'Godzilla Minus Zero' Sets 46-Country Release; BiFan Delivers Two Clear Winners
Also: Melbourne Festival selection unveiled, Tencent leads $2 billion Manus purchase.
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Sets pan-Europe Distribution Plan
Specialist film distributor Piece of Magic Entertainment has picked up rights to release Japanese event movie “Godzilla Minus One” in cinemas in 46 markets in Europe and beyond.
The Netherlands-based company which specialises in handling event movies will begin releasing the film from 4 November, with the main rollout concentrated across 5 and 6 November in key markets and aligning closely with the film’s major international release window.
Territories included in its deal include: Spain, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Turkey and South Africa.
Piece of Magic previously handled the 2023 release of predecessor film “Godzilla Minus One” in 38 territories. That title earned $116 million worldwide, including in its native Japan, and won the Best Visual Effects Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards.
The film is written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who also returns to oversee the film’s visual effects. The film is backed by Japanese major studio Toho, which has set a 3 November world premiere. North American rights are to be handled by Gkids, the distributor that Toho acquired in 2024.
Piece of Magic gave a new synopsis: “Set in 1949, two years after the tumultuous events of ‘Godzilla Minus One’, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face an all-new calamity. Confirmed during CinemaCon, Ryunosuke Kamiki returns as Koichi Shikishima, the hero who faced Godzilla’s terror in Godzilla Minus One, alongside Minami Hamabe as Noriko Oishi, who miraculously survived Godzilla’s first attack on Tokyo. As they confront an unprecedented new threat, the story also sees its heroes face their own inner darkness and lingering regrets. Two years have passed since the desperate struggle depicted in Godzilla Minus One. Just as humanity clings to a hard-won peace, a terrifying new threat emerges to shatter it in an instant.
The companies, which also revealed a new trailer for the film, unveiled the cast for the new movie.
Hidetaka Yoshioka reprises his role as Kenji Noda, who fought alongside protagonist Koichi Shikishima, played by Ryunosuke Kamiki, in “Godzilla Minus One” and now battles the new threat as the director of the Large-Scale Disaster Management Bureau. Yuki Yamada returns as Shiro Mizushima, the young crew member of the Shinsei Maru who fought on the front lines, alongside Kuranosuke Sasaki as Seiji Akitsu, the captain of the same vessel. Sakura Ando reprises her role as Sumiko Ota, Shikishima’s neighbor who now runs the Kiyosumi-en orphanage. Mio Tanaka returns as Tatsuo Hotta, the former captain of the destroyer Yukikaze.
‘Leviticus’ and ‘Knock’ Are Clear Winners in Bucheon
The 30th edition of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival handed out its main prizes on Thursday evening, creating clear winners in both the international and Korean sections.
Adrián Chiarella’s “Leviticus”, which took home the best film award in Bucheon Choice World: Features, also picked up the audience award, earning acclaim from both film professionals and festival audiences. The jury praised the film as a film that “opens up striking new possibilities for queer horror.” The Best Director award went to Curry Barker’s worldwide hit “Obsession”, while the Jury’s Choice prize went to Jane Schoenbrun’s recent Cannes title “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”.
In the Korea film section Jeong Beom’s “Knock” pulled off the same double win, claiming the juried Best of Bucheon prize and the Audience Award. The best director choice went to Yoo Hyoung-joon and “The Only Child in the Butchery”. In the KFAA Best Actor award category, actress Yoon In-ah of “Knock” and actor Hong Seo-baek of “Smile Charles” won prizes. Actress Jung Yi-ju of “Savon” and actor Jeong Hyeong-seok of “The Only Child in the Butchery” received special mentions.
Awards from the Bifan+ and NAFF project market were announced on Tuesday. The festival runs to a finish over the weekend and wraps on 12 July.
30th Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival Award Winners
Bucheon Choice World: Features
Best of Bucheon: “Leviticus” (Director: Adrian CHIARELLA)
Best Director Choice: “Obsession” (Director: Curry BARKER)
Jury’s Choice: “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (Director: Jane SCHOENBRUN)
Special Mention: “The Night” (“Gaua”) (Director: Paul URKIJO ALIJO)
Audience Award: “Leviticus” (Director: Adrian CHIARELLA)
Bucheon Choice Korean: Features
Best of Bucheon: “Knock” (Director: JEONG Beom)
Best Director Choice: “The Only Child in the Butchery” (Director: YOO Hyoung-joon)
KFAA Best Actors: YOON In-ah (“Knock”), HONG Seo-baek (“Smile Charles”)
Special Mention: JUNG Yi-ju (“Savon”) and JEONG Hyeong-seok (“The Only Child in the Butchery”)
SHOWBOX Audience Award: “Knock” (Director: JEONG Beom)
NongHyup Distribution Award: “Company Sports Day” (Director: LEE Yong-sun), “Smile Charles” (Director: OH Young-doo)
Hive Filmworks International Distribution Award: “Savon” (Director: LEE Jun-sup), “Psyche” (Director: NAM Ji-eun)
Méliès International Festivals Federation(MIFF) Award for Best Asian Film: “The Fertilizer Home” (Director: JEONG Hyo-jung)
FIPRESCI Award: “The Night” (“Gaua”) (Director: Paul URKIJO ALIJO)
NETPAC Award: “Knock” (Director: JEONG Beom)
Children’s Fantastic Choice Award: “The Invisibles” (Director: TAKEBAYASHI Ryo)
Bucheon Choice World: Shorts
Best Film: “Levantamuertos: Cumbia for the Dead” (Director: José Eduardo CASTILLA PONCE)
Jury’s Choice: “Switch Off” (Director: Sandeep FRANCIS)
Audience Award: “The Last Jiangshi” (Director: YU Chih-Chieh)
Bucheon Choice Korean: Shorts
Best Film: “Mungchi” (Director: HONG Seung-gi)
KFAA Best Actor: Han Yoo-yeon (“Turning Girl”)
Audience Award: “Siren” (Director: LEE Soo-hyuk)
Bucheon Choice AI Films
Best AI Films: “Cornered” (Director: Odair FALECO, Davi MOORI)
TimeTree Best Technical Achievement: “Big Ball” (Director: LIM Ye-jun)
TapNow New Wave Award: “Let There Be Light” (Director: TAKAHASHI Hiromu)
AIMMOVIE Audience Award: “Ask Me Anything” (Director: LEE Yong-seuk)
Jury’s Special Mentions: “Prototype” (Director: SEO Tae-gyu)
Melbourne Festival Selections Unveiled
The upcoming Melbourne Film Festival unveiled its full selection across multiple sections.
Its Bright Future competition section will show: “Big Girls Don’t Cry” directed by Paloma Schneiderman (New Zealand); “Blue Heron” by Sophy Romvari (Canada, Hungary); recent Cannes title “Elephants in the Fog” by Abinash Bikram Singh (France, Germany, Brazil, Norway); “The Friend’s House Is Here”, Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei (US, Iran); Cannes Critics’ Week title “Goodbye Cruel World” by Felix de Givry (France); Sundance title “Josephine” by Beth de Araujo (US); Cannes Critics’ Week title “La Gradiva” by Marie Atlan (France, Italy); “Sweet Milk Lake”, by Australia’s Harvey Zielinski; “Wicker” by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson (US); and “Yesterday The Eye Didn’t Sleep”, a multinational effort by Rakan Mayasi.
“Wicker” will also play as the festival’s opening night gala presentation. Other galas include: Graham Parkes’ “Wishful Thinking”; Joel Crawford’s “Forgotten Island”; Sarah Watts’ “Look Both Ways”; Selina Miles’ “Silenced” and a revival of Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” performed with a live score.
The Asia-Pacific film selection includes: ‘9 Temples to Heaven”; “Ah Girl”; “All the Lovers in the Night”; “AnyMart”; “The Day She returns”; “Filipinana”; “A Girl Unknown”; “Human Resource”; “Lost Land”; “Master”; “Nagi Notes”; “The Samurai and the Prisoner”; “Shape of Momo”; “Two Seasons, Two Strangers”; and Anthony Chen’s “We Are All Strangers”.
The festival runs 6-12 August.
Tencent Steps in as as Manus AI Deal Is Rewritten
China’s Tencent is in advanced talks to become the largest shareholder in Manus, a firm that creates AI agents, the Financial Times reports. The expected deal, with a price tag of no less than $2 billion and also involving Manu’s original investors ZhenFund and HSG, follows the Chinese government’s decision to block a takeover of Manus by Facebook owner Meta.
Manus was set up by Chinese backers, but changed its domicile to Singapore. That was not enough to avoid Chinese regulatory scrutiny.
“Meta announced in December the acquisition of Manus in a bid to bolster its own work on agentic AI. However, China launched a review in April into whether the deal violated investment rules. Since Beijing’s order, Meta has executed an operational split from Manus internally and stopped data sharing between the firms,” Reuters reported.
For more on Tencent’s pivot, see below
