Last Life In The Universe, the latest pan-Asian co-production and first feature from start-up production outfit Bohemian Films, is set to wrap this week following a six-week shoot in Bangkok.

Directed by Thailand's Pen-ek Ratanaruang, the film is a dark comedy about a suicidal Japanese librarian, living in Bangkok, who is forced to hide out after accidentally killing a Yakuza gang member. Japanese star Asano Tadanobu plays the lead character while cult director Miike Takashi makes a cameo appearance as a Yakuza. The crew also includes In The Mood For Love DoP Chris Doyle.

Bohemian was launched earlier this year with the aim of combining Asian talent with European financing structures. Its four principals - Wouter Barendrecht and Michael Werner of Fortissimo Film Sales and Kuzui Enterprises heads Kaz Kuzui and Fran Rubel Kuzui - run the entity separately from their established companies.

Budgeted at just under $2m, Last Life is co-produced by Thailand's Cinemasia and co-financed by Fortissimo, which is also handling international sales, Singapore's Cathay Films and Japan's Pioneer. Pre-sales were made to Thailand (Five Star), France (Ocean/Paradis) and Japan (Klockworx).

While Last Life was shot in a mixture of English, Japanese and Thai, Bohemian is also developing English-language projects such as Black Tight Ninjas, a female action picture likely to shoot next spring. The company's slate also includes The Six Hermits, a martial arts epic to be directed by Oxide and Danny Pang, and a remake of Ratanaruang's 6IXTYNIN9.

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