Korean Thriller ‘Bargain’ wins Critics’ Choice Award at Seriencamp
AWARD
Paramount+ and Tving‘s Korean series “Bargain” has won the critics’ choice award at the Serien Camp Festival in Cologne. In April, “Bargain” became the first-ever Korean series to win best screenplay at the Canneseries Festival in France.
The series stars actors Jun Jong-seo (“Money Heist: Korea”) and Jin Seon-kyu (“Extreme Job”) and is an adaptation of director Lee Chung-hyun’s 2015 short film of the same name. Director Jun Woo-sung, who was part of the production team of the short, picked up the story and developed it into a six-part series. “Bargain” revolves around a group of strangers who gather at a remote motel with ulterior motives – seeking to bargain. Unlike the original film, the series follows the characters after an unexpected earthquake traps them inside the building. With no one to trust, they must find a way to survive.
“Bargain” is developed by Paramount+ and Tving, out of Paramount’s global partnership with Korean entertainment powerhouse, CJ ENM. It is licensed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
DISTRIBUTION
BFI Distribution has acquired from mk2 Films Japanese filmmaker Fukada Koji‘s “Love Life,” for U.K. and Ireland distribution. The film debuted at Venice in 2022 and had much festival play thereafter including Toronto and the BFI London Film Festival.
Inspired by Japanese singer and musician Akiko Yano’s song “Love Life,” the film tells the story of Taeko (Fumino Kimura) and her husband Jiro (Kento Nagayama) who are living a peaceful existence with her young son Keita (Tetta Shimada), when a tragic accident brings the boy’s long-lost father, Park (Atom Sunada), back into Taeko’s life. To cope with the pain and guilt she feels after the accident, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man for whom she has a strong sense of responsibility.
The film will go on theatrical release in U.K. and Irish cinemas on Sept. 15. At London’s BFI Southbank, it will play alongside a Ozu Yasujirō season running Sept. 1 – Oct. 3.
SALES
Banijay Rights has sold historical drama “Marie Antoinette” to Disney+ in Germany. The series tells the story of the modern and avant-garde young queen, played by Emilia Schüle (“Ku’damm 56/ 63”), with Louis Cunningham (“Bridgerton”) as the Dauphin of France, Louis XVI. It is produced by Claude Chelli and Margaux Balsan for CAPA Drama, Stéphanie Chartreux for Banijay Studios France and Christophe Toulemonde for Les Gens.
The eight-part series – created and written by Deborah Davis (“The Favourite”) – will launch on Disney+ in Germany on June 21.
Banijay Rights has now sold the first season of “Marie Antoinette” to over 70 territories, including the U.S. (PBS Distribution), the U.K. (BBC Two and iPlayer) and Australia (BBC First), as well as broadcasters across Europe and Latin America. Earlier this year the drama was ordered for a second series by Canal+, with filming expected to begin this fall.
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