Hong Kong’s Cappu Films has handled worldwide sales for Erica Xia-Hou’s Canadian-Chinese drama “Banr,” about a 40-year marriage tested by Alzheimer’s disease.
Following its world premiere in the Narrative Films series at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival, the film heads to the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Content and Film Market, where Cappu pitched it to buyers.
Sui Li and Baoqing Li play the couple, while Xia-Hou plays their daughter opposite a non-professional cast. As the woman’s memory fades, the film watches as love, loneliness and tension settle into the family’s daily routines. Approximately two-thirds were shot observationally in a documentary style.
“If memory disappears, does love disappear with it?” said Xia-Hou. “Memory may fade, a person may disappear, and even a life spent together may become unrecognizable, but love can remain after the memory that once contained it is gone.”
Xia-Hou wrote, directed and produced the film. It reunites him with Cappu after “Fox Hunt,” which he co-wrote with director Leo Zhang and starred in with Tony Leung Chiu-wai. Cappu, who owns exclusive international rights to “Fox Hunt,” has already sold it to multiple territories. Xia-Hou’s credits include the 2017 Jackie Chan action film “Bleeding Steel,” which he co-wrote and starred in.
“The film takes a close look at the daily choices a family makes when a loved one begins losing their memory. We look forward to introducing the film to buyers in Busan and helping it reach audiences around the world,” said Janice Woo of Cappu Films.
Cappu’s Busan series also includes “Fox Hunt”; Shan Jiang’s Tribeca title “Ephemera”; “Operation Doolittle,” a World War II spy series told over nine episodes; the martial arts movie “Lion Fist”; Joy Hopwood’s Australian drama “Her Last Laugh”; Stas Mareev’s sci-fi action thriller “Overstake”; and action comedy “Zombie Plane,” starring Vanilla Ice, Sophie Monk and Chuck Norris.