During the latest edition of Focus Asia, the industry section of the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy, around 15 independent distributors, members of Europa Distribution attended the activities dedicated to Asian films organised by the festival. In collaboration with Focus Asia and Ties That Bind, Europa Distribution hosted for the third year a compelling panel exploring the peculiarities of distributing Asian films in Europe and beyond. Through four case studies — on Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light [+lire aussi :
critique
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fiche film] — three distributors compared their distribution strategies, covering acquisition, marketing, press, release plan, audience reach, and theatrical results. The discussion highlighted how each distributor tailored their approach to fit the specific demands of their local markets and audiences. The case studies were moderated by Stephan Holl, co-founder of Rapid Eye Movies in Germany.

The panel began with an in-depth analysis of the release of Caught by the Tides. Daiva Visockyte, from Lithuania’s Kino Pavasaris and Irene Zoccolan from Italy’s Tucker Film opened the discussion with insights into the release of this Chinese film they both distributed in their respective territories. Visockyte emphasized that expectations were modest from the outset, as the film’s poetic narrative and dense intertextual references to Chinese socio-cultural history made it challenging for audiences unfamiliar with its context. According to Visockyte, the film required a certain prior knowledge from viewers, a demand that can often alienate more mainstream audiences. To meet this challenge, Kino Pavasaris adopted a strategic approach: they localized the poster to better fit their market and showcased the film within their own festival, the Vilnius International Film Festival, the largest film festival in Lithuania, held annually in March since 1995. The promotional approach heavily favoured traditional communication over broad marketing campaigns. Efforts included national media outreach, articles in specialized art house publications, and events with the director, tactics designed to engage cinephiles rather than the general audiences. This approach reflects the limitations and responsibilities of independent distributors working with films that defy mainstream categorization, as they acknowledged the film’s niche appeal. While admissions remained under 1,000, Visockyte stressed that success for independent films lies beyond numbers, focusing instead on the cultural impact and artistic value.

Irene Zoccolan faced similar challenges in bringing Caught by the Tides to Italian audiences, though Tucker Film adopted a distinctly different strategy. To make the film more accessible, they translated the title directly from the original one, creating the Italian version Generazione Romantica (Romantic Generation): this title emphasizes the poetic and romantic nature of the film, making it more accessible to a broader audience as well. Tucker Film invested heavily in creating new marketing materials, including trailers, and posters, and they also organized extensive press coverage and Q&A sessions. Despite these efforts, the film attracted modest admissions and had yet to recoup its costs at the time of the panel. Interestingly, Tucker Film decided not to dub the film, neither for cinema nor TV broadcast, marking a notable departure from standard Italian practice. This decision aligns with the film’s art house positioning, but also highlights the cultural barrier in reaching wider audiences.

The second film, All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia, saw comparatively stronger engagement. Albert Yao, from Swallow Wings in Taiwan, described how the film’s title was adapted to evoke a poetic quality that would resonate locally. The poster was also redesigned to project a lighter, more accessible visual tone, which he believed helped soften the perceived intensity of the content. As for the marketing and communication, social media and critical press coverage formed the core of their campaign. However, Taiwan’s cinematic preferences complicated matters: while Bollywood blockbusters enjoy widespread popularity, local audiences show less appetite for Asian art house cinema, tending to gravitate instead towards European titles. The team faced the challenge of promoting a non-mainstream film to a mainstream-oriented audience, particularly in a post-COVID marketing climate that demands more targeted and flexible campaigns.

For Kino Pavasaris, the release of All We Imagine as Light was notably more successful than Caught by the Tides. Screenings were again tied to their festival, with a strategically timed premiere on International Women’s Day, 8 March, which the distributor saw as an opportunity to highlight the film’s feminist theme. Targeting a predominantly female audience, the campaign included interviews and cultural conversations that helped draw over 4,000 admissions, a significant achievement given the country’s small market and the general difficulty of attracting audiences to art house theatres.

A recurring theme throughout the panel was the relationship between the cultural specificity of Asian films and the general European audience's familiarity with those contexts. As Visockyte explained, culturally dense narratives often struggle to find resonance across borders, especially without extensive contextual framing. Zoccolan echoed this, noting the difficulty of expanding the audience beyond committed cinephiles. Distributing Asian films in Europe remains a delicate balancing act between cultural translation, audience education, and resource limitations. While artistic quality is never in doubt, the commercial reality often falls short of expectations. Still, for the independent distributors, the mission goes beyond profit: it is about ensuring that complex, diverse stories from across Asia find their place on European screens.

As the panel concluded, it became clear that success in this field is not just about admissions, but about sustaining a cultural ecosystem where even the most poetic and challenging films can be seen, discussed, and appreciated both in Asia and Europe. In light of the partnership between Europa Distribution, Focus Asia and Ties That Bind, distributors in attendance had the opportunity to participate in other activities during the Focus Asia Festival such as works in progress, screenings and networking events. Europa Distribution will continue its role as network and think tank in upcoming events in Annecy, Haugesund, Venice and San Sebastián.