SEOUL — “A Brand New Life,” a debut feature by a French-Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecomte and produced by Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong (“Secret Sunshine”), was sold to Japan’s Crest International after TIFFCOM, Seoul-based sales company Finecut announced.
The film traveled to numerous international film festivals, and had already been sold to major territories including France, Hong Kong and Thailand. Since its premiere in Cannes’ Official Selection this year, the film has been shown at Toronto, Pusan, Rio and Tokyo.
One of the key art house film distributors in Japan, Crest International’s recent lineup of foreign movies includes “Summer Hours” by Olivier Assayas and “Flight of the Red Balloon” by Hou Hsiao Hsien.
Set in 1970s Korea, the film inspired by the director’s personal experiences of adoption delves into a 9-year-old girl abandoned by her father at the orphanage run by Catholic nuns. Her emotional journey from despair to hope begins with her new life with a French family.
“A Brand New Life” has just been released in Korea on 56 screens nationwide, and is expecting the French release in January, 2010 by Diaphana Distribution.
