Our mark is 銀幕, ginmaku — the silver screen, and the same two characters in Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

I came to Tokyo at twenty-three for a summer job at a Shibuya mini-theatre and the job never quite ended. Fifteen years of festivals later I still think the only review that counts is the one the room gives you: where the laugh lands, the moment three hundred people stop moving at once, whether anybody stays for the credits.

Cinepuuulse follows Asian cinema — Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand — across about a hundred and twenty sources. A good number of them are Spanish, French and Portuguese, because those countries programme this work seriously and write about it better than most of the English-language trade. Genre and art-house get the same seat here. I am not ranking them, and nothing is scored out of ten.

Each story is a headline, a short excerpt, one still and a link to the outlet that did the reporting. We never republish the piece, and the still belongs to its studio or its photographer. A Korean trade paper appears in Korean, a French review in French. We point at the work; we do not put words in anyone's mouth.

— Daren Wise, Tokyo

← Cinepuuulse Archive

What Kept Me UpAfrica

AFRIFF 2026 Names ‘Lady’ Opening Film, Adds New Award Category Ahead of 15th Edition

10.15

As selected filmmakers have been sharing announcements on social media since last week, the first details of this year’s AFRIFF have now been officially confirmed.

Festivals & awards

Read at What Kept Me Up ↗

EuropeBusan 2026: The Awards The Film Verdict

JapanNew sci-fi and coming-of-age anime to screen at 39th TIFF The Japan Times

Japan39th TIFF Announces Academy in Tokyo Program with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Presenter of the Oscars® Tokyo International Film Festival

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Latest

AFRIFF 2026 Names ‘Lady’ Opening Film, Adds New Award Category Ahead of 15th Edition

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EuropeBusan 2026: The Awards The Film Verdict

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