‘Doraemon’ Producer Shin-Ei Animation, Teams with France’s Miyu Productions on ‘Ghost Cat Anzu’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Doja Cat has so many famous friends!

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorFrances O’Connor is in week two of the edit for her debut feature as writer-director, “Emily,” which brings to life the world of author Emily Brontë in the years leading up to the creation of her seminal novel “Wuthering Heights.” Variety speaks to O’Connor about the film, which has been pre-sold by Embankment Films to multiple major territories.As an actor O’Connor has had a successful career, appearing in such films as “The Importance of Being

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Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentParis-based company Indie Sales has boarded Blandine Lenoir’s “Angry Annie,” a female-driven movie headlined by “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy, Zita Hanrot (Netflix’s “The Hook Up Plan”) and India Hair (“Mandibules”). Inspired by true events, the film takes place in France in 1974 and tells the story of Annie, a working mother of two teenagers who accidentally becomes pregnant at a time when abortion was illegal in the country.

Red Planet Pictures, the UK drama producer behind BBC/PBS series Death In Paradise, has sold a majority stake to Asacha Media Group, the emerging Paris-based production group founded by three former Endemol Shine and Zodiak executives. Financial details were not disclosed.

Emiliano Granada Following on its acquisition in May of “The Island of Thirty Coffins,” Munich-based Beta Film is doubling down on French production, acquiring international rights to the six-hour France 3 crime thriller “Presumed Guilty.”Written by Franck Ollivier (“Zodiaque”), the limited series follows Lola, played by Garance Thenault (“La Mante”), who travels to a town on the Brittany coast for a job interview.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFrance’s public broadcaster France Televisions confirmed its status as one of Europe’s biggest financiers of animation during the Annecy festival where it unveiled its wide-ranging slate during a press conference. In 2020, which was marked by the pandemic and two lockdowns, the broadcaster invested 32 million euros in productions of French animated content, 2.3 million euros of which went into films.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentUgo Bienvenu (aka Ugo), the popular French illustrator and comics author of “Préférence système,” is partnering up with veteran producer Valerie Schermann (“The Red Turtle,” “Paris, 13th District”) on his animated feature debut “Arco.”An ambitious science-fiction film, “Arco” is being co-developed and co-produced by Remembers, the outfit launched by Bienvenu and Félix de Givry, and Schermann at Akaba.

Ben Croll Speaking before a rapt audience at the Annecy Film Festival on Friday, director Pierre Földes, producers Tanguy Olivier and Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, and artists from France’s Miyu Productions premiered work in progress footage from Földes’ “Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman,” a 2D animated adaptation of a handful of Haruki Murakami stories that looks to translate the Japanese author’s idiosyncratic style as no feature has to date.Murakami’s is a world of sex, surrealism and cigarettes, a

Emilio Mayorga Spain’s Mago Production will produce the animated TV series “Polinopolis” in co-production with France’s Godo Films and Mexico’s Apapacho Films. Barcelona-based Goldbee will handle international sales.Also co-producing are public broadcasters TVE and TVC in  Spain, as well as Argentine state kids channel Pakapaka, and the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (ICEC).

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentPathé, France’s leading film studio and owner of the country’s largest theatrical circuit, is set to leap into television with a dedicated division and an ambitious drama slate from well-known filmmakers.The new division will be headed by Aude Albano, a former senior executive at Capa Drama, whose track record includes the French-produced international hit period drama “Versailles.” Albano said she was looking forward to “take part in the launch of

Ben Croll Speaking at a Monday morning panel dedicated to emerging female talent in the French animation sphere, filmmakers Marine Blin (“What Resonates in Silence”), Mélanie Robert-Tourneur (“Hold Me Tight,” pictured above), and Kajika Aki Ferrazzini (“MOM”) spoke candidly about pet obsessions and shared approaches while breaking news of future projects.The Belgium-based Robert-Tourneur (who uses they/them pronouns) will build on their previous film’s visually symbolic and narratively oblique

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentUniversal Music France and Mediawan’s Method Animation (“The Little Prince,” “Miraculous”) are joining forces on “Jam,” a animated music anthology which will showcase the greatest talents in both music and animation.Co-developed with Universal Music France’s original contents department, the 15-part series will be directed by Michael Gracey, the revered helmer of “The Greatest Showman,” and is being created by Method Animation’s roster of talent,

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Evolver-Prologue,” a music-filled immersive film produced by Edward R. Pressman (“The Crow”) and Oscar-nominated Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”), is set to be partly unveiled at Cannes by France’s Orange.

Wild Bunch is getting deeper into animation with the launch of a new sales company it is setting up with French animation specialist Gebeka.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentParis-based sales and co-production company Charades has closed deals for all major Western territories on “Belle,” the anticipated animation feature from Oscar-nominated Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (“Mirai”) and Studio Chizu.