South Korea's Green Narae Media won the first Unifrance Distribution Award at this year's Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, with a cash prize of US$10,290, in recognition of the publisher's innovative local launch of "The Taste of Things" by Trần Anh Hùng.

Released in South Korea in June this year, the Cannes winner-turned-French Oscar winner went on to attract more than 45,000 local viewers, making the romantic drama a premium success story in 2024. After purchasing the scripted title, the Korean distributor put together a strong box office social media campaign targeting younger audiences while emphasizing the film's coveted content.

"(The movie) contains many cooking and food scenes that may cause stomach growling, which may interfere with viewing on an empty stomach," the tongue-in-cheek campaign teases. "Please be careful when watching."

"They organize many events, the most famous of which is Pierre Gagnier (Michelin-starred chef and actor of The Taste of Things), who owns a famous restaurant in Seoul," said Charles, who is responsible for the new award. Charles Tesson said. "These events are essentially culinary events designed to expose young audiences to food and film. They also make extensive use of Instagram and other social media tools to position the film by organizing dinners, prizes and competitions."

“These efforts started as early as Cannes (in 2023) because they purchased the film based on the script (before that year’s festival),” Tyson added. “Their ability to prepare well before the film was released proved to be a significant advantage.”

Indeed, thanks in large part to the Busan Film Festival - which welcomes a strong Gallic delegation every year - and an engaged and cinematically literate public, South Korea has become a lively and reliable market for French films , seized on the festival opportunity — films like The Smell of Things and Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire both took home laurels, while at times their box office numbers even outpaced those films domestically. box office revenue.

Publishing Award winner Green Narae Media played a key role, acquiring projects in each major market before launching each game through bespoke campaigns. The distributor recently picked up Jacques Audiard's "Emilia Perez" at the Cannes Film Festival and will release it soon to coincide with the film's Oscar contention.

“Our audience is looking for something unique and fresh,” said Green Narae’s Chris Yu. “They want to experience something different — something they can’t find at home or on their mobile device.”