Focus Features acquires Justin Chon’s ‘Blue Bayou’ from Cannes market
Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou from MACRO and Entertainment One (eOne) out of Cannes’ virtual market. Written and directed by Chon, who won multiple festival awards for Ms. Purple and Gook, Blue Bayou stars Chon alongside Academy Award® winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Mark O’Brien (Arrival), Linh Dan Pham and Emory Cohen (Brooklyn). The film was financed by MACRO and eOne. Producers are Chon, Charles D. King (Mudbound), Kim Roth (Tigertail) and Poppy Hanks (Sorry To Bother You). Clara Wu, eOne’s Nick Meyer, Zev Foreman, and Eddie Rubin are executive producers. Greta Fuentes of MACRO and Yira Vilaro are also co-producers. Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S. and Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally.
Blue Bayou tells the heartbreaking story of Antonio LeBlanc, a Korean adoptee raised in the United States who is forced to confront his distant past and what it means for his own future and his family’s when he unexpectedly faces deportation.
“Justin’s ability to open our eyes to new perspectives by celebrating our shared humanity is more vital now than ever before. We’re so proud to help bring his voice to the world and to reunite with Alicia along with the brilliant teams at eOne and MACRO,” said Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski.
Sierra/Affinity, the wholly owned subsidiary of eOne, represented the international sales of the film, with UTA and WME facilitating the domestic sale.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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