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 Film VerdictEurope

TIFF 2026 Navigates an Identity Crisis

September 17

The people’s festival has become the businesspeople’s festival. In 2026, TIFF: The Market dominated the conversation at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.

Festivals & awards

Read at The Film Verdict ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

TIFF 2026 Navigates an Identity Crisis

Related

EuropeStrange Neighbors The Film Verdict

EuropeBold Visions Abound at the 2026 Oldenburg Film Festival The Film Verdict

TIFF 2026: Evil Genius, Prima Facie, The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd RogerEbert.com

CanadaTIFF 2026: 'La bola negra' Is a Whole Universe Exclaim! Film

France“La Gradiva” : l’un des plus beaux films de Cannes se dévoile dans une première bande-annonce Les Inrocks — Cinéma

Argentina‘The World Before’ Festival Review: A Tender Portrait of Adolescence and First Love Micropsia