Chinese-Speaking Markets

CHINA RELEASE SCHEDULE: Imports & Co-Productions Jan-Dec 2025

Zootopia 2 was the highest-grossing import at the China box office in 2025, grossing $627m (as of Feb 2, 2026) and ranking second in the year-end chart.

News

BUZZ LIST: Southeast Asia Projects In The Pipeline 2025

UPDATED DECEMBER 31: The list below highlights noteworthy Southeast Asian film projects that were completed and premiered at international film festivals in 2025. Nationality of the director is in brackets after their names, but nationality of the projects is harder to determine as most are multi-territory co-productions. AMOEBA

Middle East & North Africa

Red Sea Fest & Souk Wrap; Saudi Film Funders; MENA Box Office

This edition of Streamlined is looking at Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF, December 4-13) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and its industry platform, Red Sea Souk; as well as a Souk Talks panel on Saudi film funds, and a brief note on box office in this region, which I

Africa

CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi, Akuna & Durban FilmMart Execs On How African Cinema Is Evolving

Industry execs and filmmakers, including Nigerian director-producer CJ ‘Fiery’ Obasi, discussed how African cinema is evolving through collaboration, as well as some of the challenges it faces, on a Souk Talks panel at Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF). Also speaking on the panel were Durban FilmMart (DFM) director

Africa

‘Barni’ Director Mohammed Sheikh On Inspiring A New Generation Of Somali Filmmakers

Minnesota-based Somali filmmaker Mohammed Sheikh has just held the world premiere for his debut feature, Barni, which he filmed in Djibouti, at Red Sea International Film Festival. Born in the Kebribeyah refugee camp in Ethiopia – where his parents fled during the Somali Civil War – Sheikh moved to the US

Southeast Asia

Philippines’ SineMaya Fest Wraps Fourth Edition; Hands Awards To ‘Alab’ & ‘Light By The Sea’

Funded by micro financing platform CARD MRI, the initiative aims to support storytellers from rural and working-class communities.

Korea & Japan

‘Lost Land’ Wins Best Film At Red Sea International Film Festival

The Silver Yusr was awarded to 'All That’s Left Of You' from Cherien Dabis, while the Jury Prize went to 'Hijra' from Saudi filmmaker Shahad Ameen.

Middle East & North Africa

Saudi & Egypt Emerge As Box Office Bright Spots In MENA Region

Box office growth in two MENA markets dominated discussions during the Souk Talks at this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival. Saudi’s box office picked up this year, after a slump in 2024, due to a diverse range of local and international titles. Meanwhile, the Egyptian market is

Africa

Kenyan Filmmaker Zippy Nyaruri On The Ten-Year Journey Behind Red Sea Competition Title ‘Truck Mama’

If you’ve ever struggled in your career as a woman in a man’s world, spare a thought for Evaline Wambua Mutuku, the subject of Zippy Nyaruri’s documentary Truck Mama, whose job used to involve driving articulated lorries across East Africa, sometimes into war-torn countries like South

Africa

‘Playhouse’, ‘Fiction’ & ‘Dhel’ Among Winning Projects At Red Sea Souk

'About Love & September Laws' from Sudan's Mohamed Kordofani was also among the most awarded projects.

News

Kerala Film Market 2025: Full Line-Up

India's Kerala Film Market has selected 25 projects across two sections, Project Market and Curators’ Pick, for its 2025 edition.

News

KC Global Boards ‘Laya’ With Andrea Brillantes & Singapore-Thai Series ‘Decalcomania’

US-based outfit is also co-producing 'Lost And Found', starring Shawn Thia, and Taiwanese comedy 'A Controversial Entertainer'.

Middle East & North Africa

Netflix-WB Deal Threatens Cinemas But May Help Indie Filmmakers, Say Red Sea Souk Speakers

Netflix’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros poses a huge potential threat to global theatrical infrastructure, but on the other hand may provide opportunities for independent filmmakers, said speakers on a Red Sea Souk panel entitled 'Futureproofing Our Industry'.   Gaetan Bruel, president of French film agency CNC, made

Southeast Asia

Chinese Documentary ‘Always’ Wins Best Asian Feature At Singapore Fest

Sri Lanka's 'Riverstone' picked up two awards, while Thailand's 'A Useful Ghost' was awarded a Special Mention.

Middle East & North Africa

Cherien Dabis Talks Palestinian Drama ‘All That’s Left Of You’: “Maybe We Have A Responsibility To Heal Our Trauma”

Palestinian-American filmmaker Cherien Dabis shared her filmmaking journey and the logistics behind making her latest film, multi-generational family drama All That’s Left Of You, in the Souk Talks at Red Sea International Film Festival.   Set in the West Bank, the film follows a Palestinian family across three

Southeast Asia

‘Becoming Human’ Wins Top Prize At JAFF; ‘Better Off Dead’ Sweeps Indonesian Screen Awards

Cambodia's Becoming Human took the Golden Hanoman award in the main competition, while Better Off Dead won in five out of ten categories in the competition for Indonesian films.

Streamlined Insights

JAFF Market & Indonesia’s Booming Industry; Netflix-Warner Bros Deal

Before we dive into updates on what’s happening in Indonesia, a few thoughts on the Netflix deal to acquire Warner Bros for $83bn, announced yesterday, which happened a lot faster than anyone was anticipating. Reactions globally have been mixed from it being another nail in the coffin of legacy

Australia & New Zealand

Australian Production Spend Up 43% But Local Shoots See Reduced Share

As in other territories, production spend is shifting towards international features and SVOD and away from local free-to-air programming.