Indiecan Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Sunshine, the Filipino drama that won the Crystal Bear for best film in the Generation 14plus section of this year’s Berlin film festival.
The deal also covers remake rights to the film and an English-language adaptation is set to be directed by Indiecan’s Avi Federgreen, with Federgreen Entertainment and Michaelangelo Masangkay’s Sine Media Inc producing.
Written and directed by Filipino filmmaker Antoinette Jadaone, Sunshine stars Maris Racal in the story of a young gymnast who discovers she is pregnant as she prepares for national team tryouts. Producers are Dan Villegas, Geo Lomuntad and Bianca Balbuena.
The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto festival and is set to screen at upcoming festivals in Taipei, Malaysia and Seoul.
Indiecan is planning a North American theatrical and digital release in the fourth quarter of this year.
The deal, revealed this week at Cannes, was done in collaboration with Project 8 Projects, Anima Studios, Cloudy Duck Pictures, Happy Infinite and Siné Media Inc.
Jadaone commented: “I am beyond honored that our film Sunshine, a film deeply rooted in the Filipino experience, has finally found its North American home. At its heart, this is a story about young women navigating a world that often denies them agency. While the film unfolds in the Philippines, its themes - reproductive justice, societal failure, the fight for choice - resonate globally. That we announce this milestone at Cannes is a moment of immense pride for the Sunshine team.”
Federgreen added: “From the moment Sunshine was introduced to me many months ago, I knew I wanted to share this warm-hearted and genuine story with North American audiences, whilst searching for my next film to direct as a follow-up to my passion project Home Free. Sunshine is that film.”
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