Canadian distributor Chime has picked up international sales rights to Fresh Off Markham as it ventures into international sales.
Set in the multi-ethnic Canadian town of Markham, the black comedy comprises interlocking stories that satirise the diasporic experience in a foreign land. The protagonists are a new immigrant and a small-time crook who are stuck in an Uber with an unsuspecting carpooler after a simple restaurant heist goes wrong. It leads to a sinister predicament much bigger than their language barriers.
The Canada-Hong Kong production marks the first feature by Kurt Yuen, Cyrus Lo and Trevor Choi, who are all based in Canada but have roots that can be traced to Hong Kong. It is produced by their Canadian production house 9lb Films.
The film had its world premiere at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in April, followed by Beijing and the UK’s Odyssey. It recently made its North American premiere at Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, which facilitated the sales deal with Chime.
“Audiences are drawn to the film’s humour, heart, and authenticity,” said Henri Cheung, founder and operation manager of Chime. “I have never seen anything like it before, a thriller-comedy bravely touch on the ethnicity conflict without hurting anyone.”
Chime has distributed more than 10 titles in North American’s mainstream theatres, including Norris Wong’s The Lyricist Wannabe, Amos Why’s Everyphone Everywhere, and Wei Te-Sheng’s Big.
No comments yet