Films Boutique Acquires Alibaba-Financed, Cannes-Labeled ‘Striding Into the Wind’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Rebecca Davis editorHong Kong “Mulan” star Donnie Yen this week reiterated his political loyalty to mainland China as he teased work on the upcoming theatrical adaptation of popular video game “Sleeping Dogs” and announced “Golden Empire,” a new China-backed crime thriller.His hometown is currently roiling under the impact of a controversial new national security law imposed by Beijing that strips Hong Kong of many of its former freedoms, which came into effect July 1 — the anniversary of

Rebecca Davis editorThe Shanghai International Film Festival is planning to take place in-person later this month, likely from July 18-27, according to Chinese and Iranian reports.Other large, in-person entertainment industry events such as the Shanghai TV Festival and the ChinaJoy gaming industry conference are also set to occur in-person soon, reports said, as the country opens further in the wake of COVID-19 despite recent outbreaks in Beijing and Hebei province.Chinese cinemas have been

Rebecca Davis editorLeading Hollywood visualization studio The Third Floor (TTF) has opened its first Beijing office. It seeks to create a hub in China on par with its other main outposts in Los Angeles and London that will cater primarily to local projects.

Australian auteur George Miller is getting into business with Beijing-based real estate giant Sunac China. The Chinese property developer has closed a deal to co-finance Miller's forthcoming "epic love story" Three Thousand Years of Longing, co-staring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAmazon Prime Video has clinched U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorDirector Lu Yang’s “Assassins in Red” is set to debut next lunar new year, a holiday release window that will likely be one of China’s most competitive ever, as 2020 blockbusters pushed back by the coronavirus prepare to jostle with new titles during the country’s biggest movie-going week of the year. But Lu gently laughs off the question of whether the pressure is already a bit unbearable.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Ip Man: Kung Fu Master,” the latest in a long line of Ip Man movies from Hong Kong and mainland China, has found its way to the virtual Cannes Market, where it is being represented by Hong Kong- and Paris-based All Rights Entertainment.Directed by Li Liming and produced by Kai Pictures, it stars Dennis To in his third go at the role of Ip Man, the martial artist who famously tutored Bruce Lee, and whose life has spawned two competing biopic franchises.To

Rebecca Davis editorRelaxed yet armed with a steely ambition, up-and-coming Chinese helmer Wei Shujun is thrilled to be back at Cannes this year in the First Feature section with his road trip film “Striding Into the Wind,” after his short “On the Border” won the Special Jury Distinction award in 2018.“Cannes has been my school, my teacher,” he told Variety, saying that he’s carefully watched and studied the festival’s selections from the past four years.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAt 30, and already an accomplished novelist, Guo Jingming deftly turned himself into one of China’s top film directors when he unleashed bratty, aspirational comedy-drama “Tiny Times” on an eager public in June 2013.

Zhang Yimou is one of the most acclaimed Chinese filmmakers working today.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorA pair of China-focused panels at the Cannes Virtual Market this morning provided some insight into what’s happening in the Middle Kingdom as Beijing deals with a recent reemergence of coronavirus cases and movie theaters remain shuttered. The news wasn’t terribly positive.Jerry Ye, Chairman of Huaying Tianxia (Tianjin) Film Development said there is “no timetable for reopening for cinemas just yet.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s Joy Pictures is selling 10 Chinese titles at the Cannes market this year, including two of its own animated features scheduled for summer 2022. The shingle, which began as a marketer and distributor best-known in its early days for bringing “La La Land” to China, has recently shifted its focus to the production and sale of animation.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: Mark Amin’s U.S. based Sobini Films (Good Kill), Japanese producer Motoko Kimura (L.D.K), and Lifeng Wang’s (Skiptrace) Yintai Investment are teaming up to launch the ACJ Film Fund.ACJ is a joint venture to develop and finance wide-release theatrical films that will appeal to the American, Chinese, and Japanese markets.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTokyo-based Flag Co. has acquired all Japanese rights to François Ozon’s “Summer of 85” from Playtime.

Christopher Vourlias Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Cannes Official Selection title “Sweat,” Magnus von Horn’s follow-up to his Cannes Directors’ Fortnight player “The Here After.”The film follows three days in the life of fitness motivator Sylwia Zając, a social media celebrity who has hundreds of thousands of followers.

Dave McNary Film ReporterOpen Road Films, which declared bankruptcy two years ago, is relaunching with funding from Raven Capital Management.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaIFC Films is acquiring North American rights to “No Man’s Land,” a modern-day Western set along the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s CMC Pictures will bring a line-up of five titles to the Cannes virtual market this year, including “Assassin in Red,” a major blockbuster set to hit next Chinese New Year.The firm will be selling global rights outside of China and Southeast Asia to the fantasy drama directed by Lu Yang (“Brotherhood of Blades,” “Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield”) and executive produced by Ning Hao (“Crazy Alien”).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBerlin-based Films Boutique (“There is No Evil”) has acquired world sales to Dani Rosenberg’s feature debut “The Death of Cinema And My Father Too,” which is part of the Cannes 2020 Official Selection.“The Death of Cinema And My Father Too,” set to have its market premiere in the Cannes Virtual Market, was described by the festival’s artistic director Thierry Fremaux as a “strong take” and “somewhere between a creative documentary and fiction

Rebecca Davis editor“Moses on the Plain,” a film executive produced by art house director Diao Yinan, is among the first notable Chinese titles to have completed shooting since the country’s coronavirus outbreak. It stars A-listers Zhou Dongyu, who has enjoyed a further rise on the back of last year’s breakout teen drama “Better Days,” and Liu Haoran, the young star of the “Detective Chinatown” franchise.