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Cannes: Neon Takes ‘Broker’ for North America Ahead of Festival Premiere
Neon takes Kore-eda Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Broker' movie for North America ahead of its 2022 Cannes festival premiere.

Cannes: Neon Takes ‘Broker’ for North America Ahead of Festival Premiere

‘Broker’Courtesy of ZIP CINEMA & CJ ENM

Neon, the indie distributor that helped turn Bong Joon-Ho’s 2019 Palme d’Or winner Parasite into an Oscar-winning blockbuster, has scooped up North American rights to Broker, the first Korean-language film from Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Neon announced the deal on Friday, ahead of Broker’s world premiere in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Neon picked up the film from CJ Entertainment, who also handled world sales on Parasite.

Broker marks Kore-eda’s return to Cannes following 2018’s Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or for best film.

Produced by Zip Cinema, Broker features Parasite star Song Kang Ho and Gang Dong-won as “brokers of goodwill,” people who connect unwanted babies with new parents on the black market. But the pair are surprised when, on one road trip bringing a new baby to meet prospective parents, the child’s birth mother (Lee Ji Eun) unexpectedly shows up to join them. Bae Doona (The Host, Cloud Atlas) also stars.

Neon’s Jeff Deutchman, evp of acquisitions and production, negotiated the North American deal for Broker with Namyoung Kim on behalf of CJ Entertainment.

Neon also has Cannes competition title Crimes of the Future, David Cronenberg’s hotly anticipated new sci-fi drama, starring Viggo Mortensen, Léa Seydoux and Kristen Stewart, and the experimental David Bowie film Moonage Daydream from director Brett Morgen, which is screening out of competition.

The 2022 Cannes Film Festival runs May 17-28.