Pakistan superstar Fawad Khan has signed onto two projects while Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor has joined veteran director Jahnu Barua’s latest film at the inaugural Tasveer Film Market. The Seattle-based South Asia-focused market concluded recently. Khan will headline “Behind the Scenes,” a newsroom thriller developed by Modoxy Media and Film Lab++. The dark comedy […]

A new industry analysis by consultancy firm Media Partners Asia (MPA) projects substantial growth in Japan’s digital entertainment landscape. The report, “The Future of Japan’s Video Industry,” forecasts the online video sector to expand at a 7% compound annual growth rate over the next five years. Total screen industry revenue, encompassing free TV, pay-TV and […]

SXSW London is positioning its inaugural 2025 event as a nexus of technology, art and business. The festival, set for June 2-7, 2025, in Shoreditch, seeks to differentiate itself through its emphasis on creative convergence. Submissions are opening Oct. 28 for its conference, music and screen and film pillars. Katy Arnander, director of programming for […]

Indian cinema icon Sharmila Tagore embraces a challenging role in Suman Ghosh’s “The Ancient” (Puratawn), which has its India premiere at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. The veteran actor portrays a woman grappling with memory loss in director Suman Ghosh’s Bengali-language drama. In “The Ancient,” Ritika (Rituparna Sengupta) and her husband Rajeev (Indraneil Sengupta) return […]

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr as the recipient of its lifetime achievement award for the upcoming 37th edition of the festival. Tarr, known for his distinctive cinematic style, gained international recognition with his 438-minute film “Satantango” (1994), which earned him an award at the Berlinale. His 2000 film […]

Nicholas Gyeney’s supernatural thriller “The Activated Man” will have its world theatrical premiere on Friday, Dec. 13, at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. The film will also have a weeklong theatrical run in Los Angeles, Tempe, Huntingdon, and other U.S. cities. The cast features genre veterans Tony Todd (“Candyman”), Sean Young (“Blade Runner”), […]

Pharmaceutical tycoon Adar Poonawalla’s Serene Productions is investing $119 million in Indian media personality Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions and Dharmatic Entertainment. The deal values Dharma at $238 million and gives Serene Productions a 50% stake in the company. Under the new structure, Johar will retain 50% ownership and serve as executive chair, overseeing the creative […]

Korea’s Showbox has unveiled a trailer and a release date for horror mystery “Devils Stay.” Directed by Hyun Moon-seop (“Nightmare Teacher”), the cast includes Park Shin-yang (“My Lawyer,” “Mr. Jo,” “Man on the Edge,” “The Big Swindle”), Lee Min-ki (“Crash,” “My Liberation Notes,” “Very Ordinary Couple”) and Lee Re (“It’s Okay!,” “Peninsula,” “Hellbound”). “When Seung-do […]

Indian auteur Anurag Kashyap has boarded Deepak Rauniyar’s “Pooja, Sir” as an executive producer, while Channel 4 has snapped up the film for the U.K. and Ireland. The film debuted in the Venice Film Festival‘s Horizons strand competition earlier this year, and has subsequently played Hamburg and Busan, with the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival up next. It […]

In the bustling landscape of Indian television, reality shows have carved out a significant niche, captivating audiences with a mix of international adaptations and homegrown formats. Popular formats include “Bigg Boss,” the Hindi-language version of the global “Big Brother” format; “Indian Idol,” adapted from “Pop Idol”; “Khatron Ke Khiladi,” the Indian iteration of “Fear Factor,” […]

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” and Luna Carmoon’s “Hoard” are among the titles in the British Independent Film Awards’ (BIFA) 2024 filmmaker new talent longlists, unveiled Friday. The selections spotlight 31 British features across four debut filmmaking categories, encompassing both fiction and documentary works. Peppiatt and Carmoon join a group of first-time directors vying for the Douglas […]

Indian producer, Excel Entertainment co-founder Ritesh Sidhwani, is preparing for the global rollout of “Superboys of Malegaon,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and screened at the BFI London Film Festival. The film is an Amazon MGM Studios, Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby production. Directed by Reema Kagti, it tells the story of […]

Petersen Vargas’ latest feature “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” has released a trailer ahead of its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival this November. The film follows a group of young street hustlers navigating Manila’s nocturnal underbelly as they embark on a journey to fulfill their friend’s dying wish. Vargas, known […]

Academy Award-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor and Achin Jain of Sikhya Entertainment have signed on as executive producers for “The Fable,” directed by Raam Reddy. The film is set to make its Indian debut at the upcoming MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. The film stars Manoj Bajpayee as Dev, alongside Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal, and Tillotama […]

‘MASKED’ MANIA Bandicoot Scotland, an Argonon joint venture, has secured a two-series recommission from U.K. broadcaster ITV for “The Masked Singer U.K.” The renewal includes a sixth season currently in production and a seventh 8 x 90′ series. In addition, Bandicoot is set to produce “The After Mask,” a new 8 x 30′ digital companion […]

Adarsh Gourav is venturing into uncharted territory with “Alien: Earth,” the upcoming FX series that marks his first major foray into sci-fi. “Alien: Earth” serves as a prequel to Ridley Scott’s 1979 film “Alien,” which kicked off a nine-film franchise with the latest being “Alien: Romulus.” The series, due to release in 2025, builds on […]

U.K.-based entertainment financier Goldfinch is set to open a Singapore office by the end of 2024, marking its expansion into the Asian market. The move comes as the company celebrates its 10th anniversary and aims to provide credit-based financing facilities for film and television projects in the region. Goldfinch has closed $250 million in deals […]

Tiger Baby, the production company founded by celebrated Indian filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, is making strides in the unscripted space with a slate of documentaries and series that aim to spotlight untold Indian stories. The company has just unveiled Taira Malaney’s “Turtle Walker,” a documentary chronicling the extraordinary journey of conservationist Satish Bhaskar, […]

Indie Rights has acquired worldwide sales rights to Johnny Greenlaw’s “The Refugee,” a drama exploring themes of immigration and the American dream. The company plans to introduce the film to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market (AFM). Starring Demián Castro, Dina Najjar, Alanis Santiago, Chuck Fusca, Rasheda Isaac, Erin Cline, Kelly Karavites, Andy Gion […]