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Mediawan Kids & Family is unveiling a raft of prestige animated feature projects at the Annecy Film Festival, including “Meow-woof” by Louis Clichy (“Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion”) and “Twisted” by Lino Disalvo (“Playmobil”).

Emmanuel Jacomet, who worked for over a decade alongside Aton Soumache and Dimitri Rassam on high profile IP’s such as “The Little Prince,” “Miraculous Ladybug” and “Playmobil,” took over the film division of Mediawan Kids & Family under a year ago with the ambition to develop a mix of mainstream franchise-based projects and auteur-driven 2D titles.

The executive, who lived in Los Angeles for a number of years, said also he aims at bringing together European and American talent and sensibilities on projects that are personal, yet boast an international appeal. Many of the filmmakers in business with the banner have a dual culture. Clichy, for instance, is French but previously worked for Pixar...

In the most competitive animated Oscar race ever (with a record 27 entries), indie powerhouse Gkids (with eight nominations since 2009) entered the fray with five contenders for the first time. And, on Monday, its two strongest — the stop-motion “My Life as a Zucchini” and the hand-drawn “Miss Hokusai” — grabbed two Annie nominations for best indie feature and a third for “Zucchini” director Claude Barras.

Read More: How Gkids Shook the Oscar Animated Race with First Latin American Nominee and a New Ghibli Hit

“It’s a feast of animation and the timing was just the luck of the draw,” Gkids co-founder and president Eric Beckman told IndieWire. “The really rich landscape that we see this year is part of a trend and a shift [toward indies] that we’re happy to see exist and take pride in helping propagate it.”

Beckman also prides himself on smart taste and filling a need to help...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– Gkids, the producer and distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, announced that it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the forthcoming animated feature “Mune: The Guardian of the Moon.” The French film is from the producers of the 2016 animated feature “The Little Prince” and will be released theatrically in early 2017, in a new English language version. The film was directed by Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon.

The film takes place “in a fantastical world where a young faun named Mune is unexpectedly entrusted with the monumental title of Guardian of the Moon.”

“Mune” recently won the Young People’s Jury Award at the Tiff Kids International Film Festival and won Best...

Indie distributor Gkids confirmed Monday that it has acquired North American distribution rights for animated feature Mune: The Guardian of the Moon.

Mune has already been announced as one of 27 animated features submitted for consideration in this year's Oscar race. Gkids plans to give it a qualifying run ahead of a theatrical release in early 2017.

Directed by Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon, the French film takes places in a fantastical world where a young faun named Mune is unexpectedly entrusted with the monumental title of Guardian of the Moon. A new English-language version will be released in North America.

In 2015,...

Gkids has acquired the North American distribution rights for the forthcoming animated French film Mune: Guardian of the Moon, which will be released theatrically early next year in a new English-language version. Directed by Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon, the film takes places in a fantastical world where a young faun unexpectedly is entrusted with the monumental title of Guardian of the Moon. This news excites Necross, the nefarious ruler of the Underworld, a…...

The animation specialist has acquired North American rights from Kinology to the French project from the producers behind Netflix’s awards contender The Little Prince.

Gkids plans an early 2017 release in a new English-language version to the story of a young faun named Mune who is appointed guardian of the moon.

Alexandre Heboyan and Benoît Philippon directed Mune: The Guardian Of The Moon, which won the Young People’s Jury Award at the Tiff Kids International Film Festival and was named best film at the Toyko Anime Awards.

“Gkids has always championed international storytellers using the animation medium in new and exciting ways,” said David Jesteadt, Gkids senior vice-president of distribution.

“We are proud to share the beautiful, bold world and rich mythology that infuse every frame of Mune: Guardian Of The Moon with audiences nationwide.”...

Exclusive: Copenhagen’s festival, in new autumn dates, will show a record 226 features kicking off with Doctor Strange.

Copenhagen’s Cph Pix festival, now in its new autumn dates, has revealed a record 226 feature films in its lineup.

The 14-day festival (Oct 27 - Nov 9), which now also includes kids and family festival Buster, will show 46 features for young people in its daytime programmes and 180 films for teenagers and adults in the evenings.

As previously reported, the eighth edition of festival will open with a gala premiere of Marvel’s Doctor Strange (Mads Mikkelsen will attend).

There will be four main awards at Pix: the New Talent Grand Pix for a debut feature (with $11,200 (€10,000)); the Politiken Audience Award that comes with Danish distribution support, and the Nordisk Film Fond prizes for best children’s feature and best children’s short.

Terence Davies [pictured] will be given a full retrospective as well as showing his latest film A Quiet Passion and participating...

The 59Th BFI London Film Festival Announces Full 2015 Programme

You can peruse the programme at your leisure here.

The programme for the 59th BFI London Film Festival in partnership launched today, with Festival Director Clare Stewart presenting this year’s rich and diverse selection of films and events. BFI London Film Festival is Britain’s leading film event and one of the world’s oldest film festivals. It introduces the finest new British and international films to an expanding London and UK-wide audience. The Festival provides an essential platform for films seeking global success; and promotes the careers of British and international filmmakers through its industry and awards programmes. With this year’s industry programme stronger than ever, offering international filmmakers and leaders a programme of insightful events covering every area of the film industry‎ Lff positions London as the world’s leading creative city.

The Festival will screen a...

The Isa of the Day segment of SydneysBuzz resumes for the Cannes Film Festival 2015. ISAs, or International Sales Agents, help to bring films into global distribution by selling distribution rights to distributors worldwide.Topics include new trends in distribution and sales, inspirational success stories, film slates and more. A worthy read for any serious filmmaker looking to have a better understanding of the chain of business between producing a film and sharing it with the world.

Kinology was founded by its Managing Director, Grégoire Melin in May 2008. This newly created sales entity represents some of the most ambitious and innovative European feature films starring international talent such as Jean-Francois Richet’s hit Public Enemy Number One, Olivier Dahan’s My Own Love Song, and Mathieu Kassovitz’s Rebellion.

Founder & President of Kinology Grégoire Melin shares more:

The company was created seven years ago, right before Cannes 2008.

I started EuropaCorp with Luc Besson and Pierre Olange, a talented marketing person and now producer. I was in charge of international sales there, which was great because I worked on all these big franchises like Transformers and Taken, among many others. I worked on about 60 films while I was there.

Europa was fantastic, and I’ll never be able to thank Luc and Pierre enough for all the opportunities they’ve given me to meet great people and great directors, but there comes a moment when it gets hard to sell the films you didn’t choose yourself. That is why I created my company, Kinology.

Gaellle Mareschi, head of International Sales & Development, is also coming from Europa ( she worked there after I left) and joined me in 2010. Since then, we have been working together and are the only two sales agents.

We work on 5-7 films a year, and it’s difficult to say which kind of projects we are choosing, because we work on concept films. For example, the first film which was very successful for us was “Buried”. We loved the script and immediately signed on the film long before it was shot. In Europe, it’s not financiers financing the film and then they are looking for a sales agent. It’s much more that the sales agents take the risk with the equity for the film in the beginning.

We’ve done many films like “Days of Grace”, “Heartbreaker”, and “Spring Breakers”. Again, these are very eclectic but very concept-driven films. We don’t care whether it’s English or French. We were also the sales agent on “A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night”. We love to launch unique visions with new or unique directors, and if I don’t think a film is right for us, I will not take it.

We love the distributors we are working with. I love this job, and going to market is really exciting because we know we are going to get countless meetings with people we love. We are also very hands-on when it comes to marketing.

Now we’re working on Terry Gilliam’s Don Quixote, and just came back from Spain after working with Terry – we aim to start shooting the film in August. This is an example of how we are very hands-on and try to really support the producers we are working with. Since we are working on very few films, it gives us time to go really in-depth. We know everything about the films, every crew person, every element, and are very close to the projects.

We don’t usually have that many films in Cannes, but this year we have films we really adore. Both are premiering at the festival. One is called “Mustang”, and we have a fantastic animation film that is winning prizes all around the world called “Mune” by Alexandre Heboyan.

Competition titles revealed; exclusive first footage to screen from Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and Disney’s Zootopia.

The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (June 15-20) is to spotlight the contribution of women to animation and their growing presence in the medium.

This year’s Honorary Cristal will be awarded to French director Florence Miailhe, whose unusual technique has been called “film painting”. She was first at Annecy in 2000 with Au premier dimanche d’aout, which won the Cear for Best Short Film, and won a special mention at Cannes in 2006 for her short Conte de quartier.

Sticking with the female focus, there will be films about maternity and sexuality, the female imagination and a strand titled The Future Is Woman.

Canadian filmmaker Janet Perlman, who secured an Oscar nomination with The Tender Tale of Cinderella Penguin (1981), will also be the subject of a special focus.

This year’s festival, overseen by artistic...

Oscar nominee Song of the Sea saw off the competition to win the Grand Prize at the second Tokyo Anime Award Festival. Director Tomm Moore's beautifully animated film tells the story of a little girl with the ability to transform into a seal and the adventure she undertakes. Tokyo Anime Award Festival developed from the Tokyo Anime Award, which was formerly held as part of the Tokyo International Anime Fair. It's competition section was comprised of films as yet unreleased in Japan. Check out the full list of winners below:Featrure Film CompetitionGrand Prize - Song of the Sea- Dir. Tomm Moore, Ireland Best Film Award - Mune - Dir. Alexandre Heboyan, Benoit Philippon, FranceTokyo Metropolitan Governor Prize - Song of the Sea- Dir. Tomm Moore,...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Youngsters and oldsters alike…here is the reel deal: The New York International Children’s Film Festival (Nyicff) will be making its presence known in the upcoming days. On tap for the 18th annual event will be a noted variety of creative animated films and shorts for all ages to enjoy and relish. The New York International Children’s Film Festival promises to serve up an array of animated showcases that boasts all styles and formats that should prove imaginative and appealing to our past and present childhood memories.

Please note that the Nyicff will run its operation from February 27, 2015 to March 22, 2015. Additionally, the majority of these impressive feature-length and short films have experienced critical acclaim overseas. Therefore, the impact of the Nyicff’s cinematic selections should be rewarding for ardent fans of animated film fodder designed to capture the spirit of its enthusiastic viewers.

Among the films being displayed...

Title: Mune: Guardian of the Moon Director: Alexandre Heboyan, Benoit Philippon Genre: Animation French animation studio Mikros Image – which will soon release Mark Osborne’s ‘Le Petite Prince’ – has wrapped a delightfully inspiring coming-of-age animation fantasy. ‘Mune: Guardian of the Moon’ – based on an original story idea by Benoit Philippon (director/screenwriter of the live-action feature ‘Lullaby of Pi’) – takes place in a universe in which the sun and moon are protected by guardians. The new inexpert fledgeling guardians are appointed and will find themselves unprepared for their role. Sohone, in charge of the sun is arrogant and only interested in impressing the girls, whereas Mune, gawky and [ Read More ]

The post Mune: Guardian of the Moon Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Paris – French telecom Orange's Paris-based film subsidiary Studio 37 will decorate movie theaters across the globe with its colorful feature film lineup including new 3D animation project "Mune," Gilles Pacquet-Brenner's "Elle s'Appelait Sarah" starring Kirstin Scott Thomas and Samuel Benchetrit's "Chez Gino," Studio 37 topper Frederique Dumas said Tuesday.

Studio 37 announced a first-look deal with Rezo Films for Gallic distribution in Cannes last year. Studio 37 also has a "privileged partnership" deal with Gregoire Melin's international sales outlet Kinology.

"Mune" is an animated 3D fairytale produced by Onyx films and directed by Benoit Phillipon and Alexandre Heboyan, who worked on "Kung Fu Panda" and "Monsters vs Aliens" among other high-profile Us studio titles.

Studio 37 will focus on Gallic co-productions, but has already branched out into English-language territory with Benoit Philippon's "Lullaby for Pi" starring Rupert Friend, Clemence Poesy and Forest Whitaker and recent release Olivier Dahan's "My Own Love Song" with Renee Zellweger,...