The animated black comedy may have been blocked from screening in France, but it has still managed to secure a number of global deals.
Fresh from being blocked from screening at the French animated film festival Annecy, Chinese animated black comedy Have A Nice Day has secured a n umber of deals that will see the film go to multiple western territories, reports ScreenDaily.
The film has sold to La Aventura for Spain, Fu Works for Benelux, Outside the Box for Switzerland, Seven Films for Greece, Bir Film for Turkey, Megacom for Former Yugoslavia, Cirko for Hungary, and for in-flight distribution via Encore.
The film’s producers are even holding out hope that the film, which follows a set of characters chasing a bag of money in a small Chinese town, will still be able to secure a screening in China, despite officials putting pressure on Annecy organizers to drop it from its program.
Have a Nice Day, by Chinese director Liu Jian, was dropped from the world’s biggest animation festival after repeated requests from Chinese officials “in an increasingly firm tone,” according to the organizers.
The film’s release throughout Asia will be handled by MFI and Hong Kong’s Edko Films, while the US rights have already been picked up by Strand Releasing, which is planning to release the film in the fall. MUBI has acquired the film for theatrical and VOD release in the UK and Ireland.
Before being dropped form the Annecy Film Festival, Have A Nice Day already screened as the first Chinese animated feature ever to compete in the Berlin Film Festival. It also screened at the Holland Animation Film Festival, Animafest Zagreb, Seattle, and Neuchatel film festivals.
