Neon has acquired North American and English-language rights to Na Hong-Jin’s Cannes Competition entry and sci-fi Hope starring Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Alicia Vikander, and Michael Fassbender.
The company’s sixth film in this year’s Cannes selection follows a South Korean police chief near the Demilitarised Zone who confronts a reality beyond belief when local youths report a tiger sighting.
Neon plans a theatrical release on Hope, which marks Na’s fourth Cannes film after 2016 out-of-competition selection The Wailing, 2011 Un Certain Regard entry The Yellow Sea, and The Chaser, which screened out of Competition in 2008.
Hwang starred in Deliver Us From Evil and Zo’s credits include Escape From Mogadishu. Vikander has starred in Ex Machina and Fassbender’s credits include 12 Years A Slave. The cast includes Taylor Russell from Bones And All and Cameron Britton from the series Mindhunter.
Na wrote the screenplay and produces alongside Saemi Kim, and Saerom Kim for Forged Films. The executive producer is Jeongin Hong and Plus M Entertainment is financing the film.
Neon brokered the deal with UTA Independent Film Group. Neon’s upcoming Cannes titles include Arthur Harari’s The Unknown, Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All Of A Sudden, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Sheep In The Box in competition, and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Her Private Hell out of competition.
The company’s films have won the past six Palmes d’Or in Cannes, most recently with Jafar Panahi’s Oscar-nominated It Was Just An Accident.
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