Optimum Takes all U.K. Rights to Venice Competition Title 'Warriors of The Rainbow'

LONDON - Optimum Distribution has picked up all U.K. rights to the Wei Te-Sheng-directed Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale, The Taiwanese epic that will premiere in Competition at the Venice Film Festival this fall.

Ten years in the making and featuring a cast of 15,000 and a crew of 400 from Taiwan, Japan and Korea, Warriors tells the true tale of the Seediq tribe's uprising against the Japanese occupation in 1930s Formosa, now part of Taiwan.

International sales are being handled by Fortissimo Films, with the U.K. distribution deal the first to be struck in Europe. The $25 million Taiwanese epic is produced by John Woo, Terence Chang and Jimmy Huang.

Wei, who previously directed Cape No. 7, the highest-grossing Taiwanese movie of all-time, is co-producing the movie with Huang through their ARS Film Production, alongside Central Motion Picture Corp. of Taiwan.

“We are thrilled that our film has strongly resonated with the prestigious U.K. company Optimum and that they moved quickly to acquire it in advance of the world premiere in Venice," said Huang.