GKIDS has picked up N. American distribution rights for Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach’s acclaimed hand-painted feature Chicken for Linda! (Linda veut du poulet!). The feature, which was an official Cannes selection, and was a Work in Progress selection at Annecy last year, will be released theatrically in 2024, following its domestic release in France in October. The film is also playing in competition at Annecy this week.
Husband-and-wife team Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, who work together frequently on both live action and animation productions. Chiara Malta maintains a body of work primarily in live-action filmmaking, and is best known for her feature Simple Women (co-wrote with Laudenbach). Acclaimed short filmmaker Sébastien Laudenbach is best known for his Annecy Jury Prize-winning feature debut The Girl Without Hands.
“Chicken For Linda! is a breath of fresh air in animation,” said GKIDS’ President David Jesteadt. “Through pairing such a unique and daring visual style with a deeply emotional and universal story about family, directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach have given us something both timeless and new, that we cannot wait to share.”
Charades is handling the film’s international sales.
Official Synopsis: Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda immediately asks for a meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to make. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into this streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control, as Paulette does everything she can to keep her promise and find a chicken for Linda.
In the movie, Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach (The Girl Without Hands) unleash a unique visual marvel of hand-painted animation with bright, color-blocked characters, and a story that is an intoxicating blend of slapstick comedy, musical, and family drama, as Paulette and Nina ultimately confront the grief of an unspoken tragedy, and the meal that could finally bring them closer together.
Watch an early clip below:
