Asian IP Showcase

Spotlight Asia will debut its first Asian IP Showcase at this year’s Marché du Film, marking a significant step in our mission to broaden the vibrant IP market in Cannes! 

This showcase will highlight a diverse array of original Asian IPs spanning performing arts, animated series, graphic novels and video games — all primed for film adaptation!

Find out more about the projects below! 👇

Projects

Spotlight Asia

Sepa

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Historical

Country: Philippines

Original title: Sepa

Language: Filipino, English, Spanish

Completed in: 2011

Synopsis:

Sepa, a lonely manananggal, leads a double life as a herb seller by day and a half-bodied creature at night. She offers Andres Bonifacio, the Katipunan leader against the Spaniards, severed heads of friars as token of her unrequited love. Her reluctance to join the revolution leads to his death at the hands of fellow Filipinos. Sepa transforms and joins the revolution, witnessing the birth of a new Filipino nation.

Publisher’s biography: Philippine Writers Studio Foundation, Inc.

Philippine Writers Studio Foundation, Inc., an organization led by Mr. Ricky Lee, is established to help protect and advance the rights and welfare of writers, and to conduct educational activities for writers’ aesthetic and moral sensibilities.

Ricky Lee‘s biography

Ricky Lee, National Artist for Film & Broadcast Arts, is the Philippines’ most-awarded scriptwriter with 180+ films and 80+ awards. He is known for films like Himala, Anak, and Jose Rizal, among others. Himala won the CNN Award for Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time. Ricky wrote the scriptwriting manual, Trip to Quiapo, and four best-selling novels. He has been conducting free scriptwriting workshops since 1982.

Type of IP: Chapters from a novel
Rights Available: Author’s Rights

Spotlight Asia

Strange Natives

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Fantasy

Country: Philippines

Original title: Strange Natives

Language: English with Filipino words

Completed in: 2016, 2024

Synopsis:

Sent to his strict grandmother Maria for summer vacation, rebellious Francis, 11 years old, encounters supernatural monsters in the forgotten town of San Antonio. Discovering his divine bloodline, he trains with gods like WIKA and ALIW. Francis learns forgotten stories through the memory goddess GRASYA and fights alongside immortal warrior BANAL. Together, they protect the town and its guardian spirit, ANITO, against supernatural monsters summoned by the shadow god BAHALA.

Publisher’s biography: KOMIKET INC.

KOMIKET, a non-profit, champions the Filipino comics community by organizing art markets, hosting Comic Book Creator’s Workshops, and running the Secret HQ comic bookstore. It also publishes comics and graphic novels. KOMIKET organizes the Philippine International Comics Festival, selecting and developing ten graphic novel pitches in a Creator’s Lab. The festival includes a comics market, masterclasses, exhibits, and a rights market, fostering creativity and collaboration within the industry.

Paolo Alessandro Herras‘s biography

Paolo Alessandro Herras is a film director, scriptwriter, and comics publisher. He directed four films and wrote four graphic novels, including “Strange Natives.” Paolo is the Festival Director of the Philippine International Comics Festival and President of Komiket, advocating for the Filipino comics community. He also heads Komiket Studios, focusing on comics publishing and animation production. His short film animation, “Tungkung Langit and Alunsina,” received a grant from the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Type of IP: Graphic Novel Series
Rights Available: All rights available, except publishing rights for Germany, UK, Netherlands.

Spotlight Asia

Don’t Cry, Dancing Girls

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Drama, Musical Theater

Country: Taiwan

Original title: 勸世三姊妹

Language: Mandarin/Taiwanese Hokkien

Completed in: 2023

Synopsis:

A gambler destroys his family with debt. On his death, his embittered daughter returns from the city determined to claim his estate. Meanwhile, her dying uncle promises a fortune to a relative who will lead a Taoist funeral ritual to guide his spirit through the afterworld. In the process of learning it, she discovers her father’s humanity, that hatred is fused with love, She leads her own father’s soul to heaven, and releases her heart in the process.

Company’s biography: The VMTheatre Company

Established in 2007, VMTheatre Company blends New York’s musical concepts with Taiwanese culture. They focus on realistic themes from a humanistic viewpoint, nurturing young artists and enriching Taiwan’s musical culture. Their productions offer genuine human experiences, engaging audiences in co-created emotional journeys. Recognized as a top performing arts group, VMTheatre Company fosters artistic evolution and exchange through collaborative crossovers while maintaining its distinct Taiwanese identity.

Technical Team’s biography: Hui-Cheng Tseng (Director) ZHAN Jie (Playwright), Robert KANG (Composer, Arranger, Pianist)

Hui-Cheng Tseng, known as “Chris,” serves as the Artistic Director of VMTheatre Company. With a master’s degree in musical theater from NYU, he’s a leading figure in Taiwan’s theater scene. Chris intricately blends local and New York musical concepts, crafting original tales deeply rooted in Taiwan’s heritage. Through his diverse directing styles, he offers audiences transformative journeys that reflect Taiwan’s outward perspective, starting and ending at home.

Type of IP: Performing Arts
Rights Available: /

Spotlight Asia

OPUS: Echo of Starsong

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Science-fiction

Country: Taiwan

Original title: OPUS:龍脈常歌

Language: English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese

Completed in: 2021

Synopsis:

The OPUS series tells stories of love, soul, and self-discovery, capturing the growth of lonely souls who cross paths in their quests for connection. “OPUS: Echo of Starsong” is an Eastern space opera about a witch and fallen noble who are torn apart by their search for a mystical power, only to find that its very source is fated to reunite them.

Company’s biography: SIGONO

SIGONO’s portfolio boasts four acclaimed games with over 11 million downloads, including ‘OPUS: Echo of Starsong,’ which was featured in the Nebula Award’s reading list, ‘OPUS: Rocket of Whispers,’ both globally recommended by Apple and personally endorsed by its CEO, Tim Cook, and ‘OPUS: Prism Peak,’ now in development with Shueisha Games.

Type of IP: Video Game
Rights Available: Film and Television Adaptation Rights, Theatrical Adaptation Rights, Publishing Rights for Books, Music Copyright Permissions, Merchandise Licensing Agreement

Spotlight Asia

Witch Hunter Robin

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural

Country: Japan

Original title: Witch Hunter Robin

Language: Japanese

Completed in: 2002

Synopsis:

In a realm where witches abuse their supernatural powers, the STN, a team comprised of highly skilled craft users and experts in covert operations, relentlessly pursues them. When a young craft user named Robin is assigned to the task, the boundaries between hunter and hunted blur, immersing her in a shadowy world of mystique and witchcraft.

Company’s biography: Bandai Namco Filmworks

Bandai Namco Filmworks, a leading Japanese entertainment firm, excels in planning, producing, and managing global audiovisual content. Their diverse portfolio includes live-action and animated features across TV, film, and streaming platforms. They’re known for supporting filmmakers such as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Miwa Nishikawa, and Takeshi Kitano.

Author: Hajime Yatate
Type of IP: Animation (TV series)
Rights Available: Remake rights negotiable. No format restrictions. Original series available depending on territory/country

Spotlight Asia

Chao

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Animation, Love Story

Country: Japan

Original title: Chao

Language: Japanese

Completed in: 2024 Autumn

Synopsis:

Set in the future where the human and mermaid worlds have achieved cross-cultural exchange, it is a love story filled with comedy and humor, about the importance of bonds that transcend different worlds and cultures.

Production studio: STUDIO4ºC Co., Ltd.

STUDIO4°C is an animation production studio in Tokyo, who’s ambition to take on film projects that span multiple genres, and its high-quality, cutting- edge animation has captivated audiences globally. Its major films include PHOENIX: Reminiscence of Flower, Children of the Sea, Mutafukaz, Tekkonkinkreet, MIND GAME, The Animatrix and so on. Its films have been invited to international film festivals such as Berlinale, Annie Awards, Annecy, SITGES, and more.

Type of IP: Feature film
Rights Available: All rights available

Spotlight Asia

Sing to the Dawn

Category: Asian IP Showcase

Genre: Young Adult

Country: Thailand

Original title: Sing to the Dawn

Language: English

Completed in: 1975

Synopsis:

Dawan, a young village girl who lives in Thailand, wins a scholarship to study in a city school. Her brother, Kwai, places second and is initially jealous, causing a rift between the two previously-close siblings. This hostility is further exacerbated by Dawan’s father, who feels that the city is no place for a female. Dawan faces obstacles at every turn, and eventually overcomes these obstacles and proves to herself and to others that she is fully capable of handling the scholarship and the responsibility it entails.

Publisher’s biography: William Morrow & Co

Founded by William Morrow in 1926, William Morrow and Company is an American publishing house. Acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, then by Hearst Corporation in 1981, and later by News Corporation in 1999, it now operates under HarperCollins. Renowned for publishing both fiction and non-fiction, its authors include Ray Bradbury, Michael Chabon, Beverly Cleary, Neil Gaiman, and others. Francis Thayer Hobson served as its president and later chairman.

Author’s biography: Minfong Ho

Minfong Ho is a Chinese–American writer. Her works frequently deal with the lives of people living in poverty in Southeast Asian countries. Despite being fiction, her stories are always set against the backdrop of real events, such as the student movement in Thailand in the 1970s and the Cambodian refugee problem with the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime at the turn of the1970s and 1980s. Her simple yet touching language and her optimistic themes have made her writing popular among children as well as young adults.

Type of IP: Novella
Rights Available: Agreement with Minfong Ho