Unknown Pleasures Takes China Rights to Jenjira's Magnificent Dream

Unknown Pleasures Pictures has acquired the China rights to Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Jenjira's Magnificent Dream", co-founder Tian Qi confirmed to Variety on 29 September 2026.

The deal covers release in cinemas in China. It pairs a new distribution company with a director it already knows well.

Unknown Pleasures is run by director Jia Zhangke and distributor Tian Qi. It is named after Jia's 2002 feature "Unknown Pleasures". The company specialises in bringing festival films to Chinese audiences.

Tian's previous company released Apichatpong's "Memoria" in China. That film grossed $360,000 in China, about one-third of its worldwide box office total, as reported by Variety on 29 September 2026.

Unknown Pleasures launched in 2025 with Paola Cortellesi's "There's Still Tomorrow". It opened in Chinese cinemas on 8 March for International Women's Day. It grossed $6 million in China, according to Variety.

That is a strong opening run. The company has kept buying since.

Its slate includes four Cannes titles. They are Joachim Trier's "Sentimental Value", Kleber Mendonca Filho's "The Secret Agent", Fukada Koji's "Love on Trial" and a restoration of Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush". Cannes is the French festival where many international films premiere and find buyers.

In June, the company added two more titles. They were Andrey Zvyagintsev's "Minotaur" and Marine Atlan's "La Gradiva". For "Minotaur", it took rights for mainland China and Hong Kong. For "La Gradiva", it took rights for mainland China, as reported by Deadline on 24 June 2026.

In January, it took Greater China rights to Rafael Manuel's Sundance title "Filipiñana". Greater China here means mainland China plus Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Jia served as an executive producer on "Filipiñana", a role that usually involves backing a film financially or creatively without running the daily shoot.

Tian also founded Hero Films. That company is the distributor of Gu You's Busan title "The First Taste of Loneliness". Busan is South Korea's major international film festival.

Unknown Pleasures is now in talks for two more titles from this year's Cannes festival. No deal has been signed on those films.

For fans, this means more festival titles heading for Chinese screens. One small buyer is building a wide list, fast.