movies
Far East Film Festival 2026: Full Winners List
Kimura Taichi’s tender Japanese drama Fujiko took home the Golden Mulberry Audience Award at the 28th edition of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) that came to a close on Friday night in the northern Italian city of Udine.
Fujiko, Kimura’s second feature, is a family dramedy set in 1970s and 1980s Japan and tells the story of a middle-aged single mother trying to make her way in a culture that is still struggling with the concept of women’s liberation. The film stars Yuki Katayama, Lily Franky, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Keiko Takeshita, Kayoko Kishimoto and Issey Ogata.
Taking the 2026 Silver Mulberry, FEFF’s second most coveted audience award, was Kim Jong-woo, Kim Shin-wan and Cho Chul-young’s searing documentary, The Seoul Guardians. The film captures that surreal events of Dec. 3, 2024, when people in Seoul hit the streets to protest the stunning declaration of martial law by embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol. The Seoul Guardians has received high praise from critics for its immersive retelling of one of the most bizarre and also uplifting moments in South Korea’s history. The Seoul Guardians shared FEFF’s Black Dragon critics prize with Fujiko.
The third place Crystal Mulberry was rather unexpectedly shared between four films — Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert by Yuen Woo-ping; My Name by Chung Ji-young; Tunnels: Sun in the Dark by Bui Thac Chuyen; and The King’s Warden by Chang Hang-jun.
Elsewhere, the jury-decided White Mulberry prize, given to the best debut film, was awarded to Unidentified Murder by Kwok Ka-hei and Jack Lee, with a special mention for The Seoul Guardians. The Mulberry for best screenplay award went to Tunnels: Sun in the Dark, with a special mention for Anthony Chen’s We Are All Strangers.
This year’s FEFF Golden Mulberry Award for Lifetime Achievement were awarded to legendary Japanese actor Koji Yakusho and hugely influential Hong Kong filmmaker and martial arts choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. Chinese actress Fan Bingbing received the Golden Mulberry for outstanding achievement.
According to the FEFF organizers, the 2026 edition of the festival saw 75 films screened, including eight world premieres, 18 international premieres, 21 European premieres and 20 Italian premieres from 12 countries. The festival says it saw an uptick in visitors over last year, with approximately 70,000 people visiting the various FEFF screenings and events.
“We had superstars of Asian cinema and we had blockbusters. We had films that celebrate the diversity of talent the region continues to produce and we had full houses all festival long,” said FEFF president Sabrina Baracetti. “Tonight’s winner’s once again reflect the strength of Asian cinema and our dedication to celebrating and promoting these filmmakers will continue.”
The organizer’s also revealed that the dates for the 29th edition of FEFF will take place April 23 through to May 1, 2027, and the country in focus will be Hong Kong.
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As Trump brushes off the need for additional guardrails around artificial intelligence, Bill Gates is sounding the alarm.
In a recent interview, the Microsoft co-founder urged the U.S. government to implement regulations around the development of AI, following a meeting with CEOs of several of biggest AI companies, who agreed it’s necessary to slow down the pace of the growing tech.
“No one thinks self-regulation is enough,” he said on NBC News’ Meet the Press. “You need law enforcement and the politicians to get into the discussion about what safeguards and monitoring look like. And that has to be a required thing. And it will be a little bit of overhead for the industry, but not a dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.”
Gates added, “AI is certainly powerful enough to drive events that, you know, cause a billion deaths. You know, so even though it’s pretty hard to get to 100%, there’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.”
Following recent warnings from those working in AI, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order this month to fast-track stringent oversight and control of AI. Convening “a group of world-leading experts” within the next 60 days, the order lays out a discussion of “safety plans” and “an emergency shutoff, or ‘kill switch,’ for frontier models.”
On a federal level, Trump has brushed off concerns about AI as “a hoax,” insisting the U.S. government “already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power” over AI companies.
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Although Paramount was one of several companies to roll back their DEI initiative when Trump was re-elected, Survivor continues to operate by it.
Host Jeff Probst recently noted that “nothing has changed” with how the reality competition series approaches diversity, equity and inclusion, noting that it was “one of the biggest positive changes ever” for the CBS show that launched in 2000.
“And if you watch our show, you know that we’re so diverse — and it’s not just skin color or ethnicity. It goes much deeper than that. It’s one of the biggest positive changes ever,” he told The New York Times. “Our stories are so much more interesting now because we have people from completely different walks of life.”
Probst continued, “I feel no pressure. No one ever says, can you count the numbers again? But Jesse Tannenbaum, who runs our casting team, knows: There’s no stopping, not because we’re told to do it. This is what we need. We need diversity. It’s for narrative. All those differences matter in the story when you throw people together and force them to rely on each other while conspiring against each other. The more diverse, the more interesting.”
In 2020, Paramount implemented a DEI initiative to make CBS and its other brands more inclusive, which the company rolled back last year amid the Trump administration’s attacks on such programs. Months later, Skydance pledged there would be no DEI policies under the Ellison’s reign as they sought the FCC’s approval of the merger.
Following its milestone 50th season, Probst returns to host Survivor for Season 51, airing Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT on CBS and streaming live on Paramount+.
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The MTV Video Music Awards are back tonight for the 42nd awards show, celebrating the best music videos of the year.
Hosted by 3x VMA winner Snoop Dogg, the ceremony broadcasts live on Sunday night from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with performances from Madonna, Kacey Musgraves, Lisa, Sombr and more.
Madonna leads this year’s nominations with 13 categories, tying Lady Gaga’s 2010 record for most nominations in a year. She’s followed by Taylor Swift (11), Sabrina Carpenter (nine) and Ariana Grande (eight) in earning the most nominations.
Tonight’s awards show will honor Nirvana with the Video Vanguard Award, and Taylor Swift will receive the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors, with her “Patient Zero” music video from The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore making its world premiere during the simulcast.
This years MTV VMA performances will include tributes to Dolly Parton and George Michael, marking 40 years since his solo debut album Faith.
With all this and more expected for the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, read on for how to watch or stream the awards show.
How Can I Watch The 2026 VMAs?
The 2026 VMAs will air live from on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 7:30-9:30pm ET/4:30-6:30pm PT on CBS, simulcast on MTV and streaming on Paramount+ (Premium) in the US. The show will be available globally the next day on Paramount+ and MTV.
Who Is Presenting At The 2026 VMAs?
The VMA presenters include some of this years nominees and winners of VMAs past, as well as a survivor, a superhero, a scream queen and a Saturday Night Live alum.
The lineup features Alex Warren, Belmont Cameli, Brandon Sklenar, Charli xcx, Ciara Miller, David Corenswet, Ella Bright, Isabel May, Jeff Probst, Rachel Dratch, Teyana Taylor, Troye Sivan and Tyla.
Who Is Performing At The 2026 VMAs?
Returning to the VMAs stage for her first performance there in 23 years, Madonna will open the awards show with some songs from Confessions II, presented by Spotify.
Following Dolly Parton’s death at age 80 last month, Kacey Musgraves will perform a tribute to the Queen of Country. Meanwhile, Raye, Sombr and Teddy Swims will team up for a tribute performance directed by Adam Blackstone, celebrating 40 years since the late George Michaels’ career-defining album Faith (1987).
Also performing at the 2026 MTV VMAs are Gener8ion & Yung Lean, Lisa, Shaboozey & Gunna and Sienna Spiro.
For more info, visit MTV.com.
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