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

RogerEbert.com

Busan 2026: Birds in the Dark, Selvi, 1982

October 15Work

Busan has several major sections. The biggest, of course, is its Main Competition. Next is its Vision section, split into two geographic categories: Asia and Korea.

Festivals & awards

Read at RogerEbert.com ↗

One letter a week, starting soon.

Latest

Busan 2026: Birds in the Dark, Selvi, 1982

Related

Chicago International Film Festival 2026 Preview RogerEbert.com

Korea(LEAD) BIFF wraps up, draws more than 200,000 admissions Yonhap

FranceÉgypte - El Gouna lance la saison des grands festivals de cinéma du monde arabe Le Film français — Cinéma

KoreaMajid Majidi's 'Midday Meal' wins top prize at Busan film fest The Korea Herald

UKMajid Majidi’s ‘Midday Meal’ wins Busan Award as festival hits biggest audience since 2015 Screen Daily Reviews

Türkiye14. Boğaziçi Film Festivali’nde Uluslararası Uzun Metraj Yarışma Filmleri Belli Oldu! Beyazperde