Chinese sales agent Parallax Films has acquired international sales rights to Malaysian director Ming Jing Woo’s feature “Stone Turtle,” which world premieres in the Locarno Film Festival’s international competition.
A time-traveling movie, “Stone Turtle” is produced by Edmund Yeo and Ming Jin Woo at Malaysia’s Greenlight Pictures and co-produced by Cheng Thim Kian and Yulia Evina Bhara at KawanKawan Media in Indonesia.
The story follows Zahara, a stateless refugee who lives on a small remote island in Malaysia, where she makes a living selling turtle eggs.
One day, Samad, claiming to be a university researcher, visits the island, wanting to employ Zahara to show him around. As the day goes on, Zahara and Samad become entangled in a dangerous dance of duplicity and deception.
“’Stone Turtle’ is a metaphorical journey of a woman seeking justice, both personal and social, amidst systemic oppression. It’s also a preservation of my country’s long-forgotten folklores,” director-producer Ming Jin Woo said.
A leading voice of the Malaysian New Wave, Ming Jin Woo’s previous films have garnered strong international interest. He has become the first Malaysian helmer in history to represent the country at the ‘Big Three’ European festivals.
His feature debut, “Monday Morning Glory” (2005), was selected for Berlin. The second, “Elephant and the Sea” (2007), won the Special Jury Prize at the Torino Film Festival. Woo’s “Woman on Fire Looks for Water ” (2009) became the second Malaysian movie selected for Venice Orizzonti section, while “Tiger Factory” (2010) was the third Malaysian film officially selected for Cannes.
Parallax is the international film sales and distribution brand of Midnight Blur Films, specialized in the worldwide distribution of quality films and publicity at international film festivals. It has sales agents in Paris, New York, Beijing and Shanghai.
“Definitely looking forward to our collaboration here, having been an admirer of Parallax Films’ catalogue for the past few years, like last year’s ‘New Old Play’ by Qiu JiongJiong. So we are, of course, happy to have ‘Stone Turtle’ as part of their ever exciting lineup,” producer Edmund Yeo told Variety.