Hishow Entertainment, the Beijing-based producer-distributor behind the cinephile “We Love Cinema” brand, has added several new titles to its roster. The acquisitions include the recent Sundance winner Josephine and Singapore’s Ah Girl. The company is also venturing into genre fare with the complete Spanish zombie horror franchise Rec.
Sundance Winner Josephine Leads the Slate
At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Beth de Araújo’s Josephine, featuring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan, took home both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the US Dramatic Competition.
The film now joins Hishow’s curated release lineup.
Ah Girl Finds Its Audience
Priscilla Ang Geck Geck’s Ah Girl tells the story of a young girl who must deal with her parents separating, as she moves through her seventh year. The movie had its first public showing at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it took home the Youth Jury Award.
The film was shown at the Shanghai International Film Festival, where it drew a powerful response from the crowd. As a result, it sits among the top three most highly rated Chinese-language films on Douban for this year.
Genre Pivot With Rec Franchise
The Spanish zombie horror series Rec is being released in its entirety by Hishow. The franchise spans four installments, each co-directed by Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza, and it was produced by Filmax and Castelao Producciones across a seven-year run. The films include Rec from 2007, Rec 2 from 2009, Rec 3: Genesis from 2012, and Rec 4: Apocalypse from 2014.
The franchise’s purchase was described by Hishow as a strategic step toward reaching an audience that goes beyond conventional arthouse fare and takes on more commercially versatile genres.
“We are dedicated to expanding our We Love Cinema brand to a multidimensional experience, and further build on our innovative marketing and distribution systems to adapt to the fast-changing market.”
The words come from Wang Haiyi, who runs Hishow as its founder and chief executive, talking about what the company wants to do beyond its current work.
The firm is putting out a second edition of Ron Howard’s 2013 Formula 1 racing drama Rush, appealing to the Chinese public’s fondness for old favorites from the not-too-distant past.
Building a Cinephile Community
Last year Hishow began its We Love Cinema banner, targeting film enthusiasts with carefully selected movie events and inventive distribution channels. It has been constructing online communities on WeChat and other platforms where members can gain access to unique material, previews before general release, and rare goods.
The company intends to create physical movie spaces that blend film screenings with art installations and new technologies.
This summer, Hishow organized the “We Love Cinema French Film Festival,” which played at locations in both Beijing and Shanghai. The lineup included Cannes selections The Birthday Party and Ulysses, along with films by Jacques Demy, Éric Rohmer and Jean-Pierre Melville, and more.
The banner has released several films in the last twelve months, among them Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s Reflection In A Dead Diamond and Adam Elliot’s Memoir Of A Snail and Mary And Max.
A Broader Brand, Same Curated Identity
The combined roster — the Sundance champion Josephine, the Rotterdam prize-winner Ah Girl, the four-film Rec horror series and the re-release of Rush — demonstrates the We Love Cinema banner stretching across arthouse titles, commercially adaptable genres and recent classics alike.
Hishow’s push into a wider market shows the company trying to reach beyond a limited art-house crowd while holding onto the carefully chosen character of its brand.
Source: deadline.com
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.