Ivanhoe Pictures and Beijing Galloping Horse Film Co have jointly acquired all Chinese rights for John Carney’s Begin Again.

The deal marks Ivanhoe’s first acquisition. International financier Robert Friedland launched the company launched last September to finance and produce film and TV projects with global audience appeal, particularly in China, India, Korea, and Japan. 

Veteran producer John Penotti heads the company with Beijing-based Ray Chen.

The company is also in development on Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians and has signed a four year, multi-picture co-financing deal with Fox International Productions for local language films in five markets across Asia.

Begin Again was arguably the hit of Toronto 2013 and stars Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Steinfeld and Adam Levine. The Weinstein Company will release in North America in July.

Ronan Wong for Beijing Galloping Horse and Brian Kornreich for Ivanhoe Pictures brokered the Begin Again deal with Alex Walton on behalf of Exclusive

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