TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
LAUNCHES NEW LABEL
LINE SPOTLIGHTS MAINSTREAM FILMS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
INCLUDES SELECTIONS FROM CANNES, TORONTO AND VENICE FILM FESTIVALS
LOS ANGELES, CA (MAY 6, 2011) –Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is proud to announce the debut of FOX WORLD CINEMA, a newly created premiere line of diverse films from around the world which will be available on DVD, Video On Demand and Digital Download in the United States later this year. The initial slate will include Korea’s The Yellow Sea, screening at Cannes later this month as part of the Un Certain Regard program, the Chinese film The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto Film Festival, India’s Dum Maaro Dum and Italy’s Vallanzasca: Angel of Evil which was shown at the Venice Film Festival, Los Angeles Italian Film Festival and the London Italian Film Festival.
“Filmmakers around the world are creating provocative and entertaining films, many of which are rarely seen outside their native countries,” says Mary Daily, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. “With FOX WORLD CINEMA, we are committed to introducing these films to passionate audiences in America that are eager to embrace a range of cultures and experiences.” Adds Sanford Panitch, President of Fox International Productions, “Fox has always championed films that transcend language and social differences. In recent years, American audiences have embraced successful foreign films such as Pan’s Labyrinth and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The universal themes represented with FOX WORLD CINEMA will be appreciated by film lovers everywhere.”
FOX WORLD CINEMA will exist in tandem with Fox International Productions (FIP). FIP focuses its efforts in several key territories to produce, co-finance, acquire and distribute foreign language films in key markets. Over the years, Twentieth Century Fox has played a major role in introducing some of the finest international films with themes to sophisticated audiences in the US. The studio’s legacy includes such commercially and critically acclaimed films as Slumdog Millionaire, L’Auberge Espagnole, Lucia, Lucia, My Name Is Khan, La Misma Luna and The Last King of Scotland, which demonstrates the impact of compelling international stories for a US audience.
FOX WORLD CINEMA will be dedicated to celebrating global entertainment that will thrill, charm and inspire film aficionados. The initiative stems from the recognition that advancements have made the world smaller and more connected than ever before, and, as such, audiences are enthusiastic about international films that reflect cultures and issues that also resonate in their own lives. Following the initial releases, FOX WORLD CINEMA will introduce three or four new selections bi-annually.
FOX WORLD CINEMA’s line-up encompasses a wide-ranging variety of subjects and style.
The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman is directed by Chinese filmmaker Wu Ershan and presented by acclaimed director and producer Doug Liman, who was attracted to the film’s offbeat style and characters. The film presents the journey of a mystical blade as it passes through the hands of three ambitious men. Korea’s acclaimed director Na Hong-jin’s The Yellow Sea follows a desperate man caught between rival gangs, who is framed for murder while on a search for his missing wife in South Korea. Vallanzasca: Angel of Evil, directed by Michele Placido, just received eight nominations from the Italian Academy and is the true story of infamous Milan gang leader Renato Vallanzasca, played by popular Italian actor Kim Rossi Stuart, and his four-decade criminal career. Famous Bollywood director Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maaro Dum, starring Bollywood superstars Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu, revolves around an honest, tough cop in Goa who sets out to eradicate the drug mafia.
