KimStim Acquires All North American Rights To Venice Title ‘Stonewalling’

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: New York-based arthouse distributor KimStim has acquired all North American rights to Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka’s third feature film, Stonewalling, which recently premiered in the Giornate Degli Autori section of this year’s Venice film festival.Part of a trilogy that focus on the struggles of young women in contemporary China, the Chinese-language film revolves around a woman’s journey dealing with an unplanned pregnancy in the hyper-competitive, TikTok-influenced, gig economy world of urban China.The cast of the film is headed by Yao Honggui and also includes Liu Long, Xiao Zilong, Huang Xiaoxiong and Liu Gang.

Wife-and-husband duo Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka previously directed Egg And Stone and Foolish Bird, also starring Yao Honggui.Following its Venice premiere, Stonewalling is screening at Toronto International Film Festival before moving on to the New York and BFI London film festivals.

KimStim is planning to release the film theatrically in early 2023.Stonewalling is presented by the Hong Kong International Film Festival Collection (HKIFF Collection), a festivals and distribution initiative under HKIFF’s industry arm.The deal for North American rights was negotiated by KimStim’s Ian Stimler with the collection’s representative Pearl Chan of Good Move Media.“Stonewalling is a fascinating and at times damming look at the crushing societal forces on young people in China, especially in the realms of female bodily autonomy and economic opportunities,” said Stimler.