Neon has secured North American and English-language rights to Na Hong-Jin's thriller 'Hope', marking its fifth film in the Cannes Film Festival competition lineup. The acquisition, pursued since November, brings Neon's total titles at the festival to six. The film stars Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Hoyeon, Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, Taylor Russell and Cameron Britton.
Neon confirmed its deal for 'Hope' on Thursday, as first reported by Variety. The distributor negotiated with UTA Independent Film Group on behalf of the filmmakers, with Sarah Colvin representing Neon. Producers include Na Hong-Jin, Saemi Kim and Saerom Kim for Forged Films, with executive production by Jeongin Hong and co-executive by Eugene Kim. Plus M Entertainment financed the project, and Neon plans a theatrical release in North America and English-speaking territories. Eugene Kim, head of content at Plus M Entertainment, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Neon, a distributor that has consistently demonstrated an unparalleled eye for global masterpieces.” She added that the genre-bending film would make a strong impression on North American audiences through Neon's expertise. The story is set in Hope Harbor, a remote village near South Korea's Demilitarized Zone. Police chief Bum-seok receives reports from local youths of a tiger sighting, sparking village panic and forcing confrontation with an unbelievable reality. Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux described 'Hope' as constantly changing genres to tell a story from a part of history never before captured on film. This marks Na's fourth Cannes appearance, following 'The Wailing' out of competition in 2016, 'The Yellow Sea' in Un Certain Regard in 2011 and 'The Chaser' out of competition in 2008. Neon's other Cannes titles include Arthur Harari’s 'The Unknown', Cristian Mungiu’s 'Fjord', Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s 'All of a Sudden' and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 'Sheep in the Box' in competition, plus Nicolas Winding Refn’s 'Her Private Hell' out of competition. Neon has distributed the past six Palme d’Or winners.
