Palarae and Kitamura to star in HBO Asia horror series ‘Folklore’
MALAYSIAN actor Bront Palarae and Japanese actor Kazuki Kitamura are set to star as leads in HBO Asia's forthcoming original horror anthology ‘Folklore'.
A six-part hourlong series set in various locations across Asia, ‘Folklore' has already begun principle photography and is targeting a premiere later this year on HBO Asia's TV and digital platforms.
‘Folklore' was created by leading Singaporean filmmaker Eric Khoo. Each episode of the anthology will explore a different ghost story or horror tradition from a different Asian country, “exploring societal dysfunctions in a manner that is specific to the country but possessing themes that will resonate across the continent,” according to HBO.
Each episode also will be directed by an established filmmaker originating from the country featured in that segment. The participating directors are Khoo, Joko Anwar (Indonesia), Takumi Saito (Japan), Lee Sang-Woo (South Korea), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia) and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Thailand). The individual stories will be filmed in the local language of the country in which they are set.
“Folklore was created to embrace the rich culture and history that Asia has to offer,” said Jonathan Spink, CEO of HBO Asia. “We're looking forward to telling these treasured myths and stories from Asia to audiences in the region and the rest of the world.”
Kitamura, whose credits include ‘Godzilla: Final Wars' and ‘Kill Bill: Volumes 1 & 2', will star in the episode directed by Saitoh, a well-known Japanese actor who recently starred in Khoo's ‘Ramen Teh'.
Palarae (‘Halfwords', ‘Satan's Slave') stars in the episode directed by Ho Yuhang, one of Malaysia's best-known directors with credits including ‘Rain Dogs' and ‘Mrs K'.
Folklore is produced in partnership with Singapore's Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) as part of a two-and-a-half-year collaboration to develop the drama production capabilities of the country's entertainment industry.
Under the partnership, HBO Asia will conduct training and development work with local talent and companies.