Call for submissions: Reel Asian's So You Think You Can Pitch?

The Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival has announced a call for submissions for its 2015 edition of So You Think You Can Pitch?, a pitch competition for filmmakers. Winners receive up to $18,000 in production services and cash towards making the project based on their winning pitch.

They accept pitches for any film idea, be it dramatic, documentary, musical or experimental, up to 24 minutes in length, as long as you feature an Asian member in a key creative role, either in front or behind the camera. Applications will be accepted until September 28 at 5pm.

Selected finalists teams will participate in an intensive boot camp at the Reel Asian Pitch Clinic, where finalists gain in-depth professional advice on pitching like a pro in front of a live audience. Finalists will compete at a live Pitch Competition Finale during the 2015 Reel Asian Festival this November 5-15th. Finalists will also be awarded with a 2015 Festival Pass, with access to festival screenings and Industry Series sessions, where you can gain insightful knowledge from industry professionals and access the many networking opportunities throughout the festival.

Festival Accès Asie, May 1 – 24

20 
years 
of 
Asia 
in 
Montréal!

Festival Accès Asie, running from May 1st to 24th, is proud to announce its 20th Anniversary edition! Khosro Berahmandi, General Manager and Artistic Director of the Festival, has prepared an incredible program featuring a wide range of artistic disciplines that will definitely please Asian culture lovers. Festival Accès Asie welcomes actress, Alice Tran (Lance et compte, 30 vies), as its spokesperson for our 20th anniversary celebration.

Included in this edition are 16 artistic events, many of which have been exclusively created for the Festival. To show its appreciation to Accès Asie artist members for their ongoing commitment to the development of the Festival over the years, five artists from the Festival’s Board were invited to create works for this year’s edition. We are very pleased to include these works in our 20th Anniversary program.

The Festival kicks off with our famous Opening Cocktail at which we will reveal the 20th Anniversary Edition program. The first week will feature Kaleidoscope, an exhibition by Kiran Ambwani and Florence So, presenting 20 artists who have appeared in the Festival over the past 20 years. The Festival also invites the public to take part in an open forum Discussion on Asian Heritage in Quebec featuring an exciting panel of Festival artists.

2014 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival announces full programming

REEL ASIAN CELEBRATES 18TH YEAR

The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian), presented by National Bank, celebrates its 18th annual edition from November 6 to 16, 2014 with high-profile guests from around the world, new venues and three special projects focused on themes of memory and archive. This year, Reel Asian will present 44 films from 10 regions including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Canada and the United States.

This year’s festival will take place November 6 to 16, 2014 in Toronto and Richmond Hill. Highlights include:

· TORONTO OPENING NIGHT GALA: THE MIDNIGHT AFTER (director Fruit Chan, actor TBC in attendance, Hong Kong 2014, Toronto Premiere)

Call for submissions: fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company's Kitchen XII & Theatre Creators Reserve

Kitchen XII

Rage and Ecstasy: A Play Cycle by Emerging Asian Canadian Playwrights

Rage and Ecstasy is the title and theme of this year’s Kitchen Playwriting Unit for emerging Asian Canadian playwrights who are interested in honing their playwriting skills. This year the unit will be directed by Dramaturg Andrew Cheng, and will be working towards each participant creating their own original piece.

Call for submissions: Reel Asian film fest's 'So You Think You Can Pitch?' competition

Got a great idea for a dramatic, documentary, musical or experimental Short Film? We want to help you make it!

The 9th Annual Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival's pitch competition - So You Think You Can Pitch? awards two winning filmmaking teams (each from the Emerging Artist and Established Artist categories) with a production package & cash prize to kick-start and/or finish your short film.

Once again this year, two winning filmmaking teams will walk away with amazing prize packages that will help them kick-start and/or finish their short film. The two prize packages of cash for the Emerging Category and Established Category to cover High Definition or Standard Definition production and post services, artist’s fees and more. We are open to all your great films ideas, be it dramatic, documentary, musical or experimental, up to 30 minutes in length, as long as you feature an Asian member in a key creative role, either in front or behind the camera.

2014 TIFF announces programming for TIFF Industry, Asian Film Summit, Doc Conference

SUSANNE BIER, BEAU WILLIMON, TED HOPE, SUE KROLL, DOUGLAS TRUMBULL AND PALMER LUCKEY AMONG 180 INFLUENTIAL GUESTS IN AN INCOMPARABLE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE OVER 7 DAYS AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

TIFF Industry provides delegates with an opportunity to partake in a wealth of knowledge, to experience and learn about exciting new advancements from leaders in the art and business of cinema during the 39th Toronto International Film Festival®. This year’s programme includes Moguls sessions with Claudia Bluemhuber (Silver Reel Entertainment) and Susanne Bier (A Second Chance); panel discussions with celebrated filmmakers and trailblazing industry experts, including Snowpiercer producer Lee Tae Hun, independent producer Ted Hope and Wild Bunch’s Vincent Maraval; and visionary effects artist Douglas Trumbull will present a ground-breaking film project (UFOTOG) with the support of Christie®, a leading cinema projector manufacturer and 14-year Festival partner.

2014 TIFF announces City to City selections from Seoul

2014 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON SEOUL WITH SIXTH ANNUAL CITY TO CITY PROGRAMME

The 39th Toronto International Film Festival looks east for the 2014 City to City programme, introducing audiences to eight daring films from Seoul, South Korea. The lineup showcases adventurous new works by contemporary Korean directors that will expose audiences to the fearless cinema emerging from the region.

Already known as a hotbed of boundary-busting and internationally acclaimed film — and contemporary arts in general — the Korean capital is home to a number of up-and-coming filmmakers poised to contribute to the future of national, regional and international cinema.

The lineup of City to City films was programmed by Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, and Giovanna Fulvi, International Programmer for the Festival. The City to City series, now in its sixth year, focuses on the films and filmmakers from a selected international hot spot breaking new ground in cinema. Past programmes featured films from Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Mumbai and Athens.

TIFF selects Seoul, South Korea for 2014 City To City programme

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHTS THE CINEMA OF
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA WITH 2014 CITY TO CITY PROGRAMME

HONG KONG — Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, today announced that the 2014 City to City programme will focus on Seoul, South Korea.

“Seoul is one of the most exciting cities on the planet, and you can feel that energy in its films,” said Bailey. “South Korea's capital continues to produce consistently strong cinema, from art house to commercial. Seoul’s best auteurs win major festival awards, while its genre masters are sought after in Hollywood and its actors have won fans all across Asia. This year we want to introduce our audience to Seoul’s next generation. We are lucky to be based in Toronto, home to one of the most ardent audiences for Korean cinema.”

2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards – winners

The Asia Pacific Screen Academy held their 7th Annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards ceremony tonight at Brisbane City Hall in Queensland, Australia.

The awards were distributed somewhat evenly as most winners took only a single award. The top prize of Best Feature went to the Palestinian film Omar by Hany Abu-Assad.

The Best Directing awards was presented to Singapore filmmaker Anthony Chen for Ilo Ilo. The Best Screenplay award was given to Ritesh Batra for The Lunchbox. He also picked up a Grand Jury Prize.

The Best Documentary Feature award went to The Act of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn and anonymous Indonesian directors.

Spirited Away: The Films of Studio Ghibli, Dec 13-Jan 3

SPIRITED AWAY: THE FILMS OF STUDIO GHIBLI
Featuring the rarely-screened Grave of the Fireflies
December 13 to January 3 at TIFF Bell Lightbox

This holiday season, TIFF Cinematheque presents a retrospective devoted to Japan’s Studio Ghibli — one of the most influential film studios in the world. Following its spectacularly popular run in the spring of 2012, Spirited Away: The Films of Studio Ghibli returns from December 13 to January 3 to delight TIFF Bell Lightbox audiences with a near-exhaustive 18-film collection that includes a blend of new 35-mm and digital prints. The showcase pays homage to the studio’s legendary Japanese animation team led by Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, its trademark animation style, powerful storytelling, and deeply felt humanism.

TIFF is honoured to finally feature the rarely-screened masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies, one of Ghibli's supreme accomplishments and regarded by many as the greatest animated film of all time. The lineup also includes From Up On Poppy Hill, a father-son collaboration between studio co-founder Miyazaki and his son Goro; beloved classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Kiki’s Delivery Service; rarely seen titles Only Yesterday and The Ocean Waves; and Hayao Miyazaki's Academy Award®-winning Spirited Away.

2013 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Oct 17-25

The eighth annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival for horror, Asian, sci-fi and other genre films gets underway tonight with a screening of Jim Mickle's We Are What We Are. This movie is based on the original Mexican film Somos lo que hay (We Are What We Are) and is a critically-acclaimed arthouse horror film. This year, all of the screenings will take place at the Scotiabank Theatre at 259 Richmond Street West.

Each night, Toronto After Dark presents two features, at 7pm and 9:30pm, with additional screenings at 4:25 on Saturday and Sunday. Each feature film is preceded by a Canadian short film. The Pub After Dark social gatherings take place at 117 John Street.

Reel Asian Film Festival announces complete programming

REEL ASIAN CELEBRATES 17^TH YEAR

WHERE CULTURES MEET AND ASIAN FILM FANS UNITE

Toronto, October 8, 2013 — The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian), presented by National Bank, celebrates its 17^th annual edition from November 5 to 16, 2013 with more screenings, high-profile guests from across North America and Asia, an exciting expansion to include films from across South Asia, an energy-driven collaboration between Toronto’s hottest up-and-coming dancers and filmmakers and 60 films from 14 countries including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Laos, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Canada and the United States.

Founded in 1997, Reel Asian began as a 3-day event established in response to meet the needs of an existing demand for Asian films in Toronto, and has since grown to a 12-day multi-city annual event attracting over 12,000 people each year. Reel Asian strives to develop programming that reflects the cultural diversity of Canada and increases public understanding and appreciation of the artistic, social and cultural contributions of those of Asian heritage through film. This year’s festival will take place November 5 to 16, 2013 inToronto and Richmond Hill. Highlights include:

Asian Film Summit returns to 2013 Toronto International Film Festival

Keanu Reeves, Johnnie To among the first round of announced guests

TORONTO—The Toronto International Film Festival® today announced the first round of details for the Asian Film Summit, which takes place during the 2013 Festival, on Tuesday, September 10 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto. The Summit, now in its second year, is a key element of TIFF’s ongoing commitment to build bridges between Asia and the West, and features an international guest list of industry experts and programming that explores the East-West relationship. Highlights include actor-director Keanu Reeves discussing the making of Man of Tai Chi, which will receive its North American premiere at the Festival, as well as appearances by legendary industry veteran Tatsumi “Tom” Yoda, Hong Kong director Johnnie To and more.

“The Asian Film Summit is the product of many years’ work and a natural outgrowth of the Festival’s role showcasing the best of global cinema,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “Building on the momentum and excitement of our own recent Japanese and Chinese film retrospectives, and the global attention focused on the region, the Summit will continue to grow and develop. We’re looking forward to even more exchanges of the type that made the inaugural event such a success.”

Toronto International Film Festival announces 2013 Midnight Madness lineup

FESTIVAL SALUTES 25 CHILLING YEARS OF MIDNIGHT MADNESS: ROCKING, SHOCKING AND SAVAGING THE SENSES

TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival® celebrates 25 years of Midnight Madness with a murderers’ row of wild cinematic thrills. Programmed by Colin Geddes, the international lineup aims right for the jugular with everything froman extraterrestrial gore-thriller and sinister sex-comedy, to an Asian exotic horror film and a visually-stunning reinvention of the Italian cannibal genre.

“Since its 1988 launch, the Midnight Madness programme emerged as a touchstone of cinematic shock, satiating the adventurous palate of bloodthirsty cinephiles from all over the world,” said Geddes, International Programmer for the Festival. “When the witching hour strikes and the human brain starts slipping into dream mode, the Ryerson Theatre will once again serve up a feast of phantasmagorical characters and jaw-dropping scenes, playing host to bizarre biological monstrosities, ruthless dominatrix gangs, paranormal mirrors, and the hijinks of supernatural cheerleaders.”

TIFF Bell Lightbox announces upcoming A Century of Chinese Cinema programme

TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX CELEBRATES A CENTURY OF CHINESE CINEMA WITH UNPRECEDENTED FILM SERIES, EXHIBITIONS AND SPECIAL GUESTS
- Programme features 80 films, free exhibitions and guests including Chen Kaige, Johnnie To and Jackie Chan -
- Tickets on sale May 21 at 10 a.m. for TIFF Members, May 27 at 10 a.m. for non-members -

Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox, announced today details for a comprehensive exploration of Chinese film, art and culture. A Century of Chinese Cinema features a major film retrospective of over 80 titles, sessions with some of the biggest names in Chinese cinema, and a free exhibition featuring two internationally acclaimed visual artists. The flagship programme of the summer season, A Century of Chinese Cinema runs from June 5 to August 11, 2013.

"A Century of Chinese Cinema exemplifies TIFF's vision to foster new relationships and build bridges of cultural exchange," said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. "If we are, indeed, living in the Chinese Century, it is essential that we attempt to understand what that entails. There is no better way to do so than through film, which encourages cross-cultural understanding in our city and beyond."

Hong Kong Film Awards 2013 – winners

The ceremony for the 32nd 香港電影金像獎 (Hong Kong Film Awards) took place tonight at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in Hong Kong. The event was hosted by 曾志伟 (Eric Tsang), 郑中基 (Ronald Cheng), 林家栋 (Gordon Lam) and 林晓峰 (Jerry Lamb).

The police action film 寒戰 (Cold War) by 梁樂民 (Longman Leung) and 陸劍青 (Sunny Luk Kim Ching) swept the field with nine wins. Its awards included Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. 梁家輝 (Tony Leung Ka Fai) won for Best Actor, while 徐家傑 (Alex Tsui) won Best New Performer.

寒戰 (Cold War) came into the night with twelve nominations, sharing the lead with 消失的子彈 (The Bullet Vanishes) by 羅志良 (Lo Chi Leung). The latter film, however, came away empty-handed.

2013 Times of India Film Awards – winners

The inaugural Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) took place over the last few nights at Vancouver's BC Place. The event was hosted by Karan Johar, Shahrukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Chitrangada Singh. The awards have been controversial since most people feel that premier Christy Clark organized the event at a cost of $11 million as a cynical ploy to win ethnic votes in next month's B.C. provincial election.

The top winner was Anurag Basu's comedy-romance Barfi! with ten awards. Its wins included the top prizes of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Ranbir Kapoor) and Best Actress (Priyanka Chopra).

2013 Кинопремия Ника (Nika Awards) for Russian film – winners

The Академии кинематографических искусств (Russian Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences) in Russia held their 26th Annual Кинопремия Ника (Nika Film Awards) last night at the Московском государственном академическом театре оперетты (Moscow State Academic Theatre of Operetta).

Фауст (Faust) by Александр Сокуров (Alexander Sokurov) was the major winner. It won four awards including Best Film. It also won Best Director, Best Screenplay and Антон Адасинский (Anton Adasinsky) tied for Best Actor with Максим Суханов (Maxim Suhanov) for Орда (The Horde). It was the Golden Lion winner at Venice.

Орда (The Horde) by Андрей Прошкин (Andrei Proshkin) picked up a larger haul, with a total of seven awards. In addition to Best Actor, Best Actress went to Роза Хайруллина (Rosa Khayrullina). The five others were technical and craft awards.

Inaugural ASEAN International Film Awards – winners

The first ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) International Film Festival and Awards in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia concluded this weekend at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching with the presentation of the award-winners.

The top winner of the event was Emmanuel Quindo Palo's Sta Nina (Philippines). It won Best Picture - Drama as well as Best Actress (Alessandra de Rossi) and Best Supporting Actress (Anita Linda).

The Malaysian film Songlap by Effendee Mazlan and Fariza Azlina Isahak was also a multiple prize-winner. It took Best Picture - Action and Best Actor (Shaheizy Sam).

The Best Picture - Comedy winner was another Malaysian film, Istanbul Aku Datang by Bernard Chauly. Malaysia's Hanyut by U-Wei Haji Saari was given a Special Honour Award. Saari incidentally was the head of the nominating jury.

Japanese Documentary Festival, Mar 25-28

The Japan Foundation of Toronto is hosting "an observational film festival" featuring four films by acclaimed filmmaker Kazuhiro Soda. All of the screenings are free.

The films being screened are Theatre 1, Campaign, Peace, and Theatre 2. All films will be screened in the original Japanese with English subtitles. After the screenings, discussions will take place in English.

Soda takes a verité approach and believes that "a filmmaker should minimize preconceived ideas and should simply learn from the crude reality captured on camera," encouraging the view to form their own opinions about the images they see with little interference from the filmmaker.