‘A City of Sadness,’ abruptly put on hold one day before reopening… “Copyright issues raised”

The masterpiece by director Hou Hsiao-hsien, ‘A City of Sadness (1989),’ was scheduled to return to South Korean screens on the 6th but was suddenly put on hold just two days before its release. As the original overseas rights holder raised copyright concerns and signs of a legal dispute began to emerge, theaters and the importer moved quickly to contain the situation.

■ Producer Zhu Fusheng “No fact of selling the rights” issues an official protest

According to the film industry on the 4th, multiplexes such as CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox, along with venues including the Busan Cinema Center and theaters affiliated with the Korean Association of Art Cinema Theaters, all decided to suspend screenings of ‘A City of Sadness’ at once.

This incident began when the producer Zhu Fusheng of Shi Dai International Film Enterprise Co., Ltd., the original rights owner of the film, sent an official letter to Korea’s theater industry stating, “I have never sold the rights for the film’s Korea reopening.” The original rights holder also denied the legitimacy of the very screening copy currently in distribution.

■ Korean Association of Art Cinema Theaters “Put the public value and audience trust first… withdraw screening”

Through its SNS that day, the Korean Association of Art Cinema Theaters announced, “After reviewing the importer’s explanation materials and the original rights holder’s request, we decided to suspend the screening.” The association said, “Forcing the screening despite the legitimacy being denied does not align with the public values that art cinema theaters have upheld and with audience trust,” explaining the reasoning behind the decision.

South Korea’s importer and distributor, A-Sum Pictures, is said to have purchased these rights lawfully from a distributor in France. The importer stated, “We confirmed that a copyright issue had arisen and notified the seller about the matter,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure a peaceful and lawful resolution.”

■ A legend of Taiwan’s New Wave… a meeting after 37 years ‘indefinite postponement’

The film ‘A City of Sadness’ is a masterpiece depicting the tragedy of a family caught in the storm of Taiwan’s 1947 ‘February 28 Incident.’ Winning the Golden Lion at the 1989 Venice Film Festival, it introduced Taiwan’s New Wave to the world—and is a landmark film that lets audiences experience the remarkable early-career performance of actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai.

With this long-awaited reopening that film lovers had been eagerly anticipating hitting an unexpected obstacle in the form of a rights dispute, it is expected that it will take a considerable amount of time before South Korean audiences can see this work on the big screen again.