Ajoomma, a drama film that riffs on Asian obsessions with Korean pop culture, has racked up new sales deals in the region.
Structured as a Singapore-South Korea co-production, the film is directed by He Shuming. It tracks a middle-aged woman from Singapore as she journeys to Korea in search of her pop idols and has a succession of unlikely adventures once there.
With deal-making handled by Beijing-based Rediance, the film has been licensed to Sidus for South Korea, Coral Content for Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Clover Films for Vietnam and Encore Inflight for airline rights.
Rediance reports that it is also in advanced negotiations for rights deals in North America, Europe, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and The Philippines.
The film has its world premiere last month in main competition at the Busan International Film Festival. It began its commercial career in Singapore on Oct. 27, 2022, with a release handled by Golden Village. While details are not available, Rediance reports that the film ranked second in Singapore over the weekend, behind only “Black Adam.”
A deal in Taiwan with Cai Chang International was struck earlier and the film will release in the territory around Christmas. It will have its Taiwan premiere as part of the Golden Horse Film Festival and awards.
“Ajoomma” is nominated in four categories for the Golden Horse Film Awards: best new director; best screenplay, best leading actress and best supporting actor.
The film is a Giraffe Pictures presentation of a The Whale Co. production, with the participation of Singapore Film Commission, Korean Film Council. It is produced by Anthony Chen, Wenhong Huang and Joonhan Lee.