Japanese powerhouse Daiei has picked up local Japanese rights to the high-profile remake of Chinese classic Springtime In A Small Town.

The film, is a story of lust unleashed on a respectable bourgeois family following the arrival of a mysterious visitor, is now being filmed by The Blue Kite director Tian Zhuangzhuang on location in Southern China.

Daiei is understood to have secured the rights after a bid battle between a handful of top Japanese art-house distributors. Daiei previously handled Tian's 1986 drama The Horse Thief, about a reformed criminal who is forced to steal again after the birth of a second son.

"This is an incredibly important contract for us and the film," said Fortissimo Film Sales co-chief Wouter Barendrecht. "It will allow us to go to Cannes with deals in place in France, Spain, Italy Switzerland - through Orly - and Japan."