Magnify, the International sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to Taiwanese thriller “Pierce” from first-time feature filmmaker Nelicia Low. An official teaser has now been released for the title ahead of its sales launch at the upcoming Marche du Film in Cannes.
“Pierce” follows Jie, a young fencer reconnecting with his estranged older brother Han, who mysteriously returns after seven years in juvenile prison for killing an opponent during a fencing competition. Jie believes Han’s insistence that he is innocent and decides to help him, defying his mother’s efforts to erase Han from their lives. Han grows close to Jie in training him for the national championships, but his hostile past is triggered after an argument, leaving Jie to begin to question whether his beloved brother might be a violent sociopath after all.
The film stars Ding Ning (who won a Golden Horse Award for her role in “Cities of Last Things”), Tsao Yu-Ning (awarded at Taipei Film Festival for his role in “Kano”) and breakout Liu Hsiu-Fu.
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The film’s production team includes Jeremy Chua and Sam Chua Weishi of Pōtocol (“Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell”), Patrick Mao Huang and Evril Kuo of Flash Forward Entertainment (“Tiger Stripes”), Izabela Igel of Harine Films (“Floating Skyscrappers”), and John M. Lo. Cinematography is by Michal Dymek (“The Girl With the Needle”, “EO”) and sound design by Tu Duu-Chih (“The Assassin,” “Happy Together”).
“We are thrilled to be working on Nelicia’s captivating, undeniably haunting debut,” said Magnify’s senior vice present of sales, Lorna Lee Torres, who will launch “Pierce” in Cannes alongside director of global sales Austin Kennedy. “Her impeccable direction is heightened by an exceptional creative team and cast performances in service of a brilliant slow burn thriller.”
Writer-director Low grew up in Singapore, where she represented her country as a national fencer for five years. She retired after the 2010 Asian Games to chase her childhood dream of being a filmmaker, and received her MFA in film directing at Columbia University in 2018. Her short film “Freeze” premiered February 2016 at the Clermont-Ferrand ISFF and went on to screen at Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival 2016 and Busan ISFF 2016.
“In 2014, a young man caused a nationwide tragedy when he stabbed multiple people on the Taipei subway, yet after the incident, the man’s younger brother continued to stand by him and was in denial of his older brother’s actions,” Low said.“Their relationship reminded me of my relationship with my autistic brother and inspired me to write‘Pierce’. I did not understand my brother’s condition when I was younger and imagined he was a loving, caring older brother, only to realize when I grew up that our relationship was made up in my head. I am extremely excited to be teaming up with Magnify as they have represented many of my favorite films, and honored that they believe in this very personal piece of work.”
“Pierce” is supported by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency, Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, Singapore Film Commission, Polish Film Institute, Taipei Film Commission, Taoyuan City Government, Taichung City Government, Hubert Bals Fund+Europe,Purin Pictures Foundation, Talents Tokyo Next Masters Support, Full Circle Lab Philippines, Talents Tokyo (winner of the Special Mention Award), Far East Film Festival Focus Asia, European Work in Progress Cologne (winner of the LAVALabs Moving Image Award) and TaipeiGolden HorseFilm Project Promotion Work in Progress (winner of the Taipei New Horizon Screenplay Award).
The film adds to Magnify’s lineup, which includes Cannes selection “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point,” directed by Tyler Taormina; Rafael Manuel’s “Filipiñana” in partnership with Film4, which is currently in production; Sundance hit “Veni Vidi Vici”; Cannes 2023 selection “The Delinquents”; and Venice critics’hit “Hesitation Wound.”
See the “Pierce” trailer below:
