Vietnamese Director Duong Dieu Linh’s horror-comedy “Don’t Cry, Butterfly” is the big winner of the Venice Critics’ Week where it scooped the grand prize and the award for most innovative feature.

Venice Critics’ Week title Don’t Cry Butterfly has been boarded by CJ CGV Vietnam for distribution in Vietnam. Affiliated with Korea’s CJ Group, CJ CGV Vietnam also distributed the Vietnamese-language Camera d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell last year.

"The Returning," directed by Atsuko Hirayanagi and produced by Wilfredo Manalang and Eiko Mizuno Gray, is included in the list. The project is about a homeless Japanese man in Manila who joins an environmental charity offering a chance to rebuild his life by planting trees in deforested areas of the Philippines, only to discover that it is a sinister cult serving an ancient forest spirit.

Amid the carefully curated selection of the Venice International Film Critics’ Week, led by Beatrice Fiorentino—where the boundaries of new cinema are truly explored—'Don't Cry, Butterly' is one of the most anticipated films.

Directed by first-time filmmaker Dương Diệu Linh, the metaphysical drama joins a recent wave of well-received Vietnamese films on the international festival circuit.

Centrepiece honors “and celebrates global cinematic achievements, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in a dynamic array of contemporary films.

The special and visual effects were handled by amazing Filipino artists. Jeff Cabral, known for his work on ‘Arisaka,’ did the special effects, while MalasMalas Studios, famous for ‘In My Mother’s Skin,’ brought the visual effects to life.

Out of Asia, Vietnamese filmmaker Dương Diệu Linh competes with female-focused drama Don’t Cry Butterfly, about a woman who enlists a spell master to win back her husband after she discovers he has been cheating on her on live TV.

Filming starts August in Montreal, Canada and wraps up in the Philippines in late November 2024.

FUSEE teams up with the Plan 75 Japan team, Eiko and Jason Gray, to develop a new project by UTA-represented writer-director Atsuko Hirayanagi, known for "Modern Love Tokyo" and Cannes' "Oh, Lucy".

The film has been picked up for world sales distribution by Barunson E&A, the Korean production company behind the Oscar-winning film, Parasite, and the black comedy hit, Cobweb.