On the heels of taking the 2021 Palme d’Or for Julia Ducournau’s Titane, Neon has acquired the North American rights to Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s One Second, which will close the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 18.
The Cultural Revolution-set film, written by Zhang along with Zou Jingzhi and based on the novel by Yan Geling, stars Zhang Yi, Liu Haocun and Fan Wei. Yimou is known for movies like Raise the Red Lantern and Hero.
One Second finds a rural Chinese village coming together to restore a destroyed film reel. Among them is an escaped prisoner, a young vagabond scheming to steal the reel away and a projectionist known as Mr. Movie.
The film was shot in and around the small Chinese town of Dunhuang and was earlier set to bow in Berlin before that festival pulled the title. Yimou recently wrapped production on crime drama Under the Light.
Neon premiered Titane in Cannes and acquired The Worst Person in the World and A Chiara out of the French festival.
Jeff Deutchman negotiated the deal for Neon with Eva Diederix of Wild Bunch. Wild Bunch is handling international sales. One Second is a Huanxi Media Group Production and is produced by William Kong, Ping Dong, Liwei Pang and Shaokun Xian.
