KimStim Acquires North American Rights To Cannes Un Certain Regard Title ‘Only The River Flows’

Liz Shackleton
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: New York-based arthouse distributor KimStim has acquired all North American rights to Wei Shujun’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title, Only The River Flows. Paris-based MK2 Films is handling international sales on the film.

The Chinese noir thriller has recently been a big hit at the Chinese box office, grossing $43M (RMB309.5M), an exceptional number for an independent film in that market.

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Following its Cannes premiere, the film has screened in 33 international film festivals, including London (BFI), Busan, Chicago and Vancouver. It received its China premiere at Pingyo International Film Festival, where it won best film in the festival’s Fei Mu Awards.

Based on Yu Hua’s popular short novel Mistakes By The River, the film is set in a small town in 1990s China where the chief of police is heading an investigation after a woman’s body washes up in the local river.

Zhu Yilong, who starred in Chinese box office hit Lighting Up the Stars (2022), heads the cast of the film, which also includes Chloe Maayan (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Hou Tianlai and Tong Linkai.

KimStim’s Co-president, Ian Stimler, negotiated the deal with Paris-based MK2’s International Sales Executive, Quentin Bohanna. KimStim plans to release the film theatrically in 2024.

“The film, with its 16mm photography, looks and feels incredible and is the most scintillating Chinese neo-noir we’ve ever seen. We especially loved the mid-90s setting that limns a remarkable period in China between the end of the Cultural Revolution and that country’s future national embrace of consumerism and capitalism,” said Stimler.

Wei previously directed Striding Into The Wind, which was selected for Cannes Label in 2020, and Ripples Of Life, which screened in Directors’ Fortnight in 2021.

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