Jia Zhangke to Chair Competition Jury of Locarno Film Festival
On July 11, the 71st Locarno Film Festival announced this year’s jurors. The festival has named celebrated Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke to chair the jury, which includes five members this year. In addition to Jia Zhangke, French director Emmanuel Carrère, American director Sean Baker, Italian director Tizza Covi and Italian actress Isabella Ragonese are also on the jury. Jia has been a juror for several international film festivals, including Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and San Sebastian Film Festival. The 71st Locarno Film Festival runs from August 1-11 in Locarno, Switzerland. Read more on Mtime
Huayi Brothers Reports Over 100% Profit Jump for First Half of 2018
Huayi Brothers Media Corp., One of China’s leading private film studios, reported a striking profit jump of 128.5 to 158.5 percent year-on-year in its recently released performance report for the first half of 2018. The profit growth is largely due to the box office success of Feng Xiaogang’s Youth and romantic drama The Ex-File 3: The Return of The Exes. In the second half of 2018, the company will release several films, including Tsui Hark’s Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings. In addition, its movie theme parks in Suzhou, Changsha, Nanjing, and Zheng Zhou are also expected to open in the near future. Read more on Entertainment Capital
Box Office of ‘Dying To Survive’ Crosses $270 M
As of Wednesday, the total box office of local dark comedy Dying to Survive had crossed 1.8 billion yuan ($270 million). Currently, the film has surpassed Mojin-The Lost Legend to become the 10th highest-grossing Chinese film of all time. This Friday, another batch of highly anticipated films will open in Chinese theaters. Jiang Wen’s Hidden Man is expected to open with 44.64% screen share while the screen share of Dying To Survive will be reduced to 34% by then. In addition, fantasy drama Asura is expected to open with 15.82% screen share. Read more on Mtime
