Classic Media Acquires Rights to Nan & Lili

Press release by Classic Media

London, UK (April 12, 2010) – Classic Media, today announces that it has acquired Worldwide TV and Home Entertainment distribution rights (Exc. Middle East) for  brand new pre-school series Nan & Lili® (200x3). Created by multi-award-winning director and executive producer Firdaus Kharas of Chocolate Moose Media for Al Jazeera Children’s Channel (JCC), Nan & Lili is the first ever Arabic animated pre-school series.

The show, which is being unveiled to buyers at MIPTV, is created for a global audience of pre-school boys and girls (2-4yrs). Innovative and interactive, the series is designed to engage young viewers in a playful way whilst educating and empowering them through a world of exploration and discovery. 200x3 minute episodes are currently available in three languages: Arabic, English and French, with a further 100 episodes in development for delivery later this year.

Presented in novel 3D animation, Nan & Lili are two cute and funny characters who like all young children, enjoy exploring the world around them and playing with their friends. Though they sometimes misbehave, they are always there to help each other get out of trouble! Along with their friends Badi and Hella, the characters are often joined by a range of animals including camels, sheep, goats and elephants as they play and learn together.

Chloé van den Berg, EVP, International - Classic Media, commented: “We’re delighted to be launching Nan & Lili at MIPTV and are very excited to be working with JCC on its first animated pre-school series. Nan & Lili is a fantastic show with a unique animation style and a fresh approach to pre-school learning – offering entertainment whilst encouraging the valuable building blocks of problem-solving skills and emotional intelligence.”

Commenting on this announcement, Malika Alouane, Director of Channels’ Programming at Al Jazeera Children’s Channel and Baraem TV, said: “Nan & Lili is a multi-award winning series that has gained international recognition and appreciation for providing pre-schoolers with unique and fresh educational content. The positive feedback that the Channel has received from mothers and preschool teachers from across the Arab world is a clear testimony that the series’ innovative methods of delivering educational values have succeeded, and we are thrilled to share it with the rest of the world. We are confident that Classic Media, our distribution partner for Nan & Lili, will secure international positioning of this property, especially with broadcasters who are keen on delivering quality programming to their young audiences.”

Firdaus Kharas, creator of the series, said: ”I am very pleased that two world-leading companies, Al Jazeera Children’s Channel and Classic Media, are joining together to educate and entertain the children of the world through this stunning series. For the first time an animated series made for the Middle East will travel the world – a historic achievement that reflects the quality of the programming broadcast on Baraem TV. “

During its first broadcast year, Nan & Lili has won several International awards, including; The CINE Golden Eagle Award, a People’s Telly Award voted for by the general public on-line, two Accolade Awards, and the Chicago International Film Festival’s INTERCOM Certificate of Merit Award in the Educational Children Audience Category.

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