Bill Kong’s Edko Films is launching international sales on award-winning Chinese director Gu Changwei’s Life Is A Miracle, starring Zhang Ziyi and Aaron Kwok, here at Cannes.
 
Set in a small Chinese village, where an illicit trade in human blood has resulted in the spread of HIV, the film follows two fellow AIDS sufferers, played by Zhang and Kwok, who fall in love with each other. Produced by China’s Stellar Megamedia and Beijing Forbidden City Film Co, the film is due for delivery in November 2010.
 
Gu’s credits include Peacock, which won the Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear at Berlin in 2005, while his last film, And The Spring Comes, won best actress for Jiang Wenli’s performance at the Rome film festival in 2007. He was also nominated for an Oscar for his work as DoP on Chen Kaige’s Farewell My Concubine.
 
Meanwhile Edko has also picked up international rights to Jacob Cheung’s Rest On Your Shoulder, a fantasy romance that combines live action with CGI animation.
 
The story follows a young woman who makes a pact with a mythical being to become a butterfly in exchange for the recovery of her sick fiancé. The cast is headed by Aloys Chen, Gigi Leung, Kwai Lun-mei and Jiang Yi-yan, while the crew includes award-winning Japanese composer Jo Hisashi (Departures, Spirited Away).  
 
As previously reported by Screen, Edko is also producing Zhang Yimou’s new film, Under The Hawthorn Tree, with IDG China and Zhang’s Beijing New Picture Film Co. Currently in production, the film is a romantic drama set during China’s Cultural Revolution period.

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