EXCLUSIVE: Goodfellas Animation has unveiled a raft of deals on Annecy-bound animated features Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain, Arco and Angel’s Egg.
Having world premiered as Special Screenings in Cannes, Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain and Arco are both playing in Annecy’s main competition, while 4K restoration Angel’s Egg screens in Annecy Classics.
Goodfellas Animation’s Annecy slate also includes Andy Serkis’ Animal Farm, featuring Serkis alongside Seth Rogen, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close and Kieran Culkin among others in the voice cast, on which it will launch sales in unison with the premiere at the festival.
In Europe, Little Amélie Or The Character Of Rain has sold to Benelux (Paradiso), Switzerland (Agora), Spain (A Contracorriente) UK (Vue Lumière), Italy (Lucky Red), Portugal (Cinemundo), Scandinavia (Another World/Njutafilms), Ex-Yugocslavia and Bulgaria (MCF), Romania (Independenta) and Poland (So Films).
In the rest of the world, it has been acquired for Turkey (Yeni Bir Film), Latin America (Cine Canibal), Australia and New Zealand (Kismet), Japan (Comstock), Korea (JinJin), Hong Kong (Edko) and China (Blue Media).
As previously announced, Gkids has acquired North American rights.
Titled Amélie et la Métaphysique des tubes in French, the work is the feature directorial debut of French filmmakers Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han.
The feature is adapted from award-winning Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb’s autobiographical novel The Character of Rain, inspired by her own early years in Japan, where she was born to expat parents.
It follows protagonist Amèlie as she grows aware of the world around her; develops a deep attachment to her family’s housekeeper and discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths hidden beneath the surface of her family’s life as foreigners in post-war Japan.
Producers are Nidia Santiago and Edwina Liard for Ikki Films, and, Claire La Combe and Henri Magalon for Maybe Movies.
Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco, which is produced by Natalie Portman, who features in the voice cast, is also drawing buyers.
As previously announced out of Cannes, Neon has taken North American rights.
The film has also sold to Benelux (Belga), ex-Yugoslavia and Bulgaria (MCF), Hungary (Mozinet), Czech Republic (Bionaut), Middle East and Turkey (The Plot Pictures), Japan (Comstock), South Korea (Pan Cinema) and China (Road Pictures).
The movie revolves around 10 year old time-traveling rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future of 2932, but gets trapped in 2075 when his maiden flight does not go to plan. Iris witnesses his fall and comes to his rescue, making it her mission to get him home.
Portman is producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.
Goodfellas Animation has also racked up sales on the 4K remastered version of cult classic Angel’s Egg, by Japanese animation director Mamoru Oshii, who is best known internationally for Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, and the Patlabor sci-fi franchise.
The restored work, which also played in Cannes Classics, has been acquired for France (Eurozoom), Benelux (Paradiso), Germany and UK (Plaion), Spain (Vertigo), Italy (Lucky Red), Scandinavia (NonStop Entertainment), Bulgaria (Pro Films), Czech Republic (Film Europe), Baltics and Ukraine (Ad Astra) and CIS (Russian Report).
In the rest of the world, it has sold to Middle East (The Plot Pictures), U.S. (Gkids), Latin America (Sato), Australia/NZ (Umbrella) and Hong Kong (Edko) and Taiwan (Applause).
The deals were overseen by Jason Bressand, head of sales at Goodfellas Animation, which recently rebranded from Gebeka International, and is part of Paris-based film company Goodfellas.
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