PRICE
Paramount+ And TVThe Korean series “Bargain” has won the critics’ award at the Serien Camp festival in Cologne. In April, ‘Bargain’ became the first-ever Korean series to win Best Screenplay at the Cannesseries Festival in France.
Starring actors Jun Jong-seo (“Money Heist: Korea”) and Jin Seon-kyu (“Extreme Job”), the series 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 short film’s production team, 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 – looking for bargaining. Unlike the original film, the series follows the characters after they become trapped in the building by an unexpected earthquake. With no one to trust, they must find a way to survive.
“Bargain” was 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 obtained from mk2 movies Japanese filmmaker Fukada Koji‘Love Life’ for distribution in the UK and Ireland. The film premiered in Venice in 2022 and has since been played extensively at festivals, including Toronto and the BFI London Film Festival.
Inspired by the song “Love Life” by Japanese singer and musician Akiko Yano, the film tells the story of Taeko (Fumino Kimura) and her husband Jiro (Kento Nagayama) who lead 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 be theatrically released in UK and Irish cinemas on September 15. At London’s BFI Southbank, the film will be playing alongside an Ozu Yasujirō season running from September 1 to October 3.
SALE
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”) – launches June 21 on Disney+ in Germany.
Banijay Rights has now sold the first season of “Marie Antoinette” to over 70 territories including the US (PBS Distribution), UK (BBC Two and iPlayer) and Australia (BBC First), as well as broadcasters in Europe and Latin America . Earlier this year, the drama was ordered for a second series by Canal+, and filming is expected to begin this autumn.