Seoul sales agent Finecut wrapped the final day of TIFFCOM, the content market alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival, with new territory deals for two Korean titles: Justin H. Min’s Journey There and Hong Sang-soo’s Locarno-winning Nowhere to Lay My Eyes.
Who bought what
Journey There, directed by Kim Jin-yu, landed buyers in Japan (KDDI Corporation), Israel (Lev Cinema), Mongolia (Izagur Media) and Taiwan (Andrews Film), while Kairos Distribution took inflight rights. The drama follows a middle-aged woman who, after losing her husband, starts preparing for a journey of her own and finds unexpected connections in her new apartment.
The film is Min’s first Korean production, and his credits include Netflix’s Beef, The Umbrella Academy and Kogonada’s After Yang. It opened in South Korea on Oct. 28 after stops in Moscow and at the New York Asian Film Festival, with Paris and London Korean film festival invitations still ahead.
Nowhere to Lay My Eyes added Kligger in Argentina, Carlotta Films in France, Mimosa Films in Japan and The Stone and the Plot in Portugal. Those join previously announced sales to Austria’s Filmgarten, China’s Hugoeast, North America’s Cinema Guild, Spain’s Atalante, Taiwan’s Cola Films and the U.K.’s Institute of Contemporary Arts.
Two de-risking levers
For entertainment buyers and marketers, the two sales show different ways a small Korean title can reduce buyer risk. Hong’s 35th feature arrives with three Locarno prizes: best direction, best performance for Kim Minhee and the independent Ecumenical Jury Prize. That hardware works as pre-sales currency when territory buyers cannot watch everything in a crowded market.
Min gives a quiet bereavement drama a streaming-era marketing hook. A buyer in Japan or Taiwan can reference his Netflix and superhero-audience recognition even though Journey There is a smaller, female-led story. That combination widens the pool of buyers willing to take a position.
What the sales say about Korean exports
The TIFFCOM orders are a reminder that Korean content travels in more than one register. Big K-drama and genre packages dominate headlines, but territory-by-territory sales of festival titles still build a steady export business across Asia, Europe, Latin America and inflight windows.
- Journey There: Japan, Israel, Mongolia and Taiwan, plus Kairos Distribution for inflight rights.
- Nowhere to Lay My Eyes: Argentina, France, Japan and Portugal, on top of earlier North America, U.K., China, Austria, Spain and Taiwan deals.
Next test
Finecut now moves to the American Film Market with a broader slate. Long Long Night will get a first market screening in an English-dubbed version, alongside Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection Dora and the fantasy period romance Wi-Fi Love in the Palace, starring The Boyz member Kim Young-hoon. For planners, that slate tests whether the same sales logic extends beyond the auteur titles that anchored the TIFFCOM announcement.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
