Hong Kong director Ray Yeung ‘s “All Shall Be Well” has sold in several key markets following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.
Represented in international markets by Films Boutique, “All Shall Be Well” is playing in the Panorama section at the Berlinale and is eligible for the Teddy Award. The movies follows Angie (Patra Au Ga Man), a lesbian woman in her 60’s trying to save her family from unravelling and her world from crumbling after the abrupt death of her life-long partner Pat (Maggie Li Lin Lin). The movie also explores the limitations of Hong Kong laws which don’t allow same-sex marriage.
Films Boutique has sold the movie to Spain (Karma), Israel (Lev), Benelux (Vedette) and Switzerland (Trigon). The company is negotiating deals for France, North America and the U.K.
In an interview with Variety on the eve of the Berlinale, Yeung said the issue of inheritance in countries where same-sex marriage isn’t allowed is a “problem” that is “emphasized in a place like Hong Kong, where property prices are out of reach for most people, especially for the younger generation.”
“What would you do if suddenly a decent apartment falls into your lap? Would you give it away to somebody you maybe considered as a stranger?” Yeung tells Variety. “Would the obligations be different in the case of an unmarried heterosexual couple, which society is more accepting of?”
Films Boutique’s Berlinale roster also includes Jianjie Lin’s “Brief History of a Family” and Anthony Schatteman’s “Young Hearts.”