Black Coal, Thin Ice sold to Taiwan

Diao Yinan’s Black Coal, Thin Ice has been sold by Fortissimo Films in a multi-rights licensing deal with Taiwan’s Cai Chang Films. The mainland Chinese film released theatrically in Taiwan early next year.

The deal was negotiated between Fortissimo Films chairman Michael J Werner and Cai Chang Films evp IC Chen.

The film, which won the Golden Bear and a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in February, has secured eight nominations at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards, which announces winners tomorrow (Nov 22).

The film made $17.1m (105m Rmb) at the Chinese box office and recorded nearly 225,000 admissions in France. It will be released in Japan early next year.

Black Coal, Thin Ice tells the story of Zhang (LIAO Fan) a former detective who, while investigating a series of murders, falls in love with a mysterious woman (GWEI Lun Mei) with a link to all the victims.

It marks the third film from Diao after Uniform (2003) and Night Train (2007), with the latter screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard strand.