Sales Agents Scoop ‘Saurus City,’ ‘Nimuendajú’ Animated Indies Ahead of Cannes

With the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-23) and Market (13-21) around the corner, two very different but equally intriguing independent animated feature projects have been picked up by international sales agencies to be shopped along the iconic Croisette.

One is the star-studded Saurus City, a family-friendly hybrid of 3D printing, hand-crafted artistry and CGI from Suspended Animation Studios, 405 Productions Inc. and Bonfire Entertainment. Archstone Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights, and will have a market screening for international buyers at Cannes this month.

Written and directed by Suspended Animation co-founder Nathan Smith (Davie & Golimyr, The Light Before Christmas), the film is set in a world where entire villages ride on the backs of dinosaurs. When a grizzled knight (voiced by Ron Perlman) is called upon to help a young lady in distress (Emma Roberts), and discovers the fate of the entire kingdom rests in his hands. The two fated companions are dogged on their quest by the revenge-hungry Shrouded Knight (Dennis Quaid), who schemes to use his wicked creations to conquer the kingdom.

The voice cast also features Tim Meadows, Aimee Garcia and Julia Ormand. Producers are Ron Brough, Cynthia Lagow, Brad Johnson, Joel Michaely and Smith. Executive producers include Deena Dill, Richard Joel, Lauren Magura, Gregori J. Martin, Precious V. Mayes, Kristos Andrew, Lisa Whelan and Simon Swart. Scott Martin, Jack Sheehan and Michael Slifkin executive produce for Archstone.

Aimed at older global audiences, the 2D animated biopic Nimuendajú explores the life and achievements of Curt Unckel, a German social scientist who relocated to Brazil as a young man in 1903, living with the Guarani and becoming a pioneering defender of indigenous communities in the country. Unckel was murdered for reasons that “remain unknown” in an Amazonian village in 1945.

 

Selected for Annecy Festival’s Contrechamp competition, Nimuendajú is produced by Anaya Produçoes Culturais (Brazil), Apus Animation Studio (Peru) and Cinezebra (Germany), and directed by Tanya Anaya, who has worked as an arts teacher and champion of Brazil’s Indigenous communities, including the Maxakali, one of the peoples studied by Unckel. German actor Peter Ketnath (Passport to Freedom) voices Unckel/Nimuendajú and serves as co-producer for his label, Cinezebra.

Brazilian distributor O2 Play has acquired worldwide rights to the film, and will present it to buyers at Cannes as well as handling the Brazil theatrical release. The official trailer was shared by O2 Play via Variety:

[Source: Variety]