Event opening: 8 November 2024

Launching on Friday, November 8, The Grounds invites film enthusiasts and food lovers alike to indulge in "Fork Lore Presents", a curated selection of films that showcase the passion, creativity and culture in the world of restaurants and bars, from heartwarming dramas to comedies.
Moviegoers can also expect movie marathons that transport them to fantastical realms with fan favourites like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Dune. In fact, experience the complete saga of Arrakis in one epic night. On November 16, The Grounds will play both Dune movies back to back. The Grounds will also spotlight local classics, providing a nostalgic journey through Hong Kong's rich cinematic history.

After the box office success of 'Still Human', a film that sheds light on domestic workers in Hong Kong, director Oliver Chan is back with a new movie about the challenges of motherhood in Asia, which is slated for Hong Kong release in early 2025.

"I named myself after the titular character in Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, which I studied at school, because I had always asked for more," says Hong Kong film director Oliver Chan Siu-kuen. She wasn't referring to gruel. Even as a child, she was eager for opportunities beyond what was obvious and available. "I felt that if I named myself after a boy, it would open doors for me." So has that helped her as an adult? "Not really."

But Chan is not someone who waits for those opportunities to knock at her door. When there isn't an existing way, she carves a path for herself. Her latest feature film, The Montages of a Modern Motherhood, is a prime example. "There aren't any films presenting motherhood in Hong Kong. For sure, there are movies that have a mother figure, but she is only a side character, or is portrayed as naggy, bossy or demanding. But there are so many untold facets of being a mother," she says. "Most of the directors who have made films involving mothers are men, or women who haven't experienced motherhood. If I don't tell these stories, who will?"

Chan herself is a mother, to a five-year-old. While her experiences of motherhood are nothing like her protagonist's tragic story, she is obviously affected by news reports of mothers abusing their infants. "I couldn't understand what they were going through, because there is no way a mother would bear a child for ten months just to bring it to the world and harm it," she says.

The film follows the story of Suk-jing, a 30-something new mother who becomes gradually disenchanted with the lack of understanding from her husband, conflicts with her traditional in-laws, struggles to juggle family and work, coping with her inexperience of childcare, and her own declining mental and physical health.

In August, it was selected as the only Hong Kong film to screen at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival; in September, it entered Tokyo International Film Festival's inaugural Women's Empowerment section. The film premiered in Busan in October and is slated for release in Hong Kong in early 2025.

The Official Trailer for Director Chan's film STILL HUMAN.

European Film Awards
Current: 37th European Film Awards

Awarded for   Excellence in European cinematic achievements
Location   Europe
Presented by   European Film Academy
First awarded   1988
Last awarded   2023

The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most important is the Best Film. They are restricted to European cinema and European producers, directors and actors. The awards were officially also called the "Felix Awards" until 1997, in reference to the former award's trophy statuette, which was replaced by a feminine statuette.

Since 1997, the European Film Awards have been held in early- to mid-December. Hosting duties have alternated between Berlin, Germany in odd-numbered years and other European cities in even-numbered years. The 33rd European Film Awards were held on 12 December 2020 as a virtual ceremony. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian films were excluded from the 2022 European Film Awards.

Also visit the Official Website for more information

Netflix came under investigation for tax fraud and its offices in France and the Netherland has been raided by officials, searching for documents. Netflix stated it is cooperating with authorities as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud and concealed employment.

"We are co-operating with the authorities in France, where Netflix is a significant contributor to the local economy — and we comply with the tax laws and regulations in all the countries in which we operate," stated a spokesperson.

The aim of the investigation was to discover how the alleged tax fraud had been implemented internally. Liberation reported that a raid was also being conducted simultaneously in Netflix's European HQ in the Netherlands, following months-long cooperation between French and Dutch investigators.

Paris and Los Angeles-based Other Angle Pictures has scored further sales on its Jean Claude Van Damme-powered action comedy The Gardener (Le Jardinier) and released a first-look image.

The film has sold to Falcon for the Middle East, Films4U in Portugal, Spentzos in Greece, and Amazon Prime Video for Italy and Spain, joining previous sales to North America (Bluefox), France (Amazon), German-speaking territories (Plaion) and eastern Europe (Mediasquad).

Van Damme and Michaël Youn star in the film about a man who lands on the government's blacklist and hatches an elaborate plan with his odd gardener to avoid being killed and protect his family.

Other Angle will hold a market premiere for David Charhon's film at AFM in Las Vegas. The Gardener is produced by Sébastien Fechner at Rose Prods.

As the use of Artificial intelligence (AI) in some form is becoming commonplace across the creative industries, filmmakers and content creators have described approaching its application with a mix of necessary caution and growing optimism.

AI is mostly being used to increase efficiencies in content creation – whether that be subject matter research, pre and post-production workflow fixes or generating subtitles and dubbing voices – said practitioners at the Geneva Digital Market this week.

"We use AI for the pre-production phase or the post production phase of our projects," explained Margot Wilwertz, who is the lead innovation project manager at France's TFI-owned Newen Studios.

She added: "We have been using AI in production extremely rarely, and only in cases which have been discussed with our legal teams. We're really, really careful with that."

One exception was taken during the Covid pandemic when two actresses in TF1's long-running soap opera Plus Belle La Vie (More Beautiful Life) became unwell and were unable to work.

"We either had to reshoot everything we had already shot with the actresses, or ask for permission to use their faces for deep fakes and use another actress to do this," Wilwertz told the gathered delegates. The actors were asked and signed legal agreements approving the move.

Wilwertz described using AI in production in a TFI documentary about a choreographer for TF1. As part of the film, the choreographer wanted to have a dancer in front of a murmuration of birds. But when it came to the shoot, no flock appeared.  "Our solution was to generate the birds and the unique movement using AI," she said.

Please use this board to post news or information about film making or simply read more about them.

Please become a member to post messages on this forum.

Obtaining the required permits to shoot in the busy Japanese capital of Tokyo can feel like a daunting task for international film and TV productions. This is where Tokyo Film Commission (TFC) provides guidance and support for applications, liaising with the national government and city authorities.

Common requests for support include organising permits to shoot in the city, often when filming permissions are required from Tokyo's police department. "We have a very good relationship with police stations across the city," says a TFC spokesperson. "We are happy to help with any requests and do what we can."

Should a filmmaker want to shoot on city roads (a road-use permit issued by the police chief is necessary for shooting on the streets), TFC is on hand to help. While the commission does not apply for shooting permits itself on behalf of a filmmaker, it will recommend a local location or production company or a freelance location co-ordinator who will go through all the necessary application procedures and work closely with the production team.

Tokyo is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and has multiple draws for filmmakers, combining history, cutting- edge architecture and infrastructure alongside natural beauty.

The city boasts everything from Japanese gardens providing peace and tranquillity throughout the city, to Shibuya with its 21st-century futuristic vistas, and Asakusa with its many historical and cultural assets.

In terms of financial incentives, international film and TV projects that spend at least $3.5m (¥500m) on production costs in Japan or whose total production costs exceed $6.9m (¥1bn) and direct production costs in Japan exceed $1.4m (¥200m) can access Japan's location incentive — it can reimburse up to 50% of qualifying expenditure.

In the last 12 months, the city has played host to Netflix crime caper City Hunter, directed by Yuichi Sato, which shot on location in Kabukicho. Netflix also backed House Of Ninjas, a spy thriller from writer/director Dave Boyle, starring Kento Kaku, Yosuke Eguchi and Tae Kimura. The series imagines a world in which ninja clans are alive and well — except they are (mostly) retired.

Apple TV+'s Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters also filmed partly in Tokyo, with a cast including Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe and Kurt Russell.

The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) today revealed the lineup for its 37th edition, which includes world premieres of features from China, Japan and Hong Kong among its competition strands. The festival, which is set to run from October 28 to November 6, will include 120 films and three series across the 10 main sections. The selection was made from 2,023 entries, up from 1,942 last year.

The majority of the 15-strong Competition strand hails from Asia with three films from Japan and three from China as well as titles from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Kazakhstan. At a press conference in Tokyo today, programming director Shozo Ichiyama said the lineup reflects his continuing priority of "not thinking about achieving a balance between countries and regions, but simply selecting the most interesting films". Ichiyama added that he prefers films with "new discoveries and things we haven't seen before" over those with high production value, as well as films that somehow represent or respond to anxieties about the present. The Asian Future competition, for rising Asian filmmakers who have directed up to three features, comprises 10 films, all of which are world premieres.

As previously announced, Kazuya Shiraishi's 11 Rebels is set to world premiere as the opening film of TIFF while Christophe Honoré's Marcello Mio will receive its Japan premiere as the closing feature. The festival's Nippon Cinema Now section, which focuses on new Japanese films, features five world premieres, including Underground by documentary filmmaker Oda Kaori, winner of the Pia Film Festival's Oshima Prize in 2020, and Or Utopia by Kim Yunsoo, who won the festival's Amazon Prime Video Take One Award in 2021.

This year's director in focus is Yu Irie, who debuted with 8000 Miles in 2009, winning the grand prize at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. Five of the director's films, including this year's A Girl Named Ann, will be screened.

The List of Competitors

Adios Amigo (Col)
Dir. Iván David Gaona

Big World (China)*
Dir. Yang Lina

Bury Your Dead (Bra)
Dir. Marco Dutra

Cadet (Kaz)*
Dir. Adilkhan Yerzhanov

Daughter's Daughter (Tai)
Dir. Huang Xi

The Englishman's Papers (Port)*
Dir. Sergio Graciano

In His Own Image (Fr)
Dir. Thierry de Peretti

Lust in the Rain (Japan-Tai)*
Dir. Shinzo Katayama

My Friend An Delie (China)*
Dir. Dong Zijian

Papa (HK)*
Dir. Philip Yung

Promise, I'll Be Fine (Slovakia-Czech)*
Dir. Katarína Gramatová

She Taught Me Serendipity (Japan)*
Dir. Ohku Akiko

Teki Cometh (Japan)*
Dir. Yoshida Daihachi

Traffic (Rom-Bel-Neth)
Dir. Teodora Ana Mihai

The Unseen Sister (China)
Dir. Midi Z

Asian Future

Apollon By Day Athena By Night (Turkey)
Dir. Emine Yildirim

Black Ox (Japan-Tai-US)
Dir. Tsuta Tetsuichiro

The Bora (Iran)
Dir. Mohammad Esmaeilie

Missing Child Videotape (Japan)
Dir. Kondo Ryota

Pavane For An Infant (Malay)
Dir. Chong Keat Aun

Sima's Song (Sp-Neth-Fr-Tai-Greece-Afg)
Dir. Roya Sadat

Three Castrated Goats (US)
Dir. Ye Xingyu

Valley Of The Shadow Of Death (HK)
Dirs Jeffery Lam Sen, Antonio Tam

The Vessel's Isle (US)
Dir. Wang Di

Wait Until Spring (Iran)
Dir. Ashkan Ashkani

'Bound In Heaven', the feature debut of director Huo Xin, won the top prize at the 2024 Rome Film Festival, with the awards unveiled at the Auditorium Parco della Musica on October 26. The romantic crime drama won best film in the Progressive Cinema Competition, the festival's competitive strand, and also shared the best first feature award ex aequo with Edgardo Pistone's Ciao Bambino.

'Bound In Heaven' premiered at Toronto, and features a cast including Ni Ni, Zhou You and Liao Fan. Director Huo is a veteran screenwriter whose credits include: 'Shower', 'Kung Fu Hustle', 'Sunflower' and 'The Monkey King'.

The best actor prize went to Elio Germano for playing communist politican Enrico Berlinguer in 'The Grand Ambition'. Ángela Molina won best actress for Carlos Marquès-Marcet's 'They Will Be Dust', about a women with an incurable brain tumor who takes a last trip to an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland.

The jury for the main competition strand was chaired by director Pablo Trapero and also included editor Francesca Calvelli, French actress Laetitia Casta, UK producer Gail Egan, and writer and screenwriter Dennis Lehane.

Italian director and screenwriter Francesca Comencini led the first feature jury, that also included producer, composer and writer Kai li Peng and Anatomy Of A Fall actor Antoine Reinartz.

The film also won two additional awards at the 72nd San Sebastian Festival on September 28: 1) JURY PRIZE FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY and also, 2) FIPRESCI AWARD ( International Federation of Film Critics ).

Congratulations to the makers of the film!