WestEnd Films has scored multiple sales, including to North America, on British director Patrick Dickinson’s drama “Cottontail,” which stars Japan’s Lily Franky (“Shoplifters”) and Ciaran Hinds.
The film, first announced at the AFM in 2019, won the prize for best first feature last week at the Rome Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. Set in Japan and the U.K., “Cottontail” is shepherded by Oscar-nominated “Philomena” producer Gabrielle Tana. It’s based on Dickinson’s short film “Usagi-San,” which won the BAFTA U.S. Student Film Award.
Los Angeles-based distributor Level 33 has taken North American rights on “Cottontail.” Other acquisition deals include Longride for Japan, Nos (Portugal), Front Row (Middle East), PVR (India), United King (Israel), MCF (Former Yougoslavia), Beijing Huanxi (China) and Bofrato (Airlines), the company said in a statement.
“Cottontail” is the heart-breaking journey of a widower named Kenzaburo, played by Franky, who, after his wife Akiko passes away in Japan, embarks with his estranged son Toshi to the Lake District in England. It’s the land of Beatrix Potter, whose tales of “Peter Rabbit” captivated Akiko as a child. Akiko had always hoped to travel there one day with Kenzaburo, “and now he must fulfill her last wish and scatter her ashes amongst the natural beauty of the lakes,” reads the synopsis.
In addition to “Cottontail,” London-based WestEnd’s AFM lineup includes “Freud’s Last Session” starring Anthony Hopkins and Matthew Goode, which just premiered at AFI Fest; “Tatami” by Guy Nattiv and Zar Amir; and “Irena’s Vow,” starring Sophie Nelisse and Dougray Scott.