Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures has boarded Jiang Wen'supcoming The Sun Also Rises as salesagent and equity investor.

Under an agreement reached with Jiang's production company Buyilehu Films, EMP is contributing almosthalf of the film's budget, which has risen from $6.8m at the start ofproduction to $10m, and will also handle international sales in allterritories.

The highly-anticipated film,Jiang's third as director following the critically acclaimed In The Heat Of The Sun and Devils On The Doorstep, is widelyexpected to premiere at Cannesnext year.

Several sales agents, fromFrance, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, have been chasing the film which has beenshooting on and off since October last year and has run into financingdifficulties on more than one occasion. Principal photography only wrapped last week.

Starring Anthony Wong,Jaycee Chan, Joan Chen, Zhou Yun and Jiang himself, the film features fourstories on themes such as madness and desire which have been filmed in remoteprovinces of China including Yunnan and Xinjiang.

The film is Jiang's first asdirector since the Cannes Grand Prix-winning Devils On The Doorstep, which dealt with the touchy subject ofSino-Japanese relations and resulted in a temporary filmmaking ban from theChinese authorities.

Jiang is also one of China's best-known actors and has recently starred infilms such as Xu Jinglei's Letter From AnUnknown Woman and He Ping's WarriorsOf Heaven And Earth.