French animation specialist Futurikon plans its first live action feature.
First-time writer-director Brahim Fritah is to direct Paris-based animation house Futurikon’s second feature, the $2.8m (€2m)-budgeted Playground Stories.
Drawn from the author’s childhood memories, Playground Stories focuses on the daily life of Brahim’s Morroccan family in the Paris suburbs during the early 1980s.
Futurikon CEO Philippe Delarue is producing the feature, with actor-composer Philippe Katerine playing the director of a local school and first-time actor Yanis Bahloul cast as the young Brahim.
The six-week shoot will start in July 2011.
Jour2Fete is distributing in France with Futurikon handling sales. Funding came from the CNC and the Basse-Normandie Region.
Futurikon’s first feature, the animated family fantasy Dragon Hunters sold in over 30 territories and has grossed $10.5m since its release in 2008. The integrated production and sales outfit recently secured further 2011 releases for the film in Italy (MovieOn), Portugal (Lusomundo) and Iceland (SamFilm).
Futurikon was founded in 1996 by Delarue and has mainly produced animated TV series and documentaries. Delarue is currently working on a feature adaptaion of the company’s popular animated TV series Miniscule, to be directed by the series’ director Thomas Szabo.
The company will be selling the second season of TV series Minisucle at this year’s MIPTV.
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