Vice has signed a global licensing agreement for director and producer Jason Loftus’ “Eternal Spring: The Heist of China Airwaves”, entering Canada in the International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards.
Sales agent Sideways Film, which represents production on behalf of Lofty Sky Entertainment, has registered local deals for the film with Arte for France and Germany, RTS for Switzerland, VG for Norway, Current Time for Russian in the European regions and Al Jazeera Doc for the Middle East and North Africa.
Through the lens of popular comic book artist Daxiong (“Justice League”), the documentary explores a plot by Falun Gong followers in China to infiltrate state television and expose oppression.
It is the first documentary, first animated film, and first Mandarin language film to be selected by Canada for Academy Awards. Since the film’s premiere in Thessaloniki in March, the film has gone on to garner numerous accolades, including two major Hot Docs awards.
The film will open theatrically in Canada on September 23 and at the Film Forum in New York on October 14, with a global theatrical expansion following.
“This is an important movie that covers many important topics of vice censorship, creativity, religious freedom, and displacement — all done in some of the most amazing animations I’ve ever seen,” said Brendan Kennedy, Vice President of Development at Vice News. “We are fortunate to have this on our list.”
Loftus added: “In the nearly six years of making Eternal Spring, our goal has always been to share this incredible story with the widest possible audience. Vice’s Short List with Suroosh Alvi offers an excellent list of politically engaged documents and deep conversations on an accessible platform. This, along with our fall theatrical release and international broadcast, will provide the impact we seek for the film and its gritty themes.”
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