‘My Life as a Courgette’ acquired by GKIDS
Fantastic news for animation fans – independent animation distributor GKIDS have snapped up the North American distribution rights to Swiss director Claude Barras’s highly acclaimed and multi-award-winning My Life as a Courgette (Ma vie de Courgette).
The news of the film’s wider distribution comes on the heels of it being revealed as the official Swiss submission for the 2017 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language category. As well as qualifying the feature for awards consideration this new deal will give the film a US theatrical release in 2017. The deal was negotiated by GKIDS founder Eric Beckman and head of sales/Indie Sales co-founder Nicolas Eschbach.
Penned by screenwriter Céline Sciamma (director/writer of Girlhood and Tomboy) and adapted from a graphic novel by Gilles Paris, the film (which also goes by the alternate US title My Life as a Zucchini) debuted as part of the Director’s Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, followed by an inclusion in the Annecy International Animation Film Festival’s feature competition where it won both the Feature Film Cristal and the Feature Film Audience Award. Since then the film has more recently picked up the Audience Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival and will make its North American premiere at this year’s 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.
After his mother’s sudden death, Zucchini is befriended by a police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to his new foster home, filled with other orphans his age. At first he struggles to find his place in this at times strange and hostile environment. But with Raymond’s help and his newfound friends, Zucchini eventually learns to trust and love, as he searches for a new family of his own. Brought to life through striking character designs and expressive stop-motion animation, the story soars with laughter, sorrow, and joy, and stands as a testament to the resilience of the human heart. Beginning with its debut at Cannes, the film has stirred up an overwhelming response on the festival circuit, taking home top jury and audience prizes at Annecy, Melbourne and Angoulême, as it prepares to melt hearts in North America with its premiere at Toronto.
–My Life as a Courgette synopsis
Read our full review of the film here.
My Life as a Zucchini is produced by RITA Productions, Blue Spirit Productions, Gebeka Films and KNM, in coproduction with the RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse, SRG-SSR, France 3 Cinéma, Rhône Alpes Cinéma and Helium Films, with international sales handled by Indie Sales