South Korea's Finecut has sold its upcoming comedy-drama “Victory” to a number of territories, including North America, ahead of its local release on Wednesday (August 14).
The film, which centers around a South Korean cheerleading team, has been acquired by 815 Pictures in North America and Lumix Media in Vietnam, and both companies plan to release it in theaters on August 16.
The film will also be distributed in Taiwan (Sky Films Entertainment), Indonesia (PT Prima Cinema Multimedia), Thailand (House of M) and Cambodia (Westech Media Limited) with release dates set for late August and September. In-flight screening rights are owned by Emphasis Video Entertainment.
“Victory” had its world premiere last month as the opening film of the New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF), where lead actress Lee Hyeri won the Screen International Rising Star Asia award. The actress, known as Hyeri since her days as a member of K-pop group Girl's Day, is known for her roles in the drama “Reply 1988” and the sports drama “My Punch-Drunk Boxer.”
“Victory” is set on a remote Korean island in 1999 and follows two high school girls who start a cheerleading club to pursue their love of dance, but end up cheering on an underdog football team.
This marks the latest film from director Park Bum-soo, known for his 2014 debut “Red Carpet” and the recent romantic comedy “Single in Seoul.” The cast also includes Park Se-wan from the 2022 feature film “Life is Beautiful” and Lee Jeong-ha from Disney+'s hit action series “Moving.”
The film is produced by Seoul-based Annapurna Films, headed by Lee Anna (Sunny), and presented by Mindmark, a cultural content IP company under Shinsegae Group, known as the investor and Korean distributor of films such as Brave Citizen, Love Reset and Honey Sweet. Mindmark's upcoming titles include “A Normal Family,” which premiered in Toronto last year, and Ra Hee-chan's “Boss.”
Finecut's current screenings include Hong Sang-soo's “By The Stream,” which will have a competitive screening in Locarno before heading to Toronto, and horror thriller “Noise,” which will have a market screening in Toronto before premiering in Sitges in October.
