Korea’s Showbox picks up trio ahead of Cannes

Korea’s Showbox Mediaplex has picked up international rights to three features in the run-up to the Cannes market –  art heist mystery Insadong Scandal, hardcore thriller Missing and omnibus film Five Senses Of Eros.

Written and directed by Park Hee-gon, Insadong Scandal stars Kim Rae-won and Uhm Jung-hwa in a bait-and-switch caper surrounding a priceless 400-year-old painting.

The film, which opened yesterday against Park Chan-wook’s Cannes-bound vampire thriller Thirst, recently received a $500,000 equity investment from Hong Kong-based Prince Asset Management.

Kim Sung-hong’s Missing is the story of what happens when a girl disappears and her sister sets out to take revenge on the killer who murdered her.

“You could compare it to 444 or Hostel for its hardcore cruelty and portrayal of torture but it’s a revenge story so viewers get more catharsis,” said Judy Ahn, head of international business at Showbox. “It’s not the kind of film that is easy to make in Korea, considering the realistic, almost documentary-like portrayal of pain, but it did well.”

The film was released March 19 and has grossed $3.32m to date.

Five Senses Of Eros has segments from well-known directors Hur Jin-ho (Happiness), Daniel H. Byun (The Scarlet Letter), Min Kyu-dong (All For Love), Oh Ki-hwan (Art Of Seduction) and Yoo Young-shik (Anarchist). The portmanteau film is currently in production, set for a July release in Korea.