Les Films du Losange has closed a raft of major deals on Kasja Naess’s animated feature “Titina” which is produced by the teams behind the Oscar-nominated film “The Triplets of Belleville” and Oscar-winning short “The Danish Poet.”
“Titina” will world premiere at Animation Is Film Festival, which takes place Oct. 21-23, and is produced by GKids, in collaboration with Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Variety.
Budgeted at $8.5 million, the Norwegian animated movie was produced by Mikrofilm (“The Danish Poet”) and Vivi Film (“The Triplets of Belleville”). The film tells the real-life story of a fox terrier that accompanied her master on an expedition to the North Pole in an air balloon in the 1920’s. It will be released in Norway by Norsk Film Distribusjon, and in France by Les Films du Losange.
Underscoring the film’s large commercial potential, Les Films du Losange, whose sales team is headed by Alice Lessort, has sold the movie to Germany (Grandfilm), Italy (BIM), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Finland (Filmkompaniet), Belgium, The Netherlands (Lumiere Publishing), Hungary (ADS), Latvia, Estonia, Lituania (Estin Film), Poland (Vivarto) , Iceland (Sena), Albania, Bosnia Herzegovine, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia (Megacom Film), Ukraine (Arthouse Traffic), Romania (Contactory Studio) and Kazakhstan (Aldongar).
The feature follows Umberto Nobile, an Italian airship engineer who enjoys a quiet life with his beloved dog Titina. One day, Norwegian explorer superstar Roald Amundsen contacts him and orders an airship to conquer The North Pole. Nobile seizes the opportunity to go down in history. He brings Titina along, and the unlikely trio sets out on an expedition to the last undiscovered place on Earth.
Naess reacted to the selection of “Titina” at the Animation is Film Festival, saying that “so many people have worked so hard to make this film happen, and I am grateful for all the love, energy, and artistic talent that has been invested by all the artists involved every step of the way, starting from from storybarders and designers, to the animators and all the way into music and sound design.”
Naess’s credits include “Nine Nation Animation” which played at Tribeca and Annecy film festivals.
Here is the trailer for “Titina:”