‘Saturday Fiction’ Cancels December 7 Release
Chinese drama film Saturday Fiction, which is directed by Lou Ye and stars Gong Li, announced on Weibo that the film’s December 7 release has been cancelled. The post was published on December 7, the day when the film was previously scheduled to open. In the post, it’s also mentioned that the film team decided to “adjust the original release date” and the new date is yet to be determined. Saturday Fiction also stars Mark Chao, Zhang Songwen, Japanese actor Joe Odagiri, and German actor Tom Wlaschiha. Earlier this year, the film premiered at Venice International Film Festival and entered its main competition section. Read more on cnBeta
Hainan Film Festival Announces Winners of First Competition Section
The 2nd edition of The Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF) closed on December 8th and announced winners of its inaugural Golden Coconut Awards. According to the festival, a total of 1495 films from 80+ countries and regions were submitted to compete for the awards, which includes 10 categories. The Best Picture went to Pema Tseden’s latest film Balloon. The film’s female lead, Tibetan actress Sonam Wangmo, also crowned Best Actress for her performance. Sami Bouajila from France and Ryuhei Matsuda from Japan shared the award for Best Actor. Chinese film A First Farewell‘s helmer Wang Lina won the Best Director. In addition, HIIFF’s project market H!Action crowned five projects with cash prizes from RMB500, 000 to RMB3 million, including Fate, Run Bai Run, Climb on My Old Suffering, My Father Is A Policeman, and Assassin and Postcards. Read more on HIIFF
‘Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’ Scores China Release
Produced by Aardman Animations, the 2019 British stop-motion animated film Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon has been confirmed to release in China on December 28. In 2015, the first movie of the franchise Shaun the Sheep Movie also got a theatrical release in China and received positive reviews from the local audience. Directed by Will Becher and Richard Phelan, the sequel follows Shaun and the flock who embark a new adventure to help an alien find a way to return her home planet. Read more on Mtime