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Pink Parrot Media, the Montreal and Madrid-based international sales house, has revealed a flurry of deals for the German-Canadian CG animated fantasy feature “Elli and Her Monster Team!,” which is making its market premiere at the EFM.

Underlining the appetite for toon family features by European distributors, the film has been sold to Just Entertainment in Benelux, Bim Distribuzione in Italy, Nos Lusomundo in Portugal, Flins&Piniculas in Spain and Gpi for Baltics.

“Elli” has also been acquired by Pro Films in Bulgaria, Rocket Releasing for Cis, Forum (Czech Republic/Slovak), McF Megacom Film (Former Yugoslavia), Cinetel (Hungary), Forum for Poland, Romania and Israel, and Front Row in the Middle East.

In addition, Wild Bunch in Germany and Level Film and Maison 4:3 in Canada plan a “Elli and her Monster Team!” release by June.

Recently completed, the feature was directed by Jesper Møller (“Asterix and the Vikings”) and Piet de Rycker...

Steve Hudson wrote & directs; ‘Amazing Maurice’ director Toby Genkel co-directs.

Asa Butterfield and Joel Fry will lead the voice cast of Stitch Head, an animated feature co-production from Gfm Animation, Gringo Films, Wild Bunch and Fabrique d’Images.

The film is currently in pre-production and will begin CG animation soon; Gfm Animation will launch worldwide sales on the title at this week’s European Film Market.

Stitch Head is based on the first book in the series of the same name by Guy Bass, first published in 2011. It tells the story of Stitch Head, a small creature awoken to almost-Life by...

Pulsar Content has closed a raft of major deals on “La Maison,” Anissa Bonnefont’s erotic drama based on Emma Becker’s controversial bestselling novel chronicling the young author’s two-year undercover experience working as a sex worker at a Berlin brothel.

The Paris-based company introduced the title to buyers at Cannes and sold it to Wild Bunch for Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, among other deals.

Wild Bunch will team with Capelight for the German release. The film will be handled by Wild Bunch subsidiaries in Italy and Spain, Bim Distribuzione and Vertigo, respectively. Other territories closed include Singapore (Shaw), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais), and the Baltics (Garsu Pasaulio Irasai). Pulsar Content is in talks to lock further deals.

“I’m excited to take on this ambitious, well crafted and daring film accross our European territories. ‘La Maison found its home,'” said Wild Bunch’s Marc Gabizon.

Pulsar...

It has been a tricky period for theatrical, but as a panel of leading European (and American) film industry experts highlighted today, change has been in the post and the cinema biz will need to adapt to survive.

Speaking during an event at the Mia Market in Rome, Michael Weber, MD at German indie The Match Factory, argued that there are simply too many films being made.

“There is an unbalance between what is produced and what the market can absorb, even with all these platforms. This is something we all have to think about,” he commented. “The last 18 months was an acceleration of what we’ve seen before, we have tried to prepare ourselves for it. For us it’s about identifying films that can still find an audience.”

Weber pointed to his recent hit Drive My Car as an example of a film that ticks that box. The three-hour Japanese movie,...

European film, TV and media group Wild Bunch is moving to strengthen its involvement in production and co-productions in France, placing longtime in-house execs Adeline Fontan Tessaur and Jerome Rougier in charge of the effort. They will respectively continue as Managing Director of Elle Driver and Director of French Theatrical Distribution, and will spearhead acquisitions with a particular focus on co-productions. The first films will be announced in the coming weeks.

The push in France follows similar developments at Wild Bunch subsidiaries in Germany, Italy and Spain. Recently appointed COO of Wild Bunch, Marc Gabizon, created and developed the Wild Bunch activity in Germany and is continuing the policy to grow production and co-production in Europe.

Wild Bunch has kept busy with internal shifts and new in-roads over the past year. That includes recently setting key promotions at independent sales subsidiary Wild Bunch International, as well as securing a 35M...

Animated feature was German box office hit over summer.

Blue Fox Entertainment has picked up worldwide rights for virtual AFM excluding Germany and China to 3D animated feature Conni And The Cat, a theatrical hit in its native Germany over the summer.

The production grossed nearly $3m in restricted German theatres through Wild Bunch Germany in the summer, and will open in the US via Blue Fox’s domestic division in mid-2021.

In the vein of Masha And The Bear, Mia And Me, and Heidi, the feature centres on Conni and her mischievous cat Mau, who accompanies Conni to kindergarten,...

Exclusive: Mister Smith inks key pre-sale for Ain’t No Half Steppin’.

Wild Bunch Germany has pre-bought rights to Broad Green Pictures comedy Ain’t No Half Steppin’ from Mister Smith Entertainment.

The deal was negotiated by Wild Bunch Germany’s MD, Marc Gabizon, and David Garrett, CEO of Mister Smith Entertainment, which launched the film at Efm to considerable interest.

Matt Alvarez (Straight Outta Compton), Lena Waithe (Dear White People) and Benjamin Cory Jones (Hand Of God) produce the story of an ambitious black sorority girl who, in order to get admitted to the law school of her dreams, agrees to cross culture lines and teach the exclusive art of black Greek stepping to a band of wild, Kardashian-obsessed white sorority girls.

Due to begin shoot in April or May, the film will be directed by Charles Stone (Drumline) from a script by Chuck Hayward.

Celebrated choreographer Aakomon Jones, whose credits...