Kai Ko: Celebs Rumors

Taipei Film Festival is aiming to shine an international spotlight on Taiwanese actors through a new initiative, Top Talents, that will showcase nine actors including major stars Kai Ko and Chen Bolin. 

Taiwan‘s major awards body Golden Horse will have a consolidated presence at Cannes‘ Marché du Film for the first time, under the umbrella ‘Golden Horse Goes to Cannes’.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji’s “Stonewalling” won the Chinese-language section of the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s Firebird Young Cinema competition. Lila Aviles’s “Totem” won the equivalent Firebird Award for international films. The festival began on March 30 and concluded on Sunday evening with a world premier screening of “Vital Sign” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre. The screening was accompanied by cast and crew including Louis Koo, director Cheuk Wan-chi, producer Jacqueline Liu and performers Neo Yao, Angela Yuen, Ng Wing-sze, Tony Wu and So Yuet-yin. In total, “Stonewalling” picked up three awards. In addition to the best film prize, it also collected the best actress prize for leads Huang Xiaoxiong and Yao Honggui and the FIPRESCI Award. The tale of an unwanted pregnancy, the film premiered at Venice and Toronto last year. The HKIFF jury said it “[reminds] us of the confusion, difficulty and suffering women face nowadays and the inescapable responsibilities they have to shoulder.  It inspires the audience to reflect on this important issue in modern society.  It is an invaluable film replete with empathy.”

Stonewalling, co-directed by Huang Ji and Otsuka Ryuji, was the big winner at Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), taking home three prizes including best film in the Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language) of the Firebird Awards. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Far East Film Festival in Italy’s Udine will open with a double bill of He Shuming’s “Ajoomma” and Kai Ko’s “Bad Education.” It will close with Zhang Yimou’s blockbuster period epic “Full River Red.” In between, the festival will showcase a stunning 78-title array of commercial and art-house films from across East Asia. Operating according to a motto of diversity –implying cultural asymmetries and artistic multiplicities – the 25th edition of the festival will run April 21-29. Organizers say that their selection “shows in real time how the cinemas of East and Southeast Asia have re-emerged from the gruelling period of the pandemic, not all in the same way and not all with the same results.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Like & Share” from Indonesia’s Gina S. Noer was named the best picture and collected the Grand Prix on Sunday at the Osaka Asian Film Festival. “All of us on the jury were struck by the film’s clear and powerful message, which affirms young women’s sexual curiosity and desire while clearly saying no to sexual violence. The style of the film is also original. The sweet, poppy feeling that fascinates the audience in the first half of the film becomes darker as the story progresses, making us shudder. “Like & Share,” with its strong message and brilliant direction, is a film that needs to be seen now more than ever,” said the jury in a statement.

Vivienne Chow Director: Kai Ko Producers: Ko Yao-zong, Lu Wei-chun, Giddens Ko, Midi Z, Molly Fang Key cast: Berant Zhu, Kent Tsai, Edison Song Actor Kai Ko’s directorial debut revolves around three young men who decide to bond with each other as sworn brothers as they graduate from high school by sharing dark secrets. The film’s Berant Zhu won the supporting actor prize at the 2022 Golden Horse Awards. Sales: Harvest 9 Road Entertainment

Taiwanese actor Kai Ko is said to be recovering after being struck by a camera drone on the set of Agent From Above, Netflix’s upcoming Chinese-language series.

Netflix has announced a slate of Chinese-language films and series, headlined by fantasy series Agent From Above, which the streamer says “boasts extensive visual effects that are seldom seen in a local series”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSingapore-based distributor and producer Clover Films has partnered with Taiwan’s Machi Xcelsior Studios for the worldwide theatrical rights (except Taiwan and South Korea) to Giddens Ko’s “Till We Meet Again.”The film is a fantasy romance starring Kai Ko (“You Are The Apple Of My Eye”), Gingle Wang (“Detention”) and Vivian Sung (“Our Times”) that recently garnered eleven nominations at the Golden Horse Film Awards.The producers will retain the rights in Taiwan. Hive Media Corp.

Rebecca Davis editorActor Kai Ko, the mournful star of Un Certain Regard film “Moneyboys,” declined to jump the queue for vaccinations in his native Taiwan, and so couldn’t walk the red carpet in person at Cannes this year.Nevertheless, his performance in first-time director C.B. Yi’s exploration of Chinese hustlers balancing the pressures of love, family and financial stability has cemented him as formidable talent to watch.The film will likely prove a helpful boost to his now decade-long career, which was derailed despite a rapid rise after an infamous 2014 marijuana bust in Beijing alongside Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee Chan.Ko points out that he never intended his subsequent break with entertainment world to last.

Rebecca Davis editorC.B. Yi’s Un Certain Regard title “Moneyboys” is a moving exploration of Chinese rural-to-urban migration that feels authentically emotional despite being peppered with incongruous moments and details.The film follows Fei (Kai Ko), who moves from the countryside to Chinese cities to support his family as a hustler.