South Korea’s Finecut has closed sales of Toronto-bound animation Long Long Night, Hong Sangsoo’s Locarno award-winner Nowhere To Lay My Eyes and Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title Dora.
Long Long Night has pre-sold to Japan’s Geek Pictures ahead of its world premiere in the Centrepiece section of Toronto. It will go on to play in Competition at Busan and the competitive Anima’t section of Sitges next month.
Marking the feature debut of director Youm Kyu Bock, the film is based on a bestselling Korean novel, which has sold more than 800,000 copies. The story follows the last rhino of his kind, who forms an unlikely bond with a penguin born from an abandoned egg and together set out on a journey toward the ocean. It is inspired by the true story of Sudan, the last surviving northern white rhino.
Nowhere To Lay My Eyes, the 35th feature by acclaimed Korean auteur Hong, has been acquired for the UK (Institute of Contemporary Arts), Spain (Atalante), China (Hugoeast), Austria (Filmgarten) and Taiwan (Cola Films). North American rights were previously secured by Cinema Guild.
The film premiered last month in competition at Locarno, where it won best direction, best performance for actress Kim Minhee and the Ecumenical jury prize. The story follows a woman who visits her mother with her brother after 10 years apart, and spends two days with her mother’s new family.
July Jung’s Dora, which premiered at Cannes, has also been acquired by Geek Pictures for Japan and Light Year Images for Taiwan. The film will next screen in the Gala Presentation section of Busan.
The psychodrama follows a struggling young woman, played by former K-pop idol Kim Do-yeon, who travels to a seaside village with her family where she shows signs of recovery from her physical and mental challenges. But as relationships form, so do conflicts. The cast also includes acclaimed Japanese actress Sakura Ando.
Finecut’s slate at the Toronto also includes upcoming animated feature Guardians Of The Video Game and upcoming Japanese horror thriller Wash Away, which is set to premiere at Sitges and marks the feature directorial debut of Takuya Miyahara.
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