Sinema Weekly Digest: 21 – 27 June 20217 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutesThe Sinema Weekly Digest presents a weekly roundup of Asian film news and the latest trailers, releases and events to check out over the weekend!
Top Stories
The *SCAPE National Youth Film Awards 2021 Announces Its 56 Nominees
The 7th National Youth Film Awards (NYFA) has announced the 56 nominees for this year’s awards. In total, the Awards received 330 submissions. NYFA will be hosting a closed-door screening of the nominated films for the nominees and media in early July, with the winners to be announced during a live online award ceremony on 24 July 2021.
Read the full announcement here.
Bollywood Megastar Vijay’s New Tamil Film ‘Beast’ Unveils First-Look Poster
Vijay’s upcoming Tamil film has been titled Beast; it was announced by its makers on Monday on the eve of the star’s birthday. The project will mark the maiden collaboration of the actor and filmmaker Nelson Dilip Kumar. The first look poster was shared by the film’s makers Sun Pictures on Twitter.
Vijay is one of Kollywood’s biggest stars and is currently the highest paid Tamil actor.
Take a closer look at the poster here.
Royston Tan’s ’15’ to be Featured on Tees, Hoodies and Totes by Singaporean Fashion Label
Royston Tan’s debut film ’15’ is set to be featured in an apparel collection with local fashion label Youths In Balaclava (YIB). The collection is housed under YIB’s sub-label, YIB Bandits, and will launch on June 30, 2021. It features T-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, as well as desk mats, with prices ranging from S$40 to S$110 per piece.
Tan was not directly involved in the project, but was approached by the label’s founders, who asked to use the movie’s stills for their products. The director gave them his “blessings” to use the material, as a show of support for local youths.
Take a closer look at the apparel collection here.
Events, Festivals and Happenings
Call for Entries: Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2021
The Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival 2021, organised by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, returns with its 7th Edition that will take place from 1 to 6 September 2021. This year, the festival invites filmmakers from Southeast Asia to submit short films and feature-length film projects to the ASEAN Short Film Competition and the Southeast Asian Project Pitch (SEAPitch). The call for Entry closes 31 July 2021.
For more information, visit: www.baff.go.th
Take a Sunny Getaway With Asian Film Archive’s ‘Seasons in the Sun’ Programme
The programme, which kicked off last Saturday, will be showcasing a selection of films that pays tribute to the sunny getaways that have eluded us this past year. Catch Ariel & Olivia, The Power of Kangwon Province, and Tourism this weekend at the Oldham Theatre.
Check out the full lineup here.
Celebrate Pride Month with The Projector’s Annual LGBTQ Film Festival
The Projector‘s annual LGBTQ Film Festival, ‘Pink Screen’, returns this month as part of Pink Fest 2021. The film festival is taking place from now until 31 July both in-cinemas as well as online via their streaming service Projector Plus. This weekend, catch Little Girl (Petite Fille), Memories of My Body (Kucumbu Tubuh Indahku), The Surrogate, and Tove on the big screen.
For the full lineup and schedule, visit https://theprojector.sg/themes/pink-screen/.
New Trailers
Ryoo Seung-Wan’s ‘Escape From Mogadishu’ Unveils New Trailer Featuring ‘Chaser’ Star Kim Yoon-Seok
Action director Ryoo Seung-wan (Veteran, Battleship Island) is back with Escape From Mogadishu, his latest thriller that’s getting a domestic release on 28 July. The film stars Kim Yoon-Seok (Chaser, The Yellow Sea), Zo In-Sung (The Great Battle), Heo Jun-Ho (Illang: The Wolf Brigade) and Jeong Man-Sik (The Swordsman).
In Escape From Mogadishu, diplomats from the North and South Korean embassies in Somalia attempt a daring joint escape from Mogadishu when the outbreak of civil war leaves them stranded.
G.I. Joe Origin Story ‘Snake Eyes’ Starring Henry Golding Drops Full Trailer
Henry Golding fans just got a closer look at the British-Malaysian actor’s latest role in the upcoming G.I. Joe origin story Snake Eyes. The two-minute-long action-packed trailer which was released yesterday for the highly-anticipated film gave viewers a glimpse of how one of the franchise’s most beloved characters came into being.
The film also stars Indonesian action star Iko Uwais. Find out all about his groundbreaking work in the action genre here.
New Releases to Stream
The Projector Releases Short Film ‘Bridget’ From the National Youth Film Awards Film Facilitation Programme
In conjunction with the National Youth Film Awards Film Facilitation Programme, The Projector is screening a variety of short films from the most promising Singaporean filmmakers under the mentorship of internationally celebrated filmmakers. Spanning the genres of Comedy, Horror, Action, Animation and Drama, each short announces a fresh new voice in Singapore.
From April to December 2021, one short will be release every last Thursday of the month. On Thursday, the short film Bridget was released for the month of June.
The film is now available to rent here: https://theprojector.sg/films-and-events/bridget/
Live-Action ‘Rurouni Kenshi’ Film Series Now On Netflix
Netflix has released the Rurouni Kenshin film series on their platform, including the fourth and most recent instalment Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. The fifth and final film, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning was released in Japan this month and is set to be released on Netflix soon.
Rurouni Kenshin follows the story of wandering swordsman Kenshin Himura, portrayed by Takeru Satoh, during the early Meiji period in Japan. Before Kenshin roams around offering protection to those in need, he was a legendary assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai, which literally means sword-drawing man-slayer.
The first Rurouni Kenshin live-action film was released in 2012 and was well-received worldwide. The series subsequently released sequels Kyoto Inferno and The Legend Ends in 2014, which features Tatsuya Fujiwara — known for his role as Light Yagami or Kira in Death Note (2006) — as Makoto Shishio, the main antagonist.
In Theatres This Week
Local Indie Horror Film ‘Konpaku’ Returns To The Big Screen
From the team behind 2020’s Not My Mother’s Baking, the indie horror film follows the forbidden love story between a Malay-Muslim man and a sensual Japanese succubus. Konpaku is now showing in Filmgarde Cineplexes. Grab your tickets now at https://bit.ly/KonpakuFilmgarde.
‘F9’ is the Ninth and Newest Instalment to the ‘Fast and Furious’ Saga
Justin Lin returns as director, together with cast members Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, with Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron. Grammy Award winner Cardi B makes her debut as a new character, Leysa. F9 is now screening in cinemas islandwide.
Banner image credit: Still of ‘Escape From Mogadishu’ / Image credit: Dexter Studios
