CANNES: Independent leads Bollywoof to market

UK sales outfit Independent will introduce buyers to family feature A Bollywoof Tale at the Cannes marche.

Racing Stripes and Underdog director Frederik Du Chau will direct Stephen Leslie’s script, with Triangle and Severance producer Jason Newmark on board to produce alongside Nisha Parti.

A Bollywoof Tale tells the story of pet Spaniel Basil, whose comfortable family life in London is disrupted by a family move to Delhi. After his crate is misplaced at Heathrow, Basil arrives on the other side of India in Kolkata.

With the help of a cunning street dog and a Holy cow, Basil sets off on a whirlwind adventure across India in the hope of reuniting with his family.

The film is due to be shot as live action in London and India in early 2015. Cast has yet to be attached.

Newmark, who developed the project with the BFI, also collaborated with Parti on 2014 horror Honour.

Independent managing director Andrew Orr said: “We are delighted to be working with Frederik and Jason. From the start we could see that it was a family movie of rare charm and energy. Given its Indian setting it also offers a totally fresh take on the genre and Frederik, with his vast experience in this field, is the ideal director to bring it to life”.  

Newmark said: “I had been on a recce in Kolkata two years ago, looking out the car window as we sat in yet more traffic, when I saw a street dog weaving his way through the traffic like an expert. I wondered just how long my own dog would last in Kolkata if left to her own devices. That was the beginning of A Bollywoof Tale.”

Director Du Chau is simultaneously attached to family film The Krostons, based on the comic books of Paul Deliege, for which Frederik wrote the screenplay and has Mark Ordesky and Jane Fleming producing and Salma Hayek attached as the lead.

Chau’s 2005 family feature Racing Stripes grossed more than $90m worldwide.