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NEWS


Golden Scene picks up Vulgaria


Hong Kong’s Golden Scene is handling international sales on Pang Ho Cheung’s Vulgaria, which is screening in this year’s HKIFF. Starring Chapman To, Ronald


Cheng and Fiona Sit, the film is a black comedy about the Hong Kong film industry and the efforts of a struggling producer to make his new film. It was produced by Sun Entertainment and Pang’s Making Film Production. Golden Scene, a Hong Kong


distributor that has moved into production and sales in recent years, is ramping up its sales slate with three other projects from Hong Kong directors. The company is also selling


Calvin Poon’s Shadows Of Love, produced by Stanley Kwan and starring Cecilia Cheung and Kwon Sang Woo. Cheung plays a woman who is asked to impersonate the daughter of a CEO involved in an inheritance battle. Cheung also makes a special


appearance in Jingle Ma’s Speed Angels, another recent addition to Golden Scene’s slate. Tang Wei and Rene Liu head the cast of the action drama about female car racers. The film was produced by a consortium of mainland Chinese companies including Star Sky and Enlight Pictures. Golden Scene is also selling


Carol Lai’s The Second Woman, starring Shawn Yue and Shu Qi, which opens theatrically in Hong Kong this week.


Liz Shackleton


Johnnie To heads forUdine


BY JEAN NOH Hong Kong director Johnnie To is returning to the Udine Far East Film Festival (FEFF, April 20-28) to present Romancing In Thin Air in its first screening at an international festival. He will also present four short/medium-length films from the Fresh Wave Short Film Festival which he directs on behalf of Hong Kong Arts Development Council. To has been a friend of the festi-


val since its inception and his film A Hero Never Dies won the Audience Award there in 1999. In their international premieres,


the Fresh Wave Short Film Festival films selected by FEFF’s organisers are: 1+1 by Mo Lai, The Decisive Moment by Wong Wai-kit; July 1st, An Unhappy Birthday by Li Miao and Sew by Li Yin-fung.


Le Vision sets Zodiac Mystery release


BY SEN-LUNYU Beijing-based film studio Le Vision Pictures, the film produc- tion arm of internet video com- pany Le TV.com, has announced that Sheng Zhimin’s suspense thriller Zodiac Mystery has cleared Chinese censors and is scheduled for release in China in summer 2012. Produced by Hong Kong direc-


tor Fruit Chan and starring Tong Dawei (The Flowers Of War), Qin Hao (Spring Fever) and Gan Wei (Welcome To Shama Town), Zodiac Mystery is the first genre film from


n 4 Screen International at Filmart March 21, 2012


Sheng, whose credits include Bliss (2006), and tells the story of a group of friends who start to die in mysterious circumstances each related to their zodiac signs. Le Vision invested in the $2m


film and is handling international sales. The company has also signed a first-look deal with Sheng for his next projects. Le Vision is also an investor in


action film The Bullet Vanishes, directed by Law Chi-leung and produced by Derek Yee, which Emperor Motion Pictures is sell- ing here.


France yet to benefit from treaty with China


BY SCREENSTAFF Despite the supposedly increasing co-operation between France and China, it seems more Chinese films were made through the part- nership while French films have not benefited from the growing film market in China, said speak- ers at a Filmart panel on China- France creative partnerships on Monday. China and France signed a co-


production treaty in 2010, how- ever there have been only two China-France co-productions made since: one is Wang Xiaosh- uai’s 11 Flowers and the other is a Chinese film currently being reviewed by Chinese censors. “There are more Chinese films


Zodiac Mystery


having part of the shooting in France, because more and more Chinese audiences like to see their characters travelling in Europe and foreign cities. These may add commercial appeal for the Chi- nese audience,” suggested Isabelle Glachant, producer of Wang’s 11 Flowers. Films such as Xu Jinglei-starrer


Eternal Moments and the latest Jackie Chan film Chinese Zodiac have shot partly in France. “But what may hold commer-


cial appeal for China may not be the case for the French audience,” said Glachant. China has recently opened up


the foreign film market adding 14 foreign films (in Imax or 3D) for


Gao Yuan


import into China. This should encourage more foreign compa- nies to engage in co-production or sales with China. “But this may mean good news


for American companies, not nec- essarily French companies. Because what the Chinese market see as good or commercial films are quite different from the French producers’ views,” said Glachant. Barbie Tung, producer of Chi-


nese Zodiac, echoed these views. “There might be more Chinese investors willing to invest. But you have to make sure they understand what they are investing in. It’s unlikely they will invest in a good drama that will sell in France only but not in China,” she said.


EyeOn Films acquires Clip, closes deals


BYANDREAS WISEMAN Wide Management’s niche distri- bution label Eye On Films (EoF) has acquired its 12th title, Maja Milos’ 2012 Rotterdam Tiger award winner Clip, and closed a raft of deals across its slate. The Serbian acquisition has


already sold in France (KMBO), Japan (Fine Films) and Czech Republic and Slovakia (ARTCAM). Other EoF deals include Nuit #1


to Japan (At Entertainment), South Korea (Line Tree), Benelux (Coop- erative Nouveau Cinema) and Rus- sia, CIS, Ukraine and Georgia (Russian Report); Beast Paradise to Canada (Axia Films); The Mole to Canada (AZ Films); The First Rasta to Australia and New Zealand (Curious Films); and HKIFF Glo- bal Vision selection Policeman to Australia and New Zealand (Curi- ous Films), Portugal, Angola, Mozambique and Cap Vert (Clap). Policeman and fellow EoF title


Mourning, winner of two awards at the 14th Asian Film Festival In Deauville, are in competition at this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards. EoF has grown to 70 partners


since launching at the Berlin Inter- national Film Festival in 2011, and now includes 40 festivals and 30 distributors in more than 30 coun- tries. The collective, which sup- ports the distribution of films by first-time directors, has secured renewed MEDIA Mundus backing for 2012.


Sergey Pak


Vladivostok festival makes Filmart debut


BY MIKE GOODRIDGE The International Film Festival of Asian Pacific Countries in Vladi- vostok is at Filmart for the first time, tubthumping its 10th annual festival (September 22-28). The only festival in Russia to


spotlight Asia Pacific films, the fes- tival has competitive sections for features and shorts and this year will introduce a NETPAC jury for the best Asian film from a first- time or young director. It is also expecting to welcome Busan International Film Festival honor- ary director Kim Dong-ho; Busan is one of three festivals which has a co-operation with Vladivostok to share programmes. The others are Expresiyn en Corto in Mexico and Capalbio Cinema International Short Film Festival in France. General director Sergey Pak


notes that the festival has grown dramatically since its first event in 2003. “In our first year, we played 55 films but in 2011, we had 200 films. In 2003, we had submis- sions from 16 countries and last year [it was] 55 countries.” The festival has also welcomed a


host of international stars including Liza Minnelli, Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu, as well as Russian stars who meet with local audiences and present local films in the Russian programme. Last year’s prize winners were


Ivan Sen’s Toomelah from Australia in the feature section and Halima Ouardiri’s Mokhtar from Canada; critic Tony Rayns headed the jury.


Japanese


say arigato Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) chairman Tom Yoda and UniJapan president Hideyuki Takai presented a Letter of Appreciation to China Film Foundation, the HKIFF Society and Hong Kong Film Development Council at Monday’s Asian Film Awards. TIFF’s Arigato Project received a $79,000 donation from Hong Kong and Chinese film-makers after Japan’s earthquake and tsunami last year.


Jean Noh


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