Vietnamese whodunit “Karaoke Murder” will open in cinemas across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia on the same weekend, a first for a film from Vietnam, according to its backers. The film, titled “Án Mạng Karaoke” in Vietnamese, will bow nationwide at home on Oct. 30. U.S.-based specialty distributor 3388 Films will release it that same weekend in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, Norway, Australia and New Zealand, landing in time for Halloween. 3388 Films holds exclusive international rights in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Japan and Taiwan.
Director-producer Vo Thanh Hoa of 89s Group serves as creative director, with Mai Bao Ngoc producing. 89s Group and F35 Studio are the production companies. The ensemble cast includes Doan Thien An, Thanh Son, Dai Nghia, Van Dung, Phuong Dung, Tieu Bao Ngoc, Tuyen Map, Quynh Ly, Ta Lam and Trinh Thao. Set on a mountain pilgrimage taken by a group of neighbors, the film follows a former journalist who has to put her old investigative skills back to work after a widely loathed, karaoke-obsessed tycoon is killed overnight.
With the group cut off from the outside world, suspicion falls on everyone. Pham, founder of 3388 Films, said the company had previously distributed titles on four continents as part of their international rollouts. It’s what we’ve advocated for years because we believe greater momentum can be generated for international films when local and international release dates sync up,” Pham said.
Singing sessions are part of weddings, birthdays and Lunar New Year, as well as ordinary Sunday afternoons, and nearly every household owns a speaker and microphone. The pastime also causes friction. Vietnam penalizes noise after 10 p.m., karaoke ranks among the most common causes of rows between neighbors and news outlets report karaoke disputes ending in tragedy every year, according to the producers.
Its recent releases include “Mai,” the first Vietnamese film to cross $2 million at the North American and European box office.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
