Grasshopper Film Lands Kogonada's Sundance Pic 'Zi'
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- Grasshopper Film acquired North American distribution rights to Kogonada's film Zi, with a fall theatrical release planned.
- Kogonada wrote and directed the sci-fi/supernatural film, which world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is set in Hong Kong.
- Zi stars Michelle Mao, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jin Ha, and follows a young woman haunted by visions of her future self who meets a stranger who changes the course of her night.
- Ryan Krivoshey, Grasshopper Film's founder and president, negotiated the deal directly with Kogonada.
- Kogonada called the deal a 'full circle moment,' noting he reached out to Krivoshey in 2015 — shortly after Grasshopper launched — to thank him for distributing films by Hong Sang-soo, Bi Gan, and Asghar Farhadi in the U.S.
- Krivoshey said the film 'embodies the curiosity, generosity, and singular vision' of Kogonada's work, and praised Grasshopper's mission of championing filmmakers who 'challenge form and convention.'
- The film was produced by Chung An, Christopher Radcliff, Benjamin Loeb, Kogonada, Richardson, Mao, and Ha.
Why it matters: The deal pairs a Sundance-decorated sci-fi film with a distributor known for championing international art-house cinema, giving Kogonada's third feature a theatrical platform in North America. Kogonada's personal history with Krivoshey — reaching out to thank him nearly a decade ago — makes this a notably relationship-driven acquisition rather than a typical rights transaction.
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