“Deep sea”, an innovator made in China animation The film that has played on the international festival circuit throughout this year will be released in North American theaters later this month.
The theatrical rights were acquired by living movies from Holland-Porcelain sales company Fortissimo Films. Viva plans a release on November 24 with dubbed versions in Chinese and English and a PG13 certificate.
The fantasy adventure tells the story of Shenxiu, a girl who has felt deep sadness since she was abandoned by her mother. During a family cruise, she falls into the sea and breaks into the Deep Sea restaurant, where she meets the inventive underwater chef Nanhe and embarks on a journey between dreams and reality.
“Deep Sea” is a 3D animation directed by Tian Xiaopeng (“Monkey King: Hero is Back”) and produced by YI Qiao (“Nezha”) through October Pictures and Coloroom. Tian and his team developed a particle-based CG technique, creating 3D images from abstract Indian ink paintings.
The film was released commercially in China in January, in time for the peak Chinese New Year holiday season, and grossed about $133 million. It was then presented at the Berlin Film Festival and had other dates at the Neuchatel, Melbourne and London festivals.
In North America it premiered at the Tribeca festival before also appearing at the Philadelphia and Fantasia (Montreal) events.
Fortissimo was previously licensed for release in France (via distributor KMBO), Italy (Lucky Red), Germany (Leonine Studios), Turkey, United Arab Emirates (Sky Entertainment) and Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia (Aike Limited).
Watch the North American trailer here.
