Parallax China, one of China’s leading independent film sales companies, has picked up rights to a pair of titles that debut this week at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
It is handling world sales on “Qian Tang River,” directed by Wan Bo, and “Another Day of Hope,” by Liu Taifeng. Both are directorial debuts and both appear in the non-competitive Refreshing Chinese Cinema section.
Set in the 1950s at a site on the Qiantang River, which is notorious for its dangerous tides, “Qian Tang River,” chronicles three generations of a family, their beliefs, battles and failures. The cast isheaded by Wang Zheng, Chen Yunong, Liu Lu, Wang Yidi and Yao Anlian. Production of the Liu Yiying and Wan-scripted drama is by Gao Yujie. Cinematography is by Zhang Xing.
“Another Day of Hope” sees the mundane life of Wen Li shattered by an accident. Until then, he had been the product manager at an internet delivery company, with his life dominated by excessive overtime and all-night shifts. His wife operates a dance studio, while their daughter prepares for high school entrance exams.
The company’s Japanese short film “Before Anyone Else” by Mariko Tetsuya plays in Shanghai’s main Golden Goblet competition.
“Jimmy and Lex find a boy in a car but, instead of saving him, they steal a gun from the glove box. Jimmy then mistakenly fires it before returning to save the boy. The film builds to a climax as Lex becomes increasingly abusive toward the boy and as Jimmy learns that his gunshot may have accidentally killed someone,” reads a synopsis supplied by the firm. The film is written by Gregory Collins and Mariko and stars Komatsu Akiyo, Chloe Skoczen and Kenzo Yeung.
The company is also representing “Indera,” a new horror film by Malaysia’s Woo Ming Jin, which will play next month at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan). Starring Shaheizy Sam, Azira Shafinaz, Samara Kenzo, Ruminah Sidek, Adlin Aman Ramlie, the film’s narrative is taken from the backstory of a real event that took place in 1985. While villagers and government police forces are engaged in a standoff, a father and daughter settling in a house deep in rural Malaysia. But there spirits and demons are as dangerous as guns and knives.
Chinese title, “A Long Shot,” about a retired sharpshooter trying to steer the child of a single mother away from a life of crime, will also play in BiFan. It is directed by Gao Peng.