Deals for animated features have been heating up at the Annecy Film Festival.
Among the major announcements made in the trades around or during the festival, which kicked off Monday and runs through Saturday in France, are:
- Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie, an adaptation of the international hit TV series, was presold to a number of territories in advance of its premiere at Annecy by Nicolas Brigaud-Robert at Films Distribution. Sales have been made to Italia Film for the Mideast; Kino Swiat for Poland; Hollywood Classic for the Czech Republic; Green Narae Media for South Korea; Shoval for Israel; L.H. Moviefusion for Thailand; Premium Film for Russia; and ACNE for the Baltic states. Marc du Pontavice at Paris-based Xilam produced the movie, which is written and directed by Oliver Jean-Marie. The feature has the lazy cat Oggy travel through time to face evil cockroaches.
- Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios is developing the 3D animated feature Sea Monster. The third film from Triggerfish, which produced Adventures in Zambezia 3D and Khumba will be presented in Annecy’s creative focus section. The film is still in development, with Delle Donne writing the first draft of the screenplay.
- Paul Leluc is set to direct The Long Long Holidays, a series of 10 x 30 min. episodes, with the backing of Triplets of Belleville production company Les Armateurs. Based on an idea from Delphine Maury and Olivier Vinuesa, the show follows two children whose parents leave them to stay with their grandparents in Normandy at the start of World War II. Production is set to start in October, with the series due to be aired in 2015.
- Phase 4 Films announced it has bought U.S. distribution rights to Nancy Florence Savard’s The Legend of Sarila, which plays out of competition at Annecy. The first stereoscopic 3D animated feature made in Quebec, the deal includes a U.S. theatrical bow and followed a 10-market platform release this fall. A coming-of-age adventure, it turns on three intrepid young Inuits who set off in search of a promised land to save their clan from starvation. The movie is produced by Nancy Beauchamp, Normand Thauvette and Paul Risacher at Carpediem Film & TV, a Montreal-based shingle focusing on family entertainment, and Savard via her label 10th Ave Productions.
- Grindstone Entertainment has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to the Italian feature Pinocchio. Lionsgate Home Entertainment will handle the release across all media platforms. The film debuted last year at the Venice Festival and to date has been sold worldwide with only Asia and Latin America deals needed. The feature adapts the original 1880 serialized story by Carlo Collodi and is produced by Italy’s Cometa Film, working with Luxembourg’s Iris Productions,Belgium’s Walking the Dog and France’s 2d3D Animations.
