Grasshopper Takes U.S. Rights For Tsai Ming-liang’s Berlin Title ‘Days’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Speciality distributor Grasshopper Film has acquired U.S. distribution rights for Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang’s “Days” and will release the film in cinemas in 2021.
Starring frequent Tsai collaborator Lee Kang-sheng (“Stray Dogs”) and Anong Houngheuangsy, the Bangkok-set film is a study of loneliness that observes an encounter between two men who forget the dark side of reality for one night.
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“Days” debuted at the Berlinale earlier this year, where it won a special mention at the Teddy Awards. It also played at the IndieLisboa and Taipei film festivals. The film is produced by Taiwan’s Homegreen Films in association with France’s ARTE and support from Public Television Service Taiwan.
The deal was negotiated by Ryan Krivoshey, president and founder of Grasshopper Film, with Claude Wang of Homegreen Films.
“A new film from Tsai Ming-liang is always cause for celebration, and ‘Days’ is surely one of his most breathtaking and blissful works,” said Krivoshey. “We are proud to be releasing this wonderful film and can’t wait for audiences to fall under its spell like we did.”
Tsai’s feature debut “Rebels of the Neon God” premiered at the Berlinale in 1992 and his sophomore film “Vive L’Amour” won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival in 1994, while “The River” won the jury award at Berlin in 1996. He is considered one of the major voices in world cinema and other career highlights include 2001’s “What Time is it There?,” 2003’s “Goodbye Dragon Inn” and 2005’s “The Wayward Cloud,” among many others. “Days” is his first feature since 2013’s “Stray Dogs.”
Grasshopper specializes in distributing independent, foreign and documentary film. Recent releases include Pedro Costa’s “Vitalina Varela,” Dan Sallitt’s “Fourteen,” Matthew Barney’s “Redoubt” and Hong Sang-soo’s “Hill of Freedom.” Upcoming releases include 4K restorations of Paulo Rocha’s “The Green Years” and “Change of Life,” as well as Camilo Restrepo’s “Los Conductos.”
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