{"id":344900,"date":"2026-03-18T03:26:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T03:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/344900\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T03:26:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T03:26:08","slug":"new-wave-of-asian-talent-help-redefine-asian-regional-cinema","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/344900\/","title":{"rendered":"New Wave of Asian Talent Help Redefine Asian Regional Cinema"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe Asian Film Awards<\/a> (AFA) recently spotlighted a trio of actors as youth ambassadors for this year\u2019s edition.<\/p>\n

\n\tNatalie Hsu, Mean Phiravich and Kent Tsai, representing Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan respectively, spoke with Variety about the trends in their film industries, what lessons they\u2019re learning from their older colleagues and how to adapt to different filmmaking cultures.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Hong Kong\u2019s Hsu, most recently nominated for best actress at last year\u2019s Hong Kong Film Awards, the path forward is paved with the disciplined examples set by her illustrious co-stars.<\/p>\n

\n\tHaving worked with Chinese megastar Fan Bingbing on \u201cMother Bhumi,\u201d Hsu observed a high level of self-maintenance.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cShe makes a really active and big effort to keep herself in good condition, because as obviously you want to be in your most ideal shape when you\u2019re filming,\u201d Hsu said. \u201cFrom things like skin care, every day when she came onto set, she was in a [facial] mask. Where we were shooting in Malaysia was extremely rural, literally nothing. But she would go to the grocery store and buy fruit and blend up her own smoothies. She would have tea on set. So she really puts in the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHsu also picked up important tips from legendary Hong Kong singer and actor Aaron Kwok when they worked on the 2025 family drama \u201cMy First of May.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe doesn\u2019t stop. Practicing on set, he\u2019s so in it, even waiting for a camera set, a next camera setup or just waiting around, he\u2019s going through his lines. He\u2019s so zoned-in and focused,\u201d recalled Hsu, who said that it changed her approach to performance.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI used to jump in and out. And I think it\u2019s because I felt like I could, because I\u2019m quite instinctive with acting. But it definitely helps and it\u2019s different when you stay in the zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Phiravich, commercial success in the Thai film and TV drama industry has come with its ups and downs, particularly typecasting in teen romance genres.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m 28 years old now, but I still get cast as a student, so I have some issues with this. It has to be something to challenge myself, but I\u2019m not worried because I feel that eventually I will gradually age into roles that are more suitable in character to me,\u201d said the Thai actor.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe also expressed concern about the state of the Thai film industry, which saw blockbuster results in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn the past two years, there have been a lot of movies in Thailand that have grossed over a hundred million baht ($3.01 million), which can be considered a phenomenon,\u201d said Phiravich.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOnce it broke through that level, everyone gathered to make movies, and it turned out to be a bubble. This year compared to last year, Thai films have declined significantly. It is a concerning dip in the Thai film industry,\u201d he continued, blaming the decline on repetitive content.<\/p>\n

\n\tTaiwan\u2019s Tsai echoed these sentiments regarding the Taiwanese market.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOne amazing thing about Taiwan is that it is very easy for everyone to jump on the bandwagon and do the same thing,\u201d said Tsai. \u201cIt\u2019s like when something succeeds, there will be a lot of similar types in the next two or three years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe noted the resurgence of genre filmmaking in Taiwan after a lengthy period of nostalgic teen romance stories, which had saturated the market. Tsai himself has appeared in a series of successful genre films of late, including 2022\u2019s crime thriller \u201cBad Education,\u201d 2024\u2019s heist comedy \u201cBreaking and Re-entering\u201d and 2025\u2019s action thriller \u201c96 Minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen someone is willing to invest in a movie to do something different, there is success. Of course, afterwards, there will be a rush of people doing the same thing. But I think, in terms of the current diversity of Taiwanese cinema, it is quite diverse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe trio recently collaborated on an AFA-produced short film, an experience that highlighted the nuances of different production cultures. Tsai was particularly struck by the chemistry of his co-stars.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe praised Hsu\u2019s presence. \u201cI really liked her gaze, because her gaze always carried a question mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOf Mean, he praised the Thai actor\u2019s instinct. \u201cHe really knows what he needs to do at the moment when I give him a look.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMean admitted that the fast-paced Hong Kong style of filmmaking brought a unique pressure, especially given the language barrier.<\/p>\n

\n\tTsai found that Taiwan and Hong Kong sets share a similar DNA due to the frequent movement of crews between the two. \u201cCinematographers, directors, assistant directors, many of them come from Hong Kong. So, I feel that the entire filming environment in Taiwan and Hong Kong is actually quite alike,\u201d Tsai noted.<\/p>\n

\n\tHsu, however, found the cultural rhythms of Malaysia distinct during her travels.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOn the call sheet, they\u2019ll actually mark the prayer time in the morning and evening,\u201d said Hsu, noting that prayers were strictly observed. \u201cAnd then in Malaysia they also have a tea time around like four or five p.m. They bring around cakes and kueh. I don\u2019t know why we don\u2019t have that in Hong Kong!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRegardless, the realities of pan-Asian co-production means that collaboration across cultures and countries is becoming the norm than the exception.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve collaborated with many Hong Kong actors, Japanese actors, Korean actors as well and I think this is a good trend for the future,\u201d said Tsai. \u201cI think in the past, everyone might have thought that as long as we make our own movies well, that\u2019s enough. But I think now everyone wants to make the entire Asian film industry bigger and bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Asian Film Awards (AFA) recently spotlighted a trio of actors as youth ambassadors for this year\u2019s edition.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":344901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[96582,146,167671,85,46],"class_list":["post-344900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-asian-film-awards","tag-entertainment","tag-hong-kong-filmart","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}