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Cartoon Saloon Feature ‘The Breadwinner’ to Premiere at TIFF

Third animated feature from the makers of Oscar-nominated ‘Secret of Kells’ and ‘Song of the Sea’ is directed by Nora Twomey.

The first batch of films selected for the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival were announced on Tuesday, with the highly-anticipated forthcoming animated feature from Cartoon Saloon, The Breadwinner, among the 25 announced features.

Directed by Nora Twomey, The Breadwinner is produced by Aircraft Pictures’ Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen, Cartoon Saloon’s Tomm Moore and Paul Young, and Melusine Productions’ Stephan Roelants. It is executive produced by Jolie Pas Production’s Angelina Jolie, Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer, Mimi Polk Gitlin, Jon Levin, Regina K. Scully, Frank Falcone and Mary Bredin; Cartoon Saloon’s Gerry Shirren and GKIDS’ Eric Beckman and David Jesteadt. WestEnd Films is handling international sales.

Based on the award-winning, best-selling young adult novel by Deborah Ellis, The Breadwinner is about Parvana, a young girl living under the Taliban regime, who cuts her hair and disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family after her father is imprisoned. A powerful and riveting story of self-empowerment and imagination in the face of oppression, The Breadwinner boasts the breathtaking hand-drawn animation that has made Cartoon Saloon one of the world’s most well-loved and respected animation studios.

An official Ireland-Canada-Luxembourg co-production, The Breadwinner is being produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada & The Film Fund, the Irish Film Board, Film Fund Luxembourg, The Harold Greenberg Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund, the Ontario Media Development Corporation and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland along with Gaia Entertainment and the Artemis Rising Foundation.

The full list of selections can be viewed on the TIFF website. The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 7-17. More films to be presented at the festival will be announced on August 9, 2017.

Source: Toronto International Film Festival

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

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.