Japanese broadcaster Star Channel has acquired two HBO Asia original series, Folklore and Food Lore, which will make their Japanese premiere on Star Channel and Star Channel EX.
The deal will mark the first time that HBO Asia original series have been broadcast on the Japanese premium foreign movie channels. Folklore will go first with broadcast expected before the end of the year.
Created by Singaporean director Eric Khoo, Folklore is a horror anthology comprising six hour-long episodes from different Southeast Asian directors.
All the episodes of the series have been screened at various international film festivals, including Toronto, Sitges and Fantastic Fest in Texas. Two of the episodes – Tatami, directed by Takumi Saitoh, and A Mother’s Love (pictured), from Joko Anwar – have been selected for the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival’s Crosscut Asia section.
Food Lore is an eight-episode anthology exploring the human condition with narratives inspired by perspectives of Asian cuisines. Khoo is again on board as showrunner, with directors including Don Aravind (Singapore), Billy Christian (Indonesia), Takumi Saitoh (Japan), Ho Yuhang (Malaysia), Erik Matti (Philippines), Pen-Ek Ratanaruang (Thailand) and Phan Dang Di (Vietnam).
Star Channel was founded in 1986 as a joint venture between Itochu, 21st Century Fox, Sony Pictures and Tohokushinsha Film. In 2018, Fox sold its share in the company to Tohokushinsha.