Busan Names Asian Contents & Film Market Director; Trailer For Prime Video Indian Independence Film; Ryohei Suzuki Lauded With Cinema Award; Nippon Readies Trio Of Formats — Global Briefs

By Jesse Whittock, Zac Ntim

March 4, 2024 1:32am

Busan Names Asian Contents & Film Market Director

Busan’s Asian Contents and Film Market (ACFM) has named experienced programmer and indie arthouse producer Ellen Y.D. Kim has its new Director. She has been officially approved at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)’s general assembly and will commence a four-year term this Friday (March 8). She was previously Program Director of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Kim is well known to ACFM, having played a key role in establishing the event in the 2006s, and co-produced arthouse films such as Cry Woman in 2002 and Sewing Sisters 18 years later. She also held several key roles at ACFM’s parent, the BIFF, which has now passed this year’s business plan and budget at the general assembly, as it bids to return to normalcy after a string of resignations last year. BIFF has also approved of 18 board members and an auditor, who will take part in newly reformed BIFF executive committees. Furthermore, BIFF is now inviting applications for the open Festival Director post. The fest named Park Kwang-su as chair last month following a tumultuous 2023 in which manager resigned. The 29th BIFF will run from October 2-11 in Korea.

Trailer For Prime Video Indian Independence Film

Here’s a trailer for Ae Watan Mere Watan, Prime Video’s upcoming feature set to the backdrop of the 1942 Quit India Movement. The film, billed as a “patriotic thriller-drama,” comes from Dharmatic Entertainment, produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra. Kannan Iyer is the director and co-writer, alongside Darab Farooqui. Sara Ali Khan stars opposite Sachin Khedekar, Abhay Verma, Sparsh Shrivastav, Alexx O’Nell and Anand Tiwari, with Emraan Hashmi making a special guest appearance. Producers say the film is inspired by real events, chronicling a pivotal chapter from India’s quest for independence from Britain. Khan will play a 22-year-old college girl who forms an underground radio station that becomes the fuel that fires Mahatma Gandhi’s Quit India Movement. It debuts globally on Prime Video on March 21 in Hindi, with dubbed versions available in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Japanese Actor Ryohei Suzuki To Receive Excellence In Asian Cinema Award

Japanese film and television actor Ryohei Suzuki will be handed the Excellence In Asian Cinema Award at this year’s Asian Film Awards. Suzuki first made waves with the comedy feature HK: Hentai Kamen (2013). In 2022, he won five Best Supporting Actor awards, including the Japan Academy Prize, for his performance as a sadistic murderer yakuza in The Blood of Wolves II (2021). In 2023, Ryohei played the lead in two films, Tokyo MER and Egoist. “I am deeply honored by this recognition bestowed upon me by the Asian Film Awards,” said Suzuki. “It will fuel my motivation to strive for greater heights and contribute more to the industry. I am also eagerly looking forward to attending the 17th Asian Film Awards ceremony in Hong Kong where I can connect with audiences and fellow film professionals from across Asia.”

Nippon Readies Trio Of Formats

Some early MIPTV news here. Japan’s Nippon TV is headed to the Cannes television market with two scripted formats — dramedy telemovie Trespassers and ten-part series Alice in Wonderful Kitchen — and unscripted show Stars on the Shelf. Trespassers comes from the makers of Japanese series Rebooting and follows three women who break into a luxury apartment looking for the off-the-books cash their company’s CEO is rumored to be hiding, only to encounter a series of unexpected events. Alice in Wonderful Kitchen is billed as a “compassionate drama mystery about an extraordinary cook,” while Stars on the Shelf is billed as a “scalable” business/ob-doc hybrid in which celebrities showcase their prowess to shine in competitive business arenas.