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Christmas in May

Arts exam 2013: Reaching for the stars

Musicians set to awe Chinese audience in French

Planting seeds for a dance revolution

Hong Kong

actress Charlie Yeung will present her directorial debut Christmas Rose in May. The film is not a rosy tale, as the title suggests, but rather a court drama revolving around a sexual harassment case. The first-time director has included a stellar cast, with Aaron Kwok playing a prosecutor and Chang Chen playing a doctor who sexually abuses his patient, played by Guey Lun-mei. Senior filmmakers Tsui Hark and Jacob Cheung are the producers. Hark says he admires Yeung's courage in dealing with such a serious subject.

China's Golden Razzies

The Golden Brooms, the Chinese version of the Golden Razzies, saw its first award winner in four years. Li Mingyang, producer of the slapstick flick Crazy Foolish Thieves, took the award for the Most Disappointing Small and Medium Budget Film on March 3 in Beijing, calling the award "encouragement rather than humiliation". Hong Kong director Joe Ma's comedy The Lion Roars 2 emerged the biggest winner, grabbing the Most Disappointing Actor, Actress and Film. Ma sent a colleague to the ceremony and conveyed his "appreciation" of the award.

Chinese films attract interest

Beijing Normal University's Academy for International Communication of Chinese Culture recently revealed its 2012 research about the international influence of Chinese films. The quantitative study handled 1,175 questionnaires from 107 countries, with 43 mother tongues among the subjects. It shows foreigners' interest in Chinese films is increasing. Their favorite genres are action, kung fu and comedy, while the thriller is the least popular. About 50 percent of the interviewees believe Chinese films have confusing logic and storylines should be improved. Bad translation of subtitles is also an important factor that hinders their understanding. "It's excellent research. Only a good story can be competitive in the international market. We should improve the weak position of screenwriters in the industry, so that they can create more excellent works," Communication University of China professor Zeng Qingrui says.