STREAMING SENSATIONS

The Busan International Film Festival ‘s sixth annual Asia Contents Awards and Global OTT Awards has revealed its nominees across 11 competitive categories.

PTS Taiwan’s “Imperfect Us” leads with five nominations, followed by Indonesian Netflix series “Cigarette Girl” with four. Wong Kar-wai ‘s series debut “Blossoms Shanghai” (Tencent Video) and Korea’s “A Killer Paradox” (Netflix) each have three nods. Other multiple nominees include Korea’s “Daily Dose of Sunshine” (Netflix) and “Lovely Runner” (CJ ENM Studios/Bon Factory) and Thai Prime Video series “Enigma” (GMMTV).

The best lead actor (male) category sees Hu Ge (“Blossoms Shanghai”), Yim Si-wan (“Boyhood”), Choi Woo-shik (“A Killer Paradox”), Wu Kang Ren (“Living”), Cho Jin-woong (“No way Out: The Roulette”) and Sakai Masato (“Vivant”) competing for the award.

For Best Lead Actress, nominees include Dian Sastrowardoyo (“Cigarette Girl”), Park Bo-young (“Daily Dose Of Sunshine”), Nikaido Fumi (“Eye Love You”), Ariel Lin (“Imperfect Us”), Zhou Xun (“Imperfect Victim”) and Kim Hyeyoon (“Lovely Runner”).

The Best Director category features Alisher Utev (“1286”), Kamila Andini and Ifa Ifansyah (“Cigarette Girl”), Patha Thongpan (“Enigma”), Lim Daehyung and Jeon Gowoon (“LTNS”) and Park Hoonjung (“The Tyrant”).

A new category for Best Original Song features entries from “Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar,” “Imperfect Us,” “Lovely Runner” and “Only Friends.”

The jury includes actors Nishijima Hidetoshi and Alice Ko, writer Baek Mi-kyoung, Pollux Studio CEO An Eunmi, TV Man Union executive producer Matsuba Naohiko, United Talent Agency’s Max Michael, and Asian Contents and Film Market director Ellen Y.D. Kim.

The awards will take place Oct. 6.

GOMES GALAS

Meanwhile, Busan will also present a program focused on Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes . The program, titled “Miguel Gomes, a Filmmaker of Joyful Melancholy,” will include eight of Gomes’ works, from his 2004 debut “The Face You Deserve” to his latest, “Grand Tour,” which won best director at Cannes 2024. Films to be screened also include “Our Beloved Month of August” (2008), “Tabu” (2012), the “Arabian Nights” trilogy (2015), and “The Tsugua Diaries” (2021), co-directed with Maureen Fazendeiro. “Grand Tour” will be part of the festival’s gala presentations.

A masterclass featuring the director is also scheduled. Gomes, recognized for blending reality and fantasy in his films, has been a frequent participant at major international film festivals. His work often explores themes of Portuguese identity and blends elements of fiction and documentary.

The Busan International Film Festival is set to take place from Oct. 2-11. The Asian Contents and Film Market will occur concurrently from Oct. 5-8.

ANIME AVALANCHE

The BBC has obtained the U.K. rights to over 1,000 episodes of the English-dubbed “One Piece” anime series. Based on Eiichiro Oda ‘s widely popular manga, the show follows Monkey D. Luffy and his crew’s quest to find the titular treasure.

BBC iPlayer, in partnership with BBC Three, will make all 10 sagas available between September and December, beginning with “East Blue,” “Alabasta” and “Skypiea” on Sept. 1. All 1085 episodes will be accessible on BBC iPlayer by the end of the year. This marks the first time dubbed versions will be available in the U.K.

CHAINSMOKERS’ COLLABORATION

EDM duo The Chainsmokers have released a new rendition of their hit “Addicted” featuring Indian musicians Guru Randhawa and Jonita Gandhi . The remix, which also includes Brazilian DJ Zerb and German producer Ink, incorporates Punjabi verses into the dance track.

The Hello Group and TH3RD BRAIN collaborated on the project, with K-pop veterans Alawn and Taylor Jones contributing to the production. The original “Addicted” has garnered over 140 million streams and topped Billboard’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart.

AI ARTISTRY

Rochak Kohli and rapper Panther have released single “Meeh Baras,” featuring what’s billed as India’s first AI-generated music video. The track, distributed by Virgin Music Group India under R Music label, blends electronic sounds with traditional melodies and pop beats.

The video, produced by Studio Blo, utilizes AI to generate diverse landscapes and recreate images of the artists within a structured narrative. Over 7,000 images were created for the project, marking Studio Blo’s entry into music video production. Lyrics are by Gurpreet Saini and Gautam G. Sharma.