Global Flicks: Esteemed Iraq Director and Writer Amer Alwan Dies at 66
Asia: Taiwan’s smash-hit horror comedy Marry My Dead Body directed by Cheng Wei-hao is heading to Netflix on Aug. 10. The film centers around the Chinese tradition of “ghost marriage” and tells the story of Wu Ming-Han (Hsu Kuang Han), a straight policeman who is homophobic and afraid of ghosts. While collecting evidence for a case, he accidentally picks up a red envelope and is forced to marry Mao Pang-Yu (Austin Lin), who died under mysterious circumstances. The duo must join forces to solve the case and seek justice for Mao.
Hayao Miyazaki has renamed the anticipated final film The Boy and the Heron, and has been picked up by GKIDS for North American release later this year. The original Japanese title is Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka (translated as How Do You Live?) and was released in Japan Friday. The story was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, produced by the Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, and features a musical score from Joe Hisaishi. Studio Ghibli has decided not to release any information about the project through trailers or posters. GKIDS is not releasing further details or marketing materials.
Trinity CineAsia is releasing China’s summer blockbuster Lost in the Stars in the U.K. and Ireland. The film centers around a man who believes his wife is an imposter. It was written and produced by Chen Sicheng, who was behind the Detective Chinatown and the Sheep Without a Shepherd franchise.
Bollywood star Alia Bhatt will become the first woman to headline a film in the leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films’ spy universe. Alia Bhatt is the lead in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, which is on release at the end of this month. Alia will also be going international with Heart Of Stone, where she will share screen space with Gal Gadot. The film will commence production in 2024.
Toho Co. has announced Godzilla Minus One as the title of the latest installment in its Godzilla franchise. The film is planned to premiere in Japanese theaters on Nov. 4. and U.S. later, on Dec. 1. The film's promotion shows a postwar Japan facing a new threat against a mutated Godzilla. The film will be directed by Yamazaki Takashi, the first Japanese-produced “Godzilla” movie since Shin Godzilla.
Jitin Hingorani has joined India’s National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) as the newly created head of programming for Film Bazaar. Hingorani reports to Prithul Kumar, joint secretary of films at India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Leena Khobragade, formerly Film Bazaar director, now serves as artistic director of the market.
Merry Christmas, directed by Sriram Raghavan, will be released in both Hindi and Tamil on December 15, 2023. The film will star Katrina Kaif, Vijay Sethupathi, Sanjay Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Pratima Kannan, Tinnu Anand, Radhika Sarathkumar, Shanmugaraja, Kevin Jay Babu, Rajesh Williams, and Pari. Ashwini Kalsekar and Radhika Apte will also be seen in cameos. The film is produced by Ramesh Taurani, Jaya Taurani, Sanjay Routray, and Kewal Garg.
Amer Alwan
Middle East: Iraqi film director and writer Amer Alwan, creator of Zaman, the Man From the Reeds, died at 66. Alwan was surrounded by family at the Simone Veil Hospital in the French town of Eaubonne on July 4 after battling cancer for a year. He was buried at Saint-Ouen Cemetery in Paris.
Saudi filmmaker Abdulaziz Alshlahei will direct the film Hobal with Mufarrej Al-Majfel as a screenwriter, about a Saudi family living in isolation in the desert during the early 1990s. The film will be shot in NEOM, in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern corner, and will star Jordanian actor Mohammed Altoyan (Tash ma Tash) and Saudi’s Mishal Almutairi (Love, Life & Everything in Between), along with an all-Saudi cast.
