AWARD-WINNING MALAYSIAN DIRECTOR BRADLEY LIEW HELMS AN EPISODE OF HBO ASIA ORIGINAL HORROR ANTHOLOGY SERIES FOLKLORE SEASON 2
WarnerMedia today announced the second season of the HBO Asia Original horror anthology series, Folklore. Principal photography for the seven-part hour-long series will commence early next year in seven Asian territories including Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. Each episode will be directed by a local director from each territory, with Malaysian Bradley Liew directing one episode. An alumnus of acclaimed institutions such as the NAFF Fantastic Film School, Tokyo Talents and Sam Spiegel International Film Lab, Liew is a well-recognised and accomplished filmmaker. His first feature film, Singing in Graveyards, was awarded Southeast Asian Film Lab Most Promising Project Award. Now, with the second season of Folklore, Liew will have a rich reservoir of traditional tales to draw upon, adding to fellow countryman Ho Yuhang’s episode TOYOL which formed part of the prior anthology. Helmed once again by Singapore’s award-winning filmmaker Eric Khoo, the second season of Folklore will ramp up the fear factor as it examines the human condition when exposed to supernatural powers in a mind-bending race against oneself, each story bringing a different take and perspective. The directors for this season include Sittisiri Mongkolsiri from Thailand, Shih-Han Liao from Taiwan, Erik Matti from the Philippines, Billy Christian from Indonesia, Nicole Midori Woodford from Singapore, and Bradley Liew from Malaysia. Pop singer-songwriter, Seiko Matsuda, will be making her directorial debut in the episode from Japan. “The horror genre has always worked well in Asia. Following the success of the first season of Folklore, WarnerMedia has green lit the second season of the award-winning series, expanding the anthology series to more Asian countries,” said Magdalene Ew, Head of Entertainment, WarnerMedia India, Southeast Asia and Korea. “Folklore Season 2 will feature a mix of established and up-and-coming auteurs, each with distinct sensibilities, including two female directors from the region.” Various episodes of Folklore Season 1 were screened at numerous major international film festivals including Toronto International Film Festival (Toronto, Canada), SITGES International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (Barcelona, Spain), Fantastic Fest (Texas, USA), Scream Fest (Singapore), Five Flavours Asian Film Festival (Warsaw, Poland), Asian World Film Fest (California, USA), Geneva International Film Festival (Geneva Switzerland), Trieste Science+Fiction Festival (Trieste, Italy), Philadelphia Asian Film Festival (Philadelphia, USA), San Diego Asian Film Festival (San Diego, USA), CinemAsia International Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Festival Series Mania (Lille, France), Tokyo International Film Festival (Tokyo, Japan), and Ehime International Film Festival (Ehime, Japan). Folklore Season 2 will premiere later in 2021 on HBO GO and HBO. Stream or download the six-part first season of Folklore, which features local superstitions and myths from six different countries in Asia, on HBO GO.