Los Angeles- and Bangkok-based sales firm EST N8 has bulked up its Cannes Market film sales slate with a trio of completed Asian titles.
“Mash Ville” stars Jeon Sin-hwan (“The Housemaid,” “Time Renegades”) and Park Jong-hwan (“Concrete Utopia,” “Hell Is Other People”) and weaves together the lives of pseudo-religious believers and eight strangers in a rural area. When their paths cross they must fight for survival.
“Mash Ville” is directed by Korea’s Hwang Wook, known for his award-winning work on “Live Hard” at the 2018 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as “Ugly Man” and “Dog: Dog Eat Dog,” which was selected as a support film by the Korean Film Council.
Filipino romantic drama “Where Is the Lie?,” directed by Quark Henares (“Keka,” “Rakenrol”) centers around a trans woman who has a fickle relationship with a man she matches with on a dating app. After he ghosts her on the day of their supposed meetup, she becomes trapped in a web of deceit, lies and catfishing.
The film (aka “Marupok AF”) was scripted by Henares and John Paul Bedia (“Invisible,” “The Chanters”) and adapted from a 19-page Twitter thread about a relationship gone wrong. Production was by Anima Studios of Kroma Entertainment.
It stars E.J. Jallorina (“Mamu: And a Mother Too”), Royce Cabrera (“Fuccbois”) and Maris Racal (“Block Z,” “Here Comes the Groom”) and had its world premiere at Slamdance last year.
Directed by Milan Chams (“Bik Bikram,” “Blind Rocks”), “Gurkha Warrior” is set during the Malayan Emergency, a guerrilla war (1948-1960) fought between the British and communist troops in British Malaya, and follows a small platoon of Gurkha soldiers who are cut off behind enemy lines.
Gurkhas are soldiers from the Indian subcontinent who have long fought under British orders, in this instance to repel invading communist troops. Due to their familiarity with the jungle terrain and local tactics, they have often proved to be a valuable asset to the British Army.
The fact-based film stars Ritesh Chams (“Happy Days”), Vijay Lama (“Everest,” “Antim Sanskar: The Last Ritual”), and Nutan (“Lakhey,” “Aarati”) and was written by Milan Chams and Giriraj Ghimire (“Bobby,” “Happy Days”). It is produced by Suman Rai and executive produced by Prasant Thapa.
“Gurkha Warriors” had its theatrical release in Nepal on Feb. 23.
EST N8 is a joint venture between EST Studios and N8. Launched in 2022, by Jaeson Ma and Eric Tu, EST Studios represents Asian content across multiple genres and seeks an annual slate of 15 projects that it can finance, produce and represent. It recently added Korean sci-fi thriller “30 Minutes,” produced by “Tiger”’” Yeongseop Kim, former head of SBS TV; and drama film “Tape,” which is a Cantonese remake of the Richard Linklater film of the same title. It also handles the LGBTQ+ romance drama “ASOG,” which premiered at Tribeca.
N8 was founded by Kris Eiamsakulrat and Rachel Wu. Last year it formed a partnership with leading Thai studio GDH559, to co-produce a slate of Thai thriller and horror films aimed at the global audience.
