Hong Kong's Cappu Films Takes Alzheimer's Drama 'Banr' to Busan

Hong Kong sales agent Cappu Films has taken worldwide rights to "Banr," Erica Xia-Hou's Canadian-Chinese drama about a 40-year marriage tested by Alzheimer's disease, and will present it to buyers at the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market.

The film had its world premiere in the Narrative Features lineup at the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival. Busan marks its next stop on the international market circuit.

Who made 'Banr'?

Xia-Hou wrote, directed and produced the film. Her credits include "Fox Hunt," which she co-wrote with director Leo Zhang and starred in opposite Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and the 2017 Jackie Chan action film "Bleeding Steel," which she co-wrote and acted in.

"Banr" reunites her with Cappu. The company holds exclusive international rights to "Fox Hunt" and has already sold it into several territories.

Sui Li and Baoqing Li star as the married couple. Xia-Hou plays their daughter opposite a non-professional cast. As the wife's memory fades, the film follows how love, loneliness and strain settle into the family's daily routines. Roughly two-thirds of the film was shot observationally, documentary-style.

What is the film about?

Xia-Hou frames the drama around a single question about the durability of love.

"If memory disappears, does love disappear with it?" Xia-Hou said. "Memory can disappear, a person can disappear, and even a life together can become unrecognizable – but love can remain after the memory that once contained it is gone."

Janice Woo of Cappu Films said the company sees a specific, intimate story with international reach.

"The film looks closely at the everyday choices a family makes when someone they love begins to lose their memory," Woo said. "We look forward to introducing it to buyers in Busan and helping it reach audiences around the world."

What else is Cappu bringing to Busan?

Cappu's Busan slate spans genres and territories:

• "Fox Hunt," the Leo Zhang thriller with Tony Leung Chiu-wai
• "Ephemera," Shan Jiang's Tribeca title
• "Operation Doolittle," a WWII spy series told across nine episodes
• "Lion Fist," a martial arts film
• "Her Last Laugh," Joy Hopwood's dramedy from Australia
• "Overstake," Stas Mareev's sci-fi action thriller
• "Zombie Plane," an action comedy toplined by Vanilla Ice, Sophie Monk and Chuck Norris

With a Slamdance premiere behind it and a sales agent that has already closed multiple-territory deals on Xia-Hou's previous work, "Banr" now looks to translate its festival reception into distribution across the territories represented at Busan's market.