Evokative Films takes in THE MISFORTUNATES

Evokative Films is proud to announce that it has acquired the rights of Felix van Groeningen’s THE MISFORTUNATES (DE HELAASHEID DER DINGEN). The film has been chosen to represent Belgium in the race for the Best Foreign Language Film of the Year category at the Oscars 2010. It was also 2009’s biggest box-office hit of Belgium.

Stéphanie Trépanier, Evokative’s founder, says “This film seduced me from the get-go when I saw it in Cannes last year. Its mix of comedy and pathos, its way of making us strangely sympathetic to people who don’t make much effort to get out of their absolutely shitty lives, is absolutely unique. You’ll laugh and cry and laugh again throughout the film.”

Gunther Strobbe is a 13 years old boy growing up in the eighties. He lives in his grandmother's ramshackle house in a small Belgian town with his alcoholic father (a postman with more bars on his route than any of his colleagues) and three alcoholic uncles. Life in the household is clearly dysfunctional, yet it's hard to condemn the Strobbe men for their sins. Their hearts are in the right place – it's just that they can't seem to help turning everything around them into an unmitigated disaster. The Strobbes enter drinking contests and naked bicycle races, teach vulgar songs to little girls. They end up in the hospital to then head right back to the bar the next day. Gunther is an observer in this broken home that reeks of cigarette smoke, spilled beer and sweat-stained clothes. He participates in his drunken uncles' shenanigans only to fit in, hiding his true passion for writing, which is ultimately his key to escaping this squalor.

The film had its World Premiere in the Director’s Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival in 2009, where it got a special mention from the Art Cinema Jury. It then went on to play at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Hamptons Film Festival, where it got the Awards for Best Film, Best Script and Best Cinematography, the Pusan International Film Festival and the Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montréal, amongst many others.

DE HELAASHEID DER DINGEN (Flemish title) became Belgium’s biggest box-office hit of 2009 with 426 000 tickets sold after its fall release. Released on December 24th in France, LA MERDITUDE DES CHOSES (French title) reached 56 500 tickets sold in two weeks, increasing the number of copies from 39 to 44 and only having a 13% decrease of box-office. THE MISFORTUNATES will be released in the US on February 2nd and will follow in Canada with a Montreal release on March 12th, a Toronto release on April 2nd and a Vancouver release of April 23rd.

THE MISFORTUNATES was produced by IDTV, with International sales handled by MK2 International. The deal was made with Matthieu Giblin at MK2 International during the Unifrance Rendez-Vous of French Cinema a few days ago.

Evokative Films is a boutique film distribution company that releases clever, original and entertaining International independent films that mix up the genres to film enthusiasts across Canada. Its catalogue now counts 12 titles, such as ADRIFT IN TOKYO (Japan), DAYTIME DRINKING (Korea), BLACK (France), PARKING (Taiwan) and DELIVER US FROM EVIL (Denmark).

Posted in Acquisitions

Evokative Films will DELIVER US FROM EVIL!

After exploring many facets of Asian cinema, Evokative Films was now anxious to make its first foray into Scandinavian film. It is now done as we are happy to announce that the Montreal-based boutique distribution company has acquired the rights of Ole Bornedal’s DELIVER US FROM EVIL (FRI OS FRA DET ONDE).

Stéphanie Trépanier, Evokative’s founder, says “DELIVER US FROM EVIL’s striking cinematography, Ole Bornedal’s masterful direction and the depth of human darkness explored in the film floored me when I saw it at Canne’s Film Market. I am thrilled that Bavaria has entrusted Evokative with the Canadian distribution of this amazing film.”

Lars and Johannes are brothers with very little in common. Johannes is a high-powered lawyer with a beautiful wife and two children; Lars is a truck driver and a drunken brute who beats his girlfriend. Having returned to his hometown in the country, Johannes hopes for a less hectic, more genuine lifestyle. But trouble is underfoot when Lars runs over a woman with his truck. He sees only one way out: put the blame on Alain, a Bosnian refugee with impaired mental functions. But when Lars, the God-fearing husband of the victim, and his friends close in on the Bosnian, Johannes stands up for the man and shelters him. Undeterred, the violent, drunken horde makes their way to Johannes´ secluded house, where the family and Alain fear for their lives. When words no longer suffice to contain the madness, a siege begins, in which unchained anarchy dictates a scenario of terror… DELIVER US FROM EVIL is a piercing insight into human nature driven berserk.

The Danish social thriller was selected in the Contemporary World Cinema section of the Toronto International Film Festival and will have its World Premiere this Wednesday, September 16th. It will then play at the Sitges Festival International de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya in the Official Noves Visions section.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL was produced by Thura Film and International Sales are handled by Bavaria Film International. The deal was made with Stefanie Zeitler at Bavaria Film International.

Posted in Acquisitions

Cannes acquisitions: I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK and ROUGH CUT!

It was a very busy 10 days at the Cannes Film Festival for Evokative, with a lot of screenings and even more meetings. We'll see the pay-off of this over the next weeks and months, but we already have great news for you: ROUGH CUT and I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK, both Korean titles, were finally picked up!

Co-written and co-produced by the great KIM Ki-duk, ROUGH CUT (also called A Movie is a Movie) was directed by his protégé, JANG Hoon.
Gang-pae is a mobster who dreams of becoming an actor. Soo-ta is a star actor who tends to have a bit of a bad attitude, especially with his co-stars, who keep getting beaten up on the set. Now nobody wants to work with him and it's threatening his current film's production. A chance encounter brings the two together and Soo-ta convinces Gang-pae to come and play the role of, well, a mobster. Gang-pae agrees with the condition that the film's fight scenes have to be real, no pretend bullshit. The table is set for a movie-within-a-movie that gets reality and fiction muddled-up, delivers great characters and packs the punches.

I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK was acclaimed director PARK Chan-wook's last film before THIRST, which was just part of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Young-goon is a girl who’s a bit mentally deranged: she firmly believes she’s a cyborg, see. Refusing to eat “human food” that would bog down her system, she frequently electro-charges herself with a transistor radio thinking that’s the only way to keep her going. That lands her in a mental institution, where she catches the eye of Il-soon, another in-patient who thinks he can steal other people’s soul. But Young-goon’s health is rapidly deteriorating, so Il-soon will have to make her accept her humanity and convince her to eat before she gets a system breakdown. An absolutely original romantic comedy, I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK marked a departure from the style of PARK Chan-wook's Vengeance trilogy.

Both films will get releases on 35mm prints before their DVD releases, dates will be worked out soon. ROUGH CUT will also be part of the programming of the upcoming New York Asian Film Festival and Fantasia Festival.

Posted in Acquisitions

EVOKATIVE FILMS Acquires the Canadian Rights to DAYTIME DRINKING!

It is with great pleasure that Evokative Films announces its acquisition of DAYTIME DRINKING. This South-Korean dramatic comedy, produced with a micro-budget of $9 000 CAD (10 000 Won), seduced audiences and juries alike in various International film festivals and found an unexpected success on its domestic market. As well as Producer, Writer and Director, NOH Young-seok took on the roles of Cinematographer, Production Designer, Editor and Composer of the Original Soundtrack for this first feature film.

On a drunken night out with his friends, Hyuk-jin, a broken-hearted young man, gets swayed into going to the countryside with them for a getaway weekend. But when he gets there, he finds that not only none of them showed up, but the tiny seaside town is shuttered - no shops are open, no tourists are around, the beach is freezing and there’s no cell phone signal. And that’s only the beginning of his bad luck. Unable and reluctant to return to Seoul, he finds himself in the company of some very unusual locals and, subject to the rigid rules of Korean drinking culture, on an increasingly strange odyssey nursing a never-ending hangover. Ushering a new era of independent filmmaking in South Korea, DAYTIME DRINKING is a comedy in the spirit of STRANGER THAN PARADISE and SIDEWAYS - but with a distinctly Korean twist.

Evokative Films signed the distribution deal with Eleven Arts, owner of the North-American rights. The films’ International sales agent is Finecut. DAYTIME DRINKING started its festival career at the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2008, where it won the JJ-Star Award and the Audience Critics' Award, to follow with the Locarno International Film Festival, where it won a Special Mention of the Jury and a NETPAC Award, and the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2009 it followed with the Vessoul Asian Film Festival, where it won an Inalco Jury Award and then, amongst others, the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2009, the SXSW Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Eleven Arts plans a US theatrical release in June and July of this year and Evokative Films will follow with July and August screenings. A DVD release is planned for September.

Posted in Acquisitions

RYOO Seung-wan’s CRYING FIST finally coming to DVD in Canada!

I’m just posting this news very quickly and will expand as soon as there is a minute, we are very busy with the departure from Seoul to get back to Canada…

This one has been long in the works, so I’m extremely happy and proud to finally be able to announce that Evokative just bought the Canadian rights to CRYING FIST by RYOO Seung-wan (CITY OF VIOLENCE, ARAHAN, NO BLOOD NO TEARS, DIE BAD, the upcoming DACHIMAWA LEE…)!

The film, which was part of Cannes’s Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in 2005 (where it won the FIPRESCI Prize) and was the opening film of Fantasia that year, blew me away when I first saw it and was on the top of my wish list when Evokative was founded. This powerful boxing drama stars CHOI Min-Sik (OLDBOY, SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, DRUNK ON WOMEN AND POETRY) and RYOO Seung-beom (ARAHAN, NO BLOOD NO TEARS, DIE BAD).

Like all other Evokative titles, CRYING FIST will be released in Canada before even having a US distributor.


I was very lucky to meet RYOO Seung-wan and his wife and producer KANG Hye-jeong not long ago in Pusan. Also pictured, Nicolas Archambault, Fantasia International Film Festival programmer.

Posted in Acquisitions

A first Taiwanese title for Evokative: PARKING

Evokative Films now visits another Asian country on its cinematic tour of the world: Taiwan! PARKING (TING CHE), a black comedy by Mong-Hong Chung, first played in Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section and was seen at Montreal’s World Film Festival this september. It was just recently part of the Tigers and Dragons section of the Vancouver International Film Festival and the A Window on Asian Cinema section of the Pusan International Film Festival. It is also part of the programming of the upcoming Thessaloniki International Film Festival and Stockholm International Film Festival.

Rita Chuang from Good Films was met here in Pusan and sold us the Canadian distribution rights for all media. The film will see a limited theatrical release before being released on DVD next summer.

The film stars Chang Chen (BREATH, SILK, 2046, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, HAPPY TOGETHER), as well as Lu-Mei Kwai (SECRET, THE MOST DISTANT COURSE), Leon Dai (THE PASSAGE), Chapman To (ISABELLA), Jack Kao (A CHANCE TO DIE) and the model Peggy Tseng in her first movie role.

On Mother’s Day in Taipei, Chen-Mo makes a dinner date with his wife, hoping to bring their estranged relationship back together. While buying a cake on his way home, a car double-parks next to his car, preventing his exit. For the entire night, Chen-Mo searches for the owner of the car and encounters a succession of strange events and eccentric characters: an old couple living with their precocious granddaughter who have lost their only son; a one-armed barbershop owner cooking fish-head soup; a mainland Chinese prostitute trying to escape her pimp’s cruel clutches; and a Hong-Kong tailer embroiled in debt and captured by underground loan sharks. With the rich flavors of comedy, melodrama and noir film, PARKING interweaves themes of family, sex and money to create a moving and darkly funny story.

The film already got great reviews from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen Daily and Twitchfilm. You may see the trailer and a picture gallery on our Facebook page.

Posted in Acquisitions

Sion Sono’s HAZARD finally coming to Canada!

A trip to New York by a Japanese university student seeking “hazard” is now added to the Evokative Films road-map. We are most pleased to announce that Sion Sono’s HAZARD will finally be distributed in Canada. Filmed on location in New York in 2002 and only released in Japan in 2005, the film has not previously been distributed in North America. This anarchic adventure, depicting pre-Guiliani New-York from the eyes of a naive Japanese student, was filmed with a very small budget but stayed with me since I saw it at the Fantasia Festival in 2007, when Sion Sono also came to present EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS.

While at the Asian Film Market of the Pusan International Film Festival, I had the pleasure of meeting with Ko Mori and Kana Aida from Elevent Arts and make the deal for a Canadian DVD release of the film. Filmed with the then little-known but now big Japanese star Jo Odagiri (ADRIFT IN TOKYO), HAZARD also stars Jai West (BIG BANG LOVE, JUVENILE A) and Motoki Fukami (CROWS: EPISODE 0).

Shin is a Japanese university student living a boring and meaningless life. One day, he spots a book titled Dangerous Ways to Walk the World, in which he finds a page written about hazards in New-York. Eager to get out, he jets off to New-York to find this inspiration. He quickly does find out the hazards of the city when he is mugged and left with no money or clothes. By chance, he meets Lee and Takeda, two Japanese-American punks who take him in. With Lee and Takeda, Shin’s days in New-York are now full of excitement and danger. When they need a ride, they threaten people and take their cars. When they are hungry, they rob the deli for food. But their trouble-seeking ways eventually gets them chased by the police, which kills a friend and imprisons the other. Shin ultimately goes back to Japan with a new thirst for life.

You may see the film’s Fantasia International Film Festival write-up here and Twitchfilm’s review here. The acquisition news already got covered by Twitchfilm and the Toronto J-Film Pow-wow. You may also see the trailer and a picture gallery on our Facebook page.

Posted in Acquisitions