Films Boutique Acquires Alibaba-Financed, Cannes-Labeled ‘Striding Into the Wind’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy
·2 min read

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Films Boutique has acquired international rights to Chinese filmmaker Wei Shujun’s “Striding Into the Wind,” which is part of Cannes’ 2020 Official Selection. The film marks the first arthouse feature completely funded by Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Pictures.

“Striding Into the Wind” is the feature debut of Wei Shujun, an up-and-coming Chinese filmmaker who received the Special Jury award at Cannes with his short film “On the Border” in 2018.

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“Striding Into the Wind” tells the story of Kun, a young man who seems to be messing up pretty much everything: his senior year at film school, his work on his friend’s graduation film and his relationship with his girlfriend. This drama blends road-movie elements set against the backdrop of China’s diverse landscapes, as well as comedy.

“‘Striding Into the Wind’ is clearly the discovery of a very promising filmmaker dealing with a tone and topics that we have not previously seen in recent Chinese films,” said Films Boutique’s founder Jean-Christophe Simon, who negotiated the deal with François Morisset from Salaud Morisset.

Simon said, “The fact that a group such as Alibaba fully financed an arthouse film for the first time clearly shows that there are high expectations on the work of Wei Shujun.”

Films Boutique will introduce the film to buyers during the Cannes Virtual Market. Earlier this month, Films Boutique scooped up rights to Dani Rosenberg’s feature debut, “The Death of Cinema and My Father Too,” also part of Cannes 2020 Official Selection.

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