Written by Tom Deehan on May 18, 2017. Posted in On Location / Production News

Cannes Film Festival 2017: Bong Joon Ho’s US-Korea co-production, Okja, competes for Palme d’Or

Bong Joon Ho’s Okja has made history at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, being one of the first films set for online-only distribution (alongside The Meyerowitz Stories) to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or award.

The US-South Korea co-production was filmed in a number of worldwide locations including Vancouver, New York and Seoul, on an estimated budget of USD50 million.

The film was produced by Kate Street Picture Company, Lewis Pictures and Plan B Entertainment.

By shooting on a global scale, the production tapped into a variety of film incentive programmes. South Korea offers a cash rebate of up to 25% while New York and British Columbia provide a tax credit incentive of 30% and 28% respectively.

The state of New York also hosted filming on Todd Haynes’ Wonderstruck, another competition entry at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Okja features a star-studded cast of both American and Korean talent, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Seo-Hyah Raj, Tilda Swinton, Woo-sik Choi and Paul Dano.

The film depicts the friendship between a young girl named Mija and a mystical creature known as Okja, but when Okja is capture by a large corporation, Mija is thrust into an adventure to save her friend.

With Netflix handling distribution for Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories, controversy arose over the decision to include either in the running, as productions are typically subjected to a theatrical run after being screened at the festival.

Responding to the controversy, the festival’s organisers have announced that in the future, a planned theatrical release will be a strict requirement of any film permitted to compete for the Palme d’Or.