Hong Sangsoo’s ‘What Does That Nature Say to You’ Closes Key Sales

Prolific South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s latest feature What Does That Nature Say to You has sealed a flurry of international sales ahead of Cannes, where the director is serving as a member of the festival’s main competition jury this year.

Seoul-based sales banner Finecut has closed new deals on the title across Europe and Asia, including Austria and Switzerland (Filmgarten), China (Beijing Hugoeast Media, non-theatrical), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery d.o.o.), Finland (BKS Cinema), Japan (Mimosa Films), and the United Kingdom (Institute of Contemporary Arts, theatrical rights). These deals join a growing list of previously announced territories: France (Arizona Films), Greece and Cyprus (Ama Films), Italy (Minerva Pictures), Spain (L’atalante Cinema), Taiwan (Cola Films), and the U.S. (The Cinema Guild).

Premiering earlier this year in the competition section of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, What Does That Nature Say to You stars Ha Seongguk, Kwon Hyehyo, and Cho Yunhee (frequent collaborators of Hong’s on titles such as A Traveler’s Needs and By the Stream). The film follows a poet in his thirties who, after dropping off his girlfriend at her home, unexpectedly spends the day with her family. He visits a Buddhist temple, dines on chicken stew prepared from a bird caught by her father, and finds the courage to confess his deeper feelings during a bout of drunken honesty. The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief critic summed the film up as “one of Hong’s more captivating recent entries.”

The film, featuring Hong’s signature minimalist aesthetic and improvised dialogue, marked his return to Berlin’s competition section for the fifth time in as many years, adding another entry to his sprawling canon, which now includes over 33 features.

In addition to the strong international interest in What Does That Nature Say to You, Finecut has seen brisk sales on its genre title Noise, a high-concept horror film that explores South Korea’s urban social phenomenon of “floor noise” complaints through a sensory-driven movie experience. The film has recently been sold to the Philippines (Pioneer Film) and Mongolia (Izagur Media LLC), following earlier deals in more than a dozen territories, including France, Japan, and Latin America. Noise is slated for a wide theatrical release in Korea early this summer.

Finecut’s Cannes slate includes the market premiere of Journey There, starring Korean-American actor Justin H. Min (Beef, After Yang, The Umbrella Academy). The company will also present footage from Park Hoon-jung’s anticipated action noir Tristes Tropiques, featuring a multinational cast, and Boss, a slick action-comedy from Korean powerhouse Hive Media Corp. Both projects will debut their first 30 minutes to buyers in private screenings at the market.