Seoul-based Finecut has secured distribution deals in more than six territories for high school drama film Victory, ahead of the film’s Korean release on August 14.
Victory has been acquired by 815 Pictures (North America), Sky Films Entertainment (Taiwan), Lumix Media (Vietnam), PT Prima Cinema Multimedia (Indonesia), House of M (Thailand), Emphasis Video Entertainment (Inflight) and Westec Media Limited (Cambodia).
The film received its world premiere as the opening film at the New York Asian Film Festival and stars Lee Hye-ri (Reply 1988) of K-pop group Girl’s Day and Park Se-wan (Life Is Beautiful).
It tells the story of a high school dance duo (played by Lee and Park), who inspire people in their village with their cheerleading performance. They also soon find themselves cheering on an underdog school soccer team on a remote island.
Directed by Park Beom-su (Single in Seoul, Red Carpet), the cast also includes Cho A-ram (from JTBC’s top-rated Doctor Cha) and Lee Jung-ha (from Disney+’s breakout hit Moving).
Cho plays a former member of a Seoul cheerleading squad who moves to the village, while Lee takes on the role as the goalkeeper of a school soccer team that always loses.
Victory will release theatrically in North America and Vietnam on August 16, followed by Indonesia, Taiwan, Cambodia, and Thailand from late August to September.
Produced by Seoul-based Annapurna Films, headed by Lee Anna, Victory is presented by MINDMARK, a cultural content IP company under the Shinsegae Group, which has financed and distributed films like A Normal Family, Love Reset, Honey Sweet, and Decibel.
Finecut has also boarded Hong Sang-soo‘s By The Stream, which will premiere in the competition section at the Locarno Film Festival on August 16, as well as in the Centrepiece section at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Also on Finecut’s slate is horror-thriller Noise, which follows a woman with a hearing aid haunted by inexplicable sounds that attract a malevolent presence linked to her sister’s disappearance. The film will have its market screening at Toronto Industry Select and its world premiere at Sitges Film Festival.
