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RELEASES France

StudioCanal launches Shaun the Sheep in over 500 theatres

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- With the excellent film by Aardman Studios, the European major is developing its strategy aimed at winning over family audiences

StudioCanal launches Shaun the Sheep in over 500 theatres
Shaun the Sheep by Mark Burton and Richard Starzak

In the wake of the global success experienced by Paddington [+see also:
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(which has grossed over $240 million), StudioCanal is today releasing the animated film Shaun the Sheep [+see also:
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by Mark Burton and Richard Starzak in 521 French theatres. This new, highly creative production by English outfit Aardman Studios was funded by the French group (which also has a presence in Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and which opened an office in Los Angeles in January). This partnership is very much appreciated by Peter Lord, a co-founder of Aardman, following five features produced with DreamWorks and Sony: “It’s rather humiliating, as an Englishman and a European, to have to constantly keep fitting in with American culture. But with Shaun the Sheep, when there was a gag or a nod that we really liked, we felt we were being encouraged to keep it in, without having to ask ourselves if it would work for a viewer from the Midwest! I will always fight for our films to be distributed in the USA, and I really want them to be successful over there, but we consider ourselves first and foremost as European creators.” This style is fine-tuned to perfection in Shaun the Sheep, which capitalises, with impressive ease, on the total lack of any dialogue as the film whisks us away on an entertaining adventure. 

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Also coming out this Wednesday are the Berlinale competition entry Diary of a Chambermaid [+see also:
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by Benoît Jacquot (starring Léa Seydoux and Vincent Lindon in the leads – read the reviewMars Distribution in 161 cinemas) in addition to two undeniably charming features: Arnaud fait son 2ème film [+see also:
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by and starring Arnaud Viard (produced for €500,000 and based on the filmmaker’s life – distributed by ARP Sélection across 86 screens), and Les châteaux de sable [+see also:
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by Olivier Jahan (starring Emma de Caunes in the lead role – read the articleLa Belle Company in 150 theatres). Also of note is Cerise [+see also:
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by Jérôme Enrico (who caused a sensation in 2013 with Paulette [+see also:
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), a comedy about a teenage girl (Zoé Adjani) who is sent off on a trip to Ukraine by her mother so that she can stay at her father’s place (produced by Légende, distributed by Gaumont in 153 cinemas). 

The jam-packed list of new releases also includes the comedy The Priest’s Children [+see also:
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by Croatian director Vinko Bresan (read the review and watch the video interview), which is being brought out by Wide (a company that is taking the opportunity to try its hand at theatrical distribution) across 49 screens.

Lastly of note are the Franco-Tunisian co-production Le Challat de Tunis [+see also:
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interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
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by Kaouther Ben Hania (watch the video interview), Ningen by Turkish filmmaker Çagla Zencirci and French director Guillaume Giovanetti (Aramis Films in four theatres), which plunges audiences into Japan, the British-Franco-Belgian feature Suite française [+see also:
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by Saul Dibb (starring Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas and Belgian actor Matthias SchoenaertsUGC Distribution in 274 cinemas) and the British-US co-production The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [+see also:
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by John Madden (Twentieth Century Fox), not to mention the British documentary Pulp : A Film about Life, Death & Supermarkets [+see also:
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by Florian Habicht, Compostelle, le chemin de la vie [+see also:
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by Freddy Mouchard and Alive! by Vincent Boujon.

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(Translated from French)

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