NEWS
Bladesman cuts over to Easternlight
BY LIZ SHACKLETON
Arclight Films’ Hong Kong-based affi liate Easternlight Films Inter- national has picked up interna- tional rights to Chinese epic The
Lost Bladesman, starring Donnie
Yen and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong. Yen will play one of ancient
China’s most famous warriors, Guan Yunchang, as well as over- see action sequences. The fi lm is set during China’s ‘Warring States’ period. Beijing-based Star Union Sky-
kee Film Investment Co is the lead financier on the project, which will also star Sun Li (Fear-
less, Painted Skin). Delivery is
scheduled for autumn 2011. Yen is China’s hottest action
star following roles in fi lms such as Ip Man and its sequel, Body-
guards And Assassins and Daniel
Lee’s 14 Blades. Easternlight also handled international sales on 14 Blades, which grossed $21m at the Chinese box offi ce and will be released by The Weinstein Com- pany in North America. Mak and Chong co-wrote the
Infernal Affairs trilogy, which Mak co-directed with Andrew Lau. The duo also co-wrote The Lost
Bladesman.
“Following the remarkable glo-
bal success of 14 Blades, Eastern- light is once again thrilled to team up with the incredible Donnie Yen. He is truly one of the greatest action stars ever and his global appeal continues to drive films such as these to an ever-expand- ing worldwide audience,” said Easternlight managing director Ying Ye.
BREAKING NEWS
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Fortissimo strikes key deal with Fox International Productions
BY LIZ SHACKLETON
Fortissimo Films has signed a ground-breaking deal under which it will handle international sales on a number of films from Fox’s local-language production arm, Fox International Produc- tions (FIP). The first two titles under the
deal will be Italian-language pro- duction Vallanzasca, directed by Michele Placido, and Russian- language Alien Girl, directed by Anton Barmatov.
71: Into The Fire
The deal, which sees Fortissimo
handling international sales on mutually agreed FIP projects in the majority of territories, was announced by FIP president San- ford Panitch and Fortissimo chair- man Michael J Werner. On Vallanzasca, Fortissimo will
handle all rights outside Italy, France, Germany and Scandina- via; on Alien Girl, all rights outside Russia. “Fortissimo’s success in match- ing local distributors with inde-
pendent fi lms and Michael’s own familiarity with the kind of stu- dio-level pictures we are develop- ing and producing makes this a perfect fit for both parties, and will prove a benefit to the film- makers and projects involved,” said Panitch. Werner added: “This is a very
exciting deal for the Fortissimo family. Sanford and his FIP team are developing an amazing slate of high-profi le and extremely com- mercial local-language films.
Using Fortissimo’s longstanding experience in bringing local fi lms to prominence, we expect this arrangement will be a win-win situation for Fox, Fortissimo and the independent distribution com- munity around the globe.” Vallanzasca is a 1970s-set Ital-
ian gangster story starring Paz Vega, Moritz Bleibtreu and Kim Rossi Stuart. Alien Girl is about a Russian mobster who sends four hitmen after a woman hiding out in the Czech Republic.
Works chills with Nuummioq
BY GEOFFREY MACNAB
The Works International has snapped up the world sales rights to Sundance favourite Nuummioq, the first Greenland/Inuit-pro- duced feature fi lm. Nuummioq is the bittersweet
Ascot blazes Into The Fire
BY LIZ SHACKLETON
South Korean sales agent Finecut has pre-sold John H Lee’s big-
budget war drama 71: Into The
Fire to Ascot Elite for German- speaking Europe and Benelux. Starring Kwon Sang-woo, the
fi lm is based on the true story of 71 student soldiers fighting the North Korean army during the Korean War. Currently in post-production, it
was produced by Taewon Chung, whose credits include blockbust- ers such as Iris and Three
Kingdoms: Resurrection Of The
Dragon. It will be released by Lotte Entertainment in Korea on June 25 — the 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Finecut recently sold UK rights
to the fi lm to Showbox, which has previously released Asian titles
such as Taegukgi and The Myth.
Finecut is also selling four fi lms in official selection at Cannes: Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry, Pablo Trapero’s Carancho, Hong Sang- soo’s Ha Ha Ha and Jang Cheol-
soo’s Bedevilled.
story of Malik, who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. He keeps the news to himself and takes off on a boat trip with his cousin, who wants to shoot a com- mercial about Greenland. The fi lm is directed by Otto Ros- ing and Torben Bech, and stars
Lars Rosing and Angunnguaq Larsen. It is produced by Mikisoq H Lynge of 3900 Pictures. XYZ is handling North American rights. “Nuummioq is a beautiful and
unique gem. It’s a first in many ways. It’s also very much in the tra- dition of great contemporary Scan- dinavian cinema, which brings to mind names such as Aki Kauris- maki and Lone Scherfi g — but ulti- mately it’s just supremely heart-warming and life-affi rming,” said Carl Clifton, managing direc- tor of The Works International.
Nuummioq
Over 350 000 admissions in Sweden
NATIONAL SWEDISH FILM AWARDS Best Script
Would you give up your past for success?
Market screenings:
12th
of May at Palais B, 09:30 19th of May at Palais E, 12:00
Ten Years of Film Sales
■ 2 Screen International at the Cannes Film Festival May 12, 2010
nonstopsales.com
NATIONAL SWEDISH FILM AWARDS Best Supporting Actor
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