Shout! Studios Secures North American Rights To Highly Anticipated Motion Picture COPPELIA Starring Michaela DePrince

Shout! Studios and Urban Distribution International Enter Film Distribution Deal

Shout! Studios, the multi-platform filmed entertainment distribution and production arm of Shout! Factory, and Urban Distribution International (UDI) have entered into an exclusive deal to distribute upcoming feature COPPELIA in the United States and Canada. Shout! Studios has secured all North American distribution rights to COPPELIA, including digital, video-on-demand, broadcast, theatrical, and home entertainment for cross-platform releases in the U.S. and Canada, and is planning a strategic launch of the feature across all major entertainment platforms in 2021.

COPPELIA combines enchanting animation and live action dance in a modern retelling of the love story between Swan and Franz, jeopardized by cosmetic surgeon Dr. Coppelius and his uncannily beautiful protégé Coppelia. The feature is produced by award-winning creators Submarine (Undone, Amazon Prime), and 3 Minutes West in co-production with MotionWorks and Lunanime. COPPELIA is directed by Jeff Tudor, Steven de Beul and Ben Tesseur, choreographed by the Director of Dutch National Ballet Ted Brandsen with original music from Maurizio Malagnini (Call the Midwife, Peter and Wendy). Urban Distribution International handles sales for the project.

World-renowned ballerina Michaela DePrince (Take Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina) leads an impressive international cast that includes dancers Daniel Camargo (Brazil), San Francisco Ballet star Sasha Mukhamedov (U.K.), Vito Mazzeo (Italy), Irek Mukhamedov (Russia) and English prima ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell. The announcement was made today by Melissa Boag, Shout’s Senior Vice President of Family Entertainment, and Louise Ronzet, Head of Sales at Urban Distribution International.

"We are incredibly excited about this new collaboration with UDI. This unique movie delivers a show-stopping visual presentation of a timeless tale. The extraordinary talent and creativity behind this production deliver a film that is sure to win the hearts of movie goers and captivate fans of animation and the arts," stated Melissa Boag, Senior Vice President of Family Entertainment.

“As sales agents, we immediately fell in love with this smart, modernized version of the world-famous ballet. COPPELIA conveys messages of body positivity and self-acceptance, which are essential to challenge our appearance-obsessed culture and standardization of beauty through social media. We have no doubt this will appeal to all families and we are thrilled to have Shout on board” says Louise Ronzet, Head of International Sales at UDI.

The deal was negotiated by Shout’s Jordan Fields, Vice President of Acquisitions and Louise Ronzet at UDI.

COPPELIA will be distributed by Square One in German-speaking territories and Periscoop Film in Benelux. Both are planning a release in Q4 2021.