“Raising Arizona” meets “Lars and the Real Girl” in Galilee Ma's sophomore drama short: “Natasha”. Beset with a strange obsession with Natasha (Meiko), a sex doll, a middle aged woman conspires to rescue her from a brothel. Despite its wildly captivating premise and build-up, the unusual film grasps at modern realities of alienation and grief in Taiwan with dwindling success. Still, strangeness abounds in this melodramatic vignette, and leaves one in anticipation of Ma's future endeavors.
“Natasha” is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
The perennial ills of short filmmaking seem to be cases of brilliant ideas underdeveloped. “Natasha” opens with a splash, with an ominous, but tongue-in-cheek recital of a passage from the book of Revelations. “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Immediately cutting away, we are thrust into the opposite...
“Natasha” is screening at Osaka Asian Film Festival
The perennial ills of short filmmaking seem to be cases of brilliant ideas underdeveloped. “Natasha” opens with a splash, with an ominous, but tongue-in-cheek recital of a passage from the book of Revelations. “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Immediately cutting away, we are thrust into the opposite...
- 3/30/2023
- by Renee Ng
- AsianMoviePulse
The concept of immigration, and particularly the one from the East to the West is a rather timely one, considering all that is happening in the Asian-American front lately. Shan Wu implements an experimental approach to the topic, by focusing on the inequality between genders and between citizens and immigrants, which, in this case, also derives from the people who find themselves on the wrong side of the balance.
“Wild Grass” is screening at Vienna Shorts
In a 4:3 ratio, and after an impressive introduction with Chinese calligraphy moving from left to write on screen, and the sound of a butterfly desperately flapping her winds trying to get free, probably mirroring the protagonist, we are introduced to the story of a Taiwanese woman, who is preparing to move from her country to Los Angeles. As she states that she has learnt much of her English by watching subtitled trash programs on TV,...
“Wild Grass” is screening at Vienna Shorts
In a 4:3 ratio, and after an impressive introduction with Chinese calligraphy moving from left to write on screen, and the sound of a butterfly desperately flapping her winds trying to get free, probably mirroring the protagonist, we are introduced to the story of a Taiwanese woman, who is preparing to move from her country to Los Angeles. As she states that she has learnt much of her English by watching subtitled trash programs on TV,...
- 6/1/2021
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The American Society of Cinematographers is announcing its winners today for the 35th Annual ASC Outstanding Achievement Awards this afternoon in the feature film, documentary and television cinematography categories.
They represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months.
The Society is bestowing the ASC Board of Governors Award to filmmaker Sophia Coppola for her contributions to cinema through her body of work. It is the only ASC Award not given to a cinematographer and is reserved for industry stalwarts who have been champions for directors of photography and the visual art form.
The Michael Chapman & Allen Daviau Student Heritage Award is being awarded to Ai Chung for A Young Tough in the Michael Chapman Graduate Category and Elias Ginsberg for Milk Teeth in the Allen Daviau Undergraduate Category.
The virtual ceremony is being streamed live via American Cinematographer’s Facebook page from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.
They represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14 months.
The Society is bestowing the ASC Board of Governors Award to filmmaker Sophia Coppola for her contributions to cinema through her body of work. It is the only ASC Award not given to a cinematographer and is reserved for industry stalwarts who have been champions for directors of photography and the visual art form.
The Michael Chapman & Allen Daviau Student Heritage Award is being awarded to Ai Chung for A Young Tough in the Michael Chapman Graduate Category and Elias Ginsberg for Milk Teeth in the Allen Daviau Undergraduate Category.
The virtual ceremony is being streamed live via American Cinematographer’s Facebook page from the historic ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood.
- 4/18/2021
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
In the fourteenth entry in the column, we take a look at a Pakistani, an Indian, and the first film of one of our own, Kun Yu-lai.
Dia (2018) by Hamza Bangash
Having its World Premiere in Locarno, “Dia” is one of the most impressive shorts to come out of Pakistan during the latest years.
Mariam is a sensitive law student preparing for her final year exams. She lives with her overbearing mother and younger brother in a middle class neighbourhood in Karachi, Pakistan. As Mariam’s exam date and graduation draw nearer, her mother urges her to consider an arranged marriage. Mariam, who is in a secret relationship online, refuses. As the pressure of marriage and finals build to a boiling point, she struggles to retain her sanity. The film chronicles her descent into madness- and how she attempts to seek help- in a society where mental illness remains taboo.
Dia (2018) by Hamza Bangash
Having its World Premiere in Locarno, “Dia” is one of the most impressive shorts to come out of Pakistan during the latest years.
Mariam is a sensitive law student preparing for her final year exams. She lives with her overbearing mother and younger brother in a middle class neighbourhood in Karachi, Pakistan. As Mariam’s exam date and graduation draw nearer, her mother urges her to consider an arranged marriage. Mariam, who is in a secret relationship online, refuses. As the pressure of marriage and finals build to a boiling point, she struggles to retain her sanity. The film chronicles her descent into madness- and how she attempts to seek help- in a society where mental illness remains taboo.
- 9/27/2018
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
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