EXCLUSIVE: Italy-based sales agency Luminalia has taken sales rights to the Sundance Institute-supported documentary Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava, a Vietnamese/South Korean co-production that will have its world premiere in the Burning Lights Competition at Visions du Réel next month.
It has also been selected for Canada’s Hot Docs, playing at the end of April.
Directed by Vietnamese filmmaker Nông Nhật Quang, Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava is described by Luminalia founder Tommaso Priante as the story of a dysfunctional family.
“There are three main characters: the mum, the daughter and the son, who is also the director. The daughter faces mental illness. The son comes out as gay, and the mother is very conservative,” Priante said. “It’s an intimate, sweet and tender film.”
Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava is produced by Trang Dao from Flâneur Films in Vietnam and Sarah Kang from South Korean outfit Seesaw Films. The project has participated in many labs, including Cannes Docs, Asia Docs and Docedge Kolkata. It has secured support from, among others, IDFA Bertha Fund, Visions Sud Est, and the Sundance Institute (through the Artist Accelerator Programme and The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) Initiative.
“What first caught our attention was how thoughtfully Luminalia had curated their catalogue with films from underrepresented regions and a bold and creative distribution strategy that challenges industry norms,” said producer Kang of the partnership with Priante’s sales outfit. “Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava is built on the talent of emerging Vietnamese filmmakers, brought together with Korean co-production.”
Expansion
Launched in January 2025 by Priante, Luminalia recently hired Mexico-born, Berlin-based Carmina Orozco López to oversee the company’s festival and documentary strategy. Lopez has previously worked with international festivals and markets including the Berlinale’s European Film Market, Berlinale Talents, DOK Leipzig, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, and the Guanajuato International Film Festival.
Lopez will focus on documentary titles while Priante will concentrate on fiction films.
Luminalia’s spring slate also includes Ique Langa’s Rotterdam Tiger title O Profeta and Sarmad Sultan Khoosat’s Pakistani drama Lali, which screened in the Berlinale Panorama and has been attracting strong distributor attention. Khoosat was also a producer on Pakistani Oscar contender, Joyland.
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