HK FilMart: ‘Left Ear’ Heads for U.S. Release (EXCLUSIVE)

Specialist distributor Asia Releasing will handle the North American release of Alec Su’s coming-of-age film “The Left Ear” on behalf of rights holder Magnum Films.

The film is set for a May 1 release in North America.

“Left Ear,” which features a host of up-and-coming Chinese stars including Ou Hao, Yang Yang, Hu Xia, is a tale of criss-cross love involving four teenagers, and is based on a well-known novel of the same title written by Rao Xueman.

Production is by Enlight Pictures, one of China’s leading studios, with credits including “The Break Up Guru” and “Lost in Thailand.”

Musician and actor Su was previously a member of the Little Tiger, before moving to the smallscreen with TV drama “Princess of Pearl” and later hit Chinese movies “The Message” and “Sweet Alibis.”

Magnum will distribute in Australia, with Incubate handling in New Zealand on behalf of Magnum.

“We are delighted to continue our association with Magnum with ‘The Left Ear’ for North America and New Zealand,” said Milt Barlow, principal of both Asia Releasing and Incubate. “We have just completed a very successful release for Magnum of ‘Triumph in the Skies,’ which took $400,000 on 12 screens, and ‘12 Golden Ducks,’ which is still in release, taking over $150,000 on nine screens.”

Barlow, who is a former CEO of Village Roadshow Entertainment (Australia), previously established China Lion Entertainment, which specializes in North American day-and-date releases of Chinese-language movies. Later this year he will launch Chopflix, a pan-Asian TVoD/OTT platform featuring a mix of pan-Asian catalog and new release titles.

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