The film distributor Utopia has acquired the North American rights to the independent crime thriller Forge. Directed and written by Jing Ai Ng, the movie premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and is scheduled to begin its theatrical run this month. Audiences can view the feature at the Landmark Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles starting on 15 May, before it moves to New York’s Quad Cinema on 22 May, with additional national markets to follow.
The film stars Kelly Marie Tran, widely recognized for her role in the Star Wars franchise. In this film, she steps away from science fiction to portray an investigator operating within the high-stakes world of fine art duplication.
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The plot unfolds against the backdrop of the Miami art market, focusing on siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang, played by Brandon Soo Hoo and Andie Ju. The duo operates a successful illicit operation, manufacturing and selling replica paintings to unsuspecting dealers.
Their enterprise expands significantly when they accept a proposal from Holden Beaumont, a disgraced millionaire portrayed by Edmund Donovan. Beaumont hires the siblings to create a series of missing masterpieces to replenish his family’s private collection. The stakes increase when Emily Lee, an FBI Art Crimes investigator recently transferred from New York and played by Tran, arrives in Florida to track down the source of the high-value duplicates.
A Debut Built on Moral Grey Areas
The project represents the first feature film from Jing Ai Ng. An exclusive preview clip shows the intricate logistics of the trade, featuring an exchange between a dealer, played by T.R. Knight, and Ju’s character in a hotel room. To confirm the origin of a painting, the dealer utilizes ultraviolet light to make the old varnish fluoresce green, demonstrating the technical realities behind the deception.
Ng, who also produced the film alongside Liz Daering-Glass, Gabrielle Cordero, and Damian Bao, stated that she wanted to create a story situated within moral grey areas. The film examines how individuals define value, ambition, and identity when the line between a original work and a replication becomes blurred.
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The ensemble cast includes several notable television actors, such as Jack Falahee, Eva De Dominici, and Sonya Walger. Dave A. Liu serves as the project’s executive producer.
Utopia’s Circle Collective label is handling the rollout, with company representatives praising Ng’s feature as an example of bold, independent filmmaking. The release adds to a busy spring season for independent cinema, offering a grounded look at white-collar crime that relies on tension and atmosphere rather than traditional action tropes.
