Leomark Studios Acquires Oscar Finalist From Nepal

LOS ANGELES - Aug. 31, 2017 - PRLog -- Leomark Studios has acquired all U.S. and Canada rights to the Nepalese drama Ko Afno (To Whom Do You Belong?), which was among three finalists under consideration to represent Nepal at last year's Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Picture category. The film was also the winner in the Best Makeup category and received a Best Actress nomination in Nepal's prestigious NEFTA awards in 2016.

Directed by Anil Thapa and produced by Eight23 Films Productions, Ko Afno is an intense drama about the shared desperation of a poor rural couple and a childless upper-class urban couple, whose lives are forever altered when the rich couple buys the poor family's three-year old son on the promise of a better life.

Several honorees of Nepal's prestigious National Film Awards collaborated with Thapa to make the film: Richa Sharma (Best Actress), Sushant Mainali (Best Actor), Shailendra D. Karki (Best Cinematographer) and Nimesh Shrestha (Best Editor).

"We're very proud to bring Ko Afno to the North American audience," said Leomark CEO Erik Lundmark. "It's a universal story of the tragedies that social and economic inequality can spawn. Everyone who has ever had a family can relate to this story."  Leomark plans to release Ko Afno domestically on VOD and DVD in early 2018.

Eight23 Films (http://www.eight23films.com/) was founded by writer, producer, and director Anil Thapa to produce independent feature films for both mainstream entertainment and art houses. Eight23 Films' second feature film, Gurkha's Daughter, is a romantic drama set entirely in Los Angeles, scheduled to shoot in late 2017. Anil Thapa wrote the story and screenplay and will direct the film as well.

Founded in 2007, Leomark Studios (http://leomarkstudios.com) is a Los Angeles-based production and distribution company with titles in release worldwide on all platforms including theaters, television, DVD and VOD. Leomark titles include the upcoming Coffin 2, sequel to the 2011 cult favorite Coffin, which will hit Redbox kiosks nationwide in October. Also due out in late 2017 is Kepler's Dream, a multi-award-winning family drama starring Sean Patrick Flannery (Boondock Saints), Kelly Lynch (Charlie's Angels), and Holland Taylor (The Truman Show, Legally Blonde), and Steven Michael Quezada (Breaking Bad).