Bright Shadow Films » film distribution china

Confucius (Kong ze)

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:51:05 +0000

Well if you haven’t watch this movie, you should spend some time online reading about the review, sadly due to the current situation of the Avatar situation in China, the box office is not going very well, although it seems the DaDi Film Co is trying something in foreign land.

Here is a few things came from Screendaily:

Chow Yun-fat is the main attraction in Confucius, a ponderous and weakly-imagined attempt at repackaging the ancient sage for the blockbuster era. Hu Mei’s (For All Eternity) film includes both battle sequences and an attempted seduction of the legendary philosopher in hopes of drawing mainstream audiences, but a lack of narrative development results in a film that is neither entertaining nor enlightening.

From what you can see in the trailer actually the film images looks alright, although the main complain from the audience are focus on “story”, but it’s still worth most people and their pop-corn.

Incoming search terms for the article:

?????

??????

The Insider’s Guide to Shooting in China

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:04:00 +0000

This article is originally from here

Photographers are heading to China in droves right now, whether for the coming Olympics in Beijing (August 8-24), to cover the aftermath of the tragic May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province — or just to shoot stock: China’s ferocious growth and rapidly changing economy have made it a perennially hot news property.

“It’s an unusual time of openness in China, which is traditionally a xenophobic country, thanks to the Olympics and the earthquake, ” says Jeff Greenwald, executive director of Ethical Traveler , a project of the Earth Island Institute. “That openness is a two-way street. People traveling to China, particularly Americans, can try to counteract some of the negative images that China has of us from its media.”

But this is a very politically sensitive country. Attempting to shoot certain subjects—anything to do with say, Tibet, religion, state executions, and disease—can get you in trouble with the authorities. Along with Greenwald, PDNOnline talked to ten photographers who have shot in mainland China to get their tips for those new to the country. Several living in or frequently working in China spoke on the condition of anonymity. Those who spoke to us on the record are:

Monte Isom, a commercial photographer who specializes in portraits of athletes
Catherine Karnow, photographer behind National Geographic Traveler: Beijing
Wayne Liu, a Taiwan-born fine-arts shooter
Mads Nissen, a freelance photojournalist based in Shanghai
Sara Remington, a food and travel photographer
James Whitlow Delano, a Tokyo-based photographer with Redux Pictures and author of Empire: Impressions from China

BEFORE YOU GO

Vaccines: Many photographers recommended getting the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control has a Web site for China with a full health briefing.

Visas: Note that your passport has to be valid for at least six more months. The visa situation has changed several times in the past few months. Check the Chinese Embassy’s Web site for the most up-to-date requirements.

Everyone had an opinion on getting a tourist or business visa versus an official journalist visa:

“We went in on a tourist visa to shoot a wedding and pick up stock. The photographer I went with and I had four camera bodies and 10 lenses. But she and I purposefully made ourselves look younger and separated ourselves.”—Remington

“When I was freelancing, I was on a business visa because I wanted to stay completely off the radar. Now, I am staff and on a J-1 (resident journalist) visa, as it is required by my company. There are benefits to being unregistered and registered. Unregistered allows more freedom to move and work on sensitive stories, but you run the risk of being deported, arrested, or having your contacts get arrested. Being registered allows you to do official events and work openly, but it is restricted. Registered journalists are not allowed to visit Tibet unless invited, and the invitation is difficult to obtain.”—Photojournalist based in China

“It depends on how much you have to lose. If you were going to come and shoot a big production with a lot of lights and models, you kind of need to get a proper visa. The police can close your operation down in a second.”—Beijing-based documentary photographer

“The business visa situation was changing constantly this year. Even my local Chinese producer couldn’t get it all put together. We needed a letter of invitation from the company hiring me, proof the airfare was confirmed and booked, hotel confirmed and booked, two passport photos, a letter from me to my assistants saying I was hiring them and they needed a visa, and an official invitation from the correct department. And that’s for one month. For a multiple-entry visa you need to prove why you need to come in and out.”–Isom

SHOOTING

Street/stock photography:

“The first thing to remember about China is that it’s not just one ethnic group. You can’t make assumptions about how people will feel about having their photo taken, or the courtesies involved. People in Beijing on the street might be OK with you shooting without asking, but Muslim Chinese people in the southern regions might react every differently.”— Greenwald

“As a woman, you just look a lot less threatening. Sometimes I wear little open-toed sandal with a pedicure. I wanted to shoot this massive demolition scene from above. There was a hotel nearby overlooking it, but there is no way in China you can just go up to the manager and explain you’re shooting for a National Geographic guidebook and get permission. I pretended I was checking in, looked at several rooms, and then I ended up sneaking in through the kitchen and shooting from the fire escape. I stuck my camera in my nice big Coach purse.”—Karnow

Photojournalism and sensitive topics

“Sometimes the political situation is dominant (anti-NATO riots 1999, the annual party congress), and sometimes it fades. But during the Olympics you can be sure it will be forefront. It’s not like there are cops everywhere telling you not to shoot, but subjects might get touchy about mildest things during times of political stress. Be subtle and act innocent. —Documentary photographer

“There is a saying in China that it is easier to ask forgiveness than for permission (read: access). Act first, and chances are if you are mild mannered, good natured, and wear a smile, even authorities will forgive a photograph of a bridge, soldier, or some other moderately sensitive subject in this often loosely controlled one-party state.”—Whitlow Delano

Commercial photography

“Chinese clients typically do not pay the agency and have them pay you. If they did, it would cost them about 12-15 percent more because of invoice taxes etc. So the client pays you directly—except the client does not want to pay anyone outside of China because that incurs a 15 percent tax; there is a loophole in Hong Kong. So the best way to go about doing a job there is to find a local production, hire them to produce your job, and then they pay you. They will charge a premium, but it makes the Chinese company more willing to hire you. Also, negotiating with Chinese clients is much different than in the United States. They want a deal. Doesn’t matter where the starting price was, they want it to be lower. “—Isom

LOGISTICS

“Skype is great for calling back home. With an unlocked cell phone, you can get a local SIM card, put $50 on it, and SMS back and forth to your local clients and back to the States. People in China text a lot and won’t like paying international fees to text you while you’re just across the city.”—Isom

“For those of us who are accustomed to uploading and downloading via FTP, you will realize as soon as you get to China that FTP speeds are nowhere near where it once was.”—from Nissen’s handy posting on
Lightstalkers.org for using the Internet in China

“It’s easy to find cheap hostels; I used Lonely Planet. Don’t pay until you see the rooms. They might be sketchy, dirty, rat infested. I felt safe leaving my film and extra camera equipment in the hostels I stayed in.”—Liu

“The bathroom situation is interesting for women. Pack your own toilet paper —and hand sanitizer is good, too.”—Remington

FOOD

“I basically eat what the locals eat. But if I’m doing a pollution story on, for example, in a ‘cancer-village,’ I’ll bring my own food or eat instant noodles, though it can be pretty boring for a whole week. “—Nissen

“I always have antibiotics on hand because my experiences is that one gets sick at 2 a.m. not 2 p.m.”—Delano

“The person I was traveling with was allergic to gluten, which was impossible to explain to people. So if you have food sensitivities, bring plenty of protein bars, almonds, etc.”—Remington

PEOPLE

“If you don’t speak Chinese, find a hip and friendly bilingual local assistant. It’s pretty easy to chat young people up, but older folks feel more comfortable with a local person talking to them. Avoid the scams where English-speaking ‘art students’ try to show you ‘their works’ that you buy because they are so friendly, or take you to a tea shop where each cup is practically $50.”—Documentary photographer

“A good guide, a good ‘fixer,’ is absolutely critical. Smart, tireless, their English has to be good but not necessarily great. When I am shooting portraits, for me to be able to coax the expressions and gestures out of people, I need almost simultaneous translation.”—Karnow

ETHICS

“Be aware that your actions when uncovering sensitive issues may bring heavy consequences upon people who can not leave the country. Do not post names, photograph faces of people who are quoted commenting on sensitive topics that are contrary to government policy. The story is not worth ruining a good person’s life. Period.”—Delano

“If I were covering a sensitive story I would hire a translator who is not a Chinese national—who has a foreign passport, but who speaks Chinese fluently. I would try not to use a minority, like a Tibetan, to work on these issues. Because they’re already in a politically sensitive situation. As the photographer I do what I can do to protect the people I work with and who I photograph, but in the end it’s a really messed-up situation.”—Beijing-based documentary photographer

Freelance writer Bonnie Azab Powell lives in Oakland with her husband, portrait photographer Bart Nagel . She would like to go to China someday — but maybe after the Olympics.

http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003815876

Incoming search terms for the article:

?????

??????

The 12th Shanghai International Film Festival 2009 concludes

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:33:10 +0000

Award for Best Feature Film
ORIGINAL directed by Antonio Tublén / Alexander Brøndsted
Jury Comments: Using this title for a film is dangerous, almost suicidal. But the film more than met the challenge the title lays down. A light, touching and subversive study of mental illness that is compassionate and never sentimental. From the opening image of a fish tank being peeled open to the Mexican wrestlers tumbling in the heroes’ mind we know we had found the best film …… ORGINAL!
Jury Grand Prix
THE SEARCH directed by Pema Tseden
Jury Comments: The most challenging film we saw, almost a meditation in patience as well as an exercise in it for the viewer, uncompromising but funny and humane too. We look forward to many more films from Tibet.
Jury Award
EMPIRE OF SILVER directed by Christina Yao
Jury Comments: To the director and her cast and crew for the detail and craft on such an epic scale and in such extraordinary locations. And for reminding us, especially at this time that bankers should be kind and righteous.
Award for Best Director
Julius Sevcik for NORMAL
Jury Comments: A dazzling and technically bold director in command of all elements delivering his challenging vision of the serial killer genre.
Award for Best Actor
Sverrir Gudnason in ORIGINAL directed by Antonio Tublén/Alexander Brøndsted
Jury Comments: Is he acting, fantasizing, fooling everyone – and himself – or is he simply crazy – we never really know. What we know is that this young actor’s brilliant, sensitive, humorous and vulnerable performance is absolutely mesmerizing.
Award for Best Actress
Simone Tang in ACHING HEARTS directed by Nils Malmros
Jury Comments: For the control and clarity of complex emotions perfectly captured by a performance that lures us in until we find ourselves, like the young hero, repulsed.
Award for Best Screenplay
Fabio Bonifacci/ Giulio Manfredonia for WE CAN DO THAT
Jury Comments: Their screenplay documents with wit and clarity – a true story of the way political philosophy can intersect with social need and build something truly transforming
Award for Best Cinematography
Nicolas Guicheteau / Hans Meier for NOWHERE PROMISED LAND
Jury Comments: This is the most contentious decision. It is not in the classical tradition but more an acknowledgement that cinematography in the modern era can be about ways of seeing; what you look at and how it looks back at you.
Award for Best Music
Hyoung-woo ROH for ROUGH CUT
Jury Comments: Modern, pulpy, deliberately undermining and enlivening the gangster genre

?????

??????

The 12th Shanghai International Film Festival Asian New Talent Award

admin — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:19:46 +0000

Title: Days with You

Country : Japan

Year : 2008

Director: Amiy Mori

Running time: 103

Synopsis

Two childhood friends who grew up in a town that used to be called “Town of Falling Stars” are reunited after an 11 year interval. While an old landmark planetarium is about to be demolished and the star lights about to be replaced with neon lights in their hometown, the two confront their harsh fate. Believing in the miracle of the constellation meteor shower…

Title: Prince of cockfighting

Country : Philippine

Year : 2008

Director: Yeng Grande

Running time: 115

Synopsis

This is the story of Joey…The prodigal son who came back home. Only this time , he overstayed his welcome.

Joey, an Actor who was very passionate in cockfighting (Cockfighting is the most popular national pastime in the Philippines). When Joey’s best gamecock lost to a unknown breed of gamecock named “prinsipe sabong”, he was frantic and livid. Joey could not work and lost appetite as an actor. He was obsessed with the identity of prinsipe sabong and its whereabouts. He then quit showbiz. He decided to go back home to his province & look for that gamecock . It was rumoured to be bred in his Hometown. But no one could be sure.

Upon return, he was surprised to find out their house became like an orphange! His Father decided to adopt children. He was very much against it, but his brother was fine with it. The ruckus started. What made it worst is the pressence of Celine. Celine is the girlfriend of his brother, whom Joey later fell in love with…

Title: vacation

Country : Japan

Year : 2008

Director: Kadoi Hajime

Running time: 115

Synopsis

Hirai, a middle-aged prison guard, is getting married to Mika, a single mother. Hirai has not been able to spend enough time with her son due to busy work, and the child has not opened up his mind to Hirai yet. In the prison, those who volunteer to support the execution of an inmate receive a vacation for a week leading up to the date of the execution. No guard likes to do the job because of its closeness to the death of inmates who they spend a long time with. Finding in need of time with his new family, Hirai decides to take up the position and go on a trip.

Title: A Wednesday

Country : India

Year : 2008

Director: NEERAJ PANDEY

Running time: 103

Synopsis

A Wednesday is a thriller set almost in real time in this city. It tells the story of certain events that unfold between 2 & 6 pm on a particular Wednesday. Events which do not exist in any record but which deeply affected the lives of those involved.

Prakash Rathod is the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai. He was in his office just like any other day till the time he gets a call from a Man. What and why is the crux of the story that has been kept a closely guarded secret. The Case is not supposed to be a precedent.

Title: Be calm and count to 7

Country : Iran

Year : 2008

Director: Ramtin lavafipour
Running time: 89

Synopsis

On an island in the south of Iran, the lives of several people are unintentionally tied to each other: the father of a thirteen-year old boy named Moto has smuggled few people out of Iran, and has not yet returned home; Moto, involved in goods smuggling, is looking for signs of his father; another, a man who is an intermediary in goods smuggling has a wife and child living in Tehran. The man is not satisfied with wife’s intention for emigrating abroad, and feels helpless as he is losing his last hope for a better life. And, finally, a bride, whose groom has left her on the first night of their marriage!

Title: Scandal Makers

Country : South Korean

Year : 2008

Director: Hyeong-Cheol Kang

Running time: 108

Synopsis

Mid 30′s Nam Hyeon-su is a popular radio DJ and entertainer (who was even more popular in his younger days as a teen idol).
One day, Hwang Jeong-nam suddenly appears and tells Hyeon-su that he is her father. Furthermore, she informs him that he is now a grandfather to her young son, Ki-dong. Jeong-nam then follows Hyeon-su everywhere he goes. This causes the media to take notice and mistakenly identify Hyeon-su and Jeong-nam as a couple. A complicated scandal then erupts.

English Title: The days

Country : Singapore

Year : 2008

Director: Boi Kwong

Running time: 92

Synopsis

Based on a true story – “THE DAYS” tells a cautionary tale between two brothers, set between 1989 and 1990. In a misguided effort to teach BABY independence, and to make him feel protected, ZI LONG brings him into his own gang of delinquents, introducing him to his group nicknamed “The 4 Heavenly Kings” – DOG, the silent fighter; COCKROACH, the loudmouth and TAUPER, the motorbike riding free soul together with their surrogate leader JEREMY TAN. Unknowingly, his decision has thrown them both into a tumultuous and violent world that will, in different ways, imprison them both.

Title: JALAINUR

Country : China

Year : 2008

Director: Zhao Ye

Running time: 92

Synopsis

Jalainur, near the border of China and Russia, is an open-pit colliery with over-100-years of history and the unusual sight of steam trains in service. Now the huge pit is almost empty, the steam trains will be retired and a large number of colliery workers are facing the crisis of being laid off. The idea of this film comes from an old Chinese saying, “Even if I accompany you for thousands of miles, finally we must bid farewell.”

The two protagonists, Old Zhu and Zhizhong, have worked closely together. One day Zhizhong finds that Old Zhu is not at the colliery where he has worked for over 30 years and he left to be with his daughter who lives near the border. Zhizhong gets on the road and manages to follow Old Zhu all the way and finally decided to leaves him when Old Zhu’s daughter shows up. Zhizhong wanders around at the border, he misses the train to go back to work that day.

The entire film is shot on actual location in Jalainur.

Title: Walk to School

Country: China

Year: 2008

Director: Peng Jia Huang, Peng Chen

Running time: 90

Synopsis

Wawa is a 7-year-old, living the mountain area. He envies his sister, Naxiang, for she can go to school every day. To go to school, Wawa must use the tramline. However, his mother never allowed him to do so. She promised to let him play the tramline only if his father is back from work in the “big city”.

Yet, Wawa was so curious about the other side of the mountain that he secretly went across the valley by the tramline. What happened in school deeply impressed him. With the coming of a new teacher from the “big city”, Wawa’s life was changed…

?????

??????

A Few Pictures From Sophie Marceau Premiere

admin — Wed, 20 May 2009 10:14:58 +0000

Ever Since Bright Shadow Films Set the distribution department, we have been very busy with some distribution work in China, we bring the western movies into Chinese Cinema.

In April 2009, Our first project ” Female Agent (Les femmes de l’ombre) ” went great in China, we brought the famous French actress Sophie Marceau into Beijing and Shanghai for the film premiere, the whole project went very smooth, if you search it in Chinese, you can find a lot of report about it.

Recently our distribution manager Gregory is in Cannes Film Festival, hopefully in this year you can see more work from Bright Shadow Films, same time if you have any thoughts regarding our project, feel free to contact us: info@brightshadowfilms.com

Here is a few random pictures from that night’s Shanghai premiere:

Incoming search terms for the article:

?????

??????

Bright Shadow Films

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 07:29:16 +0000

Bright Shadow Films offers a total range of production solutions from script to completed delivery on multiple platforms as well as turnkey solutions of the highest quality for third party productions coming to China.

We are flexible and very experienced with a great balance of Western experience and communication skills, with Chinese local knowledge and cultural sophistication.

To add to this, our comprehensive range of services covering pre-production planning, film making and your post production needs are presented at attractive rates offering great value.

Bright Shadow Films has four main activities :

Independent Production
Bright Shadow produces, finances and distributes either directly or through partners our own projects, managing content from its inception at script stage to final delivery.

Production Agency
Building on the strengths of its own productions in China, Bright Shadow offers selected services to its clients, from full on production to parts of the process.

Studio
Bright Shadow operates one of the finest sound production facilities in China. Bridging an often overlooked part of the production process, Bright Shadow has brought international expertise and talent to man what is a unique facility in China.

News
Production services offered to news crews who’s need for efficiency and reliability are paramount.

?????

??????