Urban Distribution International (UDI) has snagged the international rights to family flick Slocum, the latest feature project from acclaimed French animator Jean-François Laguionie (OIAF Grand Prize winner Louise by the Shore, César nominee The Painting, A Monkey’s Tale), currently in development. The deal was closed at Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux this week, a year after the project was first presented at the co-pro event. Slocum is expected to debut in 2020.
Blending 2D and 3D techniques and a soft, watercolor-inspired palette, the nostalgic film revolves around a man’s fond memories of watching his stepfather build a boat in the family’s garden when he was a boy, and the imaginative adventures it inspired when combined with his reading about the voyages of Joshua Slocum — the first man to circumnavigate the globe solo from 1895-1898.
I can tell you about my father’s voyage on his boat, because I was with him all the time. It was a rather strange voyage, with no ocean or sea crossing, not even a lock to pass through… The boat stayed at home and so did my father. But that does not mean there was no adventure…
UDI will also handle sales for Laguionie’s The Prince’s Voyage, currently in production by Blue Spirit to be released later this year. The agency previously helped Rémi Chayé’s Long Way North find its way to more than 30 territories, as well as Arthur de Pins and Alexis Ducord’s graphic novel-inspired horror-comedy-adventure Zombillenium, currently in worldwide release through Universal.
[Source: Variety]
