Bestselling YA book by Philip Kerr to be developed into an animated feature at the Komixx studio in Manchester.
Entertainment media owner and production company, Komixx Entertainment Inc, the US arm of Komixx Media Group, announced it has optioned the worldwide rights to The Winter Horses. Written by renowned New York Times best selling author, Philip Kerr, the young adult novel will be developed into an animated feature film by its UK based arm Komixx Entertainment, at its animation studio in Manchester.
The Winter Horses is an epic tale of a teenage girl’s journey of survival, in the dark days of World War II in Ukraine, with two wild Przewalski horses and a hunting dog as her only companions. The novel successfully combines fact, fiction and folklore to conjure up a moving story of endurance and finding a family in those around you. The story of Kalinka’s journey celebrates the very essence of the human spirit and shows the young girl’s resilience and courage.
Philip Kerr, author of The Winter Horses, says, "The Winter Horses is a very special book for me and I wanted the film rights to go to an animation company that shared the epic scale of my vision. This is one of the first times that an animated film has dealt with such an uplifting and inspiring story set during the Holocaust, and it was absolutely vital that the film-makers understood how sensitive a subject this is. The directors of Komixx are fully cognisant of the challenges and have proven to me that they also have a real imaginative grasp of the story. I am thrilled to be working with them."
Andrew Cole-Bulgin, Joint CEO and Head of Film & Television, Komixx Entertainment, says, “It’s a fantastic opportunity to take on such a moving story of survival and friendship and create an animation that matches Philip’s passion for story telling. To have the opportunity to bid for the rights is one thing, but to be successful and be able to work with renowned authors such as Philip, is testament to how far Komixx has developed as a company over the last few years.”
Komixx has a strong track record in selecting and developing IP for the children and Young Adult market. The Winter Horses will add to the raft of bestselling Young Adult fiction rights currently in development with Komixx, including teen novels The Kissing Booth, YA thriller series ITCH and The Emma Pass novels The Fearless and Acid.
The Winter Horses was published in 2014 by Alfred A. Knopf, Books for Young Readers and written by Philip Kerr.
Source: Komixx Entertainment
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
