https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/rss/510780/feed Reporting on the most famous and fashionable, and the films, at the annual Venice Film Festival en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg dpa dpa Israel’s top military officer on Monday ordered lawyers to examine steps against the filmmakers behind the Gaza war documentary NAZA that took the jury’s special prize at the Venice Film Festival. Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir instructed the military prosecutor to “examine and advance possible legal measures concerning the film and those involved in it”, the military posted on social media. The statement cited “the spread of false claims about soldiers of the Israeli army as well as... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3367509/israeli-army-chief-orders-legal-review-gaza-war-documentary-naza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3367509/israeli-army-chief-orders-legal-review-gaza-war-documentary-naza?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 18:34:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram The 83rd Venice International Film Festival was defined by surprises. While this year’s line-up lacked major Hollywood studio fare, the jury – led by American actress-director Maggie Gyllenhaal and including veteran Hong Kong filmmaker Johnnie To Kei-fung – still had plenty to chew over. Labour issues emerged as a prominent theme, while the festival looked controversially to the future with the selection of Be Brave, a documentary about Diesel founder Renzo Rosso that was partly completed using... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367444/venice-2026-10-festivals-best-movies-woman-unknown-possible-love-and-musk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367444/venice-2026-10-festivals-best-movies-woman-unknown-possible-love-and-musk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:15:05 +0000 Reuters Reuters Danish filmmaker May el-Toukhy’s post-war drama Woman Unknown ⁠won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, with its star Mathilde Arcel also taking best actress honours in a rare double victory. El-Toukhy was the only woman directing a feature film in the main, 21-strong film line-up, a disparity that drew criticism during the festival and prompted renewed scrutiny of the barriers facing women in cinema. Set in the aftermath of World War II, Woman Unknown follows a housemaid... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367326/woman-unknown-wins-gold-lion-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3367326/woman-unknown-wins-gold-lion-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2026 20:05:28 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars Filmmaker Lav Diaz takes audiences into the jungles of the Philippines with Let Us Through, Dear Ancestors, a harrowing historical drama premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival. The premise here loosely evokes Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear (1953), replacing the volatile nitroglycerine of that film with massive blocks of limestone. Set in the early 17th century, approximately a century after the events of Diaz’s 2025 film Magellan –... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367320/venice-2026-let-us-through-dear-ancestors-movie-review-lav-diazs-brutal-colonial-epic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367320/venice-2026-let-us-through-dear-ancestors-movie-review-lav-diazs-brutal-colonial-epic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2026 14:25:09 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars Set against the backdrop of recent protests and looming war, Ali Asgari’s on-the-nose drama illuminates the grim reality of everyday life in modern Iran. Receiving its world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, A Bit of Light is Asgari’s sixth feature film and comes after 2025’s Divine Comedy. He co-wrote the screenplay of his latest film with Shadmehr Rastin, who previously collaborated with Jafar Panahi on the Cannes-winning It Was Just an Accident. Set... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367179/venice-2026-bit-light-movie-review-iranian-drama-strikes-melancholic-chord?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3367179/venice-2026-bit-light-movie-review-iranian-drama-strikes-melancholic-chord?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 15:15:05 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A chilling new documentary about Israel’s AI-powered mass killing of civilians in Gaza from two Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers received a 25-minute ovation at its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday. The audience clapped continuously for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after the screening, setting what is thought to be a record in Venice after a 23-minute ovation for another film about Gaza last year. In their film NAZA, Abraham and Szor used conversations with 24 different Israeli... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3367128/israeli-film-ai-backed-gaza-killings-gets-25-minute-venice-ovation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/middle-east/article/3367128/israeli-film-ai-backed-gaza-killings-gets-25-minute-venice-ovation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:42:15 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2/5 stars Premiering out of competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, this latest effort from Japanese writer-director Sabu, in which a Taipei detective battles amnesia, is an underwhelming twist on the police procedural that never truly feels like it knows, or even cares, what it wants to be. Taiwanese actor Ethan Ruan Ching-tien (The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon) stars as Detective Lee, a formidable policeman who oversees a loyal crew of men with nicknames like “Wolf”,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366218/venice-2026-arrested-memory-movie-review-ethan-ruan-leads-sabus-muddled-crime-thriller?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366218/venice-2026-arrested-memory-movie-review-ethan-ruan-leads-sabus-muddled-crime-thriller?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2026 20:00:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars Unveiled in competition at the Venice International Film Festival just three months after he took the somewhat disappointing Sheep in the Box to Cannes, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Look Back – in which a childhood friendship shapes an artistic dream – is an elegant work that once again underlines the Japanese director’s preternatural skills at working with young actors. The film is full of surprises and beautifully rendered, much like the manga at the heart of the story. Adapted from Tatsuki... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366614/venice-2026-look-back-movie-review-hirokazu-koreeda-explores-childhood-manga-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366614/venice-2026-look-back-movie-review-hirokazu-koreeda-explores-childhood-manga-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:00:09 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars The latest entry in the journalism movie category that includes the likes of Network, Nightcrawler, Shattered Glass and Spotlight, Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime turns the lens on Dateline NBC, the US news magazine show, and in particular the work of Chris Hansen, the presenter of To Catch a Predator – a disturbing segment that began in 2004. The show aimed to sniff out and expose internet paedophiles who attempted to lure underage children into meeting them. Played with oil-slick... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366594/venice-2026-primetime-movie-review-robert-pattinson-catches-predators-blunted-satire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366594/venice-2026-primetime-movie-review-robert-pattinson-catches-predators-blunted-satire?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2026 04:52:28 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4.5/5 stars “Thou shalt not covet,” reads a title card at the beginning of Lee Chang-dong’s much-anticipated new film, Possible Love – alluding to the title of the 10th part of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s epic Dekalog. But covet what exactly? While Lee’s complex, nuanced drama features a modicum of sexual tension and a soupçon of envy, it goes much deeper. Issues of class and wealth bounce around like frenzied atoms in the Korean filmmaker’s first feature since his award-winning 2018 psychological... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3366373/venice-2026-possible-love-movie-review-lee-chang-dong-explores-class-masterful-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3366373/venice-2026-possible-love-movie-review-lee-chang-dong-explores-class-masterful-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:30:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars “We were taught to treat Asians like they were less than human,” says Allen Nelson in Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, a true-life drama about a former US Marine faced with a reckoning. Screening in competition at this year’s Venice International Film Festival, this often powerful work is based on Nelson’s memoir of the same name. Somewhat surprisingly, Shinya Tsukamoto, the cult Japanese director behind Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) and Bullet Ballet (1998), adapted it in what is only... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366337/venice-2026-mr-nelson-did-you-kill-people-haunting-vietnam-war-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366337/venice-2026-mr-nelson-did-you-kill-people-haunting-vietnam-war-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:15:05 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4/5 stars With Wild Horse Nine, the fifth film of his much-heralded career, Martin McDonagh returns to the joys of his first. The director’s 2008 debut, In Bruges, was a sublimely written tale of two hitmen arguing in the picture-postcard town of the title. Similarly, his latest introduces us to two CIA operatives bickering as they head to the remote Chilean territory of Easter Island in 1973. That is not to say Wild Horse Nine – screening in competition at the Venice International Film Festival... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366219/venice-2026-wild-horse-nine-movie-review-martin-mcdonagh-returns-jet-black-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366219/venice-2026-wild-horse-nine-movie-review-martin-mcdonagh-returns-jet-black-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:30:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars Set in a seedy 1960s world of smoky pubs and grimy snooker halls, where deals are done on napkins, Danny Boyle’s Ink is a stark reminder of how British media changed forever with the creation of The Sun. Opening this year’s Venice International Film Festival, this latest venture from Slumdog Millionaire director Boyle comes adapted by James Graham from his own play. Not that you would know it; there is nothing theatrical about Boyle’s staging here. Initially taking centre stage in... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366175/venice-2026-ink-movie-review-danny-boyle-charts-gritty-birth-sun-newspaper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3366175/venice-2026-ink-movie-review-danny-boyle-charts-gritty-birth-sun-newspaper?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2026 03:30:23 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh 4/5 stars Unfolding in near real-time, Kaouther Ben Hania’s riveting docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab recreates the desperate efforts of Red Crescent workers to rescue a young Palestinian girl trapped in a car in the Gaza Strip after her family is attacked by the Israel Defence Forces. Seamlessly blending actual voice recordings with dramatic reconstructions, the film is a harrowing and politically potent thriller about the true price of war. On January 29, 2024, volunteers at a Red Crescent... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3353968/voice-hind-rajab-movie-review-harrowing-gaza-docudrama-breathless-vital-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3353968/voice-hind-rajab-movie-review-harrowing-gaza-docudrama-breathless-vital-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2026 04:32:42 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak This is the 73rd instalment in a biweekly series profiling major Hong Kong pop culture figures of recent decades. In the golden age of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing was a star so bright that he rewrote the rules of conservative Asian society. Affectionately nicknamed Gor Gor – Cantonese for “older brother” – the Cantopop legend’s talent spanned disciplines and extended far beyond the city’s borders. Even now, decades after his death in 2003, fans from around the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348009/how-leslie-cheung-broke-all-rules-become-hong-kongs-greatest-modern-superstar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348009/how-leslie-cheung-broke-all-rules-become-hong-kongs-greatest-modern-superstar?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:15:13 +0000 Salomé Grouard Salomé Grouard When filmmaker Elizabeth Lo is asked which questions she wishes she got more often, she laughs before answering. “I wish people asked more about my other projects, especially Stray,” she tells me, sipping a coffee in Hong Kong, hours before flying back to Los Angeles for a final round of awards season events. Point taken. The acclaimed documentary director doesn’t want to be defined solely by her latest work, Mistress Dispeller, which follows a Chinese couple through a turbulent time in their... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/culture/article/3345504/elizabeth-lo-her-oscar-shortlisted-film-about-chinas-mistress-dispellers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/culture/article/3345504/elizabeth-lo-her-oscar-shortlisted-film-about-chinas-mistress-dispellers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:00:09 +0000 Joshua Hendren Joshua Hendren At this year’s Venice Film Festival, Dwayne Johnson revealed a new red carpet look, trading his usual muscle-hugging tailoring for something more refined. For the premiere of The Smashing Machine, the Rock’s newest biographical sports drama film based on the life and career of mixed martial arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr, the 53-year-old stepped out in a custom Prada suit – his first from the brand – cut in cool grey with a double-breasted jacket and softly draped trousers over a taupe shirt.... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3336064/why-men-large-muscular-builds-should-go-relaxed-cut-suit-dwayne-johnson-and-jason-momoa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/trends/article/3336064/why-men-large-muscular-builds-should-go-relaxed-cut-suit-dwayne-johnson-and-jason-momoa?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 22:00:11 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram Park Chan-wook, the celebrated South Korean auteur behind such esteemed works as Oldboy and The Handmaiden, is not a filmmaker one typically associates with comedy. It came as a surprise, then, even to his lead actor, Lee Byung-hun, when the script for his latest film, No Other Choice, turned out to be funny. “There were so many comical elements to it, so I was a little bit puzzled,” Lee admits at a recent interview with the Post. “The very first question I asked Director Park was, ‘Did I read... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3328905/no-other-choice-why-korean-auteur-park-chan-wook-reunited-lee-byung-hun-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3328905/no-other-choice-why-korean-auteur-park-chan-wook-reunited-lee-byung-hun-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 11:15:08 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/article/3325940/xin-zhilei-wins-best-actress-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/article/3325940/xin-zhilei-wins-best-actress-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000 Alice Yan Alice Yan China’s Xin Zhilei, the winner of the best actress award at the recent Venice Film Festival, has come a long way from her humble beginnings as a restaurant waitress. Since Xin won the prestigious prize on September 6, her life story has trended on mainland social media, with internet users celebrating her hard work and grit through the years. Xin, 39, was born in Heigang, an underdeveloped city in northeastern Heilongjiang province, both her parents were manual workers. She has a younger brother... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3325005/xin-zhilei-venice-film-festival-best-actress-poverty-discovery-donnie-yen-team?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3325005/xin-zhilei-venice-film-festival-best-actress-poverty-discovery-donnie-yen-team?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 10:00:14 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram “I feel lucky,” Shu Qi says. It is a modest claim from an internationally renowned film star having a remarkable career moment. When she sits down with the Post for this interview, the Taiwanese actress turned filmmaker is at the Venice Film Festival with the sensitively hewn drama Girl, her directorial debut that has just played in competition. It comes hot off the back of a starring role in Chinese auteur Bi Gan’s experimental three-hour sci-fi epic Resurrection, which won the Special Jury... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324858/how-shu-qi-drew-her-painful-childhood-girl-her-directorial-debut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324858/how-shu-qi-drew-her-painful-childhood-girl-her-directorial-debut?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Sep 2025 23:15:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram One of the biggest surprises of the 82nd Venice Film Festival was saved until the very end, when Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother took the Golden Lion for best film. Starring Adam Driver, Tom Waits and Cate Blanchett, this slight, minimalist triptych study of familial relations recalled last year’s winner, Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door, in the sense that a director who has never won a major festival top prize finally did so with a relatively middling film. The film was... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324742/venice-2025-10-festivals-best-films-smashing-machine-no-other-choice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324742/venice-2025-10-festivals-best-films-smashing-machine-no-other-choice?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 20:15:08 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram When Xin Zhilei stood up to accept her best actress award at this year’s Venice Film Festival, winning for Cai Shangjun’s The Sun Rises on Us All, she was in a daze. “I feel like I am dreaming,” she said. The first Chinese actress to win the prestigious prize since Deanie Ip Tak-han took it for Ann Hui On-wah’s A Simple Life in 2011, and only the third ever to do so – the other being Gong Li for 1992’s The Story of Qiu Ju – it marks a significant step in an already notable career. Two days... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324689/how-chinese-star-xin-zhilei-best-actress-winner-venice-film-festival-rose-top?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324689/how-chinese-star-xin-zhilei-best-actress-winner-venice-film-festival-rose-top?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Sep 2025 04:02:42 +0000 Alice Li Alice Li China’s Xin Zhilei has won the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first Chinese woman to receive the honour in 14 years. The 39-year-old brought the Golden Lion trophy home on Saturday for her role in The Sun Rises on Us All, directed by Cai Shangjun. The film sees Xin play the harassed owner of a fashion retail business who is trying to reconcile with her former lover, who served time in prison for a crime she had committed. “I feel like I am dreaming,” Xin said in her... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/3324656/chinas-xin-zhilei-creates-history-best-actress-award-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/china/article/3324656/chinas-xin-zhilei-creates-history-best-actress-award-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2025 10:08:53 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A gentle study of dysfunctional families by veteran American director Jim Jarmusch clinched the top prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, while a harrowing docudrama about the Gaza war took second. Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, drew mostly positive reviews for its humorous portrayal of awkwardness and guilt. The Broken Flowers director, who wrote the script for three family get-togethers in upstate New York, Dublin and Paris,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3324625/us-indie-film-beats-out-gaza-war-docudrama-venice-top-prize?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3324625/us-indie-film-beats-out-gaza-war-docudrama-venice-top-prize?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Sep 2025 21:30:23 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars Silent Friend, the latest film from Hungarian auteur Ildiko Enyedi, marks the first role in a European production for Tony Leung Chiu-wai. The internationally renowned Hong Kong star of In the Mood for Love and Lust, Caution has, surprisingly, never ventured into the European film industry until now. While he finds a gentle work here that feels entirely suited to his tranquil demeanour, Enyedi’s film probably sets another precedent for the veteran actor: he is also sharing billing with... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324182/venice-2025-silent-friend-movie-review-tony-leung-chiu-wai-stars-botanical-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324182/venice-2025-silent-friend-movie-review-tony-leung-chiu-wai-stars-botanical-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:05:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars “The past always catches up with us.” So we are told in The Sun Rises on Us All, Chinese filmmaker Cai Shangjun’s sombre competition entry at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Despite its optimistic-sounding title, this is a film in which sacrifice and guilt weigh heavily on its characters. Meiyun (Xin Zhilei) is a harassed owner of a fashion retail business; the only time she ever smiles is when she does her livestream, presenting brightly coloured clothes to her captive female... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324454/venice-2025-sun-rises-us-all-movie-review-cai-shangjun-returns-sombre-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324454/venice-2025-sun-rises-us-all-movie-review-cai-shangjun-returns-sombre-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:05:07 +0000 Gloria Tso Gloria Tso As the Venice Film Festival draws to a close, we look back on some of the most stunning sartorial moments on this year’s red carpet. From Cate Blanchett taking flight in a feathery Maison Margiela couture look, to Kaia Gerber hard launching her new relationship wearing Givenchy, there was no shortage of viral high fashion stories on social media to dissect and discuss. Here are eight stand-out looks from the 82nd Venice Film Festival. Amanda Seyfried in Prada Amanda Seyfried’s voluminous Prada... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324455/8-stand-out-looks-venice-film-festival-red-carpet-kaia-gerber-givenchy-amanda-seyfried-prada?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324455/8-stand-out-looks-venice-film-festival-red-carpet-kaia-gerber-givenchy-amanda-seyfried-prada?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:32:33 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars To be(head) or not to be(head)… that is the question in Scarlet, Mamoru Hosoda’s Hamlet-inspired anime. Playing out of competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival, this is a curious, gender-flipped tale of vengeance and forgiveness, one that asks us to give peace a chance. The story largely takes place in an “Otherworld”, a purgatory of sorts where the past and future are interwoven and Eternity is just a staircase away. It is here where we find the flame-haired Scarlet (voiced by... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324414/venice-2025-scarlet-movie-review-mamoru-hosodas-hamlet-inspired-anime-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324414/venice-2025-scarlet-movie-review-mamoru-hosodas-hamlet-inspired-anime-curiosity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 02:32:18 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars A coming-of-age tale set in 1988 Taiwan, Girl marks the feature debut of Shu Qi, the acclaimed Taiwanese actress and model. This year has already been a celebratory one for her following an appearance in Bi Gan’s Resurrection, which won a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. Now she is presenting Girl in competition at the Venice Film Festival, a film that bears the influence of her working relationship with Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien following the three films they made together. The... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324126/venice-2025-girl-movie-review-shu-qi-makes-promising-directing-debut-family-drama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3324126/venice-2025-girl-movie-review-shu-qi-makes-promising-directing-debut-family-drama?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 14:20:09 +0000 Cherry Liu,Gloria Tso Cherry Liu,Gloria Tso As the summer season draws to a close, all eyes have shifted to the Venice Film Festival – where cinematic artistry meets impeccable style. Now celebrating its 82nd edition at the iconic Lido di Venezia, the world’s oldest and one of the most prestigious film festivals continues to set the stage not only for groundbreaking films but for unforgettable fashion moments. While women captivate in bespoke gowns, the men have redefined red carpet elegance, trading casual summer wear for impeccably... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324276/male-actors-who-stunned-venice-film-festival-dior-celine-and-bottega-veneta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3324276/male-actors-who-stunned-venice-film-festival-dior-celine-and-bottega-veneta?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Sep 2025 04:49:19 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3/5 stars With its portrait of modern-day corporate culture in Thailand, Human Resource will strike a chord with anyone familiar with the soul-sapping world of white-collar work. The film, which is playing in the Orizzonti strand at this year’s Venice Film Festival, is written and directed by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit (Happy Old Year), who crafts a work deeply connected to the economic, political and social strife that is increasingly part of today’s society. Nawapol sets up a world where the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323984/venice-2025-human-resource-movie-review-bleak-view-corporate-culture-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323984/venice-2025-human-resource-movie-review-bleak-view-corporate-culture-thailand?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 15:05:07 +0000 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Even with the film and streaming industries in an upheaval, and too few new titles finding their under-marketed way to theatres this year, the movie summer of 2025 stayed alive. Job one: done. Autumn comes next, and this lovely season has a way of raising our quality expectations. We have the usual quotient of critical successes coming soon, having premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. More of these prestige titles will follow suit after first-look appearances at the Venice, Telluride... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3323867/10-films-watch-fall-anemone-nuremberg-and-springsteen-biopic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3323867/10-films-watch-fall-anemone-nuremberg-and-springsteen-biopic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 02:00:08 +0000 Hyewon Lee,Gloria Tso Hyewon Lee,Gloria Tso At the end of summer every year, the spotlight shifts from celebrities’ resortwear and golden-hour dresses to designer gowns and full glam at the Venice Film Festival. The world’s longest-running film festival doesn’t stop at celebrating the most anticipated films of the year. It’s also a stage for high fashion, where celebrities make bold sartorial statements and deliver style moments as memorable as the films themselves. Here are 13 of the hottest looks from stars who stole the show in Venice... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3323891/13-looks-turned-heads-during-venice-film-festival-emma-stone-shailene-woodley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/fashion/celebrity-style/article/3323891/13-looks-turned-heads-during-venice-film-festival-emma-stone-shailene-woodley?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 07:50:26 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 3.5/5 stars Not since the US version of the sitcom The Office, with its mock-doc focus on the fictional company Dunder Mifflin, has there been such a high-profile worshipping of the art of manufacturing paper. Maybe Korean director Park Chan-wook has been bingeing on episodes, though that show never got as dark as this pleasing adaptation of Donald Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax. A black comedy set in the world of (un)employment, No Other Choice starts as family man Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) is let... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3323852/venice-2025-no-other-choice-movie-review-park-chan-wook-takes-corporate-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/k-drama/k-movies/article/3323852/venice-2025-no-other-choice-movie-review-park-chan-wook-takes-corporate-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Sep 2025 02:50:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse British actor Jude Law on Sunday said he became an “obsessive” watcher of Vladimir Putin as he prepared for his role as the Russian leader in his new film The Wizard of the Kremlin which premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Law, 52, bears an uncanny resemblance to Putin, aping his scowl and distinctive walking style in the film by French director Olivier Assayas, which charts the rise of the former intelligence officer. “There’s a lot of footage one could watch and, personally, when I start... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3323841/jude-law-became-obsessive-putin-watcher-role-russian-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3323841/jude-law-became-obsessive-putin-watcher-role-russian-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Aug 2025 21:07:56 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thousands of people protested on Saturday against Israel’s siege of Gaza on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival, seeking to move the spotlight from movie drama to real-world trauma. Organised by left-wing political groups in northeast Italy, the demonstration began in the early evening a few kilometres from the festival where top Hollywood talent from George Clooney and Julia Roberts to Emma Stone have walked the red carpet in recent days. The protesters, whose numbers Agence France-Presse... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3323787/thousands-protest-against-israeli-siege-gaza-near-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/news/world/europe/article/3323787/thousands-protest-against-israeli-siege-gaza-near-venice-film-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 19:13:34 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 4.5/5 stars “In seeking life, I created death.” So says Oscar Isaac’s unhinged Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo del Toro’s magnificently crafted take on Mary Shelley’s 1818 Gothic masterpiece. This “modern Prometheus” tale, to borrow from Shelley’s subtitle, has been told many times on film, with varied results. But unquestionably, Del Toro’s version is the most beautiful, perhaps the most definitive. Premiering in competition at the Venice Film Festival, Frankenstein begins near the end, as... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323576/venice-2025-frankenstein-movie-review-guillermo-del-toros-definitive-monster-tale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323576/venice-2025-frankenstein-movie-review-guillermo-del-toros-definitive-monster-tale?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 16:50:07 +0000 James Mottram James Mottram 2.5/5 stars “It happened at Yale.” So reads the caption in Luca Guadagnino’s slickly packaged, often exasperating After the Hunt, the tale of a philosophy professor caught in the crossfire of a sexual assault case. Julia Roberts is Alma Imhoff, first seen hosting a drinks party alongside her husband Fredrik (Michael Stuhlbarg), with PhD student Maggie (The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri) in attendance. When Maggie leaves, she does so with the flirtatious professor Hank Gibson (Andrew Garfield). But later... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323604/venice-2025-after-hunt-movie-review-julia-roberts-luca-guadagninos-muddled-tale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3323604/venice-2025-after-hunt-movie-review-julia-roberts-luca-guadagninos-muddled-tale?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Aug 2025 16:50:08 +0000 Mădălina Ghenea, the Romanian model turned House of Gucci actress, is working hard to capture audiences’ attention beyond what’s written about her in the tabloids. From model to actress The 37-year-old actress began her career at 15, modelling across Europe. Throughout her modelling career she appeared in campaigns for brands including Peroni beer and for the long-standing German mail-order catalogue Quelle. Despite finding success as a model in Europe, Japan and South Africa, Ghenea had... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3302700/meet-madalina-ghenea-romanian-model-and-actress-rise-after-bit-parts-house-gucci-lady-gaga-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3302700/meet-madalina-ghenea-romanian-model-and-actress-rise-after-bit-parts-house-gucci-lady-gaga-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 20:00:10 +0000 When speaking of rising new actors in the film and TV industry, few are as babygirl-coded as, well, Babygirl star Harris Dickinson. Helmed by Bodies Bodies Bodies director Halina Reijn, the recently released erotic thriller stars the fresh-faced 28-year-old as an intern who engages in a steamy affair with his much older and more powerful CEO, played by Nicole Kidman. The film, which also stars Hollywood heavyweights Antonio Banderas and Jean Reno, made its world premiere at the Venice Film... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3291708/meet-harris-dickinson-who-stars-babygirl-nicole-kidman-and-antonio-banderas-and-steve-mcqueens-blitz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3291708/meet-harris-dickinson-who-stars-babygirl-nicole-kidman-and-antonio-banderas-and-steve-mcqueens-blitz?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2024 20:00:11 +0000 Douglas Parkes Douglas Parkes If China’s rise is one of the biggest economic feats of the past half-century, Jia Zhangke is likely its most important chronicler. The Chinese filmmaker, now 54, has spent his career documenting the economic lift-off of his homeland, and the social changes that have taken place as a consequence. This approach has earned Jia numerous awards, most notably the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion in 2006 for Still Life. Despite such acclaim, however, in 2008, New York Times film critic Manohla... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/culture/article/3290315/how-director-jia-zhangke-captures-chinas-economic-rise-his-gritty-films?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/postmag/culture/article/3290315/how-director-jia-zhangke-captures-chinas-economic-rise-his-gritty-films?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Dec 2024 10:15:09 +0000 It is 40 years since 1984, the year in which George Orwell’s prophetic dystopian book was set, but the world the British writer predicted, where privacy had all but evaporated and Big Brother was watching, seems ever closer. At the recent Venice International Film Festival, Asian filmmakers tackled the subject of surveillance with intriguing results. “I mean, we’re living in a moment now … I think a lot of films need to deal with this reality, right?” suggested Yeo Siew Hua, the Singaporean... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3278833/surveillance-singapore-japan-and-trump-led-us-tackled-films-venice-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3278833/surveillance-singapore-japan-and-trump-led-us-tackled-films-venice-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2024 08:15:09 +0000 Antonio Banderas and his much younger girlfriend Nicole Kimpel looked chic as ever when they attended the Venice Amfar Gala together on September 1. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nicole Banderas (@nickykim2807) The 64-year-old Spanish actor went for a dapper suit, while his 43-year-old partner stunned in a floor-length nude-coloured dress and gold sandals, as seen in photos from the event. The duo have been dating for 10 years, and often turn... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3277968/who-antonio-banderas-german-former-banker-girlfriend-nicole-kimpel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3277968/who-antonio-banderas-german-former-banker-girlfriend-nicole-kimpel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Sep 2024 11:00:22 +0000 Amid the quaint strains of swing music, the camera follows William Lee (played by Daniel Craig) into a bar, capturing a close shot of him downing a shot before shifting focus to Eugene Allerton (played by Drew Starkey), where their eyes meet. This moment marks the beginning of their interaction in Queer – and it won’t be their last. Set in 1940s Mexico City, the film adaptation of the 1985 novel follows their evolving relationship and features intimate scenes between the outcast American expat... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3277805/meet-drew-starkey-rising-star-sharing-intimate-scenes-daniel-craig-queer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/people/celebrities/article/3277805/meet-drew-starkey-rising-star-sharing-intimate-scenes-daniel-craig-queer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2024 22:00:14 +0000 With the 81st Venice Film Festival parading Hollywood’s finest – including Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brad Pitt and George Clooney – it felt like a return to normality after 2023’s SAG-AFTRA strike, which meant the stars were largely absent from the red carpet that year. This year, however, journalists were up in arms over the decision of many studios to not hold press junkets for movies both in and out of competition, a worrying development for many freelancers. The heat that caused felt apt... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277792/venice-2024-10-festivals-best-films-room-next-door-brutalist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277792/venice-2024-10-festivals-best-films-room-next-door-brutalist?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:15:08 +0000 Hollywood star Nicole Kidman is mourning the loss of her mother, Janelle Ann Kidman, who died at the age of 84 on Saturday. Fans received the unfortunate news soon after the Australian actress did, as she had to leave the Venice Film Festival before she was able to accept her best actress award for her role in thriller Babygirl. Halina Reijn, the film’s director, conveyed Kidman’s message to fans as she accepted the award on her behalf. “Today, I arrived in Venice to find out shortly after,... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3277790/who-nicole-kidmans-sister-antonia-who-switched-careers-her-40s-and-has-6-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3277790/who-nicole-kidmans-sister-antonia-who-switched-careers-her-40s-and-has-6-children?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:00:10 +0000 3/5 stars It feels like a long time since “Beat Takeshi” Kitano won Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion for Hana-bi back in 1997. Since that high point, his career has wildly undulated, hitting a self-referential low point with his ultra violent Outrage trilogy, made between 2010 and 2017. Now aged 77 and working with streamer Amazon for the first time, he delivers the short and sweet Broken Rage, a 62-minute doodle that returns Kitano to his more comic roots. Playing out of completion at the... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277463/venice-2024-broken-rage-movie-review-takeshi-kitanos-deliciously-meta-yakuza-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277463/venice-2024-broken-rage-movie-review-takeshi-kitanos-deliciously-meta-yakuza-comedy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 15:30:08 +0000 4.5/5 stars A young man wheels his brightly coloured SpongeBob suitcase along the grey corridors of an imposing concrete block. A toddler stands wailing in a courtyard. A machinist, cigarette hanging from his mouth, rips through dozens of garments in minutes. Lads lark around letting off firecrackers in a field. These are just some of the images captured in Wang Bing’s latest illuminating documentary Youth (Homecoming). Shot between 2014 and 2019, this serves as a follow-up to his extraordinary... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277465/venice-2024-youth-homecoming-movie-review-riveting-look-chinas-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277465/venice-2024-youth-homecoming-movie-review-riveting-look-chinas-migrant-workers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 12:30:15 +0000 3.5/5 stars Voyeurism and surveillance take centre stage in Singapore director Yeo Siew Hua’s slow-burning film. Unveiled in the competition strand of this year’s Venice International Film Festival, Stranger Eyes can sit comfortably alongside such classic voyeuristic thrillers as Rear Window, Blow Up and The Conversation, even if it never quite touches any of those masterpieces. A film that unfolds gradually, you would be hard-pressed to call it a thriller; an anti-thriller might be more... https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277206/venice-2024-stranger-eyes-movie-review-unsettling-singaporean-drama-about-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www-scmp-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3277206/venice-2024-stranger-eyes-movie-review-unsettling-singaporean-drama-about-surveillance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Sep 2024 20:30:07 +0000