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GKIDS Acquires ‘Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’

Co-written and directed by Salvador Simó, and produced by Manuel Cristobal, ‘Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles’ received the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Animation Is Film Festival.

NEW YORK -- GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of animation for adult and family audiences, announced it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the animated feature Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles. GKIDS will release the film theatrically next year.

Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles made its world premiere at this year’s Animation Is Film Festival, garnering a Special Jury Prize for its innovative handling of unexpected subject matter. From the Glow Animation/Sygnatia and Submarine animation studios, the film was co-written and directed by Salvador Simó, and produced by Manuel Cristobal. Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles captures an early moment in the career of master surrealist filmmaker Luis Buñuel and his friend and new benefactor Ramón Acin, who set out to make the unexpected and ambitious documentary on the Las Hurdes region in Spain. The film is sold worldwide by Latido Films, and the all-rights deal was negotiated by GKIDS’ CEO and Founder Eric Beckman and Latido Films’ Antonio Saura.

“Luis Buñuel constantly pushed the visual and storytelling boundaries of cinema,” said GKIDS President David Jesteadt. “It’s only fitting that the story of such a unique and legendary artist would be told through animation, in a wonderful film that uses the medium to its full potential.”

Here’s the official synopsis:

In a stranger-than-fiction tale befitting the master surrealist filmmaker, Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles tells the true story of how Luis Buñuel made his second movie. Paris, 1930. Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel are main figures of the Surrealist movement, but Buñuel is left penniless after a scandal surrounding his film L’Age d’Or. However, his good friend, the sculptor Ramón Acín, buys a lottery ticket with the promise that, if he wins, he will pay for his next film. Incredibly, luck is on their side, and so they set out to make the movie, an ambitious documentary on the Las Hurdes region in Spain. Both a buddy adventure and fascinating episode of cinematic history, Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles presents a deeply affecting and humanistic portrait of an artist hunting for his purpose.

Source: GKIDS

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.