Jamie Chung won the special jury award in Austin for best performance in the true story of a young woman who gets sucked into the world of sex trafficking.

Beau Bridges and Matt O’Leary co-star in Eden, which Megan Griffiths directed from a screenplay she co-wrote with human trafficking survivor Chong Kim, on whom the story is based. Eden premiered in Austin and went on to win the audience award for best narrative feature.

Centripetal Films founder Colin Harper Plank and Jacob Mosler produced and Plank negotiated the deal with Cinema Management Group president Edward Noeltner (pictured), who plans to present Kim and Plank to buyers at a reception following a market screening on the Croisette on May 17.

CMG vp’s of acquisitions and business development Brian and Jason Cleveland discovered the film at SXSW and assisted in negotiating the deal with CMG’s acquisitions and marketing fund provided by CMG shareholder Cleveland Family Trust.

“The cast and crew of Eden have done an amazing job producing a captivating, humanising tale that we are proud to distribute internationally and premiere in Cannes to international buyers next month,” Noeltner said.

“It is my hope that by bringing Chong Kim’s powerful American survival story to screen, we will move one step closer to creating awareness and eradicating human trafficking and sex slavery from every nation,” Plank said.

John Sloss of Cinetic Media is fielding offers for North American distribution.

Noeltner’s CMG team in Cannes includes Dene Anderberg and Agatha Altarovici and will be located at the Palais des Festivals – Lerins S.13.

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