Hong Kong-based Distribution Workshop is launching two titles directed by Derek Yee at the upcoming Cannes marche; 3D martial arts action title Sword Master and drama I Am Somebody.

Produced by Bona Film Group and Yee’s Film Unlimited, Sword Master teams Yee with another Hong Kong cinema giant, Tsui Hark, who is acting as producer.

Currently in production at Hengdian World Studios, the film is based on a wuxia novel written by Gu Long about an elite swordsman who is haunted by his skill and forced to fight a challenger who is determined to take his place at all costs.

Lin Gengxin (Young Detective Dee: Rise Of The Sea Dragon) heads the cast as the swordsman. Peter Ho, Jiang Yiyan and Jiang Mengjie also star. 

I Am Somebody is a reality-based drama revolving around the small-time actors and extras who work at the Hengdian studios in China’s Zhejiang province. Yee has been quietly shooting the film since the second half of 2012.

One of Hong Kong’s best-known directors, Yee’s recent credits include The Great Magician and Triple Tap. He also recently produced David Lee’s psychological thriller Insanity, starring Lau Ching Wan and Huang Xiaoming, which is in post-production and is also on Distribution Workshop’s Cannes slate.

Distribution Workshop will also be selling Tsui Hark’s The Taking Of Tiger Mountain, Jacob Cheung’s The White Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom and Alan Mak and Felix Chong’s Overheard 3 at the Cannes marche.

Tiger Mountain is currently shooting with Zhang Hanyu, Tony Leung Ka-fai and Lin Gengxin heading the cast. White Haired Witch and Overheard 3 are both in post-production. 

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