Yellow Veil Pictures has snagged the North American rights to Mattie Do‘s acclaimed Laos sci-fi thriller The Long Walk and is set to release it in early 2022.
The film tells “the story of an elderly man who has the power to travel back in time thanks to a mysterious spectral companion whose death he witnessed fifty years earlier. He decides to trespass into his own past and set in motion a plan to preempt his mother’s terminal suffering, and ultimately appease his soul.”
The Long Walk made its world premiere at the 76th Venice International Film Festival in the Giornate degli Autori section and later went on to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Contemporary World Cinema program, Fantastic Fest, and Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival.
The Long Walk was written by Christopher Larsen, who also penned Do’s previous films, produced by Do, Larsen, Annick Mahnert, Justin Deimen, Anousone Sirisackda, and Abhi Rastogi. Jeremy Sim and Terence Kong served as executive producers. The film was financed and produced by 108 Media and Aurora Media Holdings in Singapore, with global rights handled by 108 Media. It was picked up from the Southeast Asian Film Financing Project Market held in Singapore.
The film is the third feature from Mattie Do, a pioneering filmmaker who is currently Laos’ first and only female director, and the only director in the country to work specifically with the horror genre. Do’s second feature, Dearest Sister, was selected as the Laotian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, notably the first time that Laos has submitted a film for consideration in the category.
Director Mattie Do says “I’m beyond excited that my film has finally found a legitimate home with a company that has experience, knowledge, and zeal for unique and daring new genre stories. I couldn’t be happier to see The Long Walk entrusted to a passionate and dedicated company like Yellow Veil.“
108 Media states, “Through our continued commitment to building up cross-cultural voices and stories, 108 Media’s is uniquely placed to take a special and daring film like The Long Walk out to the world, and partner with exciting folks like Yellow Veil and their team.”
Hugues Barbier, Co-Founder of Yellow Veil Pictures adds, “We have been following Mattie’s career closely since her breakthrough debut feature Chanthaly, and we are beyond excited to be able to bring to the North American audiences her latest film The Long Walk. Acclaimed by critics and audiences all over the world during its festival run, and we hope this release will bring even more attention to one of the most inspiring filmmakers in recent memory.”
The deal was negotiated by Yellow Veil Pictures Co-Founders Justin Timms, Joe Yanick, and Hugues Barbier with 108 Media Corp’s Jordan Nutson on behalf of the filmmakers.
