Grasshopper Film Secures North American Rights to Kogonada’s *zi*

Grasshopper Film announced that it has acquired the North American theatrical distribution rights to *zi*, the new sci-fi/supernatural feature by writer-director Kogonada. The film, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, will receive a fall theatrical rollout across the United States and Canada. Negotiations were conducted directly between Grasshopper Film founder and president Ryan Krivoshey and Kogonada.

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Founded in 2015, Grasshopper Film built its reputation by bringing unconventional international titles—such as works by Hong Sang-soo, Bi Gan, and Asghar Farhadi—to U.S. audiences. Kogonada, a BAFTA-nominated filmmaker, has long cited Grasshopper’s early support of boundary-pushing cinema as a formative influence on his career.

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• Director/Writer: Kogonada

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• Lead Cast: Michelle Mao, Haley Lu Richardson, Jin Ha

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• Producers: Chung An, Christopher Radcliff, Benjamin Loeb, Kogonada, Richardson, Mao, Ha

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The narrative follows a young woman in Hong Kong who experiences visions of her future self and encounters a stranger whose actions may alter the course of her night and life.

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• Early 2026: *zi* world-premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

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• June 2026: Grasshopper Film publicly confirmed acquisition of North American rights.

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• Fall 2026 (planned): Theatrical release across major U.S. and Canadian markets.

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Kogonada described the partnership as a “full-circle moment,” noting Grasshopper’s early outreach that inspired his own filmmaking path. Krivoshey emphasized Grasshopper’s ongoing mission to champion creators who challenge form and convention, characterizing *zi* as “intimate and mysterious” and aligning it with the distributor’s curatorial ethos.

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• “Grasshopper Film distributing zi is a full circle moment for me. Not long after Grasshopper was launched in 2015, I reached out to Ryan, who I didn’t know, to express my gratitude for their existence. They came out of the gate with films from Hong Sang-soo, Bi Gan, Asghar Farhadi, films that were often unavailable in the U.S. because they didn’t fit into easy categories. Yet these were the kind of films that mattered deeply to me. So I wanted to let him know how grateful I was. This was before I ever made a feature film. And now here we are. I couldn’t be more delighted and honored.” — Kogonada, Director

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• “Zi is at once intimate and mysterious, embodying the curiosity, generosity, and singular vision that have come to define Kogonada’s work.” — Ryan Krivoshey, Founder & President, Grasshopper Film

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The deal expands the availability of genre-blending, auteur-driven cinema in North America, reinforcing Grasshopper Film’s role as a conduit for internationally acclaimed, non-mainstream works. By securing a theatrical window for *zi*, the distributor signals confidence in audience appetite for narrative experimentation beyond conventional commercial fare.

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Grasshopper Film will coordinate a nationwide theatrical launch in the fall, followed by potential ancillary platforms. Marketing efforts are expected to highlight the film’s Sundance pedigree, its Hong Kong setting, and the collaborative history between Kogonada and the distributor.

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