Jia Zhangke, Claire Denis, and Sam Raimi Announce Their Upcoming Films

      Two of the greatest directors in international cinema have announced their upcoming films. First, while Jia Zhangke is at Cannes unveiling his new 32-minute short, Torino Shadow, he has also revealed details about his next feature, following Caught by the Tides.

      His next project will be titled Mamma Dunhuang, which is set to begin production this winter, according to Variety. The film “follows a mother who has spent the majority of her life in Dunhuang, a historic city in western China. With assistance from artificial intelligence, she embarks on a journey that takes her across China from west to east.” It's unsurprising that Zhao Tao will lead the film, joined by her Ash Is Purest White co-star Liao Fan. Supported by MK2 and Jia’s production company, Xstream Pictures, we anticipate a premiere at Cannes next year.

      Additionally, Claire Denis is finally moving ahead with her long-anticipated cannibal crime drama, The Soap Maker. Variety reports that this English-language film—written by Denis alongside Andrew Litvack, with whom she collaborated on High Life, Stars at Noon, and last year’s still-unreleased The Fence—draws inspiration from the real-life story of Leonarda Cianciulli, an Italian serial killer in the 1930s and ’40s who murdered three women in the town of Correggio, disposing of their bodies with chemicals and using the remnants to create soaps, candles, cookies, and cakes she distributed to her community.

      Lastly, following the success of Send Help earlier this year, we won't have to wait long for Sam Raimi's return to genre filmmaking. Deadline reports that he will next direct Magic, based on William Goldman’s psychological thriller novel, which was previously adapted by Richard Attenborough in 1978 featuring Anthony Hopkins. The screenplay is being crafted by Send Help writers Mark Swift and Damian Shannon, and the plot centers on a ventriloquist who becomes dominated by his sinister puppet as a new romance develops.

      As we await further information about these projects, you can find the first look at Jia’s new short, commissioned by Turin’s Museo Nazionale del Cinema.