Malavida Acquires Wang Chao's 'A Woman,' Plots 2027 Retrospective

French distributor Malavida has picked up Wang Chao's "A Woman," the 2022 Chinese drama that won the screenplay prize at San Sebastián but has never opened theatrically in France. The company announced the deal during Lyon's International Classic Film Market (MIFC) and is preparing a wider Wang Chao retrospective to launch March 24, 2027.

The acquisition package also covers three earlier Wang titles: "The Orphan of Anyang" (2001), "Day and Night" (2004) and "Luxury Car" (2006). Malavida plans to restore "The Orphan of Anyang" and bring the filmmaker to France for the retrospective. A separate theatrical release is under consideration for "A Woman."

Why bring back Wang Chao now?

For Malavida co-founder Anne-Laure Brénéol, the answer is timing. Wang's work has become harder to see, and his prize-winning last film never traveled beyond China.

"It's a discovery, an incursion, into China with an extraordinary dissident filmmaker who has somewhat fallen into oblivion because the movies he made during the 2010s weren't released internationally," she told Variety. "His last film, even though it won prizes, was never released [outside of China]. It really felt like the right moment to rediscover Wang Chao's work."

So what does this change for French audiences? It restores theatrical access to a filmmaker whose 2010s output effectively vanished from international circulation, starting with a restored 35mm-era debut.

Dino Risi joins the 2027 slate

Malavida also added three Dino Risi films to its theatrical lineup:

• "The Easy Life" (1962), screened at this year's Lumière Film Festival
• "The Monsters" (1963)
• "Tolgo il disturbo" (1990), released in France as "Valse d'amour"

The last title, starring Vittorio Gassman and Elliott Gould, has never been re-released theatrically in France. The three films anchor a Risi retrospective set for summer 2027.

Orwell, Khitruk and a 20th-anniversary homecoming

In Lyon, Malavida is screening a newly restored 4K digital version of Michael Radford's "1984" as part of the festival's Lumière Classics program. It's the film's first French theatrical showing since its original 1984 release. Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who shot the original, supervised the restoration.

The distributor is also preparing a new French-language version of Soviet animator Fyodor Khitruk's 1969 "Winnie and His Friends," narrated and sung by Philippe Katerine. Set for Feb. 25, 2027, the program will also come in a French-subtitled version and has backing from French arthouse cinema association AFCAE's young audiences group.

Katerine's ties to Malavida run deep — the company is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and his directorial debut "Peau de cochon" was its first-ever release in 2005. Malavida is bringing that film back to theaters, now in its first DCP release (the digital cinema format that replaced 35mm prints), after the original video distribution failed to find an audience.

"At the time, it was very complicated. Philippe wasn't as known as today. He was just making music and wasn't the superstar he later became," Brénéol recalled. "The press was excited about the film, but its theatrical release was not a success. We're very happy to bring it back for Malavida's 20th anniversary."

Malavida has previously worked with Katerine on the French-language version of Soviet animated shorts by Eduard Nazarov.

Two more rediscoveries

The 2027 slate also includes Konrad Wolf's "I Was Nineteen," scheduled for April 21. Malavida discovered the East German filmmaker's 1968 feature during a retrospective at last year's Lumière Festival — an encounter Brénéol described as an extraordinarily powerful emotional experience — and acquired it for French distribution.

Jean-Henri Meunier's 1979 "La Bande du Rex" returns in May. The rock-infused film stars French singer Jacques Higelin as Franckie Mégalo, a rebellious film projectionist, with an original soundtrack composed by Higelin himself.

The MIFC runs alongside Lyon's Lumière Film Festival until Oct. 16, with the Wang Chao retrospective now the first fixed date on Malavida's 2027 calendar.