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Acclaimed Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho has set mystery thriller The Ugly as his next feature, which Plus M Entertainment will introduce to buyers at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) in Busan this week.

Yeon is known for directing Peninsula, which received a Cannes 2020 label and proved box office hit across Asia, taking $46.7m at the height of the pandemic; zombie thriller Train To Busan, which played at Cannes in 2016 and went on to take $140m at the global box office; and The King of Pigs, which became the first Korean animation to screen at Cannes when it was selected...

When people think of Asian animated films, Studio Ghibli often comes to mind first. With iconic films like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, the studio has become synonymous with high-quality animation and captivating storytelling. However, Asia’s animation industry is vast and diverse, with many other studios and filmmakers contributing unique and innovative works that deserve recognition. This article explores the rich landscape of Asian animated films beyond Studio Ghibli, highlighting some of the most remarkable productions from different countries.

The Rise of South Korean Animation

South Korea has become a significant player in the global animation industry, producing a variety of films that cater to both domestic and international audiences. One standout is Leafie, A Hen into the Wild (2011), directed by Oh Sung-yoon. This film, based on a popular Korean children’s book, tells the story of a hen who dreams of freedom beyond the farm. Its success...

Hur Bum-wook announces himself as a talent to watch with his furious and deranged animated eco-horror parable Pig That Survived Foot-and-Mouth Disease. A cross between early Yeon Sang-ho animation works like The King of Pigs, Bong Joon-ho's Okja and Watership Down, the film opens amidst Korea's foot-and-mouth epidemic of 2010, during which over a million pigs were culled to halt the spread of disease. Beyond the sheer number of animals being slaughtered, many were dismayed by the government's method of extermination: burying the pigs alive in mass graves. Hur's film guides us straight into this scene of chaos as thousands of bewildered pigs are heaped on top of each other before mounds of dirt are poured over them. Within the increasingly claustrophobic confines of this...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

South Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho has worked on multiple genre projects in his home country, making his feature directorial debut with the animated thriller The King of Pigs and following that up with the likes of RedaKai, The Fake, Psychokinesis, Hellbound, Jung_E, and Parasyte: The Grey. His most popular work is the live-action 2016 zombie film Train to Busan, and he has also directed a live-action follow-up to that film, titled Peninsula, and an animated prequel, titled Seoul Station. Now Yeon Sang-ho is ready to make his English-language debut, and Deadline reports that he’ll be doing so with a horror action film called 35th Street.

35th Street is set up at TriStar Pictures, and Yeon will be directing the film from a screenplay he’s writing with Ryu Yong-jae, who he previously collaborated with on Peninsula and Parasyte: The Grey. Plot details are being kept under wraps, so the “action...

The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 27th edition with a whiplashing program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 20 through August 9, 2023, taking place at the Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée.

The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early July. In the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a selected first wave of titles and happenings.

Bright Spotlights On South Korean Cinema Illuminate Fantasia’s 27th Edition

Since the selection of Kang Je-gyu’s Gingko Bed at Fantasia’s 1998 edition, the festival has become one of the premiere destinations for South Korean cinema. Over the years, Fantasia’s audience has had the opportunity to discover several essential Korean auteurs: Bong Joon-ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite), Park Chan-wook (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance), Kim Ji-woon (The Quiet Family), Hwang Dong-hyuk (Miss Granny), and Yeon Sang-ho (The King Of Pigs) among many others.

The Fantasia International Film Festival will be celebrating its 27th edition with a whiplashing program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 20 through August 9, 2023, taking place at the Concordia Hall Cinema, with additional screens at the Cinémathèque québécoise and Cinéma du Musée.

The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early July. In the meantime, Fantasia reveals a selected first wave of titles and happenings.

Here’s the press release:

Bright Spotlights On South Korean Cinema Illuminate Fantasia’s 27th Edition

Since the selection of Kang Je-gyu’s Gingko Bed at Fantasia’s 1998 edition, the festival has become one of the premiere destinations for South Korean cinema. Over the years, Fantasia’s audience has had the opportunity to discover several essential Korean auteurs: Bong Joon-ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite), Park Chan-wook (Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance), Kim Ji-woon (The Quiet Family), Hwang Dong-hyuk (Miss Granny), and Yeon Sang-ho...

Back in 2011, Yeon Sang-ho’s “The King of Pigs” sent ripples in the movie industry, being the first adult animated film produced in South Korea, the first film of its kind to screen in Cannes, and a recipient of three awards in Busan. Now, based on the same material, actually Yeon’s childhood, Kim Dae-jin presents a live-action series edition, in 12 episodes. (This review is for the first 4).

“The King of Pigs” is screening on Fantasia International Film Festival

A serial killer is on the loose, with his murders being particularly brutal, shocking every policeman that comes across them, with the exception of Kang Jin-ah, a brilliant detective whose intense tactics and obsession with solving crimes have alienated her from her colleagues. It is she who discovers a message written on a window, of the killer addressing a homicide detective, Jong-suk, even identifying himself as his childhood friend, Hwang Kyung-min.

Thirteen North American premieres also added, including Next Sohee for closing night.

Canada’s Fantasia International Film Festival has unveiled its third and final wave of titles, including nine world premieres and a closing night slot for Cannes Critics’ Week entry Next Sohee.

The festival has also announced the presentation of its Prix Denis-Heroux, recognising an exceptional contribution to genre and independent cinema in Quebec, to producer Pierre David, known for his collaborations with David Cronenberg, Jean-Claude Lord and other directors.

The new additions complete the line-up of more than 130 features and 200 shorts for this year’s Fantasia festival, which...