International and indie film distributor Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Korean film Escape From Mogadishu. It will open in theaters in the U.S. and Canada August 6 following a July 28 release in Korea.
The film is based on true events and chronicles the harrowing experience of bitterly opposed North and South Korean diplomats trapped in the city of Mogadishu at the advent of the Somalian civil war in 1991. The dramatic years-long conflict, which exploded following the rebel-led ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, was introduced to American audiences through blockbuster film Black Hawk Down, which picks up the narrative in war-torn Mogadishu in 1993.
“The film portrays this almost unfathomable event that throws the horrors of war into sharp relief,” said Well Go CEO Doris Pfardrescher. She noted the production team’s careful study of surviving embassy records and historical accounts to create the most realistic possible depiction.
Escape From Mogadishu was directed by Ryoo Seung-wan (The Berlin File, Veteran) and features Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser, The Yellow Sea), Huh Joon-ho (Kingdom, Illang: The Wolf Brigade), Zo In-sung (The Classic, The Great Battle), Koo Kyo-hwan (Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, Netflix’s Kingdom: Ashin of the North), Jeong Man-sik (The Swordsman, Rampant) and Kim So-jin (The Spy Gone North, The King).
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“We tried to depict the extreme tension lived by these isolated people during the civil war of Somalia,” said Hye-jung Kang, a producer with Filmmakers R&K. “We hope North American audiences will also have a most vivid and immersive movie-going experience, the kind that comes from viewing these extreme situations in theaters.”
The deal was negotiated between Lotte Entertainment and Pfardrescher on behalf of Well Go USA Entertainment.