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

The Playlist

2026 New York Film Festival Preview: 21 Must-See Movies To Watch

September 21

The New York Film Festival has never needed Toronto’s sheer volume or Venice’s red-carpet pageantry to make its mark.

Festivals & awards

Read at The Playlist ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

2026 New York Film Festival Preview: 21 Must-See Movies To Watch

Related

‘La Bola Negra’ Wins 2026 Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award The Playlist

‘Anchors Aweigh’ Review: Matt Barats Turns The Absolute Worst Guy You Know Into One Of TIFF’s Funniest Films [TIFF] The Playlist

‘Atonement’ Review: A Powerful War Drama Of Guilt, Forgiveness, And American Accountability [TIFF] The Playlist

BLON Festival Director Discusses the State of Lithuanian Animation and the Festival’s Future (EXCLUSIVE) Cartoon Brew

Watch an Exclusive Look at NYFF World Premiere ‘I Deserve a Lover Whose Every Rise Sets Fiery Dooms Raging Across the Skies’ IndieWire

Türkiye4. Fethiye Uluslararası Film Festivali'nde Uluslararası Kısa Film Seçkileri Belli Oldu! Beyazperde