The South Korean film “Snowpiercer” has won three awards, including best film, given by the local film critics association, the organization said Monday.The English language debut by director Bong Joon-ho also won best director and best cinematography at the 33rd Korean Film Critics Association Awards.Based on the French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige,” the sci-fi action thriller “Snowpiercer” depicts inter-class struggles among the world’s last-remaining inhabitants aboard a perpetually movi

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― The American Film Institute (AFI) has launched a scholarship scheme allowing student filmmakers to write movies about China, saying U.S. cinema-goers need more cultural insight than “Kung Fu Panda.”Nine students at the AFI Conservatory will travel to China for “cultural research,” to help them write a feature-length screenplay and develop it on a second year scholarship at the prestigious film school.“China’s rich cultural legacy is filled with stories waiting to be shared wi

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― The enduring mystery surrounding John F. Kennedy’s assassination has drawn generations of writers, commentators and filmmakers, though some have been more successful than others.The 50th anniversary of the killing of America’s 35th president has inevitably renewed the spotlight on the events in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, even if the story has been recounted in innumerable films, TV series and books.“JFK’s life and death have been chronicled in myriad ways, and I would expect th

LONDON (AFP) ― Thousands of people auditioned for the next Star Wars film in Britain on Saturday ― so many in fact that organizers left many disappointed by shutting doors early due to the huge number.They were responding to a casting call launched by Disney last week that it was looking for an actress to play a “street-smart” and strong character aged 17 or 18, and an actor to play a capable and courageous young man for its “Star Wars Episode VII,” which is being made in Britain next year.Buddi

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― When the Stockholm Film Festival opens Wednesday, the jury will include world-famous Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei ― in spirit only, represented by an empty chair he designed himself.The 56-year-old Ai, who is not allowed to leave China, was deliberately chosen for the film fest, whose theme this year is “freedom,” even though he was never likely to attend.“I feel very good about being part of the jury because for me it’s always important to get involved,” he told AFP by t