Now you can share the movies you watch on Netflix thanks to a new tool provided by the streaming service that encourages members to discuss what they’re watching through Instagram stories, using their Netflix iPhone app.

With this new feature, Netflix members can go to the app on their iPhones, select a title they want to share, add that title’s custom art, then share it as an Instagram story or to their friends as a direct message. The story remains visible for 24 hours and provides a “Watch On Netflix” link back to the title page within the app.

“We’re always on the lookout for ways to make it easier for members to share the Netflix titles they’re obsessing about and help them discover something new to watch. We hope our members enjoy this new feature,” said Leigh Wong Netflix’s Head of Communications for Southeast Asia.

Currently, this feature is only available on iPhone, with plans for Android later this year.

“The World Between Us”  is a 10-part, hour-long series that follows the aftermath of a mass shooting where the fates of all parties involved – the killer, the victims, the victims’ families, the media and the defence teams are intertwined.

Two new episodes will debut at the same time every Sunday. Produced by Taiwanese broadcaster, Public Television Service (PTS), the series is being jointly distributed by HBO Asia and Catchplay outside of Asia.

“The World Between Us” features an all-star ensemble cast from Taiwan including Alyssa Chia, James Wen and Wu KangJen. The series is directed by award-winning filmmaker, Lin ChunYang and written by the renowned award-winning screenwriter, Lu Shih-Yuan.

“Following the success of our first Taiwanese drama series, ‘The Teenage Psychic’, we are excited to be once again be presenting intriguing content and stories from Taiwan that will resonate with our audience in the region,” says Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia.

“With the addition of ‘The World Between Us’ to our lineup of original content, we are further reinforcing our commitment to producing quality local programming for our audience in Asia and beyond,” he adds.

“We are delighted that our efforts in building international networks have placed us in a good position to bring quality Taiwan original content to the world. We are excited to be working with HBO Asia on the global distribution of ‘The World Between Us’,” says Daphne Yang, CEO of Catchplay.

“We will strive to build more collaborations like this to create more opportunity for quality Taiwan content to be seen globally.”

HBO Asia started producing its Original productions in 2012 and has since expanded their range of award-winning Asian Original productions to include series, movies and documentaries. “The World Between Us” marks the network’s seventeenth Asian Original to date, with more slated to premiere in the coming years.

 The series stars Thailand’s Sinjai Plengpanich, Sarunyoo and Hattaya Wongkrachang, together with Winai Kraibutr, Papangkorn “Beam” Lerkchaleampote, Chayanit “Pat” Chansangavej, Chutavuth ‘March’ Pattarakampol, Kittisak “Jack” Patomburana and Oabnithi “Oab” Wiwattanawarang and more.

“The Stranded” centres on Kraam, an 18-year-old boy who survives a devastating tsunami along with 36 of his fellow students at an elite private high school on a remote island in the Andaman Sea.

As mysterious events start happening on the island, it quickly becomes clear that no one is coming to rescue them and Kraam must lead the students to rescue themselves.

The series is produced by GMM Grammy and H2L Media group and directed by Sophon “Jim” Sakdaphisit of GDH Film Studios, who is bet known for his horror movies including “Laddaland” and “Puen.. Tee Raluek” (“The Promise”).

The series is expected to have six episodes.

With Ekachai Uekrongtham, Gary Levinsohn, Christian Durso, Steven Sims and Billy Hines as executive producers, the project is an international collaboration between teams from across the world, including Los Angeles, Singapore and Bangkok.

The Japan Foundation, Bangkok and SF Cinema are marking the 132nd anniversary of Thai-Japan diplomatic relations and welcoming the Year of the Pig with the Japanese Film Festival 2019.

The festival, which gets underway in Bangkok today and continues through February 3, is being held at SF World Cinema CentralWorld before travelling north to Chiang Mai then south to Phuket.

A total of 12 films have been selected for this 42nd festival, all of them reflecting Japanese art, culture and ways of life so as to offer a true cultural exchange between the two countries.

The Crimes That Bind

Opening the event is “The Crimes That Bind,” a 2018 thriller directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa and starring veteran actor Hiroshi Abe. It tells the story of a mysterious murder. A woman named Michiko Oshitani from Shiga prefecture, was found dead strangled in an apartment in Tokyo. Matsuo Koshikawa, the owner of the apartment also disappears without trace.

Hiromi Asai’s name appears in the investigation due to her relations with Oshitani but she has a strong alibi and therefore the investigation cannot continue further. When a note is found at the crime scene on which the names of 12 bridges surrounding the Nihonbashi area have been written, detective Kyoichiro Kaga (Abe) is filled with unease as flashes back to the sudden disappearance of his own mother.

Chihayafuru

In the romantic dramedy “Chihayafuru”, childhood friends Chihaya, Taichi and Arata are childhood friends, bound by their passion for competitive karuta (traditional Japanese playing cards.) They part ways after graduating from elementary school, but reunite in the secondary school by forming the “Karuta Club” to compete and win at the national Karuta competition. The first and second parts of the film, which were screened in 2016, are being relaunched with the newly released “Chihayafuru Part 3” and will show as a trilogy this Saturday accompanied by a pre-talk and a post-talk by director Nori Koizumi.

“Laughing Under the Clouds” is part action, part horror and set at the end of the Samurai era (Edo) when the new Meiji government is founded in Japan. This historical transition between the samurai era and the modern era is a period of upheaval. In addition, a legend says that every 300 years the “Orochi” (gigantic snake) resurrects in order to destroy Japan. This gigantic snake is hidden in one family through generations before taking over one human body when coming back to life. Through this human form, the Orochi’s power will be unstoppable.

Mirai no Mirai

Animation “Mirai no Mirai”, which has been nominated for several awards and was well received by Thai audiences last year, tells the story of Kun, a spoilt 4yearold boy, who meets his new born sister. Kun misses his parents’ affection and is baffled by things he has never experienced before. Then he meets Mirai, his little sister, who travels back in time from the future.

“Shashin Koshien Summer in 0.5 Seconds” focuses on 18 high schools competing for top honours in Shashin Koshien, a national photography contest. Set in the expansive wilderness of Hokkaido, competitors fight to capture the beauty of Japan and the human spirit. Inspired by true events, it is directed by Hiroshi Sugawara who will lead a discussion after the screening on Sunday.

The Scythian Lamb

Thriller “The Scythian Lamb” centres on six strangers who arrive in Uobuka, a small shabby harbour town. Tsukisue is the unflappable, nonchalant city official who is assigned to be in charge of “acclimatising” the six, who are part of a secret government programme to release convicted felons back into society. Their pasts have not been revealed to Tsukisue or the townspeople. The six try to blend in with the town while carrying the burden of their sins. The discovery of a body in the harbour brings Tsukisue, his high-school classmate, Aya, and the people of this small town to intersect in an emotional climax.

Mixed Doubles

Other highlights include the comedy “Mixed Doubles” about love around a table tennis competition, director Masaaki Yuasa’s animation “Lu over the Wall” and “Life is Fruity”, a touching documentary about a Japanese architect and his wife.

Lu over the Wall

All of the films will be screened with Thai and English subtitles and tickets cost Bt120.

The festival travels to SFX Cinema at the Maya Lifestyle Shopping Centre in Chiang Mai from February 8 to 10 then to SFX Cinema at Central Festival from February 22 to24. Tickets for the upcountry screenings are Bt80.

The complete schedule is available at http://www.SFCinemaCity.com.

True4U Channel 24 kicks off the New Year with a new strategy “True for All, More 4U” which sees a strengthening of its content offerings and an adjustment in scheduling to ensure viewers enjoy high-quality entertainment.

BamBam Got7 will team up with his Korean bandmates for “GOT7 Real Thai”.

“True4U’s business direction in 2019 will focus on world-class quality content in addition to the sports content that has long been our strength. We’ll have more movies, series, game shows, variety shows, and reality programmes. We’ve also adjusted the schedule to better match viewers’ lifestyles,” says Apicha Honghirunruang, managing director of True4U.

Ananda Everingham and Baifern Pimchanok will star in “Secret Garden”.

Among the programme highlights in the first half of this year are “GOT7 Real Thai”. Featuring BamBam, Mark, Young-jae and Jin-young from the much-loved K-pop boy band GOT7, it sees the young heartthrobs travelling around Thailand with guardians portraying characters from Thai folktales and a Thai version of the Korean series “Secret Garden” starring Ananda Everingham and Pimchanok “Baifern” Luevisadpaibul. Another must-watch is “Voice”, a drama-thriller series starring Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn and Andrew Gregson.

Khemanit “Pancake” Jamikorn and Andrew Gregson will star in “Voice.”

Upcoming music shows include “Melody to Masterpiece”, a reality programme in which teams from four music labels will compete to win a weekly challenge set by special guests The Melody. Only two of them will be selected to produce special songs using limited resources and time and the best song will be named a true “Masterpiece”.

Five boys become coaches in “Cuteboy Thailand”.

“Cuteboy Thailand” is also a reality TV show and seeks good-looking boys with a dream. The contestants will be coached by five leading cuteboys, namely the King of Smart Chutavuth “March” Pattarakampol, the King of Alpha Male Nat Sakdatorn, the King of Sport Sattaphong “Tao” Phiangphor, the King of Entertainment by Tanont “Nont” Chamroen, and the King of Gentleman by Ratchanont “Guy” Suprakob. The winner will become Thailand’s first Cuteboy to hold a ticket to the entertainment business.

“You Are My Fantasy” fulfils a lucky winner’s dream of going on a date with a superstar. DJ Nui, John Winyu and Kwang Orakarn will host the show with a long list of surprise guests.

The finalists of “Cuteboy Thailand”

“True4U believes that great content is key to attracting larger audiences. This year, we continue our commitment to producing high-quality contents in different genres including series, game shows, reality shows and sports. This guarantees that our audience will experience fresh, fun yet flexible entertainment programmes. They will also receive many privileges,” said Teerasak Arunrermwattana, group director of True Content & Media, True Corporation.

The six-episode season, which was shot entirely in Malaysia, features returning stars Warren Brown, Daniel MacPherson and Alin Sumarwata along with new cast members Jamie Bamber and Yasemin Allen.

This season starts when a Russian bomber crashes in the South China Sea and the covert special-ops soldiers of Section 20 — Thomas “Mac” McAllister (Brown), Samuel Wyatt (MacPherson) and Gracie Novin (Sumarwata) — are sent to investigate. There, they cross paths with Katrina Zarkova (Allen), a rogue Russian operative with questionable loyalties.

Under orders of the new commanding officer, Col Alexander Coltrane (Bamber), Section 20 pursues stolen contents of the Russian jet across Southeast Asia, working alongside the Malaysian police to shut down a Triad gang in Kuala Lumpur, uncover a corrupt plot by a wealthy Indian businesswoman running for Parliament and plunge into the jungles of the Golden Triangle in Myanmar, facing off against mercenary drug agents and terrifying warlords as they uncover a conspiracy that threatens to push the world to the brink of global conflict.

THE YOUNGEST superhero franchise in show business is coming to Netflix starting on February 15 with a crew of unlikely but idealistic stars determined to save the world from danger.

“The Umbrella Academy” is a 10-episode series based on the popular, Eisner Award-winning comic books and graphic novels of the same name created and written by musician-singer Gerard Way of the band My Chemical Romance and illustrated by Gabriel Ba.

“‘The Umbrella Academy’ follows the estranged members of dysfunctional family of superheroes who work together to solve the mystery behind their adopted wealthy father Reginal Hargreeves’ death. They also need to save the world from the imminent threat of apocalypse,” said David Castaneda, who was recently in Singapore promoting the series with his co-star, Robert Sheehan.

Robert Sheehan, left, with his costar David Castaneda were in Singapore recently to promote new series “The Umbrella Academy”, which starts streaming on Netflix next month.

“What’s so great about the story is that it’s not yet been cemented as a great comic book – it’s still just a ‘child’ if you think about it. There’s only been two books and a third volume just came out, so there’s so much more depth left in the pond. It can get so much deeper and we have the opportunity to dive into that.

“With other comic books that have been coming out since the 1920s and 1940s, there are thousands and thousands of issues that you really can’t break away from.”

“So we have the opportunity to make it our own story in that sense.”

Published by Dark Horse Comics, “The Umbrella Academy” and two series of the book were released in quick succession in 2007 and 2008, with the third series coming out last year and this year.

The pilot episode of the series introduces the 43 characters – all born inexplicably on the same day in 1989 to random women who were not pregnant.

Billionaire industrialist Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of them and created the Umbrella Academy to prepare his “children” to save the world. But not everything went according to plan. When the kids were still in their teens, the family fractured and the team disbanded.

The Umbrella Academy reunion including Number Five (Aiden Gallagher), left, who travels back into the present after 17 years and remains in the body of a 13-year-old.

It took Hargreeves’ death to reunite the six surviving members, now in their 30s. Luther (played by Tom Hopper from “Game of Thrones”), Diego (Castaneda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Sheehan), Vanya (Ellen Page) and Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) decide to work together to solve the mystery surrounding their father’s death.

Also starring in the show are nine-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee Mary J Blige and Cameron Britton from Netflix’s psychological-crime drama “Mindhunter”. They both play ruthless and unorthodox hitmen who travel through time to kill their assigned targets.

Sheehan, who also appears in the just-released film “Mortal Engines”, agrees that “The Umbrella Academy” is different from other superhero yarns.

“The archetypal superhero film is, like, ‘They save the day’, whereas our series explores the necessity of failure,” he said in Singapore.

“We are a dysfunctional family. The core of our dysfunction is the fact that we’re not very good superheroes. Our millionaire, reclusive, strange adoptive father turned us into ‘superheroes’ when we were very young, but he didn’t give us a childhood. So we all grow up missing something emotionally and feel sort of like failures. We were manipulated and coerced into being superhero crime-fighters when we should have been nourished as children, so we all grew up a little bit traumatised.”

Naturally, all the academy members have their own unique powers. Luther is the strongest with the giant body of a Martian gorilla. Rebellious, father-loathing Diego became a vigilante like Batman. Allison can literally change reality by lying (much like a certain US politician).

Nine-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee Mary J Blige (left) and Cameron Britton play ruthless and unorthodox hitmen Cha Cha and Hazel in “The Umbrella Academy”. 

Klaus is able to speak to the dead, which turns him into a drug addict. Number Five, who’s retained the appearance of a boy, can travel through time.

Vanya, on the other hand, seems to have no superpowers at all.

And each of them also suffers a unique pain held over from childhood experiences that drove them from home as soon as they were old enough to go.

“The six haven’t seen each other for 17 years and come back for the funeral,” Sheehan said. “Klaus is taking a lot of drugs to quiet the ‘voices’. His personal struggle has been externalised into the dead and he has the power to speak to them, but it’s more like a sickness, like a disability. He has to do great damage to his body to suppress it, and his journey is about figuring out ways of controlling this ability.”

Castaneda said his character, Diego, doesn’t believe he has a superpower like the others, so his tactical abilities get messed up with his emotional instability.

“So, when provoked, he immediately reacts with action rather than reason, and that gets him into a pickle with the siblings. He can’t cope with the fact that everybody has a special ability except him and yet they’re not using their powers for the right reasons. So they he builds up this animosity, and he becomes sort of like a joke because he takes his job too seriously.”

The Umbrella Academy returns home for the first time in 17 years after the death of their adopted father.

Each of the siblings bears a “palpable resentment”, Castaneda said, “and each of us has a different reason why we left”. The complexity of their group relationship distinguishes the academy from any other group of superheroes.

“These people have to save themselves before they can save the world – if they can’t find a way out of own trouble, they’re not going to be of any help to anyone else,” Castaneda said. “They stand out from all others in the superhero genre because there this element of morality. Someone like Superman or Batman would do whatever is right to help people, to sacrifice themselves, but we are so far different than that.”

Despite all the dysfunction and complexity, the series is never mired in psychological drama, Sheehan emphasised. On the contrary, it’s filled with hilarious comedy deriving from their personalities and there’s plenty of music too along the way.

The show portrays the life of a superhero in a new and different from what we’ve seen before and that will give the whole genre a new direction.

That view of superheroes is what he likes most about the series.

“I like the idea that it’s okay to fail. In fact, failure is absolutely necessary to success. You have to fail to know which way to go next, and that’s not something that’s understood well enough these days. It’s harder to fail these days and get back up and do whatever because there’s more riding on every attempt to do something.

“Failure can damage personal reputations, but we’re human and we all fail every day – it’s absolutely essential to being human. We can’t all be successes all day long – it’s not very interesting.

“So I think our show is about superheroes who fail,” Sheehan said. “You’re looking through the back door of their house and you’re watching them just be human and be failures and I think that’s a nice message to take away.”

 The screenings kick off today with all three films being shown until January 26.

“Letter from Beirut” and “Beirut Never Again” will be shown together. “Letter”, which runs for 48 minutes, was made in 1978 and follows a young woman through the bullet-pocked and bomb-wrecked ruins, encountering Israeli tanks and international checkpoints. “Beirut Never Again” portrays the city, once the playground of the rich, in ruins from the civil war.

“Once Upon a Time in Beirut”, which was made in 1994, was dedicated to the anniversary of a century of cinema and the founding of the Lebanese cinematheque. It follows two young women on a journey to explore Beirut of the past with a reclusive film expert. That leads them to tour the city through films.

Saab gained attention with her first featurelength documentary “Lebanon in Turmoil” (1975) and also released works about Iran, “The Polisario Front of Western Sahara”, and Vietnam. In recent years, her photo installations and her art film “What’s Going On” (2010) earned her international acclaim.

She also founded the organisation Cultural Resistance, and in 2013, became the organiser and curator of the Tripoli Film Festival, Lebanon’s first film festival featuring films of Asia and the Mediterranean area.

Saab died on Monday at the age of 70.