Cheng Cheng Films has acquired North American rights to “The Great Buddha+,” a Taiwanese satirical comedy written and directed by Huang Hsin-Yao.
The film received the NETPAC award at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival and was a frontrunner with 10 nominations at the 54th Taiwan Golden Horse Film Awards, the Oscars of the Chinese-speaking world. The distributor specialized in acclaimed Chinese language films has planned a limited theatrical release starting on January 26th followed by a VOD release in February. The acquisition deal was negotiated by Tony Yin from Cheng Cheng Films and Desmond Yang from Taiwan-based Mandarin Vision.
Underlining the gap between have-nots’ life and elites’ world by switching between black and white and glamorous colors, “The Great Buddha+” vividly illustrates a corrupted village in rural southern Taiwan with memorable style, heartfelt empathy, and whimsical humor.
Security guard Pickle and his trash collector friend Belly Button kill time together in night shifts watching the American-educated boss’s dash-cam recordings of his sexual encounters with numerous women. Against the buddies’ will, something horrifying rather than erotic is revealed.
