http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/03/272@201328.htm
'Tears' from heaven - Tears of the Black Tiger
http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/070302/art ... ntID=64627
The Postmodern Life of My Aunt, HKIFF preview - scroll down
http://hk.bcmagazine.net/hk.bcmagazine. ... inema.html
Beijing opera master calls for cleaning up TV reality shows
Son of Mei Lanfang
http://english.people.com.cn/200703/03/ ... 53975.html
Chinese Stars' Contact Numbers Leaked Online
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/03/272@201320.htm
Lin Chiling was invited to walk the catwalk showing off the top wedding dress brands on the opening day of this year's China International Wedding Expo
http://english.cri.cn/3086/2007/03/03/272@201334.htm
Stefanie Sun's incident in Cairo a publicity stunt?
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story ... 47,00.html
Malaysian film wins big at Berlin film fest
German fans won't stop clapping
By Sheela Narayanan
March 01, 2007
DIRECTOR Yasmin Ahmad may dub her latest film Mukhsin 'small', but it went down big at the 57th Berlin Film Festival recently.
The film is about the friendship between a 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl which turns to love. It won the grand prize in the competition category Generation, which is for films about young people.
Mukhsin also won special mention in another category, Generation K-Plus Crystal Bear, which is judged by an 11-member jury made up of children.
Speaking to The New Paper from her office in Kuala Lumpur, the 47-year-old director of critically-acclaimed films like Sepet (Slitty Eyes), the inter-racial love story between a Chinese video pirate and a Malay girl, and its sequel Gubra, was on cloud nine.
Said Yasmin: 'Mukhsin is a small story, but it is my best story.'
She said the story was based on her and her family's experiences of first love.
Yasmin said the German audience kept applauding after the screening.
'It was amazing to see these Europeans who responded to the film. They were moved to laughter,' she said.
The citation from the Berlin jury said it all.
It said Mukhsin has 'a wonderful, almost magical atmosphere, enhanced by a striking soundtrack, poetic images of the closeness of a family and community'.
It said: 'A witty script combined with well-rounded and humorous characters. All this in a story of a friendship that dared not cross into love, and a love for which friendship is no longer enough.'
Mukhsin is part of the trilogy that is based on Sepet's and Gubra's female protagonist, Orked, played in the first two movies by Malaysian actress Sharifah Amani Al-Yahya.
To cast the 10-year-old Orked, Yasmin didn't have to look too far. She roped in Sharifah Amani's younger sister, Sharifah Aryana. Their older sister Sharifah Aliya was cast as Orked's young mother.
The role of 13-year-old Mukshin went to newcomer Mohd Syafie Naswib.
Yasmin said that Syafie, 14, a secondary school student, had travelled by bus from a district several hours outside KL to audition for the role.
'He was not at all camera-conscious. I knew he was the one as he had that pain of loss inside him,' she said.
The film will be released in Malaysia on 8Mar. Its release in Singapore is still to be confirmed.
For the award, Yasmin won 7,500 euros ($15,000), which she will be using for her diabetic father's hospital bills.
Yasmin's next film, which will be filmed later this year, revolves around a Muslim convert. She also has another film in the works, which is a collaboration with Indonesian director Nia Dinata.
Called Ibu-Ibu (Mothers) it will star actress Jajang C Noer from Nia's film about polygamy, Love For Share.
However, Yasmin, the creative director of a large advertising firm, can start on the film only in 2008.
She said: 'I can make only one film a year. I have only 20 days of leave.
'My company is very kind and tells me to take an extra 10 days, but I can't afford to do more than one. Until film-making pays me a good salary, this is how it is.'
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story ... 80,00.html?