Finecut in Tokyo: “Journey There” Sold – Hong Sangsoo’s Film Attracts Buyers

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Finecut in Tokyo: “Journey There” Sold – Hong Sangsoo’s Film Attracts Buyers.

The announcement came on 29 October 2026 at 5:00 a.m. Finecut had revealed the contracts on Friday, the third and final day of TIFFCOM. The content market takes place alongside the Tokyo International Film Festival. For you as a film fan, this is a concrete distribution step: Two Korean productions have been sold to new partners in several countries – and Finecut is also showing which titles are set for the next international market program.

Journey There goes to four clearly identified buyers

The new partners

For Journey There, Finecut names four specific buyers: KDDI Corporation for Japan, Lev Cinema for Israel, Izagur Media for Mongolia and Andrews Film for Taiwan. In addition, Kairos Distribution has acquired the rights to Inflight.

Journey There’s rights package therefore extends beyond East Asia to Israel. The connection between the film and its leading actor is particularly significant: Justin H. Min is known for Netflix’s Beef, The Umbrella Academy and Kogonada’s After Yang. For director Kim Jin-yu, Journey There is his first Korean production. At the same time, it is his second feature film after Bori; his own company, Pado, produced it.

The film is already running – the international festivals came beforehand

Journey There had already premiered in South Korea on 28 October. Before that, the film was screened at the Moscow Film Festival and the New York Asian Film Festival. Invitations to the Paris Korean Film Festival and the London Korean Film Festival are also in place for the territories now sold.

The story explains why the film is continuing to sell internationally after opening in South Korea: A medieval woman begins planning a journey of her own after the death of her husband. In her new home, she finds unexpected connections. The film thus combines a personal new beginning with a new place to live – and relies on stars who are already known internationally.

Nowhere to Lay My Eyes expands into four countries after Locarno

Four new buyers following the festival success

For Hong Sangsoo’s Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, Finecut also names specific companies: Kligger has acquired Argentina, Carlotta Films France, Mimosa Films Japan and The Stone and the Plot Portugal. The current deals bring the total to four additional markets.

Previously, sales to Filmgarten in Austria, Hugoeast in China, Cinema Guild in North America, Atalante in Spain, Cola Films in Taiwan and the Institute of Contemporary Arts in the United Kingdom had been announced.

Three awards at the 79th Locarno Film Festival

The documented festival success shows how far the film has already advanced in international distribution. Nowhere to Lay My Eyes won three awards at the 79th Locarno Film Festival: best director, best performance by Kim Minhee and the Independent Ecumenical Jury Prize.

Hong Sangsoo’s film follows a woman who, after ten years, visits her mother on Jeju Island together with her brother. The film is Hong’s 35th feature. Alongside his recurring cast members Kim and Kwon Haehyo, Choi Myeonggil appears for the first time. She is known from the television series Durian’s Affair. The film was produced by Jeonwonsa Film Co.

Finecut’s next market brings more titles into focus

The next distribution step

Finecut’s next stop will be the American Film Market. There, the animated feature Long Long Night will be available for market screening for the first time in an English-dubbed version. Finecut is also distributing July Jung’s Dora, a selection from the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and the fantasy romance Wi-Fi Love in the Palace starring Kim Young-hoon of The Boyz.

The buyer list makes the company’s current focus clear: Finecut is not working with a single successful title alone, but is bringing Korean feature films into multiple markets. Journey There also brings the recognition of Justin H. Min, while Nowhere to Lay My Eyes brings a documented triple Locarno success and rights already sold in six additional countries.