Katak, the brave beluga sets off across the Atlantic. After having great success in our cinemas last winter, grossing more than $1.7 million at the box office, the Quebec animated film is now setting out to conquer French audiences.
Katak, the brave beluga, will be shown on more than 200 screens across France on Wednesday, the film’s producer, Nancy Florence Savard, confirmed to the Journal. This release date was not chosen by chance as it coincides with the All Saints school holidays that began last Friday in France.
“It’s a great week [pour lancer un film familial en France] because the children are on vacation, emphasizes Nancy Florence Savard, who also created the animated films The Legend of Sarila, The Rooster of St-Victor and Nelly and Simon: Mission Yéti with her company 10e Ave Productions.
“The film will also be presented in competition at a festival in Belgium in a few days. So it’s a big week for Katak in Europe!”
The French company Eurozoom is responsible for distributing the film in France. 10e Ave Productions previously collaborated with Eurozoom four years ago on the French release of Nelly et Simon: Mission Yéti.
“I was fascinated by the work of Amel Lacombe [la présidente de l’entreprise] for the publication of Nelly and Simon: Mission Yeti, reports Nancy Florence Savard.
“I traveled to France to see how they were preparing to market the film and I was impressed by their work. I know they have been preparing for Katak for a long time. They hung posters of the film on the Morris Columns and created an educational guide for schools. We are really very happy.”
Voices from Quebec
Nancy Florence Savard is also happy about the fact that the French distributor has decided to keep the dubbing of the Quebec voices for the film’s release in France. It is therefore the original voices – interpreted in particular by Alexandre Bacon, Émilie Josset, Yves Jacques, Ludivine Reding, Guylaine Tremblay and Ginette Reno – that French audiences will hear when they discover the adventures of Katak, the brave beluga, in the cinema.
“It’s in the DNA of 10e Ave Productions to want to promote our local artists and voices,” recalls the producer. Our screenwriters write in French, similar to what is taught at the Theater Conservatory. He is not French from France, but he is not necessarily a pure and hard Québécois either. And what we see is that it moves very well.”
France is far from the last destination of Katak, the brave beluga, on his journey around the world. The animated film, directed by Christine Dallaire-Dupont and Nicola Lemay, has already been sold in around a hundred countries and the list could grow even further by the end of the year.
“What’s fun is that with Katak we’re going into territory that we hadn’t explored with our previous films,” notes Nancy Florence Savard. I can’t wait to see where this beautiful journey will take us. I’m super happy because our biggest reward when we make a film is that our work is seen. Katak’s success exceeds all our expectations.”