Chinese streamer iQiyi is set to launch sales of action-comedy Clash from producer Guan Hu at the Cannes Market next week.
The film, directed by Jiang Jiachen, is based on the true story of a food delivery rider, dubbed the Usain Bolt of Shapingba in Chongqing, Sichuan province, who assembles 30 young men to form a rugby team.
Through clashes and crashes, the men channel their frustrations in their mundane lives to positive energy on the field. The cast includes Li Jiuxiao, Wang Qianyuan, Liang Chao and Pan Binlong. The iQiyi production was shot by Qian Tiantian, one of a few female DoPs in China.
Director Jiang’s previous films include 2018’s Looking For Lucky and 2021’s No Problem, which played at festivals such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, First, New York Asian and Warsaw.
Producer Guan is also acclaimed as the director of crime drama Mr Six, which was the closing film at Venice in 2015, while war epic The Eight Hundred was a massive hit that earned more $430m (RMB3.11bn) at the Chinese box office in 2020, with Li and Wang, now in Clash, among the ensemble cast. Guan’s latest film, Black Dog, is set to premiere at Cannes in Un Certain Regard.
At the Cannes Market, iQiyi will exhibit under the China Pavilion, where its sales lineup also includes Hovering Blade, a revenge thriller directed by The Invisible Guest director Chen Zhuo, starring Wang Qianyuan and Wang Jingchun and will open on May 17 in China; and Lian Tao’s horror fantasy Skin, with Athena Chu and Cheng Taishen in the cast.
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