Magnify, the international sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has closed a raft of territory sales on AFM sales title Pierce, winner of the best director award at Karlovy Vary for Nelicia Low.
Deals on the psychological thriller set in the world of competitive fencing have closed in France (Outplay), Japan (Interfilm), South Korea (Special Movie City), Hong Kong (Edko), Indonesia (Falcon), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Pilot), and airlines (Encore).
Remaining territories are under negotiation, Giraffe Pictures will release in Singapore this week (November 7) and Coalition Point Culture Co. will open the film in Taiwan on December 27.
Pierce stars newcomer Liu Hsiu-fu as Jie, a young fencer who defies his mother’s wishes and reconnects with his estranged older brother Han (Tsao Yu-ning), who reappears after serving seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition.
The brothers grow close, however when Han’s temper flares up, Jie questions whether he might be a violent sociopath. Ding Ning also stars.
Pierce received its North American premiere at New York Asian Film Festival and has played Busan and Rome, where Liu earned a special mention. It recently won the grand jury prize at La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival.
Jeremy Chua and Sam Chua Weishi of Pōtocol produced with Patrick Mao Huang and Evril Kuo of Flash Forward Entertainment, Izabela Igel of Harine Films, and John M. Lo of Elysiüm Ciné.
Low grew up in Singapore and represented her country as a fencer for five years, eventually retiring after the 2010 Asian Games to pursue her dream of becoming a filmmaker.
Magnify’s SVP of global sales Lorna Lee Torres and director of global sales Austin Kennedy negotiated the deals.
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