“THE Handmaiden” by South Korean director Park Chan-wook was pre-sold to 116 territories during the European Film Market, CJ Entertainment announced.

    The film may not be distributed on the Chinese mainland but will be in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. “There was fierce competition among the distributors to acquire the rights for their own territories. The high expectations for maestro Park Chan-wook’s new project and the high quality visuals from the highlights in the promo reels have drawn pre-sales on an unprecedented scale,” said Kini S. Kim, head of CJ’s international department. This marks the second-largest presales deal for the company since “Snowpiercer,” which was picked up by a record 167 countries.

    Inspired by the British novel “Fingersmith,” “The Handmaiden” takes place during the Japanese colonial period (1910-45). An orphan girl (newcomer Kim Tae-ri) is hired by a con-man (Ha Jung-woon, “Assassination”) to win the trust of a wealthy heiress (Kim Min-hee, “Right Now, Wrong Then”), only to end up falling for her. The film is slated to be released in June.(SD-Agencies)