showcase of international cinema will open with Bonjour Tristesse, Durga Chew-Bose’s adaptation of the 1954 coming-of-age novel by the late Françoise Sagan starring Chloe Sevigny.

Selections include Afolabi Olalekan’s Freedom Way, Egil Pedersen’s My Fathers’ Daughter, Laura Carreira’s On Falling, and Pavlo Ostrikov’s U Are The Universe.

Filmmakers who have premiered features in this section include Alfonso Cuarón, Yorgos Lanthimos, Maren Ade, Barry Jenkins, Emma Seligman, and Christopher Nolan.

Dorota Lech,...

The Toronto Film Festival’s Discovery sidebar will debut 24 titles with 20 world premieres as part of its 2024 edition, running from September 5 to 15.

The Discovery programme features titles from more than 25 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, Denmark, and Greece. Scroll down for the full list.

World premieres set for the fest include On Falling, the debut film from Edinburgh-based, Portuguese filmmaker Laura Carreira. The film is produced by Jack Thomas-o’Brien of Sixteen Films and Mário Patrocínio of Bro Cinema. Financial backers include BFI, BBC Films, Screen Scotland, and Ica. Vincent Maraval’s Goodfellas is handling sales. The film’s story follows Aurora, a Portuguese worker in a Scottish warehouse.

Also set to debut is Bonjour Tristesse, the feature adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s novel directed by Durga Chew-Bose and starring Chloe Sevigny. Film Constellation is handling the film, which follows Cécile, a young woman spending the summer in a villa in...

Twenty-four films comprise Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Discovery section this year, featuring 20 world premieres and representing more than 35 countries.

The first- and second-time filmmaker showcase of international cinema will open with Bonjour Tristesse, Durga Chew-Bose’s adaptation of the 1954 coming-of-age novel by the late Françoise Sagan.

Selections include Afolabi Olalekan’s Freedom Way, Egil Pedersen’s My Fathers’ Daughter, Laura Carreira’s On Falling, and Pavlo Ostrikov’s U Are The Universe.

Filmmakers who have premiered features in this section include Alfonso Cuarón, Yorgos Lanthimos, Maren Ade, Barry Jenkins, Emma Seligman, and Christopher Nolan.

Dorota Lech, Jason Anderson,...