Lion Fist and The Last Kumite secure new international deals

By Marcus Bennett

Studio DHL acquired South Korean rights to two Mathis Landwehr-led martial arts features, Lion Fist and The Last Kumite, at the Tokyo International Film Festival’s TIFFCOM market. Cappu Films revealed the agreements while meeting buyers there.

Cappu Films’ announcement also named Great Movies as the Latin American buyer for Lion Fist and Kinologistika LLC as its CIS buyer. The South Korean agreement covered both films, while the other two rights deals applied only to Lion Fist.

What do these deals change for the films?

The sales announcement establishes a simple territorial map: Lion Fist has buyers in South Korea, Latin America and the CIS, while The Last Kumite has South Korean rights. Both films retain territories for sale.

Cappu Films’ Janice Woo said: “These deals give the films a wider international audience, and we look forward to meeting buyers for the remaining territories in Tokyo.”

For audiences, the practical answer concerns distribution rather than production. Lion Fist now has buyers in three announced markets; The Last Kumite has one. Cappu Films plans to pursue further buyers in Tokyo.

Two survival stories, two tournament structures

Cappu Films’ TIFFCOM materials set out a distinct contest for each film. Taim M. Adams directed Lion Fist, with Landwehr playing Joe, a fighter who walks out of prison and learns that his son needs surgery to survive.

To pay for the operation, Joe enters a vicious martial arts competition carrying a $100,000 purse. The cast also includes Gary Daniels, Kurt McKinney, Keith Cooke and Brice Akuesson.

Sean David Lowe and Keith W. Strandberg wrote the screenplay. Mike Möller choreographed the fights. Lowe produced Lion Fist with Wayne Graves, and the pair hold the same producing credit on The Last Kumite.

The same Cappu Films materials identify Ross W. Clarkson as the director of The Last Kumite. Its fighter is forced into a lethal tournament to save his abducted daughter. Landwehr again tops the cast, joined by Cynthia Rothrock, Billy Blanks, Matthias Hues and McKinney.

Sean David Lowe said: “Both movies bring a nostalgic style of martial arts movies back to the screen. Already selling to many countries in the world, we trust in Cappu Films to find the right partners for new territories.”

The announced plots use the tournament as their central mechanism. Lion Fist ties the contest to a son’s medical need; The Last Kumite makes it the condition for saving an abducted daughter. The shared format does not make their stakes interchangeable.

What else Cappu Films is selling

Beyond the two fight films, Cappu Films handles the French action title Red Bird, Carter Ward’s Step Back, Doors Closing and Francesco Lucente’s fantasy Starbright. Its library spans action, horror, fantasy and arthouse fare, along with Hong Kong Golden Era titles and TV series.

The immediate test is commercial rather than creative. Cappu Films says it will meet buyers in Tokyo for the remaining territories, extending a sales push that now covers South Korea, Latin America and the CIS for Lion Fist, and South Korea for The Last Kumite.