Hong Kong, Thailand, Israel, and India Announce Oscar Submissions

Hong Kong, Thailand, Israel, and India have announced the films that will represent them at the Academy Awards early next year. Hong Kong is sending Johnnie To's Life Without Principle (2011), starring Terence Yin, Lau Ching Wan and Richie Ren, while Thailand will be represented by Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Headshot (2011), starring Nopachai Chaiyanam, Sirin Horwang and Chanokporn Sayoungkul. India and Israel will be represented by Anurag Basu's Barfi! (2012), starring Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Arun Bali, and Rama Burshtein's Fill The Void (2012), starring Hila Feldman, Razia Israeli and Yiftach Klein.

Note: Kino Lorber are releasing on Blu-ray director Pen-ek Ratanaruang's Headshot next week (see our listing here). Life Without Principle is already out on Blu-ray in Hong Kong, courtesy of local distributors MegaStar (see our listing here).

Life Without Principle

The story of Life Without Principle unfolds with three interconnected plotlines involving people from different walks of life. Forced to sell high-risk investment products to her clients, bank teller Teresa (Denise Ho) is tempted to steal a big bag of cash that belonged to her wealthy client Yuen (Lo Hoi Pang). Meanwhile, small-time gangster Panther (Lau Ching Wan) attempts to rob loan shark Yuen in a bid to help his debt-ridden cousin Dragon (Philip Keung), who suffered huge loss on black market futures when the financial crisis hit. Investigating the case is upright police inspector Cheung (Richie Jen), who also has a heavy financial burden on his shoulder as his wife Connie (Myolie Wu) is eager to buy a luxurious apartment they can't quite afford.



Headshot

A darkly turbulent crime noir from Thai new wave director Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Headshot is an existential thriller, ripe with shadowy paranoia that will turn your world upside-down, literally. This disorienting game of cat and mouse is played out in present-day Thailand, where corruption runs rampant and the good die young. When Tul, a straight-laced cop, is blackmailed by a powerful politician he soon becomes disillusioned by the state of human nature and, in his vengeful condition, is recruited to become a hitman for an iconoclastic group aimed at eliminating those who are above the law. But when a devastating blow turns Tul's vision upside-down, he finds himself engulfed by doubt, unaware of whether the condition is medical or a result of karmic retribution.



Barfi!

He is cute. He's shrewd. The girls love him. The cops hate him. He can't speak but is always talked about. His naughty antics will make you scream, but he will never listen. Cos he can't! Next summer ride a rollercoaster of emotions with Barfii - the Chalu Chaplin!



Fill The Void

Fill the Void tells the story of an Orthodox Hassidic family from Tel Aviv. Eighteen-year-old Shira is the youngest daughter of the Mendelman family. She is about to be married off to a promising young man of the same age and background. It is a dream come true, and Shira feels prepared and excited. On Purim, her twenty-eight-year-old sister, Esther, dies while giving birth to her first child, Mordechay. The pain and grief that overwhelm the family postpone Shira's promised match.