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Busan Fest Unveils 14-Title Competition Section, Including World Premieres From Majid Majidi, Hirose Nanako & Yosep Anggi Noen
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled its full 2026 programme, headlined by a 14-title Competition section featuring 12 world premieres, including new work from Iranian director Majid Majidi, Hirokazu Kore-eda protégé Hirose Nanako and Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen. The announcement matters beyond Busan itself, as the festival has now been designated an…
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Mandarin Vision Takes On Sales For Lee Yun Chan’s Busan Competition Title ‘To Be Ordinary’
Taiwanese production and sales company Mandarin Vision has acquired worldwide sales rights, excluding Taiwan and China, for director Lee Yun Chan’s new film To Be Ordinary, which will have its world premiere in competition at the Busan International Film Festival. The film explores a grieving family struggling to hold together a fragile relationship following an…
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The remote Nepal-China border crossing at the heart of a Himalayan tragedy
Devastating floods that tore through the remote Nepal-China border crossing on 26 August have left widespread destruction and hundreds of people unaccounted for, with authorities now piecing together who was actually present when the disaster struck. The crossing, linking Kathmandu and Tibet via the Friendship Bridge at Rasuwagadhi in Nepal and Gyirong on the Chinese…
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‘I’ve never been to Afghanistan’: Six million deportees forced to start over under the Taliban
More than six million Afghans have been forced to return home from Pakistan and Iran since the Taliban took power in August 2021, in what the UN describes as the largest cross-border movement of people anywhere in the world. Many returnees, including some who were born abroad and had never set foot in Afghanistan, are…
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Magna increases bet on battery swapping in India with $35M for Yuma
Canadian auto parts giant Magna International is investing a further $35 million in Yuma Energy, a Bengaluru-based battery-swapping network for electric two- and three-wheelers, increasing its majority stake in the joint venture. The move reflects Magna’s belief that battery swapping, which has struggled to gain traction elsewhere in the world, can succeed at scale in…
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Xolo Maridueña Was Not Sure Blue Beetle Would Ever Come Back, Until James Gunn Called Him About the ‘Superman’ Sequel: ‘The Most Humbled’
Actor Xolo Maridueña has confirmed that his DC superhero character Blue Beetle will return, revealing he only learned of his comeback when DC Studios co-head James Gunn phoned him personally to invite him into “Superman: Man of Tomorrow.” Speaking on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of “Practical Magic 2,” Maridueña said he…
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Anthony Albanese hits back after China warned there would be ‘consequences’ if diplomatic move with Taiwan goes ahead
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declined to directly criticise China after Beijing warned there would be “consequences” over Taiwan’s presence at the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau. The row overshadowed the opening of the 55th forum, which regional leaders had hoped would focus on climate change and development, and highlights the ongoing tension between China…
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Nepal flood leaves over 900 dead and thousands missing
A Welsh woman with family ties to Nepal says she has “lost hope” of finding a relative missing since a catastrophic flash flood struck the country the previous week, as the confirmed death toll passed 900 with thousands more still unaccounted for. Jyoti Upadhyay, who has lived in Tal-y-bont, Ceredigion, for five years, said she…
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Finecut acquires global rights to Korean animated Guardians film
Korean sales agent Finecut has acquired international distribution rights to “Guardians of the Video Game”, a 3D animated feature directed by Uhm Young-sik, unveiling the deal ahead of the inaugural TIFF Market in Toronto. The film adapts a popular Naver Webtoon of the same name, reflecting the continued push to turn hit Korean webtoons into…
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Lachy Groom backs Indian startup aiming to keep aircraft aloft for a year
Solo investor Lachy Groom has backed Alteon, a Bengaluru-based startup founded by 20-year-old Samay Sanghvi, which is attempting to keep an autonomous aircraft airborne for more than a year by harvesting energy from ocean winds. The startup uses “dynamic soaring”, a technique inspired by albatrosses, in which a fixed-wing aircraft repeatedly moves between air layers…