festivals and events
The 13th London Korean Film Festival Announces Its Full Line-Up
If you’re in London and feeling the film festival mood, you’ll have about a month to yourself starting Thursday for the 2018 installment of the London Korean Film Festival (LKFF), now online with its full programme for the 13th edition. The festival will run through November 25, hosted this year by the Korean Cultural Centre UK along with the support of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism, the Korean Film Council and Korean Film Archive.
JAPAN CUTS 2018: Don't Miss The Trailer For The Twelfth Festival In NYC!
Now in its 12th year, JAPAN CUTS continues to grow as the largest festival of contemporary Japanese cinema in North America. Bringing a wide range of the best and hardest-to-see films made in and around Japan today — from blockbusters, independent productions and anime, to documentaries, avant-garde works, short films, and new restorations — JAPAN CUTS is the place to experience Japan’s dynamic film culture in New York City. Every year, this thrilling 10-day festival offers exclusive premieres, special guest filmmakers and stars, fun-filled parties, live music and more!
NYAFF 2018 Launches Ticket Sales For The Savage Seventeenth Edition
Things are in full swing for what’s being dubbed as the “Savage Seventeenth” installment of the New York Asian Film Festival launching June 29. From the robust opener with Dynamite Graffiti to a rowsing and eclectic line-up of Asian titles both new and ceremonial with special guests in attendance, right down to the hotly-anticipated closer with Erik Matti’s BuyBust, words such as “interesting” and “exciting” almost seem paling.
FANTASIA 2018: Second Wave Reveals Zombies, Bigfoot, Witches, Superheroes, Cynthia Rothrock And Much More!
Erik Matti’s hotly anticipated BuyBust is pretty much an all-in factor for the hardcore action fans already lined-up for its August 10 North American release from Well Go USA. The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion starring Kim Da-Mi was another surprise in recent weeks showcasing a rather awesome trailer for I Saw The Devil writer Park Hoon-Jung’s latest feature directing effort.
DIRECTING A DANCE OF VENGEANCE: Director Sam Puefua Talks Revenge Action Thriller Shortfilm, MAMBA
The latter end of May through early June saw the emergence of a promo campaign for a project now shaping up be quite the festival favorite. The project in question hails actress Sonalii Castillo in her latest electrifying role in Mamba, a new revenge shortfilm thriller from actor and filmmaker Sam Puefua.
“Sonalii brings a level of authenticity to her character,” says Puefua who also co-stars as Sam, a former soldier who applies his skillset aptly as Kali’s right-hand man. “She’s a hard worker and very passionate about her role, and having created this character, there’s no one better than her to bring this character to life!”
Heralded as a cross between John Wick and Colombiana, Mamba is currently garnering acceptances and praise from multiple territories in North America and Europe with Castillo having recently won the Gold Award for Best Actress at the Independent Shorts Awards. The project also earned Honorable Mention as well as Best Thriller Short in June at the same festival, signaling a rather favorable start for Puefua in his film journey with Castillo since their pairing on 2014 short, Dahlias.
With Puefua, he got his start in acting at a very young age with an interest in musicals and stage plays, journeying with his mother and other siblings for shows like Les Miserable, Miss Saigon and Phantom of the Opera. His teenage years saw an evolution of that interest take shape by high school – albeit partly from necessity.
“Upon my senior year after football season, I needed another elective for second semester and drama was the only one left.” he says. “Ever since that class, the acting bug bit me and literally right after high school, I pursued my career in acting.”
D.O.P. Luke Dejoras, Brendon Huor and Sam Puefua on the set of MAMBA (2018)
Puefua’s career has flourished accordingly for well over a decade, from small ones to sizable supporting ones. My first dramatic impression of him was actually in a fantasy action concept piece for an independent film company in addition to seeing him in Prince Bagdasarian’s 2013 heist pic, Abstraction.
Seeing Puefua’s own ability to do perform stunts and action was what appealed to me in the course of my own coverage though, and so seeing him take on Mamba is pretty huge in my view. It leads me to believe a project like Mamba is in especially good hands – something I gather Castillo herself took note of way earlier as Puefua sought to take the helm for a change of pace.
“I always wanted to see what it was like to direct someone.” says Puefua about working on Dahlias. “That first project gave me some good experience and inspired me to jump in the directors chair again one day. Now, four years later, I’m on my solo directorial debut! I learned a lot from this film and I had a GREAT team to join me on it.”
Castillo, whose credits partly include NCIS: Los Angeles, Heroes and The Saint, shepherded the idea to Puefua in 2015. Her training for the role of Kali, a presumed-dead assassin seeking vengeance against the corporation that employed her, and the man who runs it (her brother), was another story to be told – one of the usual pain, sweat and rigorous training employed aptly by none other than Brendon Huor whose credentials in stunts and entertainment are demonstrably exceptional.
“The man is the real deal when it comes to action.” says Puefua. “I’ve known my bro for a long time now and we always talked about working on something together, and Mamba was that something.”
Brendon Huor and Sonalii Castillo on the set of MAMBA (2018)
The idea implemented was a straight-up, tactical approach with guns and knives – relatively akin to what audiences have enjoyed seeing thusfar in the John Wick movies and characteristic of rough and unflashy techniques. By Puefua’s own account, Huor knew exactly what to do without question.
“A few weeks after we met, Brendon started training Sonalii on how to handle a knife and gun properly and safely, conditioning her to look like she had years of training within a short period time and having her drill those motions over and over again.” says Puefua. “This is before she even started to learn the choreo and when the time came man was she sore! [laughs].”
He continued: “Just like the gun and knife training, he made her drill that choreography over and over and over until it was second nature. On set, he stayed hands-on with the action and made sure I had the takes. He didn’t merely just produce what I asked for with the action either. He made plenty sure I had the best version.”
Puefua also provided an ordered list of whos-who in the team members who contributed to the stunt work on hand and tasked with making Castillo look good on camera, crediting Joseph Oreste, Kosey Baskin, Subin Choi, Mark Poletti, Nathan People, Nick Krawiec, Kody Pham, Allen Quindiagan, Anthony Hoang, Castillo’s stunt double Kiera O’Connor, Sinilau Tauteoli, Ping Moli, Enele Tauteoli and Amy Sturdivant; A good handful of these stunt performers have already shared space in our weekly Hit List which is delightfully telling in part what fans who follow our posts can expect with a project like Mamba.
MAMBA (2018) crew and stunt performers with Superman Sam second from right.
“The action wouldn’t have been what it is without all my stunt team!” says Puefua who also shared his gratitude for Sound Guy, Vincent Dang who shared in on the stunt action as one of the villains in addition to director of photography, Luke Dejoras, with whom Puefua worked closely to get the best shots. “My stunt brothers and sisters not only brought their A-game to our lil’ film, but were constant professionals on and off-screen! I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Mamba had its share of hurdles like any other production, including location and screenplay issues, although they weren’t anything he couldn’t handle. It hasn’t daunted him from directing either given much as he enjoys it, but of course he has his preferences, suggesting acting was tanatmount to his spanning skillset, adding “…Acting is my first love and I have to continue to build and master that craft before I master another.”
Puefua’s next stop for Mamba, apart from festivals, is the hopeful funding of a feature film that may very well land Castillo a starring role apart from producing. On the acting front, Puefua also has another title scantly making the social media rounds with a few posters and a caption that reads “Who is Mr. Happy?”. I don’t know if that’s the title or a tagline for the project but I was stanchly excited for this project whose director, D. Miles, has largely been intangible for the past few years. Puefua couldn’t say much either but gave a little something to keep in mind.
“It’s a dark Superhero movie.” he says. “Think Batman meets The Punisher. ‘Protect the Innocent, Punish the Rest’ is what Mr. Happy lives by.”
Follow #MambaTheMovie and Sam’s progress through the official website.
Erik Matti’s NYAFF-Selected BUYBUST Opens In The U.S. And Canada On August 10
CORRECTED: Acclaimed filmmaker Erik Matti is positioning himself to direct a superhero film in the months ahead. Until then and with the current development of a sequel for his celebrated 2014 crime pic, On The Job, expect to hear more from Matti in the coming weeks while on the road promoting his hotly-anticipated action thriller, BuyBust, following its release date pushback from February in the Philippines.
BuyBust will instead have a summer outing in festivals, as well as select theaters with Well Go USA informing us directly that the film will open in select U.S. and Canadian theaters on August 10 (a correction issued following a Facebook post from Matti suggesting initally the film would open on August 15). The August 10 release will succeed from its World Premiere during the 17th annual New York Asian Film Festival which lasts from June 29 through July 15 as one of two Matti pics getting the NYAFF treatment.
Actress Anne Curtis who followed a hefty training regime for last year’s production slate among the cast with Sonny Sison coordinating the action, stars as the rookie member of an elite anti-drug narc squad forced to fight its way out of Manila’s most dangerous slum following a poorly-planned raid. The film also stars MMA champion Brandon Vera, with Joross Gamboa, Mara Lopez, Nonie Buencamino, AJ Muhlach and Victor Neri.
The addition of BuyBust to this year’s NYAFF slate also further amplifies the promise the event holds given the immense line-up; Films such as Dante Lam’s Unbeatable and The Beast Stalker, Sato Shinsuke’s Inuyashiki, Shiraishi Kazuya’s The Blood Of Wolves, Mike Wiluan’s Buffalo Boys, Xin Yukun’s Wrath Of Silence, Jonathan Li’s The Brink which also awaits a Well Go USA release, Shinichiro Ueda’s One Cut Of The Dead, Eisuke Naito’s Liverleaf, Kim Hong-Sun’s The Age Of Blood, and Harada Masato’s Sekigahara and Kakekomi make up a sizable sampling of the much larger affair of screenings, awards, tributes and more at NYAFF this year.
Hit up the official website for the full line-up and stay tuned for more BuyBust gospel.
Hey NYC! Celebrate VENGEANCE IS HIS: CHANG CHEH’S MARTIAL LORE At Quad Cinema Beginning May 23!
Visit the official Quad Cinema website for more info and get your dibs on tickets!
Fantasia 2018: BLEACH, BUFFALO BOYS, ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, WILDERNESS And More Hail The First Wave!
July will see the full line-up of what this year’s feats at Fantasia Fest may bring. The first wave is here in the meantime and teasing a raft of high-energy titles including a number of Japanese live-action titles, animated features, horror and twisted, mindbending thrillers.
EAST WINDS FILM FEST 2018: ‘Loi Bao’, ‘Gonjiam’, ‘The Liquidator’ And More!
It was back in late March that we shared word of Victor Vu’s spectacular action sci-fi superhero thriller, Loi Bao, for its day-one kick off for the sixth East Winds Film Festival. As of this weekend, the official line-up is being hailed with Vu himself sustaining a commanding presence for attendees.
JAPAN SOCIETY NYC Honors Late Legendary Cinematographer Miyagawa Kazuo Next Month
In the midst of the 20th century, noted cinematographer Miyagawa Kazuo left a body of work in Japanese cinema now celebrated by film fans to date. Such festivities are now the center of a retrospective courtesy of Japan Society Film in association with The Museum Of Modern Art with a raft of classic titles to be prsented in respective 4K and 35mm formats.
In celebration of the 110th anniversary of his birth, Japan Society presents an 11-film retrospective surveying the work of Kazuo Miyagawa (1908-1999), the most influential cinematographer of postwar Japanese cinema. Working intimately with directors like Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa on some of their most important films, Miyagawa pushed Japanese cinema to its highest artistic peaks through his lyrical, innovative and technically flawless camerawork. This career-spanning selection displays his great versatility, including major masterpieces and rarely shown titles, screening in 35mm and new digital restorations.
Co-organizer The Museum of Modern Art will host repeat screenings and additional Miyagawa retrospective titles from April 12-29. Preceding the retrospective, new 4K restorations of Mizoguchi’s A Story From Chikamatsu and Sansho the Bailiff, both shot by Miyagawa, will run at Film Forum from April 6-12.
Japan Society’s latest trailer samples a minor taste of things to come with more programming and schedule details at the official website for all those in New York City and otherwise in attendance. Enjoy the trailer below!
SWEETER THAN BITTERSWEET: Friday Night Dining With Some Of The UASE’s Best
It’s not easy as I’m writing this on a crisp, chilly Saturday morning while at work again. Granted, it’s neither the cold nor is it the usual next-day recovery period from loss of sleep. Rather, it’s more perfunctory in that I’m lucky if I get to be in a room at least once or twice a year with as many like-minded people as I got to last night at the Times Square Diner And Grill in wake of all happening at this year’s fifth annual Urban Action Showcase & Expo. Indeed, it took a little help whilst planning a gathering of what I expected initially to be a handful of maybe ten people plus a few local friends, and with the help of D.L. MacDonald, a stuntman freshly in from Canada wearing, of all things, a few layered shirts and a pair of shorts, smack-dab in our below-zero windchill of the evening temperature. Some were impressed by way of his acclimation to the cold while a few others like myself were a little more surprised. I was even late in realizing it too.
Hey New York City! Get Metrograph Tickets For ICHI THE KILLER In 4K Restoration Now!
Asano Tadanobu and Omori Nao lead the cast for the controversial cult hit that joins the raft of titles that have been headlining Miike as a festival feat not to miss given the recent rollouts of JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure and Blade Of The Immortal. Peep the promo below as well as the newest poster, and get your tickets now!
Fumihiko Sori’s FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST To Close Anime NYC 2017!
The time is nearly upon those who plan on attending Anime NYC’s inaugural three-day spectacle kicking off on November 17 at the Javits Center in New York City. Closing out the event is an early premiere of Fumihiko Sori’s new film, Fullmetal Alchemist, which will mark the film’s debut U.S. screening ahead of its general theatrical release in Japan on December 1.
The film takes off from the pages of Arakawa Hiromu’s longstanding manga set in a time where alchemy, one of the world’s most advanced sciences, also bares its share of controversy. Such is the case of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, ill-fated in an attempt to revive their deceased mother and forced to suffer a terrible sacrifice before setting out on a turbulent quest for a mythological Philosopher Stone to restore alchemical balance to the world.
Ryosuke Yamada (Edward Elric), Tsubasa Honda (Winry Rockbell), Dean Fujioka (Roy Mustang), and Yasuko Matsuyuki (Lust) lead the headlining cast for the film which will also have its Tokyo International Film Fest premiere this Wednesday.
Sori himself will also be on hand for the 3:00pm main stage screening at Anime NYC on November 19 with free autograph signings also available. Tickets are now on sale for an additional $10.00 for fans and those attending with the appropriate Anime NYC badges required, so head over to the official website and read up on all the essentials, and get your dibs before long!
BEYOND SKYLINE: Liam O’Donnell’s Sci-Fi Action Sequel Scores Multi-Platform U.K. Releases This Winter
In the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2010 breakout blockbuster hit SKYLINE, tough-as-nails detective Mark (THE PURGE star Frank Grillo) embarks on a relentless pursuit to free his embittered rebellious son Trent (INSURGENT/ALLEGIANT star Johnny Weston) from a nightmarish alien warship as the extraterrestrial menace continues its human harvest. Set concurrently with the original sci-fi shocker, with Mark and Trent trapped on a subway train as the intergalactic invasion begins, THE RAID franchise martial arts star Iko Uwais joins the thrilling turbo-charged action adventure as a disparate group of survivors must learn the true meaning of family.
GARO: KAMI NO KIBA: Catch The Trailer For Amemiya Keita’s New Chapter In The Toku Franchise
Tokusatsu auteur Amemiya Keita continues onward with the longstanding popularity of the Garo franchise. The latest iteration now heads to the big screen with a 2018 release for Garo: Kami No Kiba which continues the story left off from the original Garo series in 2005 with actors Kuriyama Wataru, Ikeda Junya, Aoki Tsunenori and Inoue Masahiro starring.
SAMURAI JACK: THE PREMIERE MOVIE EVENT: Fathom Event Teases The Ultimate Theatrical Fan Experience Set For October 16
The screening takes place just a day before the complete box set, packed with all 62 episodes and much more, arrives courtesy of Warner Bros. Pre-orders are now available by clicking here. The show has been a hit with fans since debuting on Cartoon Network in 2001 and lasting three years before a long hiatus would lead up to its fifth and final season back in May on the network’s nightly Adult Swim block.
LEAFF 2017: The New Festival Trailer Tick-Tocks With A Beautiful, Bizzare And Brutal Mix
A closer gander at the programme reveals The Fortress as its opening nighter followed by a director’s cut of Ryoo Seung-Wan’s Battleship Island, Chang’s Reset, Park Hoon-Jung’s VIP, Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster and Kitano Takeshi’s festival closer Outrage Coda (a.k.a. Outrage: Final Chapter) to name a few. More entries are also pending so attendees may very well be in for a treat when they arrive at any of the London venues listed below.
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, KUBO, GODZILLA And More In The Trailer For The 30th Tokyo International Film Festival
The 30th Tokyo International Film Festival is gearing up for a spectacular presentation of its line-up. Films like Fumihiko Sori’s upcoming December release of manga adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist, as well as screenings of Chen Kaige’s sprawling fantasy, Legend Of The Demon Cat, Travis Knight’s Kubo And The Two Strings, Hara Keiichi’s 2015 anime movie, Miss Houksai, and Steve Soderbergh’s crime comedy, Logan Lucky, are just a morsel of what attendees can expect when the fest launches on October 25.
BEYOND FEST 2017: 12 Days Of Classic Hit Niche Delight With Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, Argento And More In Attendance
Such films include Jean-Claude Van Damme classic, Double Impact as well as the first two episodes of upcoming Amazon series, Jean-Claude Van Johnson, Schwarzenegger hit thriller The Running Man, Cambodian action romp, Jailbreak, Ted Geohegan’s new thriller, Mohawk and so much more. Not for nothing either with a raft of slated appearances by the likes of Van Damme and Schwarzenegger themselves, in addition to Vince Vaughn seeing to the premiere of RLJE Films’s most recent acquisition, Brawl In Cell Block 99, and cult figure Tommy Wiseau whose 2003 cult favorite, The Room is the subject of its own biopic, A24’s December release of The Disaster Artist.
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