Public Support Drives Animated Innovation in France

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board, France’s most powerful film institution, has received a three-year prison sentence, including two suspended, over sexual assault charges. Boutonnat has stepped down from the CNC in the wake of the verdict on June 28 and is being replaced by Olivier Henrard, Variety has confirmed.

Sunny Side of the Doc, the world’s biggest documentary-focused marketplace in the world, wrapped its 35th edition Thursday, after gathering 2,100 participants over four days in La Rochelle, France.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Amelie” and “The Intouchables,” two of France’s all-time biggest box office hits, will be re-released by their respective studios, UGC and Gaumont/Studiocanal, during the Olympic Games. With three to four million Olympics fans expected to descend on Paris during the Olympics, French studios are looking to capitalize on the presence of these floods of international visitors and lure them into air-conditioned theaters. These re-released movies will be subtitled in English which will mark a first in France, at least in recent history.

Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out 2 keeps on soaring, reaching $799.7M globally through Tuesday. Within that, its international box office crossed the four-century mark at a running cume of $411.9M from 44 overseas markets through Tuesday. In North America, Inside Out 2 rose to $387.8M, moving well up the domestic animated chart.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A jury headed by French Vietnamese director Tranh Anh Hung awarded its Golden Goblet (Jin Jue) prizes for the Shanghai International Film Festival’s main competition. The top prize for best feature went to “The Divorce,” directed by Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Salamat. The jury praised the film for its sophisticated story-telling which mixes comedy, farce and tragedy, and “which moves fluidly from public sphere to the intimate relationship of a couple in crisis” and its feeling of innocence.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent “Flow,” a director-driven animated feature which world premiered at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and just swept three awards at Annecy Film Festival, has been embraced by a raft of major distributors in key territories, including the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Germany, Spain and Italy. The movie is represented internationally by Charades.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Extinction,” the Malaysian-produced animation that is playing at the Shanghai International Film Festival, has struck its first international rights sales deals. The film was recently picked up by All Rights Entertainment, the Paris, Hong Kong and Los Angeles-based sales agency. All Rights has subsequently licensed the title to Magic Film for the CIS region, to Dazzler Media for the U.K., to Red Cape Distribution for Israel and to Bir Film for Turkey.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Trialed for alleged sexual assault on June 14, Dominique Boutonnat, the president of the National Film Board, France’s most powerful film institution, is facing a three-year suspended prison sentence. Boutonnat was indicted in February 2021 for the alleged sexual assault of his then 19-year-old godson in August 2020, during a vacation in Greece.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Prince Albert II of Monaco opened the 63rd Monte-Carlo Television Festival Friday, accompanied by a panoply of stars led by Morgan Freeman, “SEAL Team’s” David Boreanaz and “Bridgerton’s” Simone Ashley. The opening ceremony took place under stormy skies at the Grimaldi Forum, where the world premiere of limited series “The Gray House” opened the event.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Berlin-based sales agency Films Boutique has closed further deals for Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,”following the North American deal with Strand Releasing and the first international sales previously announced by Variety.The film has been acquired by Nour Films in France, One From the Heart in Greece, Mezipatra in Czech Republic and Slovakia, HBO Europe in Eastern Europe, Beta Film in Bulgaria and Falcon in Indonesia, in addition to the already announced deals with Vedette in the Benelux, Karma in Spain, Trigon in Switzerland and Lev in Israel.Films Boutique is in negotiations with potential buyers in the U.K., Latin America, Germany and Japan.Additionally, New Voice Film Productions Ltd. secured distribution deals with Golden Scene for Hong Kong and Macau and Flash Forward Entertainment in Taiwan.“All Shall Be Well” is written and directed by Yeung and was produced by Yeung’s frequent collaborator Michael J.

Good afternoon Insiders. We’ve been all over Europe this week, so here’s Max Goldbart, back in the London-shaped saddle, to walk you through the major stories of the past seven days. Scroll on. And sign up here.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week we’re talking to leading German producer Fabian Gasmia, whose credits include Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper, Leos Carax’s Annette and, more recently, Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry starrer Treasure, which has its North American premiere at Tribeca last weekend. Gasmia, who set up production banner Seven Elephants in 2018 with directors Julia von Heinz, Erik Schmitt and David Wnendt, talks us through building that outfit, his “special relationship” with France and why he thinks German cinema is having a “renaissance.”

Crunchyroll Senior Vice President of Global Commerce Mitchel Berger was in ebullient mood as he gave a talk on the growing global reach of anime at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival this week.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ankama, the French company behind the cult favorite adult animated feature “Mutafukaz” and video game franchises such as “Dofus” and “Wakfu,” has acquired a minority stake in Inthebox, a thriving Annecy-based animation studio. The alliance will allow Ankama to “fast-track its production pipeline and benefit from Inthebox’s expertise with different techniques, such as 3D animation,” Ankama’s co-founder Anthony Roux told Variety in a conversation with Inthebox’s co-founders Mathieu Marin and Madjid Chamekh (pictured).

It has been a high-profile 12 months for Mediawan Kids & Family thanks to subsidiary Method Animation’s involvement in the Ladybug & Cat Noir franchise, which has been enjoying box office success worldwide with a first feature film adaptation.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Eurozoom, a leading French distributor for Japanese animation, has forged a strategic partnership with major French animation producer Special Touch Studios, led by founder and CEO Sebastien Onomo. “We both share the same passion for animation and want to tell bold stories with a particular attention to professional diversity,” said Eurozoom’s CEO-Founder Amel Lacombe, who added that they were jointly working on a six-animation feature lineup. Leading the pack is “Melvile,” directed by Romain Renard and Fursy Teyssier.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent ANNECY, France — Banijay Kids & Family, behind hit “Totally Spies!” and “Mr Bean: The Animated Series,” has unveiled first deals on “Froggie,” crowned best TV pilot at early June’s Cartoons on the Bay Pulcinella Awards. In deals which suggest one way much Annecy-announced business will go, Spanish pubcaster RTVE and top French kids channel Gulli, have acquired rights to Spain and France respectively. Both are among the biggest and most established players in Western Europe’s children’s entertainment.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Netflix EMEA Head of Animated Series Alexi Wheeler is launching UK-based production company Wheel In Motion under the auspices of burgeoning French content conglomerate Superprod Group.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The French far-right party Rassemblement National (National Rally, or RN) made historical gains on June 9, dominating the European elections by a landslide with 31.5% of votes. Fronted by the Rassemblement National’s 28 year-old lead candidate Jordan Bardella, the victory prompted French President Emmanuel Macron — whose party Renaissance came in second with 14.5% of votes — to dissolve the National Assembly and call early Parliamentary elections.

Jamie Lang Catalonia‘s animation scene is flourishing thanks to a motivated and well-trained base of artists, generous government backing and early involvement from public broadcasters. One need look no further than this year’s Annecy Animation Festival for proof of the Catalanimation boom.