Korea & Japan
Netflix Announces Plans To Invest $500m In Korean Content In 2021
New original films include BDSM romance Moral Sense, directed by Park Hyun-jin, and action film Carter, directed by Jung Byung-gil (The Villainess).
Korea & Japan
Starzplay Pacts With TV Tokyo For Anime Content
Strategic partnership brings more than a thousand hours of anime, including the iconic Naruto franchise, to viewers in the Middle East.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
FESTIVALS: Osaka Asian Unveils Competition Including 'Elisa's Day' Premiere
Man Lim-chung’s Keep Rolling, about Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui, will open the festival, while Yuya Ishii’s The Asian Angel will play as the closing film.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Viu To Launch Korean Original Drama 'River Where The Moon Rises'
Produced by Korean production house Victory Contents, the show stars Kim So Hyun (The Tale of Nokdu) and Ji Soo (Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo).
Korea & Japan
Korean Portal Naver To Acquire Wattpad In $600m Deal
Wattpad will be aligned with Naver’s digitial comics platform, Webtoon, which claims 72 million monthly active users.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Asia Pacific SVOD Revenue Increased 34% To $16bn In 2020 - MPA Report
While AVOD revenue was down 3%, the region's online video sector as a whole grew by 14% to reach a combined $30.5bn, according to MPA report.
Korea & Japan
Sony Acquires Crunchyroll From AT&T For $1.2bn
Anime-focused streamer was part of AT&T's WarnerMedia and will now be combined with Sony's rival streaming service Funimation.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
iQiyi International Sets 'My Roommate Is A Gumiho' As First Korean Original
Jang Ki Yong and Hyeri star in romantic horror based on popular Korean webtoon Living Together and co-produced with Studio Dragon and JTBC Studio.
Festivals
FESTIVALS: Busan Hands New Currents Awards To 'A Balance' & 'Three'
Yujiro Harumoto’s A Balance and Pak Ruslan’s Three were presented with the New Currents Award at this year’s Busan International Film Festival (October 21-30).
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Japan’s Wowow Acquires Hit Chinese Suspense Thriller 'The Bad Kids'
Critically-acclaimed show, produced by Chinese streaming platform iQiyi, will be broadcast in Japan in early 2021.
Middle East & North Africa
FESTIVALS: 'Hope', 'The Pencil' Take Top Prizes At Japan’s Skip City
Maria Sodahl’s Hope received the Grand Prize at this year’s Skip City International D-Cinema Festival in Japan, which took place virtually and wrapped on October 4.
Europe
FESTIVALS: 'Wife Of A Spy' & 'The Disciple' Win Big At Venice Film Festival
Kiyoshi Kurosawa won best director at this year’s Venice film festival for Wife Of A Spy, while India’s Chaitanya Tamhane took best screenplay for The Disciple.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
Rakuten Viki Stocks Up On Asian Movies Including 'The Suspect'
Japanese-owned global streamer has also acquired Korean romcom Be With You, along with other Korean and Hong Kong classic films.
Chinese-Speaking Markets
FESTIVALS: 'Better Days' Takes Top Prize At Udine Far East Film Festival
Derek Tsang’s youth drama Better Days won the top prize, the Golden Mulberry, at Italy’s Far East Film Festival in Udine, which took place as a virtual event (June 26-July 4).
Korea & Japan
Asian LGBTQ+ Streaming Platform GagaOOLala Set For Global Launch
Taiwan-based platform will launch globally on May 15 with a catalogue of features, shorts, series and original productions.
Korea & Japan
HBO Asia Teams With Hulu Japan & MediaPro On Thriller 'The Head'
Survival thriller set in an international research station in Antartica was filmed in Iceland and Spain.
Festivals
FESTIVALS: Thailand’s 'Happy Old Year' Wins Grand Prix At OAFF
Happy Old Year, directed by Thailand’s Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, won the Grand Prix best picture award at the this year’s Osaka Asian Film Festival.
Europe
FESTIVALS: Berlin Hands Top Prizes To Iran’s 'There Is No Evil', Korea’s 'The Woman Who Ran'
Mohammad Rasoulof’s There Is No Evil has won the Golden Bear at the 70th Berlinale, while Hong Sangsoo won the Silver Bear for best director for The Woman Who Ran.