Fox International Productions president Sanford Panitch announced last night [26] that Doug Liman will present the company’s Mandarin-language film The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman.

The film will receive its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival in the Midnight Madness section.

Rising Chinese film-maker Wuershan directed the stylised martial arts thriller about a mystical blade that changes the lives of three ambitious men. Daniel Yu and Tang Xiru produced and Wang Wei, Tang Xiru, Shao Yiding, Yang Xinliang and Liman served as executive producers.

The film is a co-production between Fox International Productions and First Cuts Features Inc.

“Wuershan’s debut movie, The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman, is so wildly imaginative it changed my perception of China as a whole,” Liman said. “It is a thrill to present this first-time Chinese film-maker to the international community.”

The Butcher, The Chef And The Swordsman represents a new level of stylistic film-making for Chinese cinema and we at Fox International Productions are excited to continue our foray into local co-productions such as this,” Panitch said. “We’re thrilled to have Doug’s support and endorsement of this very talented new film-maker and believe it will help to garner attention not just from the audience in China, but moviegoers the world over.”

Fox International Productions first Chinese co-production, Hot Summer Days, was released in multiple territories including China earlier this year and grossed more than $19m (RMB 130m) in China alone.

The company’s next Chinese production will reunite Panitch and his cohorts with Hot Summer Days’ writing and directing duo Wing Shya and Tony Chan for the second film in their series, Love In Space. The project is currently in pre-production.