Chinese animation ‘The Girl Who Stole Time’ clocks up global deals

EXCLUSIVE: Fortissimo Films has closed distribution deals in key territories for The Girl Who Stole Time, a Chinese animated feature that played at Annecy last month.

Rights for the film have been acquired for Latin America (Cine Canibal), Spain (Mar-Mitako), India (Cine Alliance) and inflight (Kairos Distribution). Cine Canibal previously distributed prestige animation titles including Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Hero and Oscar-winner Flow.

The Girl Who Stole Time opened in China on May 30, where it has taken $26m at the box office to date.

After receiving its international premiere at Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it is set to make its North American premiere at the upcoming Fantasia International Film Festival.

The story follows a girl from a fishing village who gains the power to stop time with a coveted magical device. She embarks on an adventure with new friends through a fantastical metropolis but must eventually face the consequences of her powers.

It marks the directorial debut of acclaimed screenwriters Yu Ao and Zhou Tienan. The voice cast is led by Liu Xiaoyu, known for voicing characters in Netflix series Arcane, and Wang Junkai of 2016’s The Great Wall. Further cast include Zhou Shen, singer of the Chinese theme song for Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume.

Producers are Sun Lingyu and Zhang Xuan, and the feature is produced by Maoyan Entertainment, a leading Chinese online film ticketing platform and finance-production-distribution studio.

Amsterdam and Beijing-based sales company Fortissimo handles worldwide sales excluding China. Recent titles on the company’s slate includes Li Yang’s Escape From The 21st Century, which played at Toronto; Shen Jie’s The Umbrella Fairy, which screened at Fantasia; and Tian Xiaopeng’s animation Deep Sea, which was selected for Berlin before going on to play Tribeca, Annecy and Tokyo.

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