Latest Hand-Painted Animated Feature from Award-Winning Directors
Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach
A 2023 Cannes ACID Selection, Now Playing in Competition at the
Annecy International Animation Festival
GKIDS, celebrating its 15th anniversary as a producer and distributor of award-winning and artist-driven animation from around the world, announced today it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the hand-painted animated drama-comedy CHICKEN FOR LINDA! (Linda veut du poulet!), which will play in-competition at this year’s Annecy International Film Festival. CHICKEN FOR LINDA! was an official Cannes selection in this year’s ACID program, and was previously teased at a sold-out Work-in-Progress session at last year’s Annecy International Film Festival.
The film is directed by husband-and-wife team Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach, who work together frequently on both live action and animation productions. Chiara Malta maintains a body of work primarily in live-action filmmaking, and is best known for her feature Simple Women (co-wrote with Laudenbach). Acclaimed short filmmaker Sébastien Laudenbach is best known for his Annecy Jury Prize-winning feature debut The Girl Without Hands.
GKIDS will release CHICKEN FOR LINDA! theatrically in 2024, following a domestic release in France this October. International sales are represented by Charades. GKIDS and Charades previously collaborated on local distribution rights for past Academy Award® nominee Mirai and hit film Belle, this year’s Unicorn Wars and more. The acquisition marks the next partnership between GKIDS and Sébastien Laudenbach, following GKIDS’ local distribution of the Annecy and César award-winning feature The Girl Without Hands.
“Chicken For Linda! is a breath of fresh air in animation,” said GKIDS’ President David Jesteadt. “Through pairing such a unique and daring visual style with a deeply emotional and universal story about family, directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach have given us something both timeless and new, that we cannot wait to share.”
“It’s a blessing and a privilege to be part of the highly curated line up of GKIDS,” said Yohann Comte of Charades. “They committed immediately after seeing the film, which is exceptional given the challenges of the US theatrical market today. After the Oscar-nominated Mirai, Marona’s Fantastic Journey, Belle and Unicorn Wars, we couldn’t wish for a better partner than the GKIDS team!”
Synopsis
Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda immediately asks for a meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to make. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into this streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control, as Paulette does everything she can to keep her promise and find a chicken for Linda.
Directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach (The Girl Without Hands) unleash a unique visual marvel of hand-painted animation with bright, color-blocked characters, and a story that is an intoxicating blend of slapstick comedy, musical, and family drama, as Paulette and Nina ultimately confront the grief of an unspoken tragedy, and the meal that could finally bring them closer together.