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LYON, France — French distributor Malavida has picked up Wang Chao’s “A Woman,” the Chinese filmmaker’s 2022 drama that won the screenplay prize at San Sebastián but has never received a theatrical release in France.
Malavida is also preparing a wider retrospective of his work for spring 2027.
The acquisitions, announced during Lyon’s International Classic Film Market (MIFC), also include three earlier Wang titles — “The Orphan of Anyang” (2001), “Day and Night” (2004) and “Luxury Car” (2006) — with plans to restore “The Orphan of Anyang” and bring the filmmaker to France for the retrospective, scheduled to launch March 24.
A separate theatrical release is being considered for “A Woman.”
For Malavida co-founder Anne-Laure Brénéol, the acquisitions are a chance to bring back into view a filmmaker whose work has become harder to see.
“It’s a discovery, an incursion, into China with an extraordinary dissident filmmaker who has somewhat fallen into oblivion because the movies he made during the 2010s weren’t released internationally,” she told Variety. “His last film, even though it won prizes, was never released [outside of China]. It really felt like the right moment to rediscover Wang Chao’s work.”
The company is also adding three Dino Risi titles to its theatrical slate: “The Easy Life” (1962), screened at this year’s Lumière Film Festival, “The Monsters” (1963) and “Tolgo il disturbo” (1990), known in France as “Valse d’amour.” The latter, starring Vittorio Gassman and Elliott Gould, has never been re-released theatrically in France. The three films will form part of a Risi retrospective scheduled for summer 2027.
Malavida is also screening a newly restored 4K digital version of Michael Radford’s “1984” in Lyon as part of the festival’s Lumière Classics program —– its first French theatrical showing since its original 1984 release. The restoration was supervised by Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who shot the original film.
The distributor is also preparing a new French-language version of Soviet animator Fyodor Khitruk’s 1969 “Winnie and His Friends,” narrated and sung by French musician and actor Philippe Katerine. Set for release on Feb. 25, 2027, the program will also be available in a French-subtitled version and has received the backing of French arthouse cinema association AFCAE’s young audiences group.
The collaboration continues a long relationship between Katerine and Malavida, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. His directorial debut “Peau de cochon” was the first film the company ever released, in 2005, and is now being brought back to theaters.
“At the time, it was very complicated. Philippe wasn’t as known as today. He was just making music and wasn’t the superstar he later became,” Brénéol recalled. “The press was excited about the film, but its theatrical release was not a success. We’re very happy to bring it back for Malavida’s 20th anniversary.”
The film, an unconventional and deeply personal work mixing humor and fantasy, will receive its first DCP release, having originally been distributed on video. Malavida has also previously worked with Katerine on the French-language version of Soviet animated shorts by Eduard Nazarov.
The distributor’s 2027 slate also includes Konrad Wolf’s “I Was Nineteen,” scheduled for April 21. Malavida discovered the East German filmmaker’s 1968 feature during a retrospective at last year’s Lumière Festival, an encounter Brénéol described as an extraordinarily powerful emotional experience, and subsequently acquired it for French distribution.
Another rediscovery is Jean-Henri Meunier’s 1979 “La Bande du Rex,” a rock-infused film starring French singer Jacques Higelin as Franckie Mégalo, a rebellious film projectionist. Featuring an original soundtrack composed by Higelin, the film is scheduled for re-release in May.
The MIFC runs alongside Lyon’s Lumière Film Festival until Oct. 16.
