HKIFF Heats Up

thr.com/filmart
HKIFF
Heats Up
Miriam Yeung returns as the annual
Hong Kong event's favorite star ambassador
filmart
DAILY
№3
m a rch
2 1 , 2 0 1 2
Feature:
Euros at Filmart p.6
Executive Suite:
Albert Lee p.8
Director Q&A: Peter Chan p.9
Reviews: p. 10-11
Miriam Yeung, star of
HKIFF opener Love in the
Buff, poses at the festival
press conference.

Kadokawa
Picks Up
Marley
Kadokawa Pictures
has acquired from
Fortissimo Films all
rights within Japan of
Marley, the documentary on the
legendary reggae superstar by
Kevin MacDonald, director of
documentaries One Day in September
and Touching the Void,
and The Last King of Scotland,
starring Forest Whitaker and
James McAvoy.
Marley is scheduled for theatrical
release in North America
continued on page 5
INSIDE
Feature: Euros at Filmart �������������������6
Executive suite: Albert Lee����������������� 8
Director Q&A: Peter Chan�������������������9
Reviews �������������������������������������������� 10
About Town ���������������������������������������� 5
W hile
By Karen Chu
M a rch 21, 2 0 1 2
Pusher
A strong cast lends interest
to this remake of Nicolas
Winding Refn’s Danish thriller
By Deborah Young
caPturing
some of the abrasive
edginess of Nicolas
Winding Refn’s
career-launching 1996 Danish
thriller, on which it is based, the
London-set remake Pusher struggles
to rise above standard drug dealer/
gangster fare and succeeds, but only
in part, thanks to its strong cast lead
by Richard Coyle. With Refn as executive producer,
a goodly dose of the original tension and existential
angst comes through, even if the cult magic does
not. It marks the first English-language picture
by culturally versatile director Luis Prieto, who
followed his Spanish feature debut with two Italian
teen romances. U.S. rights have been acquired
by the Weinsteins for their VOD-oriented label
Radius-TWC, and video seems the most probable
outlet after a European theatrical run.
Small Screen Looms Large
Dwindling DVD markets and the rise of cable outlets throughout Asia leads
to flurry of TV deals on day two of the Hong Kong Filmart By Gavin Blair
IPtV and the growing
number of cable channels in
Asia are becoming increasingly
important sales outlets
for companies at Filmart, while
the lack of 3D content available
means titles in the format are in
demand.
The collapse of the DVD/Bluray
market in most territories
has left studios increasingly
reliant on theatrical revenues,
but the new distribution platforms
are beginning to compensate
for at least some of the lost
income from disc sales.
“More people are watching
video through new technologies,
such as iPads, smartphones
and Internet TV.
Filmart is going to see a shift
toward becoming a market for
content that will be consumed
on these new devices,” said
Richard Coyle turns in
a strong lead performance
as a small time
drug dealer whose
life is spinning out of
control.
1
Gordon Cheung, president of
Mega-Vision Project Distribution,
and a 35-year industry
veteran.
Cheung also suggested that
the situation was difficult
for mid-budget productions
at the market, with the P&A
for theatrical releases being
prohibitively expensive. He sees
the tentpole films continuing to
thrive in theaters, while lowbudget
fare will be distributed
through new media channels.
“There are so many new
cable TV channels starting
up in Taiwan, Hong Kong
and Korea that there is a big
demand for content,” reported
Masaaki Saito, senior vp of
CREi, a subsidiary of Japan’s
TBS. “One Hong Kong telecoms
company that we met with is
launching five new free-to-air
REvIEW
The action is concentrated in one nightmarish
week in which small-time pusher Frank (Coyle)
plummets into a downward spiral from which there
may be no return. He’s introduced selling hits of
coke at discos and strip clubs with his young mad
dog helper Tony (a livewire Bronson Webb, who
chalks up dramatic points in the hard-act-to-follow
role that was originally Mads Mikkelsen’s). Their
tough guy pairing has a component of camaraderie,
continued on page 10
fIlmart
№3
cable channels, and is planning
to expand that to 30 channels
within a year.”
“That company has also been
experimenting with selling
titles on DVD for the same price
as pirated copies. They’ve found
piracy was down 80 percent for
those titles,” said Saito.
“Because of censorship issues
that still exist around Asia, our
non-pornographic erotic titles
are attracting a lot of interest
from cable and Internet
platforms,” said Rena Kawazu,
assistant manager at CREi.
“We’re the only company that
offers Hello Kitty to documentaries
to soft porn.”
CREi, has sold martial arts
film Kunoichi – Ninja Girl and
erotic comedy Deco-Truck Gal
Nami to Hong Kong, as well as
continued on page 5
Edko
Snatches
Turn Me On
By Patrick Brzeski
In one of the bigger deals
of day two at Filmart,
UK-based Celsius Entertainment
has sold Norwegian
director Jannicke Systad
Jacobsen’s award-winning teen
sex dramedy, Turn Me On,
Goddammit to Hong Kong’s Edko
Films. Turn Me On won best
screenplay at the Tribeca Film
Festival 2011 and best European
film at Mons International Love
Film Festival 2012. The offbeat
coming-of-age story has already
achieved brisk sales in other
markets, inking deals for
distribution in the U.S. by New
Yorker Films, and in South
Korea, Australia and New
Zealand, Japan, Taiwan and
various European markets. thr

the RepoRt
CCTV-9 Partners With the West
Chinese outlet to
co-produce with BBC
and National Geographic
By Karen Chu
China’s CCtV DOCumentary
channel announces
new nonfiction series to be
produced with its international
partners the National Geographic
Channel, and the BBC;
as well as its solely produced
projects in 2012.
The channel, also known as
CCTV-9, was established in
January 2011 with Chinese and
English versions. The domestic
version of the channel has an
audience of 660 million in China;
the international version is available
in 60 countries and territories,
making it the fastest growing
channel in China, where CCTV
monopolize the market. CCTV-9
has created partnerships with the
National Geographic Channel,
the BBC, and U.K.’s ITV to coproduce
documentaries.
A series on the space program
in China, to be co-produced with
the National Geographic Channel,
is in the works for 2013. The
series will focus on the lives of the
Chinese astronauts.
The channel will co-produce
with the British Museum a
project titled China in the Eyes
of the World to complement a
china exhibition at the National
Museum of China, curated by the
The 4th Okinawa international
Movie Festival, organized
by talent management
agency Yoshimoto Kogyo, will
unspool with its ‘Laugh & Peace’
slogan on the tropical Japanese
island from March 24 to 31.
“Our president Hiroshi Osaki
visited Cannes and wanted to
create a festival with a similar
feel in the sunshine by the
beach, in Japan,” Ryutaro Ko,
Yoshimoto’s head of Asia, told
The Hollywood Reporter during
Hong Kong Filmart.
British Museum and the Victoria
and Albert Museum.
It will also produce Himalayan
Gold Rush with France
documentary producer Kwanza:
the six-part series Tea: A Leaf
that Changed the World with the
National Geographic Channel;
and a behind the scene look at
the most-watched television program
in China, titled Behind the
CCTV Spring Festival Gala.
The channel is co-producing
with the BBC the three-parter
Generation Earth, and the fivepart
series Wonders of Life.
“The documentary filmmakers
in the past in China made
films about what only interested
themselves, so the films have
Okinawa, which is closer to
Taiwan than it is to Tokyo, is
easily accessible from Asian
countries, pointed out Ko.
Despite being held immediately
after the giant earthquake
and tsunami in March last year,
the festival attracted a total of
370,000 admissions to its events.
The organizers said they hoped
to cheer the country up in the
aftermath of the disasters and
proceeds from a number of
charity events during the festival
were donated to the affected
2
One of the first CCTV
documentary channel
offerings is an inside look
at China’s Forbidden City
little appeal overseas,” CCTV
Documentary Channel managing
director Liu Wen told The
Hollywood Reporter.
The documentary channel
is unveiling its latest finished
production The Forbidden City
100, a 10 million RMB (U.S.$1.6
million) production on the imperial
palace in Beijing, focusing
on every little detail within world
heritage site in 100 episodes.
“With our collaboration with
foreign television networks, we
hope to make documentaries that
might help viewers understand
China better. The docs will
present facts about China, and let
the audience judge for themselves,
” Liu said. thr
Okinawa Fest Looks to Move
Past Japan’s March 11 Disasters
By Gavin Blair
areas on Japan’s northeast coast.
The fest also launched a Contents
Bazaar last year, which will
run on March 25 and 26 at this
edition. Yoshimoto hopes the market
will spur international deals,
particularly between American
and Japanese TV producers.
“The target is to reach
400,000 visits this year over
the eight days,” said Ko. “We
aim for a real festival atmosphere
and many of our visitors
come half for the events and half
to relax and enjoy the island.”
Japan Gov’t
To Back
Co-prods
By Gavin Blair
UniJaPan, the gOVernment-backedorganization
for promoting
Japanese film overseas, held
‘A meeting between producers:
Stimulating an International
Co-Production’ at Filmart on
Tuesday.
The head of UniJapan,
Hideyuki Takai, opened the
proceedings with a video about
Tokyo International Film Festival,
which also comes under
the organization’s umbrella.
He went on to explain the new
subsidy system for international
co-productions that is being
offered through the Agency of
Cultural Affairs.
Qualifying projects must
include financing from both
Japan and an overseas partner,
domestic and international
distribution, as well as a Japanese
party who owns or co-owns
the copyright to the finished
product.
In addition, there is a point
criterion that must be satisfied
for projects, with points
awarded for factors including
Japanese locations, directors,
screenwriters, designers and
soundtrack composers.
“Productions only need to
get three points to be eligible,
so it is fairly easy to qualify,”
pointed out Takai, to laughs
from the audience.
UniJapan will be responsible
for issuing certificates
of eligibility that will qualify
films for subsidies of up to 20
percent of production costs, to
a maximum of 50 million yen
(U.S.$600,000).
Following the presentation,
an international panel featuring
producers from China, Japan,
Hong Kong, New Zealand
and Thailand, shared their
experience of working with
co-productions.
Applications for the financial
support program for co-productions
can be made from May 28
to June 8 this year and projects
must be completed between
August 1, 2012 and March 31,
2013. thr
forbidden city photo: oLLi GeibeL/Afp/Getty imAGes

the RepoRt
rambling reporter
Andy at the After-party
The Asia Film Awards after-party got off to
a bubbly but sedate start beside the Grand
Hyatt pool, with guests and nominees
clinking glasses and catching each other’s
eyes across the bar. But suddenly, chaos
came over the room. Voices raised and
a scrum of photographers and gawkers
contracted around a shiny focal point in
tuxedo and bow tie: Andy Lau had arrived
at the party. Not surprisingly, the pushy
horde swarming the Hong Kong screen
idol and tracking his movements across
the room weren’t particularly tactful.
Several partygoers toes were stepped
on, drinks got jostled, and one guest
took a telephoto lens to the head. Lau,
eternally gracious, did his best to take it
all in stride, posing for a few photos with
swooning local party girls, and struggling
to make his way from VIP entrance to VIP
exit, with smile and charm intact. Within
five minutes he was gone, leaving a few
pattering hearts and about 50,000 photos
in his wake.
Eastern Escape
Marco Mueller looked cool as a cucumber
as he chatted with Asian industry friends
at the Asia Film Awards after-party last
night. Mueller, the former artistic director
for the Venice Film Festival for the past
eight years, was likely enjoying the respite
from the tensions that have surrounded
his recent appointment as the new director
to his former employer’s chief rival,
the International Rome Film Festival. The
various controversies that have stemmed
from Mr. Mueller’s job change have made
headlines back in Rome, but in Asia at
least, it seems the beleaguered festival
veteran can still fly beneath the radar.
Mother's Helper
Themes of family, and the relationship
between generations in Hong Kong director
Ann Hui’s work were none the more
apparent than on
Monday night,
when the Asian
Film Awards
Lifetime Achievement
Awards
winner skipped
the afterparty at
Hui
the Grand Hyatt
Hotel to take home her 80-something
year-old mother. Hui’s latest film, A Simple
Life, about a mother figure’s bond with
her charge, is making a splash at the AFA,
with its lead Deanie Ip winning the best
actress award. Hui had famously used
her relationship with her mother as the
inspiration to the semi-autobiographical
Song of the Exile.
The 2012 Filmart Poster Awards
THR pays tribute to the most amusing and
over-the-top promotional materials from
the second day of the market
MOST ROMANTIC FACE
SMELLING
Love on tiptoe
Ah, the romance of deeply
smelling your true love’s face.
The mutual face-smelling
underway in this poster is so
deep and all consuming it’s
nearly pornographic. Just
imagine how sweet those
Taiwanese teen-dream pheromones
smell. Or don’t.
BEST MUSTARD BLAZER
Kallag roar
Not since Charles Barkley
rocked it back in the dark ages
of the early 90s have we seen
someone don a mustard blazer
with such aplomb (and check
out that comb-over). Meanwhile,
the rest of the Singaporean
cast are pulling faces
ranging from meek, bemused,
furious and mentally disabled.
4
MOST MISLEADING SILHOUETTE
Generation P
Is that Che Guevara hiding
behind a gilded Asiatic mask?
No, it’s the “lame dog god,”
Pizdyets, whose name means,
“everything is f---ed,” according
to this poster’s bewildering tagline.
What this means and how
it constitutes a “generation”
we’re left to guess. One thing is
clear: The lame movie poster
gods must be pleased.
BEST USE OF TICkING BOMB
the Wedding Diary
Nothing says matrimonial
hijinks like a fat bare foot, but
it's the curious use of a ticking
bomb that is cause for alarm.
Is it a symbolic representation
of nuptial angst, or is the
poster actually commenting
on the film's box office potential?
Either way, this one seems
divorced from reality.
Filmmakers
Target Asia at
Script Stage
By Gavin Blair
Screenwriting for the
Global Market: The Growth
of Asian Themes in Today’s
Box-Office Hits packed in a
full-house at the Stage venue
in the main hall at Filmart on
Tuesday morning.
“The heads of studio executives
are definitely turning toward
Asia, and China in particular,”
said producer Tracey Trench
(The Pink Panther, EverAfter). “
“There are only so many stories
to tell and Hollywood studios are
always looking for new and interesting
ways to tell them. China,
being relatively unfamiliar, is still
interesting,” said Glenn Berger,
writer/producer at DreamWorks
Animation. “Then there are
films like Kung Fu Panda [which
Berger co-wrote], that could only
be set in China.”
Addressing a question about
how Asian filmmakers should
approach making movies in
English for global audiences, the
panelists pointed out that it was
only a matter of time before the
U.S. was no longer the dominant
worldwide market, and barriers
to non English-language productions
will be lower.
“Kung Fu Panda was incredibly
well received in China.
Then there was a second reaction
from China, which was ‘why
couldn't we have made this film,
why did it take Westerners to do
this?’ Which was both interesting
and satisfying in many
ways,” said Berger.
On the issue of raising the
quality of storytelling in Asian
films for the global market, Rita
Hsiao (Mulan, Toy Story),
screenwriter at Blisstone Inc,
described how brutal the feedback
process on scripts in
Hollywood is, and suggested that
a similar system might improve
local films in Asia. thr
THR .com
To download a PDF of the
The Hollywood Reporter’s
Filmart Dailies
go to:THR.com/Filmart.
continued on page xx

Taiwanese actress
Kwai Lun-mei
poses on the red
carpet on her
way into the AFA
ceremony.
Marley
continued from 1
and the UK on April 20, and
worldwide release in the summer
of 2012 to commemorate
the fortieth anniversary of the
Jamaican independence.
Produced by Shangri-La
Entertainment and Tuff Gong
Pictures in association with
Cowboy Films, the documentary
about one of the most
influential singers, songwriters,
musicians and activists
in history premiered at the
Berlin International Film Festival
last month.
Authorized by the Marley
family, including full and
unprecedented access to their
own private archives, the film
follows the life, legacy and
global impact of the iconic
Jamaican musician, whose work
reflects the social and political
conditions of the country. Bob
Marley’s son Ziggy Marley was
one of the executive producers of
the film. thr
AFA winners Andy Lau and
Philippines actress Eugene
Domingo pose with their acting
trophies at the Convention
Centre Saturday night.
Market
continued from 1
as an erotic anime, B Gata H Kei - Yamada’s First
Time, to Korea.
“Japanese content is still expensive for many
Asian buyers though, and the strong yen really
doesn’t help. That’s one reason Korean content is
popular, the weaker won makes it more competitive,”
added Kawazu.
CJ Entertainment’s head of international sales
and distribution Kini Kim reported that sales
to Chinese Internet platforms were ticking up,
though he noted that a lack of fast broadband
access in some Asian territories was a barrier to
5
Taiwanese director
Giddens Ko gets goofy
with actors
Ko Chen-tung and
Michelle Chen backstage
at the AFA.
“We’ve sold the most into
China. The DVD market
in China is dead, but we’re
finally figuring out how to
structure rights for new
media and VOD rights.
— Vincent tola, Vision Films
Donnie Yen and Keanu Reeves flash some kungfu
moves Sunday night at the Power of Film Gala.
About town
Iranian actress
Leila Hatami kisses the AFA
best film trophy she accepted
on behalf of her husband,
Asghar Farhadi, for his winning
feature, A Separation.
development of the online market.
“Traffic at the market appears to be up on last
year and there are also more U.S. sales companies
here this year,” said Kim.
3D has become a “huge draw,” according to
Vincent Tola, of America’s Vision Films. “People
are interested in 3D for all formats, features,
documentaries, TV specials. Since there's limited
content available, buyers are very interested in
what's out there.”
“We’ve signed deals with Thai companies, several
in China, and a few from South Korea,” said
Tola, declining to reveal the details of the deals.
“We've sold the most into China. The DVD market
in China is dead, but we're finally figuring out how
to structure rights for new media and VOD rights.
All of my deals here have been for TV and digital.”
Peter Reynolds of Plaid Bag Media from the
U.S. said his company was also benefiting from the
increased demand from China.
“There are definitely more buyers from Mainland
China and South Korea. I've been busy since
I got here. We have a few programs that are Chinese
language shows produced in New York. I've
been getting a lot of interest in these and I'm feeling
pretty confident about them,” said Reynolds.
“It seems like a better market than last year.
I've attended markets these past few years where
it seems like there's a black cloud over the building.
It's nice to be in a genuinely optimistic
market,” he added. thr
Keanu reeves photo: chris mcGrath/Getty imaGes; afa red carpet pohtos: victor fraile/Getty imaGes

world
Euros Optimistic About Filmart
The annual Hong Kong confab has become an essential stop for European dealmakers hoping to crack the
expanding Asian market, but concerns about censorship and piracy remain By Scott Roxborough
For most EuropEan film
sales companies, Hong
Kong’s International Film
& TV Market (Filmart)
used to be a pleasant stop over
between Berlin’s EFM and
Cannes’ Marche du Film – a place
to take a rest from the craziness
of the big markets. There was the
occasional sale but with Japan not
buying much, the Korean market
a notoriously hard sell for Euro
fare and China locked up for all
but the biggest studio-style pictures,
Filmart was an add-on, not
a necessity, for most Euro sales
firms. No longer.
“Last year, the market just
exploded,” says Nicolai Korsgaard
of Danish sales group
TrustNordisk. “I’ve been coming
to Filmart for five years and last
time it was just wow. I sold 12
titles to China alone. My meeting
schedule this year is crazy. I’ve
got two 30 minute slots free, the
rest is already booked solid.”
The explosion of the Chinese
market is the main draw for European
execs taking the 12-hour
long haul flight to Filmart this
year. Box office revenue in Mainland
China grew by around 30 per
cent last year to hit $2.06 billion,
putting the territory just behind
Japan ($2.2 billion) as the thirdlargest
film market in the world.
European firms have been slow
to benefit from the Chinese boom.
China’s official quota limits the
number of foreign films allowed
theatrical release to just 20 a
year – an elite slate of films picked
almost exclusively from U.S.
studio offerings. That’s unlikely to
change even with the addition of 14
so-called premium format (IMAX
and 3-D) titles annually which will
be exempt from the quota. Though
some made-in-Europe 3-D animation
such as Studiocanal’s Tad,
the Lost Explorer or Beta Cinema’s
Come On, Let’s Find a Treasure,
both of which will be screening
6
promos to buyers at Filmart, will
be hoping to squeeze into those
new theatrical slots.
But while the Chinese cinema
market remains tough for European
movies, the television and
VOD business is booming.
“I think we all noticed it around
the AFM last year. Suddenly all
these Chinese companies wanted
to buy content for TV and VOD,”
says Korsgaard.
TrustNordisk’s slate at Filmart
will still be heavy on genre
product — including Icelandic
crime drama Black’s Game,
Danish thriller A Hijacking and
Norwegian action epic Escape –
but Trust will also screen Rúnar
Rúnarsson’s award-winning
drama Volcano, about an elderly
man trying to reconnect with his
estranged family. Korsgaard cites
Lars von Trier’s Melancholia and
David Mackenzie’s Perfect Sense
starring Ewan McGregor as two of
Trust’s solidly art house titles that
TrustNordisk's Filmart slate includes
Runar Runarsson's Volcano,
which won five Icelandic film
awards, including best film.
have found buyers in China.
“The interest, particularly in
VOD, has been astounding,” says
Jo Mühlberger, who runs European
Film Promotion’s umbrella
stand at Filmart. “Last year we
saw buyers looking not just to buy
individual titles, but whole catalogues
of European films. That
hadn’t been there before.”
Dampening the enthusiasm
of some Euro sellers, however,
is the continued rampant piracy
in China.
"If a film cannot pass censorship
to be distributed legitimately
in China then surely, at the
very least, we should expect the
authorities to crack down on the
wide circulation of pirate copies,"
says Charlie Bloye, Chief Executive
of Film Export UK. "We need
to look for breakthroughs in negotiations
at Head of State level to
truly open up China for genuine
trade and cultural exchange."
Don't expect that sort of

Filmart is where we can follow up on
negotiations started in Berlin and
close deals.” — TAssIlo HAllbAuER, bETA cINEmA
breakthrough at Filmart. But
attendees should see more of the
slow approach that has marked
the opening of China's market
so far. China’s notorious censors,
fore example – who often
veto films if they include drug
use, nudity or overtly religious
themes – appear to have taken a
more tolerant view of video-ondemand,
creating opportunities
for European sellers.
“After the EFM in Berlin, even
more [European companies]
wanted to come because they saw
how the Asian market was opening
up,” Mühlberger says.
Some 15 French firms, including
giants Studiocanal, EuropaCorps
and Wild Bunch, will also be making
the trip, under the Unifrance
banner. And Film Export U.K.
will again be setting up shop with
Brit veterans like Exclusive Media
and SC Films International under
their umbrella.
“Things have changed a lot
in the Asian market, buyers are
becoming much more aggressive
and paying big minimum guarantees,”
says Studiocanal’s François
Mergier, who will be making his
first trip to Filmart this year. In
addition to three finished films —
Tad, the Lost Explorer, Nigel Cole’s
Brit rom com All in Good Time
and Mélanie Laurent’s directorial
debut The Adopted — Studiocanal
will be using Filmart to drum up
pre-sales business for its big titles.
These include Susanne Bier’s
period drama Serena starring Bradley
Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence;
the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn
studiocanal's Filmart
offering The Adopted is
the directorial debut of
Inglorious Basterds star
melanie laurent, left.
7
beta cinema's Almanya
chronicles the experiences of
three generations of a Turkish
family living in Germany.
Davis featuring Justin Timberlake
and John Goodman and The Last
Exorcism 2, the follow-up to the
2010 found-footage chiller.
“We are targeting the Asian
theatrical market, which is very
strong if you have big movies,
which we do,” says Mergier, noting
Studiocanal’s 3-D animated
feature Sammy’s Adventure sold
more than one million tickets
in South Korea and will have a
theatrical release in China later
this year. “Filmart is perfect for
sitting down with the big Asian
distributors to work on how
best to release our films in their
territories.”
Even for the smaller players,
Hong Kong is increasingly becoming
a can’t miss market. Many of
the hottest art house titles from
Berlin will get a second airing at
Filmart.
“It’s not as big a market for us
as Berlin or Cannes, obviously,
but its important,” says Beta
Cinema’s Tassilo Hallbauer on
the Hong Kong event. “Filmart
is where we can follow up on
negotiations started in Berlin and
close deals.”
Beta’s Filmart lineup this year
includes several Berlin titles —
among them Matthias Glasner’s
competition entry Mercy and
Doris Dörrie’s Bliss and German
multi-cultural comedy Almanya.
“In Asia, you really only have
Pusan and Filmart and Hong
Kong is probably the biggest and
most important of the two,”
concludes Korsgaard of TrustNordisk.
“If you want to be selling to
Asia, you have to be there.” thr
FivE hOt
EurO titlEs
Ceaser Must Die
Sales: Rai Trade
The Pitch: The surprise winner of
Berlin's Golden Bear, the genre experiment
from veteran Italian directors
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani mixes
documentary and drama in its story
of a inmates at a maximum security
prison in Rome who stage a performance
of William Shakespeare's
Julius Ceaser.
Postcards From the Zoo
Sales: The Match Factory
The Pitch: This sureal fairytale about
a girl abanoned to be raised in a zoo
bewitched audiences and critics at its
Berlin competiton debut. The latest
from Indonesian auteur Edwin - this
time as an Indonesian-German-Hong
Kong co-production — could be a
sleeper for descriminating art house
distribs across Asia.
Escape
Sales: TrustNordisk
The Pitch: A Norwegian action adventure
tale from the director (Roar
Uthaug) and star (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal)
of local horror hit Cold Prey. Set in
the 1300s at the height of the Black
Death, Berdal plays the leader of a
group of outlaws trying to survive in
an appocalyptic world.
Tad, the Lost Explorer
Sales: Studiocanal
The Pitch: This Spanish 3D animated
film is a goofy take on Indiana Jones
featuring Tad: a bumbling would-be
archeologist and adventurer set on
finding a hidden treasure without getting
completely lost himself.
Shadow Dancer
Sales: Wild Bunch
The Pitch: Slow-burning IRA thriller
from Oscar-winner James Marsh
(Man on Wire) starring Clive Owen
as a member of Britain's secret
service agency MI5 and Andrea Riesborough
as an active member of the
IRA who turns informant to protect
her young son.

Filmart is where we can follow up on
negotiations started in Berlin and
close deals.” — TAssIlo HAllbAuER, bETA cINEmA
breakthrough at Filmart. But
attendees should see more of the
slow approach that has marked
the opening of China's market
so far. China’s notorious censors,
fore example – who often
veto films if they include drug
use, nudity or overtly religious
themes – appear to have taken a
more tolerant view of video-ondemand,
creating opportunities
for European sellers.
“After the EFM in Berlin, even
more [European companies]
wanted to come because they saw
how the Asian market was opening
up,” Mühlberger says.
Some 15 French firms, including
giants Studiocanal, EuropaCorps
and Wild Bunch, will also be making
the trip, under the Unifrance
banner. And Film Export U.K.
will again be setting up shop with
Brit veterans like Exclusive Media
and SC Films International under
their umbrella.
“Things have changed a lot
in the Asian market, buyers are
becoming much more aggressive
and paying big minimum guarantees,”
says Studiocanal’s François
Mergier, who will be making his
first trip to Filmart this year. In
addition to three finished films —
Tad, the Lost Explorer, Nigel Cole’s
Brit rom com All in Good Time
and Mélanie Laurent’s directorial
debut The Adopted — Studiocanal
will be using Filmart to drum up
pre-sales business for its big titles.
These include Susanne Bier’s
period drama Serena starring Bradley
Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence;
the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn
studiocanal's Filmart
offering The Adopted is
the directorial debut of
Inglorious Basterds star
melanie laurent, left.
7
beta cinema's Almanya
chronicles the experiences of
three generations of a Turkish
family living in Germany.
Davis featuring Justin Timberlake
and John Goodman and The Last
Exorcism 2, the follow-up to the
2010 found-footage chiller.
“We are targeting the Asian
theatrical market, which is very
strong if you have big movies,
which we do,” says Mergier, noting
Studiocanal’s 3-D animated
feature Sammy’s Adventure sold
more than one million tickets
in South Korea and will have a
theatrical release in China later
this year. “Filmart is perfect for
sitting down with the big Asian
distributors to work on how
best to release our films in their
territories.”
Even for the smaller players,
Hong Kong is increasingly becoming
a can’t miss market. Many of
the hottest art house titles from
Berlin will get a second airing at
Filmart.
“It’s not as big a market for us
as Berlin or Cannes, obviously,
but its important,” says Beta
Cinema’s Tassilo Hallbauer on
the Hong Kong event. “Filmart
is where we can follow up on
negotiations started in Berlin and
close deals.”
Beta’s Filmart lineup this year
includes several Berlin titles —
among them Matthias Glasner’s
competition entry Mercy and
Doris Dörrie’s Bliss and German
multi-cultural comedy Almanya.
“In Asia, you really only have
Pusan and Filmart and Hong
Kong is probably the biggest and
most important of the two,”
concludes Korsgaard of TrustNordisk.
“If you want to be selling to
Asia, you have to be there.” thr
FivE hOt
EurO titlEs
Ceaser Must Die
Sales: Rai Trade
The Pitch: The surprise winner of
Berlin's Golden Bear, the genre experiment
from veteran Italian directors
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani mixes
documentary and drama in its story
of a inmates at a maximum security
prison in Rome who stage a performance
of William Shakespeare's
Julius Ceaser.
Postcards From the Zoo
Sales: The Match Factory
The Pitch: This sureal fairytale about
a girl abanoned to be raised in a zoo
bewitched audiences and critics at its
Berlin competiton debut. The latest
from Indonesian auteur Edwin - this
time as an Indonesian-German-Hong
Kong co-production — could be a
sleeper for descriminating art house
distribs across Asia.
Escape
Sales: TrustNordisk
The Pitch: A Norwegian action adventure
tale from the director (Roar
Uthaug) and star (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal)
of local horror hit Cold Prey. Set in
the 1300s at the height of the Black
Death, Berdal plays the leader of a
group of outlaws trying to survive in
an appocalyptic world.
Tad, the Lost Explorer
Sales: Studiocanal
The Pitch: This Spanish 3D animated
film is a goofy take on Indiana Jones
featuring Tad: a bumbling would-be
archeologist and adventurer set on
finding a hidden treasure without getting
completely lost himself.
Shadow Dancer
Sales: Wild Bunch
The Pitch: Slow-burning IRA thriller
from Oscar-winner James Marsh
(Man on Wire) starring Clive Owen
as a member of Britain's secret
service agency MI5 and Andrea Riesborough
as an active member of the
IRA who turns informant to protect
her young son.

executive suite
CEO, EmpErOr mOtiOn piCturEs
Albert Lee
The veteran exec discusses the complexities of the Chinese market,
his strategy for Hollywood blockbusters and the the importance of trust
By Karen Chu
Afilm industry veteran who
helped distribute Jackie Chan's
films internationally, and a host
of other Chinese stars while at
Golden Harvest, Albert Lee has led Hong
Kong powerhouse Emperor Motion Pictures
as CEO since 2003. Under his leadership,
Emperor has produced blockbusters like Let
the Bullets Fly (the highest grossing film ever
in China), and nurtured close relationships
with key Chinese entertainment figures like
Ge You, the most bankable actor in China,
and Bullets director Jiang Wen. Lee spoke to
The Hollywood Reporter about the growth of
the Chinese market, The Hunger Games, and
tying down big name stars.
reports of China's box office always mention
new records being set, but the last year
has been something of a disappointment for
domestic productions. Why is that?
From a purely box office point of view, the
accumulated box office in China has risen
from 10 to 13 billion yuan (U.S.$2.1 billion)
There were also more films that broke the
100 million yuan (U.S.$16 million) mark.
The success of Let the Bullets Fly might give
the impression that the grosses are going
to rise higher and higher, but there are a
number of challenges. Of course it depends
on the quality of the film itself, but in the
last year, the Hollywood competition against
Chinese films was very strong — films like
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol had broken
600 million yuan ($U.S.95 million). But for
Chinese-language films, there haven’t been
that many films by big-name Chinese directors
– only Zhang Yimou and Tsui Hark. And
if you’ve seen all the Chinese films released in
China last year, you’d get the conclusion that
the box office result was appropriate — they
weren’t outstanding commercial films.
Would the changes in the market conditions
affect your plans for big-budget productions?
I don’t think it would. As a Hong Kong studio,
we’re working according to the demands
of the market. In the past few years, and in
the short-term future, the Chinese market
has been and will continue to be the most
important for our films. We’ll keep making
films for the Chinese market.
What is your opinion of the international
ambitions of the Chinese film industry?
It’s a path well-travelled by Hong Kong films
since the 1980s. The Hong Kong market is so
small, films had to rely on foreign markets.
But I can see from experience, that it’s very,
very difficult to break into foreign markets.
There’re a number of reasons — the cultural
difference, the language barrier. The reason
why Hollywood films can be spread around the
world was because it has the advantage of the
English language, which is indeed an international
language. So it would be a difficult thing
for Chinese-language films to break into the
mainstream market in the rest of the world. In
8
caption
the Midwest, audience would not watch films
with subtitles. The exception in the past had
been the star-driven action vehicles — Bruce
Lee or Jackie Chan — which can cross borders.
Those films showed something they couldn’t
do. So the historical epics nowadays, with
their emphasis on Chinese history, it’s hard
for the foreign audience to understand, or to
ask them to have an emotional investment.
It’s a long way to go.
the distribution branch of Emperor motion
pictures, in collaboration with uA Films, is
distributing the upcoming and highly-anticipated
screen adaptation of The Hunger
Games. What is your company’s strategy for
the distribution of Hollywood and foreign films
in Hong Kong and China?
We don’t have a particular strategy, or plans
to choose only one type of film. We’ve been
releasing around a film a month, and not only
with Hollywood titles. So far I’m satisfied with
the results. The distribution market in Hong
Kong is highly competitive. We certainly hope
to buy tentpole pictures for release in Hong
Kong, but there’re only so many suppliers. At
present, we’re only doing this release exercise
in Hong Kong. But with the opening of the
Chinese market for foreign films, we’d like to
expand this collaboration to China. With the
right films, we’d like to begin releasing foreign
films in China and Hong Kong.
Last December, Emperor motion pictures
announced a three-picture deal with leading
Chinese filmmaker and actor Ge You. How is
that coming along?
We’re developing the script with Ge You, but
the details are not in place yet. We’re hoping
that filming would begin in 2012. We’re also
developing a project with director Jiang Wen,
which we hope to start production on in 2012.
How are you pursuing long term collaborations
with other Chinese filmmakers?
Emperor Motion Pictures has long standing
relationships with a lot of filmmakers in
China, such as our involvement with Feng
Xiaogang’s recent work, including his latest,
1942, and the previous films Aftershock and
If You Are the One 2. We also have a close
relationship with director Chen Kaige
(Farewell My Concubine). For Hong Kong
directors, we’ve worked with Derek Yee and
Dante Lam on three of his most commercially
successful films. We don’t necessarily
have a signed or drawn contract with all of
the filmmakers, but as in the case of Jiang
Wen, with whom we had worked with since
The Sun Also Rises (2007), we have a tacit
understanding to continue working together,
built on mutual trust. In fact, we have
approached Jiang Wen to set up a contracted
working deal before we did that with Ge You,
but he’s not a person who likes to be tied
down, so he asked us to trust him. There’s
definitely a degree of risk, but so far it’s
working well between us. thr

Director Q&A
Peter Chan
The veteran director discusses his successes and (rare)
failures, his rebellious streak and the troubled future
of the Hong Kong film industry By Karen Chu
Peter Chan is used to
being called one of
the Hong Kong film
industry's most forward
thinkers. Through his first
production outfit, the United
Filmmakers Organization UFO,
Chan captured the opportunities
and cultural undercurrents
during the pre-handover boom
times in the 1990s in films such
as smash hit He's A Woman, She's
A Man (1994), and the muchbeloved
Comrades: Almost a Love
Story (1996), which swept the
Hong Kong Film Awards with
nine wins, including a best
director statuette for Chan.
During the lean times at the
start of the aughts, Chan was
one of the first Hong Kong filmmakers
to explore the mammoth
potential of the Chinese market,
shooting for the first time in
the Mainland with the musical
Perhaps Love (2005). Named
this year’s Filmmaker in
Focus by the 36th Hong Kong
International Film Festival,
which is showcasing twelve of
the director-producer’s signature
works, Chan talked to
The Hollywood Reporter about
voting through the box office,
creating the Chinese-language
HBO and why his generation
of filmmakers is so lucky.
How do you feel about being
named Filmmaker in Focus by
the Hong Kong International Film
Festival?
It was just a matter waiting my
turn in the queue. (Laughs)
Surveying your two-decade
career, which film do you think
is most representative of
your work?
I can’t really say. It takes a
9
vital stats
Nationality: Hong Kong
Born: November 28, 1962
Selected Filmography:
He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994);
Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996);
The Love Letter (1999); The Warlords
(2007); Wu Xia (2011)
Awards and Nominations:
Best Film, 2010 Hong Kong Film
Awards: Bodyguards and Assassins
(2009); Best Film & Best Director, 2008
Hong Kong Film Awards: The Warlords
(2007); Best Film & Best Director,
45th Golden Horse Film Awards: The
Warlords (2007)
long time for the value of a
film to reveal itself — to prove
whether or not it’s enduring.
From popular consensus online,
perhaps Comrades, Almost a Love
Story left the biggest mark on
collective memory. But for some
films, the moment I finished, or
even while I was making them, I
knew they were failures — films
like, The Age of Miracles, He Ain’t
Heavy, He’s My Father. But it
doesn’t mean I don’t like them.
Whether or not it’s going to be a
success, I put a lot of myself into
the films I direct.
You’ve mentioned before your
aversion to authority, but you’re
also a responsible producer. Can
you have it both ways?
I’d call myself a responsible rebel.
As much as I work within a commercial
framework, there’s always
something in my films that goes
against the mainstream.
So I have to use a Hollywood
package — with promotion, big
stars, big budgets and production
values — to wrap up my rebellious
core, to balance the commercial
appeal of my films.
You also recently established the
Now Popcorn Movie Channel with
Bill Kong’s Edko Films, China’s
Huayi Brothers and Hong Kong’s
Now-TV. Are you trying to create
the Chinese-language HBO?
It’s Bill Kong’s dream to create
the Chinese-language HBO. But
we don’t have plans to create our
own productions for the channel
yet. But as a filmmaker and
a businessman, I’d definitely
like to go that route eventually,
especially given that TV content
in the U.S. is higher quality
than most movies these days.
For now, we’ve gathered rights
among a number of filmmakers
and content providers, and set
up a platform of our own. There
aren’t yet any concrete plans for
exploring online streaming, but
it’s only a matter of time.
What’s your view on the recent
Chinese box office, where
big-budget films haven’t always
been meeting expectations?
The taste of the audience in
China is ever-changing. A lot of
the big-budget films are formulaic,
and the scripts might
not be so great. The Chinese
audience used to think that they
only needed to see big-budget
films in the cinema. But these
last few years have proven that
the audience will go for smaller
films. The audience always
wants their voice to be heard.
I believe for some films – such
as Love is Not Blind [the 2011
romcom blockbuster that was
made for 10 million RMB and
grossed over 350 million] or You
Are the Apple of My Eye – part of
their success has had something
to do with the audience ‘casting
their votes.’ It’s become part of
the phenomenon that the audience
wants to participate in such
films’ successes. The Chinese
people don’t have a political
vote; but a surprise hit can be
seen in some ways as toppling
the government. You can see
this from the harsh way Chinese
“netizens” occasionally criticize
big-name Chinese directors. In
a sense, they’re criticizing the
directors because they can’t
criticize the leadership.
What would you share with the
younger generation of filmmakers
in Hong Kong?
I’d tell them it’s very difficult to
continue developing our
industry. We are a city of only
seven million people. At the end
of the day, the film market is
mostly about size. What Hong
Kong has experienced in the
last half century was a miracle.
What did our generation of
filmmakers do to deserve such
success, that the 1.3 billion
people in China would watch
Hong Kong films, so that we can
go there and make films as
co-productions? It’d take
another miracle to continue the
growth of the Hong Kong film
industry. It’d be impossible for
a population of only 7 million
people to dictate the taste of
billions. Lightning doesn’t
strike twice, at least not for my
generation of filmmakers. thr

Reviews
White Deer Plain
Stunning visuals and convincing performances in an epic
Chinese peasant tale don’t outweigh narrative limitation
By Deborah Young
Returning to Berlin
competition after his
Mongolian drama Tuya’s
Marriage won the Golden
Bear in 2007, Chinese director
Wang Quan’an ambitiously
brings Chen Zhongshi’s sweeping
1993 historical novel White Deer
Plain, an epic tale of two peasant
families, to the big screen. Unfortunately,
this impressively lensed
and scaled work flounders for
focus, and not even its unusually
explicit sex scenes (for China, not
for the West) and earthy language
can rescue the three-hour opus
from ennui. Tracing the Bai and
the Lu families from 1910 to
1938, the film presents historical
and personal horrors in fleeting,
tableaux-like scenes of little
emotional impact. Although the
film’s stunning look, coupled with
the director’s reputation, may
swing limited release in some territories,
this is an art film even for
Chinese viewers.
It poses additional obstacles
to Westerners who will be hardpressed
to follow the multiple
characters fading in and out of
the tale and the passing references
to 20th century Chinese
caption Pusher
continued from 1
history. The audience’s one
entry point is the character of
Xiao’e, a beautiful, bold and
capricious young woman who
joins peasant society as an
unwelcome outsider; yet even
here, the focus is blurred when
it should be steady. While his
lusty peasants recall Zhang
Yimou’s Red Sorghum, writerdirector
Quan’an lacks the narrative
skill here to pull off such
a long and complex story.
The film opens on a vast plain
of luscious wheat being harvested
while three little boys, who will
grow up over the course of the
story, play mischievously. In
school, the high moral standards
of their ancient culture are drilled
into them. Later in the film, the
destruction of the ancestral temple
of White Deer Plain will serve
as a metaphor for the degradation
of Chinese society as a whole.
The brief first scenes are the
last happy idyll before tragedy
follows on the heels of tragedy.
It begins when news reaches
Jiaxuan, the head of the clan
(played by the dignified Zhang
Fengyi of Red Cliff and Farewell,
My Concubine) that the Emperor
with Frank casually getting the young hot-head out of scrapes. At
home, Frank is shacked up with Flo (Agness Deyn), a beautiful,
working class pole dancer and junkie several steps above her worn-out
associates, who have succumbed to turning tricks. Floating on a wave
of money and drugs, these outsiders could almost be mistaken for an
enviously cool couple on the London party scene.
Then Frank gets overly ambitious. Buying 45,000 pounds worth
of drugs on one-day credit from jovial Serbian drug lord Milo, drolly
played by Zlatko Buric who reprises his original role from the Danish
film, Frank sets up a rendezvous with a high-rolling new customer.
An undercover police op blows the whole deal, Frank gets busted and
winds up with no cash and no blow – and a huge, unpayable debt to
the now-ferocious Milo and his knee-capping thugs.
It’s hard to find a new angle on this oft-told tale that doesn’t feel
like variations on a theme, and narratively there is very little to get
excited about. Prieto wisely shifts the focus to the inner conflicts of
the increasing desperate dealer as he becomes first frightened, then
belligerent and finally plain out of control. After he beats his sidekick
Tony within an inch of his life and participates in tragically roughingup
an old customer, it’s clear the road to hell is one-way. Yet however
unsavory Frank’s actions, Coyle keeps him within human bounds and
10 1
has fallen and chaos reigns in
the city. Caught in the struggle
between Communists and
Nationalists, the poor, hungry,
overtaxed farmers are at the
mercy of ever-changing authorities
who stage public beatings,
beheadings and executions.
In this uncertain political
climate, Heiwa (Duan Yihong),
the son of Jiaxuan’s loyal servant
Lu San, goes to work for the rich
old land-owner Master Guo. His
youthful body and rebellious
attitude attract the attention
of Guo’s sexually frustrated
London looks suitably
stylish, retro and grimy
in Luis Prieto’s take on
Refn’s urban thriller.
youngest wife, Tian Xiao’e (Zhang
Yuqi.) Inviting the harvester
into her bed, she is so careless in
keeping their affair a secret that
the lovers are discovered, publicly
beaten and sent away in disgrace.
Back home on White Deer
Plain, the tradition-bound
Jiaxuan denies the couple permission
to marry in the ancestral
temple. Heiwa and Xiao’e
are forced to live as outcasts in
a precarious cave dwelling, until
Heiwa’s anger at the system
finds a violent outlet in politics
and the Communist party.

Zhang Yuqi plays a sexually
adventurous woman trapped
in a shifting society in Wang
Quan’an’s historical epic.
The point of view changes an
hour into the film as Xiao’e takes
center stage. Young Yuqi has the
riveting beauty of a Wong Kar-wai
heroine and here, too, her sexual
mores are constantly under
scrutiny as she runs through an
impressive series of men, mostly
tragically Jiaxuan’s own son
(Cheng Taisheng). Victim, devil
or just a woman in love? Each
man feels entitled to his own opinion,
leaving the question uneasily
open. Though visuals are tame by
Western standards and nudity is
quite limited, the language used
in the seduction and rape scenes
leaves little to the imagination in
terms of exotic sexual practices.
But this fits in with the earthy, at
times humorous, dialogue used by
the peasants.
Though the whole cast is
strong and efficient throughout
and though there’s no
shortage of action, the film
is oddly devoid of emotional
involvement. It seems to lack
the screen time for narrative
buildup, which a longer miniseries,
for example, might have
provided. As stirring as the
actors are the magnificent landscapes
of the vast rolling plain
covered with a sea of wheat,
photographed at sunrise and
sunset and across the seasons by
the director’s regular cinematographer
Lutz Reitemeier.
Production companies Bai Lu
Yuan Film Company in association
with Lightshades Film
Productions, Xi’an Movie and
Television Production, Western
Film Group Corporation
Sales Distribution Workshop
(H.K.) No rating, 178 minutes
Cast Zhang Yuqi, Wu Gang,
Duan Yihong, Cheng Taisheng,
Liu Wei, Guo Tao
Director Wang Quan'an
Screenwriter Wang Quan'an,
based on a novel by Chen
Zhongshi
Producer Zhang Xiaoke
never forsakes audience sympathy completely. As Pusher turns into an
actors’ showcase, the actors’ initial theatrical delivery becomes more
natural and involving farther along in the story.
Also very fine is top model Agness Deyn, previously seen as Aphrodite
in Clash of the Titans. She has a graceful fragility that offers a new
take on the good bad girl who wants out, though one wonders why
someone with Flo’s looks doesn’t try modelling. When she’s accosted
at a party as a prostitute, her wounded feelings are genuinely moving
and prepare for the film’s final cruel twist.
Cinematopher Simon Dennis and production designer Sarah
Webster give the film a stylish DV retro look in all the expected locations
– deserted warehouses, grubby apartments and glittering night
clubs, meetings in a Turkish bath and in Milo’s office, incongruously
stuffed with wedding dresses and a machine gun in the fridge. The not
unpleasant disco beat on the soundtrack is furnished courtesy of
British electronic band Orbital.
Production companies Vertigo Films in association
with Embargo Films
Cast Richard Coyle, Agyness Deyn, Bronson Webb, Mem Ferda,
Zlatko Buric, Paul Kaye
Director Luis Prieto
Screenwriter Matthew Read
Producers Rupert Preston, Christopher Simon, Felix Vossen,
Huberta von Liel
11
hong kong in brief
Dancing Quieen
dancing queen
South Korea, Sales CJ Entertainment
In the intensely Korean comedydrama
Dancing Queen, Uhm Junghwa
plays Jeong-hwa, a housewife
that chooses to rekindle her dormant
pop star aspirations by entering an
American Idol-style contest just as her
husband, Jeong-min (Hwang Jungmin),
becomes an accidental mayoral
candidate. The film benefits from
extreme currency, hence its domestic
box office success, but the enduring
appeal of all things K-Pop in the region
could result in moderate success in
Asia and for targeted festivals and
distributors overseas. Director Lee
Seok-hoon juggles comedy with heady
issues ranging from sex to age discrimination,
and tackles Korea’s subtle
regionalism and hierarchical nature
along with new policies encouraging
people to have babies. Dancing Queen
is polished entertainment with a subtle
message, anchored by an engaging
(if physically awkward) performance
by Uhm as Bruni to Hwang’s Sarkozy
and a suitably pulsating empowerment
anthem.
Zombie 108
zombie 108
Taiwan, Sales co., Sales Film Asia Ent
Group Co., Ltd
Mesmerizing for all the wrong reasons,
Zombie 108 bills itself as the first ever
Chinese zombie apocalypse film. Set
in Taipei when a tsunami unleashes
a virus that decimates the city, the
“story” follows a handful of incompetent
SWAT cops, some gangsters and
an isolated pervert as they battle the
undead hordes. Metaphor-free (unless
decadence is punishable by death) and
with a dash of degradation as a bonus,
the film initially recalls superior fare like
The Walking Dead before settling comfortably
into abject ineptitude. Judging
from the near-capacity Filmart screening,
interest is high and there’s clearly
still a devoted market for this kind of
gross-out schlock. Admittedly the film is
ideal for VOD, download, DVD, most
alternative distribution outlets and
the genre circuit.
tall man
France/Canada, Sales SND Groupe M6
If you spliced the DNA from any entry
in the recent Gallic horror wave
with the Fox/CW Pacific Northwest
school of aesthetics you might get
something resembling The Tall
Man, a twisting horror-thriller set in
depressed and depressing mining
town Cold Rock where 18 children
have vanished. Executive producer
Jessica Biel plays nurse Julia Denning,
whose son David is the latest
victim. Pascal Laugier created a stir
with his divisive psychological horror
Martyrs in 2008 and audiences and
Tall Man
distributors looking for more of the
same in The Tall Man will be equally
thrilled and disappointed. Laugier
taps into a similar conspiracy story
but without the earlier film’s graphic
violence. And once again Laugier
shows off a knack for arresting
images but a leaden touch when it
comes to narrative.
people mountain people sea
China, Production company: Sunrise
Media Corporation Limited
A mythic revenge quest in which
the result is less important than
the journey itself, People Mountain
People Sea is a Chinese puzzle whose
sophisticated filmmaking fascinates,
even while the perversely indecipherable
ending is a great narrative
disappointment. Following his prize
winning 2007 debut The Red Awn,
writer-director Cai Shangjun’s second
feature crisscrosses southwest China
from one amazing location to another
until the narrative simply implodes
in the final key scenes, severely
limiting the appeal of this intriguing
work beyond the tolerant curiosity of
festival audiences.
People Mountain People Sea

hong kong memories
RetuRn of the DRagon:
Nearly 40 years after his death at 32, Bruce Lee — pictured here during
his years in Los Angeles as a struggling young actor — continues to
make his presence known in China and around the world. Not only did
Lee change the image of martial arts films and make the world safe for
Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal, he's now helping men everywhere find
their inner “spicy,” “woody” or “elegant” dragon. Bruce Lee Enterprises,
headed by daughter Shannon Lee, launched a line of Lee-branded
colognes last year in Singapore and Panama, with plans for a release
in China and Hong Kong later this year. The decidedly non-sweaty
fragrances are evidence the Lee name still holds significant pop culture
cachet that transcends race and geography.
12
1965

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