Janus Films has acquired North American rights to Resurrection, the latest feature from acclaimed Chinese director Bi Gan. The film premiered in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won a Special Award.
Resurrection is Bi’s third feature, following Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Told in six parts spanning a century, the film imagines a world where people have lost the ability to dream, with one being still drawn to the fading dreamworld. It stars Chinese actor-singer Jackson Yee and veteran actress Shu Qi.
Critics praised the film’s visual ambition and emotional depth. Variety’s Jessica Kiang called it “a marvelously maximalist movie… part of a melancholy elegy for the dream of 20th-century cinema.”
Bi Gan said he wanted to evoke the magic of early cinema: “Screens are getting smaller, and I want to bring back the feeling of watching films in theaters.”
The deal was brokered by Janus Films and Les Films du Losange. The film was produced by China’s Huace Pictures and Dangmai Films, with France’s CG Cinema. It features a score by French electronic group M83.
Janus Films described Resurrection as “a time-skipping, genre-blending odyssey” that will appeal to fans of filmmakers like David Lynch and Wong Kar-wai. Les Films du Losange added the film has “sparked passionate reactions” and deserves a bold release strategy.
This acquisition aligns with Janus Films’ growing focus on international cinema. In recent years, it has released acclaimed titles like Drive My Car, EO, All We Imagine as Light, and Flow—its highest-grossing theatrical release to date.
Upcoming titles on Janus’ 2025 slate include Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud and Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day.
Founded in 1956, Janus Films is known for distributing international arthouse cinema, with a catalog that includes works by Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, and Federico Fellini.
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