South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s latest feature, In Front of Your Face, screening in the Cannes Premiere section, has started the festival’s market with a collection of key sales deals, including U.S. rights going to The Cinema Guild.
“Once again Hong has worked his magic and given us a film of extraordinary power through the simplest of means,” said Peter Kelly, president of The Cinema Guild.
Leading South Korean sales outfit Finecut is handling sales on the title in Cannes. Other territories sold include U.K. and Ireland (New Wave Films), Japan (Mimosa Films Inc.), Taiwan (AV-JET International) and Brazil (Providence Filmes).
In Front of Your Face marks Hong’s 11th time presenting a new film at Cannes, which is the most of any South Korean director. Starring Lee Hyeyoung (No Blood No Tears), Cho Yunhee (Introduction) and Kwon Haehyo (The Woman Who Ran), the film follows a story of a middle-aged woman who visits her sister after a long time.
Finecut also has closed several Asian territories for South Korean crime thriller Midnight, which is making its market debut at the Marche du Film in Cannes.
The film is described as portraying a “life-threatening game of hide-and-seek between a psychopathic killer and a deaf woman.” It has sold to Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (CJ ENM Hong Kong); Cambodia, Laos and Thailand (M Pictures); Japan (Gaga Corporation); Philippines (VIVA Networks); and Vietnam (Westec Media Ltd), as well as France (The Jokers Films).
Midnight is the feature debut of director Kwon Oh-seung. Presented by CJ ENM and produced by peppermint&company, it stars Jin Ki-joo (Little Forest) and Wi Ha-jun (Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum). It was released in Korea on June 30 in theaters and on local streaming platform TIVING.
