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Hong Kong-based Moebius Entertainment has boarded Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s new film, “The Road Not Taken,” picking up international sales rights ahead of its bow in the Special Presentations lineup at the Toronto Film Festival.
Chan directs Zhou Xun, Wen Qi, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Wang Xiao in the drama, which centers on early-onset Alzheimer disease. Zhou plays Jia Jia, a television host whose outwardly composed career masks a marriage to a wildlife conservationist that is coming apart. Fumbling the term “artificial intelligence” for “artificial talent” during a live panel, she initially puts the slip down to exhaustion, but the moment marks the start of symptoms that grow harder to ignore. As her condition advances, the story folds in her strained bonds with her daughter, played by Wen Qi, and her father, played by Fifth Generation filmmaker Tian Zhuangzhuang.
The Toronto berth marks a return to the festival for Chan, whose “She Has No Name” screened last year. Fred Tsui, founder and chief executive of Moebius Entertainment, first worked with Chan as executive producer on that film and its international rollout, a partnership that carries over to “The Road Not Taken.”
Moebius closed the deal for “The Road Not Taken” before Tsui’s appointment as executive director of the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society. Tsui is stepping back from new sales projects as he moves into that role, though “The Road Not Taken” was already committed to Moebius beforehand, and the company will steer its international sales campaign and coordinate with the filmmakers on rolling the film out globally. Tsui is set to begin as HKIFFS executive director on Sept. 23, taking over from Albert Lee.
“Peter Chan is a filmmaker of extraordinary emotional precision and global reach,” said Tsui. “Following our work together on ‘She Has No Name,’ it is a pleasure to continue that relationship with ‘The Road Not Taken.’ Its world premiere at TIFF offers an exceptional platform for the film’s first encounter with international audiences.”
Moebius will unveil “The Road Not Taken” for buyers and programmers during the Toronto market, taking on sales duties in every territory beyond the film’s home turf.
Moebius Entertainment, based in Hong Kong, represents distinctive Asian and international titles, working with filmmakers and producers to craft tailored festival, sales and distribution plans in markets worldwide.
