News

Animagrad Studio, the Ukrainian animation powerhouse behind the global hit “Mavka. The Forest Song,” has unveiled the first teaser for its latest project, “Family Squad,” Ukraine’s first satirical animated feature.

This 2D animated dramedy, aimed at young adult audiences, marks a collaboration with acclaimed Ukrainian filmmaker Antonio Lukich.

The teaser introduces viewers to the film’s protagonist, Serhii Punko, a 30-year-old misfit whose life takes an unexpected turn when a celestial mix-up by Miki, a feline angel of death, sends him to heaven. Serhii’s journey back to the land of the living leads him to the frontlines and the Chop Pirates, a group of former smugglers from Transcarpathia. The story promises a blend of love, betrayal and self-discovery.

Originally conceived as the YouTube project “Nasha Faita,” creators Mykhailo Krapenko, Pavlo Mandzych, and Ivan Bon are making their feature animation debut with “Family Squad.” Lukich serves as creative producer...

Ukrainian production banner Film.UA is partnering with the Find Your Own Foundation and a roster of top directing talents to launch “Missing,” an anthology series that explores the harrowing number of Ukrainians who have gone missing since the Russian invasion. The show will also shed light on the profound impact those losses have had on their families.

Set against the backdrop of the brutal conflict, “Missing” delves deep into the lives of individuals whose stories of loss, hope and determination unfold amidst the chaos of war. Inspired by real-life experiences documented through the Find Your Own Foundation, which was founded by TV host Kateryna Osadcha, the show will focus on the thousands of everyday Ukrainians who have disappeared during the war, as well as the countless others, including children, who have been illegally deported, highlighting the personal stories behind the statistics.

The series will be directed by Natalka Vorozhbyt (Venice...

The team behind the Ukrainian hit animated feature “Mavka. The Forest Song” is partnering with “Luxembourg, Luxembourg” filmmaker Antonio Lukich to launch Ukraine’s first satirical animated feature, the filmmakers announced during the Annecy Animation Festival.

Produced by Animagrad Studio and Telescope Animation, “Family Squad” is billed as a life-affirming dramedy pitched at young adults. It follows Serhii Punko, a lonely gas station attendant whose life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself in heaven after a mistake by the angel of death.

Granted a second chance at life, Serhii must return to Earth and find at least one person who needs him. With no one to turn to, he sets out in search of the father he never met, making friends and saving a child’s life along the way.

Animagrad Studio is the production outfit behind the wildly successful animated feature “Mavka. The Forest Song,” which has...

The “Mavka” franchise is just getting started.

Ukraine’s Film.UA Group is now developing a live-action film based on the character already spotlighted in “Mavka. The Forest Song,” Variety has found out. Shown in 148 countries, it has grossed over $21 million globally.

According to its team, the live-action version will delve even deeper into Ukrainian folklore, offering a more “intricate” portrayal of the mythological character.

“‘Mavka’ was always planned as a multiplatform, cross-media IP. Animated feature was just the start. We want to keep the old fans happy and to attract new ones,” said producer Anna Eliseeva, admitting the new film will be a different (forest) beast.

“The plot and even the character will differ from the animation. ‘Forest Song’ was based on our mythology and the work of Ukrainian poetess Lesya Ukrainka, but we had to reinvent the character for the family audience. Now, we will be able to...

Ukrainian production powerhouse Film.UA is developing a bone-chilling slate of horror films all set within the same cinematic universe, the company revealed exclusively to Variety on the eve of this year’s Cannes Marché du Film.

Steeped in local folklore and delving into the rituals, sorcery and mysticism that are woven into the fabric of Ukrainian culture and mythology, the films will transport viewers into a realm where ancient powers stir and darkness reigns, unspooling stories that are rooted in historical and cultural facts and set against the backdrop of current events.

“We’re not just producing movies; we’re crafting an entire universe and forming an industry of the specific genre in Ukraine,” says Iryna Kostyuk, the producer behind two upcoming features as well as last year’s animated hit “Mavka. The Forest Song.” “Our goal is to create a diverse and immersive storytelling experience that resonates with audiences on a global scale.

Paris-based Eurozoom – the independent outfit that has recently backed “Suzume,” “Four Souls of Coyote,” and “Fox and Hare Save the Forest,” among others – was named distributor of the year at the recently wrapped Cartoon Movie, which ran from March 5 – 7 in Bordeaux. “Mars Express” director Jérémie Périn and “Mavka, The Forest Song” studio Animagrad rounded out the winners, claiming respective honors for director and producer of the year.

All are familiar faces at the European animation sector’s largest co-production and pitch forum. “Mavka, The Forest Song” was presented in concept in 2017 and returned as an in development title the following year, while “Mars Express” presented in 2019, screened as a work-in-progress in 2022, then a sneak-peak last year before claiming the director accolades at this latest edition. And so, given Cartoon Movie’s fidelity to projects shepherded and nourished by the program, one can reasonably expect to the see the Eurimages co-pro...

Streaming services are now trying to ration their upcoming original content due to the ongoing actors strike and the only recently-resolved writers’ strike, so we’re going to see a thinning-down of new releases across the board over the next six months at least. Hulu will be adding a lot of library TV shows and movies in November, but there are only a few new major original projects hitting the streamer this month.

Hulu’s spotlight streaming series in November is Black Cake, which is based on the bestselling book by Charmaine Wilkerson. Part family drama, part murder mystery, the show features a globetrotting story that will cover decades of events after a bereaved family find a flash drive that contains some shocking secrets about the hidden history of their late matriarch.

Also dropping on Hulu this month is the original film Quiz Lady, starring Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, Jason Schwartzman,...

Indie films have scored some impressive figures at Spanish box office this year.

As the Spanish film industry comes together at Valladolid International Film Week (known locally as the Seminici), one of the big talking points will be how to make independent films stand out at the local box office.

Although Spain’s box office in the year to mid-October has grossed €400m, 35% higher than the same period in 2022, it is still 17% lower than the 2015-2019 pre-Covid average.

US studio blockbusters led the charge, headed by Barbie ($35.2m), Super Mario Bros. Movie ($29m), Avatar: The Way Of Water, ($26.9m) Oppenheimer...

Hulu has released it’s full list of what will be added to it’s library throughout the month of November 2023!

The streaming service revealed all of the TV shows and movies that are coming to it’s platform, including quite a few fan favorite movies and some holiday features as the holiday season kicks off.

Get more info inside…

Among the movies being added include The Holiday, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Pacific Rim, Shallow Hal, Twister, Men in Black, Armageddon and many more.

On the television side, Hulu will be adding the new original series Black Cake and Drive with Swizz Beatz, season two of Arthdal Chronicles, LA Law, Wahlburgers season five, and Spellbound season 1B.

There will also be many Christmas movies from Hallmark and A&e being added!

Keep reading below to see the complete list of what’s being added to Hulu in November 2023…

November 1

Arthdal Chronicles...

Running Sept. 18 – 21, this year’s fully in-person Cartoon Forum co-production pitch session will build on pre-pandemic attendance numbers, welcoming 290 buyers, among them nearly two dozen first-time participants, while introducing new players into the mix.

Alongside the commissioners, producers, and broadcasters that have made up Cartoon Forum’s traditional base, this year’s bustling edition will host a growing delegation of publishers hungry for fecund I.P. and niche streamers filling in the gaps left by Amazon and Netflix, who will not make the trip to Toulouse in France.

“We’re opening up to a new generation,” says Cartoon Media director Annick Maes. “We’ll have [more than] 20 companies that have never attended Cartoon before, which should make for a very interesting event. How will they pitch? What will they produce? What will they bring [to the mix]?”

Among those new to the mix is Ubisoft Film and Television, a subsidiary of the video game powerhouse...

Altitude sets a company opening record with horror ‘Talk To Me’.

Rank Film (distributor) Three-day gross (July 28-30) Total gross to date Week 1. Barbie (Warner Bros) £13.2m £48m 2 2. Oppenheimer (Universal) £8.2m £27.7m 2 3. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount) £1.8m £20.3m 3 4. Elemental (Disney) £1.2m £11.8m 4 5. Talk To Me (Altitude) £562,772 £643,354 1

Gbp to Usd conversion rate: 1.29

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is approaching the £50m mark after just 10 days in UK-Ireland cinemas, adding an excellent £13.2m on its second weekend as the Barbenheimer phenomenon continued.

The Warner Bros blockbuster dropped just 28.5% on its opening session, and is up to a £48m total.

The Philippou brothers’ film is opening in 431 cinemas through Altitude.

Australian horror film Talk To Me is the major new title at UK-Ireland cinemas this weekend, following on from a record-breaking Barbenheimer week.

Released in 431 cinemas by Altitude, Talk To Me is a possession horror film about a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand.

The film, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January, is the debut feature of Australian brothers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou.

The duo had film set experience prior to making Talk To Me, including as electrician and production...

Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” were the dominant forces at the U.K. and Ireland box office this weekend, with a combined debut take of £29.4 million ($37.6 million), per numbers from Comscore.

Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” led the way with a mighty £18.5 million, while Universal’s “Oppenheimer” collected £10.8 million. Cinema chains reported record turnouts, with Vue saying that it witnessed its biggest weekend in four years and second biggest weekend in history by admissions. “Barbie” is on track to become the biggest film of 2023 in the territory, ahead of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”

London was at the heart of the box office bonanza with cinemas enjoying unprecedented sales. Curzon reported the busiest weekend in their history with over 200 sold-out screenings in their London venues, and Picturehouse Cinema, with 13 venues in London, also reporting their best weekend ever.

Oliver Meek, executive director of the Rio Dalston, said: “The...

Ukrainian animation keeps on fighting for its survival.

“At the beginning of the invasion, it was crucial to keep working. We had to show our partners and the international market that despite the war, we can deliver. And we did it successfully,” Anastasiya Verlinska, director of Linoleum Animation Festival, tells Variety.

“Our next step is to reorganize from in-house production to service companies. This is something that’s still in progress.”

At Annecy, Verlinska is busy organizing the Animation in Ukraine Now! pitch.

Five TV shows in development were selected for the showcase, including “Mavka. The Series,” “School for Little Monsters,” “Darling Zhu,” “Illogical Adult World” and “Yoyo. A Toy Turned into a Rebel,” the latter directed by graffiti artists known as the Feldman Sisters.

“At the beginning of the invasion, they made political animations about the war and were invited to create a mural in Brussels as a sign...

The 3D animation is being released in an original and a dubbed version in territories with big Ukrainian audiences.

Ukrainian animated family feature Mavka: The Forest Song, which is screening at the Annecy Film Festival this week, has become the highest-grossing Ukrainian film of all time, according to its producers and distributor Film.UA Group.

It has reportedly racked up 1.2m admissions in Ukraine, as of the end of May since being released on March 2.

Mavka has also been sold to over 80 territories by Film.UA Group. Due to the sizeable Ukrainian diaspora throughout Europe because of the ongoing Russian invasion,...

Ukrainian phenomenon “Mavka” is expanding its universe.

Following the premiere of feature film “Mavka. The Forest Song,” it is now set to become a 3D animated series as well. It will be produced by Animagrad Studio – part of the Film.UA Group – with France’s TeamTO already on board as co-development partner.

The project, which will be teased at Annecy’s Partners Pitch, will serve as a prequel to the film, explains Film.UA’s Kseniya Baranova.

“It’s set immediately after the battle between humans and Lesh, the forest guardian, which happened while the rest of the forest dwellers were in their deep winter sleep,” she said.

In each of 12 episodes, Mavka and her friends will be facing new challenges, given tasks to help the forest recover after the battle and restore order and harmony.

“Together with Swampy the Kittyfrog, Hush the Noise Keeper and the Nymphs, Mavka will go through unexpected,...

Distribution

Anthony Lapaglia‘s upcoming factual series “The Black Hand” is set to be distributed internationally by eOne.

The three-part series will explore Australia’s Italian community, looking at the difficulties they face, their politics, the threat of war and the mafia. According to the series synopsis, The Black Hand is the name for a gang of Italian criminals in Australia.

Alan Erson, Lapaglia, Michael Tear exec produce. Adam Grossetti and Kate Pappas produce. “The Black Hand” is directed by Kriv Stenders and written by Grossetti, Stenders and Anya Beyersdorf.

The series was produced by Wildbear Entertainment for ABC in Australia. The deal with eOne excludes Australia and Scandinavia.

“The Black Hand is truly the definition of premium factual,” said Kate Cundall, eOne’s VP for acquisitions. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to take to market a hugely popular genre like true crime with some amazing auspicious.”

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Meanwhile,...

Belgium’s Panique!, and Chile’s Pájaro have joined Oscar-nominated Vivemant Lundi! and Spanish collective Terremoto Aie to round out the co-production force behind the animated feature, “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake.”

Filmax will handle distribution in Spain. Kmbo will handle its domestic release in France. The Gallic distributor is on a roll with strong animation box office performances in France for “Amazing Maurice” and current Ukrainian hit “Mavka: The Forest Song,”

Spearheading the production is Terremoto Aie, which includes Citoplasmas Stop Motion studio, Cornelius Films, and Bígaro Films, all contributing to the feature.

Directed by Irene Iborra, who founded Citoplasmas with Eduard Puertas and Adrian Iborra, the film brings to life the children’s book, “La Pelicula de la vida,” by Maite Carranza. The title sold over 24,000 copies in Spain and has been translated into seven languages. Adding a dash of French talent, artist Morgan Navarro has crafted the character designs.

Capping a milestone Cartoon Movie showcase that saw Europe’s animation sector in rude and robust form, the sprawling team behind continental co-production “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” shared the Producer of the Year prize, “Oink” auteur Mascha Halberstad claimed the Director trophy and Paris-based Kmbo took top honors in Distribution at this year’s 25th edition of Cartoon Movie, which ran over March 7 – 9 in Bordeaux.

An audience and jury favorite at last year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, and winner of the most recent European Film Award, the stop-motion feature “No Dogs or Italians Allowed” comes courtesy of director Alain Ughetto and a whopping five production countries. France’s Les Films du Tambour de Soie, Vivement Lundi, and Foliascope joined Italy’s Graffiti Film, Switzerland’s Nadasdy Film, Belgium’s Lux Fugit Film, and Portugal’s Ocidental Filmes to bring this claymation immigration saga to life. Most parties were...

There’s been no shortage of moral support for the Ukrainian cause since Russia’s unprovoked invasion last year, and the country’s beleaguered screen industry has gotten a much-needed boost from foreign buyers. Ukrainian documentaries are doing brisk business as global audiences search for broader context on the conflict, while even narrative features that hit the festival circuit last year are finding a home with specialty distributors.

As the war drags into its second year, however, the Ukrainian industry is at an inflection point. Russia’s relentless attacks on critical infrastructure continue to wreak havoc on the country’s power grid and force film crews to work under constant threat. The theatrical market has collapsed, broadcasters and streaming platforms are virtually bankrupt, and public money that might have once bolstered film and TV production is being diverted to the war effort instead.

There is an awareness, too, among Ukrainian...

Shout! Factory has acquired North American rights to “Mavka. The Forest Song,” an animated feature from Ukraine’s Animagrad Studio, and has released the film’s international trailer, which Variety can share exclusively.

The buzzy animation, which closed a raft of deals for Film.UA Distribution after its Cannes market premiere last year, is the story of a magical spirit who’s responsible for protecting the forest from the outside world, but faces her greatest challenge when she falls in love with a human.

The escapades of the titular heroine, who is drawn from classic Ukrainian literature, unfold in a universe that blends ancient Slavic myths and legends with a modern narrative and innovative 3D animation technology.

“Mavka. The Forest Song,” which will premiere theatrically in Ukraine on March 2, is nothing short of a triumph for the Film.UA Group, which owns Animagrad Studio, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year...

Universal Pictures Content Group has acquired all French distribution rights for the animated feature film “Mavka. The Forest Song” by Animagrad Studio, which is owned by Ukrainian production powerhouse Film.UA.

The film tells the story of a magical spirit who’s responsible for protecting the forest from the outside world but faces her greatest challenge when she falls in love with a human.

The producers of “Mavka. The Forest Song” noted that the film “showcases unique Ukrainian culture, values, traditions and has an environmental component [through a] partnership with WWF-Ukraine.”

They added: “Mavka is a unique female character from Ukrainian legends and myths, the soul of the forest, who becomes its guardian when her home is in danger. She strives for peace and harmony in her world — just as the people of Ukraine today strive for their own.”

Evgeniy Drachov, Film.UA Distribution CEO, said the company is looking forward to its partnership with Universal,...

The fourth edition of Animation Day, which is part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Market, will take place on May 22.

A one-day event aimed at the global animation filmmaking community, it is a joint initiative launched in 2019 by the Cannes Film Market and the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival, in partnership with Animation! Ventana Sur, the animation branch of Latin America’s leading film market.

This edition will kick off with the Annecy Goes to Cannes pitching sessions, featuring five works-in-progress projects at various stages of development. Attendees will also be able to attend a morning panel discussion entitled “What Is Adult Animation Film’s Strategy and Where Is It Headed?,” which will address the question of the animated film offer for adults, both in theaters and on smaller screens, as viewing habits evolve.

Panelists include Dutch-born French filmmaker Jan Kounen, who is also presenting his latest project “Epiphania” in the pitching sessions,...