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

Film Inquiry

TIFF 2026: Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak of IN ALASKA

September 22

Inspired by true events, In Alaska is a dramatic crime thriller constructed with a unique Indigenous voice.

Festivals & awards Film Festivals Interviews Jaap van Heusden TIFF

Read at Film Inquiry ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

TIFF 2026: Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak of IN ALASKA

Related

Drunken Film Fest Bradford 2025: Six Award-Winning Shorts Film Inquiry

Summer/Fall 2026 Festivals MUBI Notebook

AfricaJosh Olaoluwa and Vincho Nchogu’s Joint Sophomore Project, ‘A Fantastic Tale’ Heads to 2026 Cinekid Junior Co-Production Market What Kept Me Up

France“Nous n’avons jamais connu un tel âge d’or” : le festival de San Sebastian, rampe de lancement du glorieux cinéma espagnol Télérama — Cinéma

Hong KongHow Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns are traditionally made and an artisan defending the craft SCMP Film

Toronto Filmmaker Survey: Just One Moment MUBI Notebook