dezembro 28, 2007

Tea House and Cinema Best Movies of 2007

Best Comics Adaptation: Ghost Rider

Best Romantic Comedy: Music And Lyrics

Best Sci-fi Movie: Sunshine

Best French Movie: Fauteuils d' Orchestre

Old film "back to the teathers": Days of Beying Wild

Biggest disapointment: 1408

“I´m too old for this sh*#!” award: Rush Hour 3

Best OST: Marie-Antoinette

Worst American Remake: No Reservations

Fauteuils d' Orchestre (France, 2006, 105 min.)
Director:
Danièle Thompson
Cast: Cécile De France, Valérie Lemercier, Albert Dupontel, Laura Morante, Claude Brasseur, Christopher Thompson, Annelise Hesme, Sydney Pollack.

dezembro 21, 2007

Dragon Ball Z, the Movie


HK director/actor Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustler) is producing, with 20th Century Fox, the film version of the japanese mangá by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z.

The story follows Goku (Chatwin), a warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls.

James Wong is the director and screenwriter.
"Dragonball" is shooting in Mexico City and Los Angeles, and the cast includes actress Jamie Chung (Chi Chi), and actors Justin Chatwin (as Goku) and James Marsters (as Piccolo).
Park Joon-hyung (G.O.D) will play bad boy Yamcha, a thief turned Z fighter. American actress Emmy Rossum plays Bulma, a scientist and inventor whose father’s Dragon Ball is stolen by the villain, Piccolo. And Eriko Tamura (Yaeko in TV series “Heroes”) will play the character of Mai.

Finally, chinese star Chow Yun-Fat will play Master Roshi, Goku's mentor, that helps him achieve the highest state of fighting and spiritual powers.
20th Century Fox will launch the movie at august 15, 2008.

Merry Xmas!

dezembro 16, 2007

Jeong Jae-yeong (korean actor)



Jeong Jae-yeong (정재영)


South Korean actor (b. November 21, 1970), started his career working on stage and in minor roles in films. His debut was in the 1996 comedy film The Adventures of Mrs. Park, followed by Green Fish, The Quiet Family, and Die Bad.

"When I made my debut, people said I had too plain a face (to be a successful actor)", Jeong said in a recent interview with local newspaper Chosun Ilbo. "But now they say that I can play various roles because of my normal appearance".

The work with director/playright Jang Jin (The Happenings and The Spy), was very important to his acting formation. In Jang Jin's third film Guns and Talks, Jeong played one member of the film's central quartet of assassins. Shortly after that he turned in a memorable performance in Ryoo Seung-wan's No Blood No Tears. Around this time he began to be associated in audience's minds with tough, intense, masculine characters who would start a fight at the slightest provocation. His role as a death row convict turned soldier in the record-breaking Silmido marked the height of this stage of his career. This is the only Jeong´s film that I watched by now, and I love it. He and Seol Kyong-gu make a great duet!

“Behind the perfect portrayals of all the different characters, he takes a long time to prepare to show what is hidden behind his plain appearance. In the "dark period", as he recalls, when he was eager to act but no one seemed to need him, he set up a video camera in front of him and played various roles, which helped him develop a diversity of emotions for different characters.”

After this, Jeong was acclaimed for his performance in the romantic comedy Someone Special (another Jang Jin film), showing his impressive versatility. And again the sucessfull partnership with director Jang Jin was saw in the  hit Welcome to Dongmakgol, based on one of Jang Jin's plays which Jeong had also performed in, as a war-weary North Korean officer who befriends his counterparts from the South. Next,in Wedding Campaign he plays a shy rural farmer who travels to Uzbekistan in the hopes of finding a wife.

In 2006 he collaborated with Jang Jin again on the gangster drama Righteous Ties, and was part of director Song Chang-soo's comedy My Captain Mr. Underground.

Jeong´s latest film is   Going by the Book (2007), by first time director Ra Hee-chan. Jeong and Ra both have a history with influential director Jang Jin. They worked together on director Jang Jin's 2005 film Murder, Take One, Ra as an assistant director. Jeong plays a righteous and punctual policeman that follows rules to the extremes and it causes his downfall from detective to traffic agent. When he is given the role of a bank robber in a bank robbery simulation, he again fails to grasp the situation and goes too far, causing such mayhem that the media rush to the scene to cover the 'bank robbery'.

News: “Director Jang Jin has made it big once again. His latest comedy Going by the Book topped the box office in its first week and attracted 1.2 million viewers in ten days. It was number one in advance tickets on all reservation sites in the fourth week of October and has topped the box office for the second week. Jang's witty script about a mock bank robbery drill, coupled with new face Ra Hee-chan's directing and Jeong Jae-yeong's seasoned acting, has grabbed audience attention. The film received a record score for a comedy in a preview screening. And since being released, word-of-mouth praise continues to spread.”

Complete Filmography:
Going by the Book (2007)
A Day with My Son (2007)
Righteous Ties (2006)
My Captain Mr. Underground (2006)
Wedding Campaign (2005)
Murder, Take One (a.k.a. The Big Scene)(2005)
Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
So Cute (2004)
Someone Special (2004)
Taegukgi (2004)
Silmido (2003)
No Comment (2002)
Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (cameo) (2002)
No Blood No Tears (2002)
Guns and Talks (2001)
Ghost Taxi (2000)
Die Bad (cameo) (2000)
The Spy (1999)
The Quiet Family (1998)
The Happenings (1997)
Green Fish (1997)
The Adventures of Mrs. Park (1996)

Dragon Ball Z, The Movie

HK director/actor Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustler) is producing the film version of the japanese mangá by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z. James Wong is the director and screenwriter.

The cast includes actress Jamie Chung (Chi Chi), and actors Justin Chatwin (as Goku) and James Marsters (as Piccolo), Erico Tamura (May), Joon Park (Yamcha), Emmy Rossum (actress from movie Poseidon).

Fox will launch the movie at august 15, 2008.

Lust, Caution



Ang Lee´s Lust, Caution shines at the International Film Festivals
Directed by Ang Lee, Lust, Caution was shot in China and partly produced by foreign entities, but was financed and distributed by U.S. companies.

After winning 7 prizes at the 44th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, including best film, director and actor (Tony Leung Chiu-wai), and winning the Golden Lion at the 64th Venice Film Festival, Lust, Caution goes to Hollywood.

The IFC Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, Los Angeles in February:
Ang Lee's latest production Lust, Caution is a multi-nominee; the film's stars Tony Leung and Tang Wei are up for Best Actor and Actress honors,
while Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography is also under consideration.

And the Golden Globes...

... Lust, Caution was nominated for Best Foreign Language film by the 65th Golden Globes in Los Angeles. The award ceremony is slated for Jan. 13, 2008.
Along with Lust, Caution, four other films were also nominated as Best Foreign Language films. They are 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France), The Kite Runner (U.S.), and Persepolis (France).
Source: http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/12/14/1221@304605.htm

We´re still waiting to see Lust, Caution in South America.

THC asks: Did you watch Lust, Caution? Do you prefer Ang Lee´s American films or the Taiwan/China productions?

novembro 28, 2007

28th Blue Dragon Film Awards

WINNERS at The 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards*

(November 23rd, 2007, National Theater of Korea)
*Films released between November 2006 and October 2007.

BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR:
Voice of a Murderer, Park Jin-pyo
200 Pounds Beauty, Kim Yong-hwa
The Show Must Go on, Han Jae-rim
Happiness, Hur Jin-ho
May 18, Kim Ji-hoon

BEST ACTRESS:
Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine)
Kim Ah-jung (200 Pounds Beauty)
Lim Soo-jung (Happiness)
Lee Yo-won (May 18)
Song Hye-kyo (Hwang Jin Yi)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Na Moon-hee (Cruel Winter Blues)
Park Sol-mi (Paradise Murdered)
Park Si-yeon (Love)
Yoo Seon (Black House)
Lim Jeong-eun (Shadows in the Palace)

BEST ACTOR:
Sol Kyung-gu (Voice of a Murderer)
Song Kang-ho (The Show Must Go On)
Hwang Jung-min (Happiness)
Kim Sang-kyung (May 18)
Joo Jin-mo (Sarang / Love)


BEST NEW ACTRESS:
Kim Tae-hee (The Restless)
Lee Tae-ran (Love Exposure)
Jung Ryeo-won (2 Faces of My Girlfriend)
Han Ji-min (The Cut)
Hwang Bo-ra (Shim's Family)

BEST SCREENPLAY:
Kim Yong-hwa (200 Pounds Beauty)
Han Jae-rim (The Show Must Go on)
Hur Jin-ho, Lee Soo-yeon, Seo Yoo-min, Sin Joon-ho (Happiness)
Nah Hyun (May 18)
Kim Han-min (Paradise Murdered)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Park Chul-min (May 18)
Jo Han-sun (Cruel Winter Blues)
Kim Min-joon (Love)
Kim Sang-ho (The Happy Life)
Kim Young-cheol (My Father
Sung Ji-ru (Paradise Murdered)

BEST NEW DIRECTOR:
Lee Jeong-beom (Cruel Winter Blues)
Jung Brothers (Epitath)
Kim Mi-jung (Shadows in the Palace)
Kim Han-min (Paradise Murdered)
Hwang Dong-hyeuk (My Father)

BEST NEW ACTOR:
Daniel Henney (My Father)
Rain (I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay)
Yoo Ah-in (Shim's Family)
Lee Min-ki (A Day for an Affair)
Jang Geun-seok (The Happy Life)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Happiness
May 18
Epitath
Hwang Jin Yi
Paradise Murdered

BEST SOUND:
200 Pounds
Epitath
D-WAR
Hwang Jin Yi
The Restless

BEST ART DIRECTION:
May 18
The Restless
Hwang Jin Yi
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
Epitath

novembro 20, 2007

Jjakpae / The City of Violence (filme, 2006)

The City of Violence (South Korea)

Sinopse

Um detetive de polícia de Seul volta para sua cidade natal para o funeral de um antigo amigo de escola, assassinado por uma gangue local. Ao reencontrar os amigos de infância e relembrar o passado, sente-se na obrigação de investigar o crime, com ou sem a ajuda dos colegas.

Gangues escolares, grupos mafiosos, negócios ilícitos envolvendo as autoridades locais, se mesclam numa trama um tanto confusa e inverossímel, mas que serve de desculpa para as cenas de ação desenfreada. E é o que basta para os fãs de coreografias de luta bem elaboradas. O carismático Jeong Du-Hong (ator, mestre diretor de coreografia de luta da Seoul Action School) e seu amigo de longa data, o jovem ator-diretor Ryu Seung-Wan, formam uma dupla inesquecível.


O filme anterior de Ryu Seung-Wan lançado em dvd, Arahan (2004), também é estrelado por Jeong Du-Hong, além do irmão do diretor, o o talentoso jovem ator Ryu Seung-bum. O que chama a atenção é que o acabamento de fotografia e edição de Arahan faz com que essa produção pareça mais nova que A Cidade da Violência. De qualquer modo, são dois filmes imperdíveis do celebrado cinema coreano, tão pouco visto por aqui. Esperamos que chegue logo outro ótimo filme de Ryu Seung-Wan, Crying Fist (2005), estrelado por Choi Min-sik (Oldboy).
Como de costume, mais um filme asiático que chega ao país direto em dvd.

A Cidade da Violência (Jjakpae / The City of Violence)
DVD, Ação, Coréia do Sul, 2006, 92 min.
Idiomas: Coreano 2.0 e 5.1, Português 2.0
Legendas: Português, Inglês
Extras: Slide Show, Entrevistas, Making Of, Trailer.
Site Oficial: http://www.zzakpai.com/

Distribuidora: http://www.flashstar.com.br/

Arahan
DVD, Ação, Coréia do Sul, 2004, 113 min.
Idiomas: Coreano 2.0 e 5.1, Português 2.0
Legendas: Português.
Extras: Making Of, Versão MP4.

WEB SITE : http://www.arahan.co.kr/
Distribuidora: http://www.europafilmes.com.br/

novembro 15, 2007

The 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards

The 28th Blue Dragon Film Awards* (November 23rd, 2007, National Theater of Korea)*Films released between November 2006 and October 2007.

BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR

Voice of a Murderer
, Park Jin-pyo

200 Pounds Beauty, Kim Yong-hwa
The Show Must Go on, Han Jae-rim
Happiness
, Hur Jin-ho

May 18, Kim Ji-hoon

 


BEST ACTRESS
Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine)

Kim Ah-jung (200 Pounds Beauty)
Lim Soo-jung (Happiness)
Lee Yo-won (May 18)
Song Hye-kyo (Hwang Jin Yi)



BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Na Moon-hee (Cruel Winter Blues)
Park Sol-mi (Paradise Murdered)
Park Si-yeon (Love)
Yoo Seon (Black House)
Lim Jeong-eun (Shadows in the Palace)


BEST ACTOR
Sol Kyung-gu (Voice of a Murderer)
Song Kang-ho
(The Show Must Go On)

Hwang Jung-min
(Happiness)

Kim Sang-kyung
(May 18)

Joo Jin-mo
(Sarang / Love)




BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Park Chul-min (May 18)
Jo Han-sun (Cruel Winter Blues)
Kim Min-joon (Love)
Kim Sang-ho (The Happy Life)
Kim Young-cheol (My Father

Sung Ji-ru (Paradise Murdered)

BEST NEW DIRECTOR
Lee Jeong-beom (Cruel Winter Blues)
Jung Brothers (Epitath)
Kim Mi-jung (Shadows in the
Palace)
Kim Han-min (Paradise Murdered)
Hwang Dong-hyeuk (My Father)


BEST NEW ACTOR
Daniel Henney (My Father)
Rain (I'm a Cyborg But That's Okay)
Yoo Ah-in (Shim's Family)
Lee Min-ki (A Day for an Affair)
Jang Geun-seok (The Happy Life)


BEST NEW ACTRESS
Kim Tae-hee (The Restless)
L
ee Tae-ran (Love Exposure)
Jung Ryeo-won (2 Faces of My
Girlfriend)
Han Ji-min (The Cut)
Hwang Bo-ra (Shim's Family)


BEST SCREENPLAY
Kim Yong-hwa (200 Pounds Beauty)
Han Jae-rim (The
Show Must Go on)
Hur Jin-ho, Lee Soo-yeon, Seo Yoo-min, Sin Joon-ho (Happiness)
Nah Hyun (May 18)
Kim Han-min
(Paradise Murdered)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHy
- Happiness
- May 18
- Epitath
- Hwang Jin Yi

- Paradise
Murdered

BEST LIGHTING
- Happiness

- Epitaph
- Shadows in the Palace
- Black House
- Hwang
Jin Yi

BEST SOUND
- 200 Pounds
Beauty
- The Show Must Go on
- Happiness
- The Happy Life
- Shim's Family


BEST TECHNOLOGY
- Epitath
- D-WAR

- Hwang Jin Yi
- The
Restless

BEST ART DIRECTION
- May 18
- The Restless
- Hwang
Jin Yi
- I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
- Epitath

posted by Sam.

Fantastic Parasuicides (South Korea)

Korean Cine News
The Korean film Fantastic Parasuicides has been invited to the 2008 Sydney International Film Festival in Australia.

The Fantastic Parasuicides, which was also invited to the Pusan International Film Festival's Wide Angle category, is an omnibus film which consists of three short films that come together under the common theme "suicide." The three short films include Three People in the Dark directed by Park Soo-yeong, Fly Chicken! directed by Jo Chang-ho and Happy Birthday directed by Kim Seong-ho.

Fantastic Ja-sal So-dong, South Korea, 92min.
Directors:
Park Soo-yeong, Jo Chang-ho, Kim Seong-ho.
Actors: Han Yeo-reum, Tablo, Kim Ga-yeon, Park Hwi-soon, Kim Nam-jin, Jeong Jae-jin.
homepage: http://www.fantastic2007.com/

novembro 04, 2007

The Golden Rooster Awards

The Golden Rooster Awards and the Hundred Flowers Awards, founded in 1981 and 1962 respectively, have long been the top honours among China's film industry. In 1992, the two combined into the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, an annual celebration known as China's Oscars.

WINNERS: The 16th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival (Suzhou, China)

Best Film: The Knot


Best Director: Yin Li (The Knot) and Qi Jian (The Forest Ranger)
Screenplay: Zhang Sitao, Tang Hao, Zhang Chi. Hu Kun (Tokyo Trial)
Cinematography: Zeng Nianping (The Door)
Art Direction: Yi Zhenzhou (A Battle of Wits)

Best Actress: Carina Lau (Curiosity Kills the Cat), and Yan Bingyan (Teeth of Love)


Best Actor: Fu Dalong (Tian Gou, The Forest Ranger)

Supporting Actor: Wang Ying (My Long March)Supporting Actress: Xiangyu Junior (One Foot Off the Ground)Sound: Zheng Chunyu (The Knot)
Music: Shu Nan (A Postman of Paradise)
Special Award: My Long March

Best Animation: The Warrior


Children’s Film: The Magic Gourd
Lifetime Achievement Awards: Zhang Ruifang (actress) and Lu Zhuguo (screenwriter)
Intl. film: The White Silk Dress (Ao lua ha dong)
UNESCO Special Culture Contribution Prize: Liu Cheng
Documentary: A Great Master Recaptured
Science and Educational Film: Yuan Ming Yuan
Digital Film: The King of Chess and His Song

posted by Sam.

"The Hidden Fortress" Remake

JAPAN Cine News
Remake of the film that "inspired" George Lucas´s Star Wars.


Akira Kurosawa's 1958 film The Hidden Fortress ("Kakushi Toride no San Akunin") is getting a remake, directed by special effects specialist Shinji Higuchi. This version will star Arashi member Jun Matsumoto in his first jidaigeki role, with popular actress Masami Nagasawa as the princess.

The original film starred Toshiro Mifune as the defeated general Rokurota, now played by Hiroshi Abe. Along the way, he is joined in the journey by two peasants. In Higuchi's version, the story's protagonist is the peasant Takezo (played by Matsumoto), rather than the general. Guest starring, comedian Daisuke Miyagawa.

Film: Kakushi Toride no San Akunin
Director: Shinji Higuchi
Screenwriter: Kazuki Nakashima
Actors: Jun Matsumoto, Masami Nagasawa, Hiroshi Abe, Daisuke Miyagawa
Budget: 1.5 billion yen
Theatrical release: May 10, 2008.

outubro 31, 2007

Halloween Movies: Old x New


Halloween Movies: Old x New Generation, what´s your choice?


1. Kubrick´s The Shining x Shimizo´s Reincarnation: one hotel, one crazy guy wants to chop his family.

2. Dracula x Bekmambetov´s Night Watch (RU) it´s like Trainspotting on fangs.

3. Cunningham´s Friday The 13th x Craven´s Scream, lessons on classic teen horror..and I´ll be right back.

4. Scott´s Alien x Kasdan´s Dreamcatcher, on how too give birth to an alien.

5. Seven x Zodiac: double date with David Fincher, both very good, but I´ll stay with Bong Joon-ho´s Memories of Murder.

6. John Landis´s An American Werewolf In London x Wiseman´s Underworld: what can I say?, stay with the classic!

7. Raimi´s The Evil Dead 2 x John Landis´s The Idle Hand: Naughty hands, indeed!

8. Hitchcock´s Psycho x Demmes´s Silence of the Lambs, or Anthony Perkins versus Anthony Hopkins.

9. Romero´s Night of the Living Dead x Boyle´s 28 Days Later: They stink and they´re funny.

10. Hooper´s Poltergeist x Verbinski´s The Ring: Don´t watch too much TV!

11. David Lynch´s Mulholland Drive x Andrea and Canepa´s Dead End: Lynch´s school of horror.

outubro 24, 2007

Takuya Kimura´s Hero, the Movie



Hero, a film starred by Japanese star Takuya Kimura, is now in its sixth week of being the top box office winner in Japan. Released on September 8, the movie has already attracted 5.5 million cinema-goers, profiting over 7 billion Japanese yen. It scored the highest out of all the Japanese movies this year, defeating another Kimura's production Bushi no ichibun.

In 2001, Kimura starred in Hero's TV drama series. Box office takings for the movie are expected to keep growing, exceeding Limit of Love: Umizaru, which recorded the highest box office in 2006.

Chinese Cinema: Still Life and Brothers

The movie Still Life by Chinese director Jia Zhangke won the top prize - best international feature film - at the Valdivia International Film Festival held in the city of Valdivia, Chile. And actor Han Sanming, the main character in the film, won the best actor award.

The Tigers Are Back - Andy Lau, Miu Kiu Wai, Felix Wong and Kent Tong, 4 of the the former "five tigers of TVB," (Hong Kong TV Channel) are together again in brotherhood tale Brothers, a typical Hong Kong crime thriller, directed by Sung Kee Chiu.
Eason Chan fills the void of Tony Leung, as the new fifth "tiger."
And also stars Chinese mainland actress Huang Yi and veteran actor Wang Zhiwen.

Andy Lau, who is also a major investor in the US$3.2 mil film, told reporters that his gang is planning to collaborate annually, and they are eager to reunite with Tony Leung on any future projects.
.

16th Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival

16th Golden Rooster and Full Blossom Film Festival News
(from October 23 to 28, Suzhou, China)

















Waiting Godot - Director Wong Kar-wai will take his Cannes opening film My Blueberry Nights to Suzhou, China to attend the upcoming Golden Rooster Awards. But apparently,
only the trailer will be shown at the festival. The film assembled a star-heavy cast for his first English feature, including Norah Jones, Rachel Weisz, Jude Law and Natalie Portman.
THC asks: do you want to watch My Blueberry Nights at the movies, or will you wait the DVD?

Funny Lady - Zhang Ziyi, the 2004 Golden Rooster best actress winner for the poignant film
Jasmine Women, will star in the opening short film of this year's Golden Rooster Awards, acting against Liu Ye and Ge You, both of whom are Golden Rooster best actor winners.

The three-minute comedy is directed by Chinese-American filmmaker Dayyan Eng. The China Central Television (CCTV-6) is in charge of producing the awards gala, and will air the show live on October 27.

Romantic feature The Knot grabbed eight nominations for the upcoming Golden Rooster Awards. The film's director Yin Li is in competition for the best director award with Tokyo Trial director Gao Qunshu and four other rivals.

outubro 19, 2007

Fireflies in the Garden


Fireflies in the Garden may be Dennis Lee's first feature film, but the Korean American director just snagged Hollywood heavyweight, Julia Roberts as one of his leading ladies. Roberts joins a cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Emily Watson.

Written and directed by Lee, Fireflies in the Garden is a semiautobiographical drama about a family struggling to deal with unexpected tragedy. Dennis Lee was 29 when he enrolled in the master’s course in film studies at Columbia University in New York after studying politics at Chicago University. His maternal uncle is novelist Choi In-ho.

A story of the love between family members facing an unexpected tragedy, Fireflies in the Garden is semi-autographical. Lee confesses he found it very difficult to come with the loss of his mother, who died in a traffic accident eight years ago. The film, which begins with the scene where the mother (Julia Roberts) is involved in a traffic accident, is dedicated to the memory of his mother. “It seems that the only thing that lasts forever in life is parents’ love for their children. I dedicate the film to my deceased mother,” he says.
Source: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/ht...802110014.html


Lee has already won an Academy Award for his student short film, Jesus Henry Christ in 2003.
Source: http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/070921/article.asp?parentID=78227

 

Epitaph (South Korea)

Korean Movie News
Korean thriller Epitaph (Gidam) review at:
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm07.html#epitaph


outubro 15, 2007

12th Pusan International Film Festival

12th Pusan International Film Festival Winners
[Oct. 4 to 12]

Of the 11 films in the fest's only competitive section, New Currents, prizes of $30,000 were each awarded to Chinese-South Korean production Life Track, Malaysia's Flower in the Pocket, and Thailand's Wonderful Town.

Iranian helmer Dariush Mehrjui headed the five-member jury, which also included directors Romania's Cristian Mungiu, Serbia's Goran Paskaljevic and South Korea's Lee Chang-dong, plus mainland Chinese actress Yu Nan.


At the press conference today, Mehrjui made a point of mentioning three other movies that generated jury discussion: Filipino street-kid drama Tribe, Taiwanese criss-crosser God Man Dog and Japanese drama Asyl.

NEW CURRENTS AWARDS
Life Track (Gueh-Do)
Writer-Director: Jin Guang Hao / Producer: Jang Ryul , China-S. Korea
Life Track, a static rural drama about an armless man and a mute woman on the run from police.

Flower in the Pocket by Liew Seng-tat, Malaysia
Flower..., a slow-moving item centered on two schoolkids with speech impediments, saw many international crix bailing during the screenings.

Wonderful Town by writer director Aditya Assarat, Producer: Soros Sukhum, Thailand
A beautifully modulated, slow-burning romance, set in a post-tsunami Thai village.


Wonderful Town (Thailand)
A Pop Pictures production, Bangkok
Produced by Soros Sukhum, Jetnipith Teerakulchanyut
Directed, written by Aditya Assarat
Camera (color, HD-to-35mm): Umpornpol Yugala
Editor: Lee Chatametikool
Music: Zai Kuning and Koichi Shimizu
Production designer: Karanyapas Khamsin
Costume designer: Thanon Songsil
With: Anchalee Saisoontorn, Supphasit Kansen, Dul Yaambunying.
Running time: 92 MIN.


Wonderful Town is a mix of romance and social realism set in a Thai village devastated by the last tsunami, about people struggling to rebuild their lives after the tragedy.

The Aditya Assarat's (3 Friends) solo directing debut is a touching film with powerful cathartic qualities. Ton (Supphasit Kansen) is a Bangkok architect sent to oversee the building of a new resort. The only guest at a spartan hotel, Ton is instantly attracted to its Thai-Chinese owner Na (Anchalee Saisoontorn). A reserved woman with a city education, Na appears unresponsive to Ton's polite overtures at first. But via a beautiful series of snapshots showing Na touching Ton's clothing and listening to him sing in the shower, she is able to externalize her true feelings. (...) Leading the voices of disapproval at the couple's flowering romance is Na's brother Wit (Dul Yaambunying), who heads a gang of motorbike-riding no-goods and calmly tells his sister he's a hopeless case for reform.

FIPRESCI AWARD
The Red Awn by Cai Shangjun, China
Well-mounted, professional helming debut by scripter Cai Shangjun pic generated positive response during the fest.


The Red Awn (Hongse kangbaiyin), China
Produced by Li Xudong. Executive producer: Wang Xiuling
Co-producers: Lin Nianxiu, Sun Xiaoxi
Directed by Cai Shangjun
Screenplay: Gu Xiaobai, Cai, Feng Rui
Camera: Li Chengyu, Chen Hao
Editor: Zhou Ying
Music: Huang Zhenyu, Dong Wei
Art directo: Zhang Dajun; Sound: Xia Xin, Hu Liang
With: Yao Anlian, Lu Yulai, Huang Lu, Shi Junhui, Wang Hong
Running time: 105 MIN.


Directorial debut of screenwriter Cai Shangjun (Spicy Love Soup, Shower, Sunflower), The Red Awn is a quietly affecting father-and-son drama set amid the scenic cornfields of central Gansu province.

Yao Anlian (Shanghai Dreams) is Song, a man who returns to his village after five years away working to find he’s been officially registered as dead by his 17-year-old son, Yongtao (Lu Yulai, Peacock). In Song’s absence, his wife has fallen sick and died, and Yongtao mopes around, scarcely talking to his dad. Song sets out with a friend, Yongshan (Shi Junhui), who owns a red combine harvester, to cut wheat in surrounding fields. Yongtao reluctantly joins them but remains surly, at one point almost running his dad down with the harvester. Yongtao shows interest in the attractive but slightly trashy young owner of one field (Huang Lu, Blind Mountain). Thinking she’s a hooker from the city, Song offers her money to bed Yongtao, a misunderstanding that doesn’t help the father-son relationship one bit. But as the harvesting season wears on, and a recurrent back problem plagues Song, the two slowly grow closer.

NETPAC AWARD, SHARED
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An accessible dramedy, centered on North Korean refugees in the South.
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AUDIENCE AWARD
Flower in the Pocket

SONJE AWARD, BEST KOREAN SHORT, SHARED
Woong's Story by Lee Ha-song, S. Korea
A Man under the Influence by Jung July, S. Korea

WOONPA AWARD, BEST KOREAN DOCUMENTARY
Tear Drops by Mun Jeong-hyun, S. Korea
 
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