Long celebrated as a film festival favorite since its release last year, director Sono Sion‘s latest induction, Tokyo Tribe has grown into a phenomemal hit with movielovers and festivalgoers with reviews that have been nothing short of electric. With this, the film has earned a place among fans who follow manga lore as one of the best examples of adapting a live-action work of any graphic novel, which has been more than rewarding for those behind this latest gem.
The film recently garnered a release in the U.K. a few weeks ago and now it’s finally heading to North America thanks to the folks at XLrator media who have made a killing with this and a few other titles as of late. Without a doubt, Sono has grown a fanbase in the states, and now following last year’s limited release of his previous film, Why Don’t You Play In Hell?, American audiences will finally get plenty more where that came from.
via Dread Central
XLrator Media (Jimi: All Is by My Side, The Machine) has acquired North American distribution rights to the street-gang/martial arts action/hip-hop musical epic TOYKO TRIBE, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
XLrator Media will release the film in fall 2015 on its “TURBO” action label. TOKYO TRIBE was written and directed by Sion Sono, whose previous film Why Don’t You Play in Hell? won TIFF’s People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award.
TOKYO TRIBE stars Ryohei Suzuki and Young Dais and is based on the manga by Santa Inoue. It was produced by Yoshinori Chiba, Kinya Oguchi, and Nobuhiro Iizuka. “Audiences have never seen anything like TOKYO TRIBE and will be blown away by its originality, energy, and mind-blowing action and musical sequences that pay homage to everything from Quentin Tarantino to Scarface to West Side Story,” said XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon.
In a futuristic, alternate Tokyo made up of ghetto slums and nightclub playgrounds, territorial street gangs rule the city. The opposing factions – each with their own distinctive style — control different neighborhoods, and crossing territorial lines leads to riots and rumbles. When a megalomaniacal gang leader tries to invade the other gangs’ turf, the city explodes into an all-out war. The deal was negotiated by XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon with XYZ Films’ Nate Bolotin for Nikkatsu Corporation.