Cannes, France – May 19, 2008 – IFC Films has acquired the North American rights to the South Korean box office sensation The Chaser. The film, which marks the directorial debut for NA Hong-jin, was shown as a midnight film in the official selection at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
"There's a reason that this film is already being remade. It's an ingeniously plotted twist on the serial killer genre," said Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Films. "We are thrilled to introduce NA Hong-jin to an American audience and hope this is the beginning of a long relationship."
Elizabeth Nastro, Director of Acquisitions and Production for IFC Films negotiated the deal with Youngjoo Suh, CEO of Finecut.
The Chaser follows Joong-ho, a dirty detective turned pimp who finds himself in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by a same client and after intense chase, Jung-ho finally catches Young-min, the man suspected of taking his women. But because of Joong-ho's pretense as a cop, they are both taken to the police station where Young-men bluntly confesses to the policemen that he has killed the missing women. However one girl, Mi-jin, may still be alive. As the police force is obsessed with a random search for corpses, Jung-ho is the only one who believes Mi-jin is still alive. With only 12 hours left to detain the serial killer without a warrant, Joong-ho's hunt begins.
IFC Films has been a major presence at the Cannes Film Festival in recent years, most recently announcing during this year's Fest, the acquisition of Jean-Claude Brisseau's a l'Aventure, Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale, Olivier Assayas' Summer Hours, Josh Safdie's The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and Anna Melikyan's Mermaid. The company has also acquired back-to-back Palme d'Or winners, including Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days and Ken Loach's The Wind that Shakes the Barley. IFC Films acquired 10 films at last year's Cannes Film Festival, including Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, which won the Prize of the 60th Anniversary, California Dreamin', which won the Un Certain Regard top prize, as well as the upcoming Catherine Breillat's The Last Mistress. In recent years, the company also released the three-time award-winner Me and You and Everyone We Know and the prize-winner Nobody Knows.
About IFC Entertainment
A multi-platform leader in the independent film industry, IFC Entertainment operates a group of companies devoted to bringing the best of specialty films to the largest possible audience. IFC Entertainment consists of IFC Films, IFC Productions and the IFC Center. IFC Films is a leading distribution company for independent film. IFC Entertainment's day and date film distribution model makes independent films available to a national audience by releasing them in theaters through IFC Films and simultaneously on cable's On Demand platform and PPV through IFC In Theaters, reaching 50 million homes. IFC Productions is a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects. IFC Center is a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema with luxurious seating and HD digital and 35mm projection that shows art-house films in the heart of New York's Greenwich Village. IFC Entertainment's companies are subsidiaries of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC.
Recent and upcoming IFC Films releases include: 2007 Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days , which also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film; Gus Van Sant's critically-acclaimed and award-winning Paranoid Park ; Hou Hsiao Hsien's Flight of the Red Balloon starring Juliette Binoche; and Tom Kalin's Savage Grace starring Julianne Moore. Other acclaimed films include John Dahl's You Kill Me, Susanne Bier's Academy Award-nominated After the Wedding and Ken Loach's 2006 Palme d'Or winner, The Wind that Shakes the Barley.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through its IFC Entertainment division, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a theatrical feature film distribution company; IFC in Theaters, a day and date theatrical feature film/VOD initiative; the IFC Center in New York City; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Entertainment, which owns and operates a film library. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales division, and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.