{"rewrite":{"id":"r_23ea43f8e6e9b71bc39352c3","clusterId":"c_2f9afa70ae5eb513940d12e6","slug":"est-n8-takes-worldwide-sales-rights-to-korean-animated-feature-pilgrims","model":"deepseek-v4-1-flash","headline":"EST N8 Takes Worldwide Sales Rights To Korean Animated Feature Pilgrims","summary":"EST N8 acquired worldwide sales rights to Pilgrims, a Korean science-fiction animated feature, and launched international sales at the Asian Contents \u0026 Film Market during the Busan International Film Festival, held October 10 to 13. The film won a technical award at the 2025 Bucheon International Animation Festival. It is the feature directorial debut of Pyoungkang Heo, a veteran of the Japanese animation industry, and adapts a short story from Choyeop Kim's If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light.","whyItMatters":"EST N8, a company formed to finance and sell Asian films abroad, is now handling its first animated feature, and its choice is a Korean science-fiction film adapted from a bestselling short story collection and made by a director who spent nearly 20 years in the Japanese animation industry.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eThe film screened at Annecy and took a technical award at the 2025 Bucheon International Animation Festival. Its story follows Sophie, who lives in a community where emotional suffering has been eliminated and where residents must spend a year on Earth at 18; when she starts remembering Daisy, a friend who vanished on Earth, she begins to question the village.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePyoungkang Heo directed, with credits including series director on Japan Sinks: 2020 and unit director on Night is Short, Walk On Girl. Hyang-gi Kim, Ji-hu Park, and Joo-young Lee lead the voice cast.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Pyoungkang Heo's feature debut adapts a Choyeop Kim short story rather than an original script, so EST N8 is selling an adaptation whose source is a prose author, not a manga or webtoon.","twitterPost":"Pilgrims is Pyoungkang Heo's feature directorial debut and adapts a Choyeop Kim short story, giving EST N8 an adaptation rather than an original property to sell.","threadsPost":"Pilgrims carries a Bucheon technical award and a Choyeop Kim short story credit. That pairing is what EST N8 brings to Busan: a debut director working from a prose source, not a manga or webtoon adaptation.","newsletterBlurb":"EST N8 has acquired worldwide sales rights to Pilgrims, a Korean science-fiction animated feature that won a technical award at the 2025 Bucheon International Animation Festival. The company opened international sales at the Asian Contents \u0026 Film Market during Busan, held October 10 to 13. Pyoungkang Heo directs in his feature debut, adapting a short story from Choyeop Kim's collection If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Anime News Network\",\"url\":\"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-19/est-n8-picks-up-korean-animated-film-pilgrims-for-worldwide-sales/.242974\",\"title\":\"EST N8 Picks Up Korean-Animated Film Pilgrims for Worldwide Sales\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4273,"outputTokens":674,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1792426934,"createdAt":"2026-10-19T16:17:04.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-10-19T16:21:07.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T16:21:07.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_2f9afa70ae5eb513940d12e6","canonicalTitle":"News\nEST N8 Picks Up Korean-Animated Film Pilgrims for Worldwide Sales","representativeArticleId":"a_303a605a50aaf03acb6900f5","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"Pilgrims\"],\"studios\":[\"EST N8\"],\"people\":[\"Pyoungkang Heo\",\"Hyang-gi Kim\",\"Ji-hu Park\",\"Joo-young Lee\"],\"type\":\"license\",\"domain\":\"anime\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-10-19T15:15:00.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-10-19T15:15:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T16:21:06.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Anime News Network","url":"https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2026-10-19/est-n8-picks-up-korean-animated-film-pilgrims-for-worldwide-sales/.242974","title":"News\nEST N8 Picks Up Korean-Animated Film Pilgrims for Worldwide Sales"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["Pilgrims"],"studios":["EST N8"],"people":["Pyoungkang Heo","Hyang-gi Kim","Ji-hu Park","Joo-young Lee"],"type":"license","domain":"anime","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":null}