Fragrant Nature Film Creations is making its first foray into international acquisitions, picking up Indian rights to the Oscar-nominated French animated feature “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” from Paris-based Goodfellas Animation.
The Kochi, Kerala-based banner acquired all Indian rights excluding airline to the film, which marks the launch of a dedicated acquisitions and distribution arm at the company.
Helmed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, the Maybe Movies and Ikki Films production is based on Amélie Nothomb’s novel “The Character of Rain” (“Métaphysique des tubes”). The film bowed at Cannes and went on to rack up nominations at the Oscars, BAFTAs, Golden Globes, Annie Awards and Critics Choice Awards in the best animated feature category. It also claimed the Audience Award at Annecy.
“The look and feel owes an obvious debt to the beloved films of Studio Ghibli, which have offered some of the most iconic representations of wartime Japan and its long, fraught recovery period,” said the Variety review of the film. “’Little Amélie’ starts from a place of (mostly endearing) solipsism and builds empathy and emotional depth as it goes.”
The acquisition was brokered by FNFC’s in-house team of Riya Rajiv, head of film operations, and Sidharth S. Nair, sales and acquisitions coordinator, with Goodfellas Animation’s Jason Bressand on the sales side.
“This acquisition represents a strategic step as we build a curated international slate alongside our production pipeline,” said Anne Sajeev, managing director and producer at FNFC. “We see strong potential for high-quality global animation in the Indian market.”
“Little Amélie” will have its Indian premiere at Annecy-backed Indian animation festival AniMela at Whistling Woods International in Mumbai on Feb. 22, with a broader national release to follow.
Best known for producing the Mohanlal and Anupam Kher-fronted drama “Pranayam” (2011) and crime procedural “Golam” (2024), FNFC is currently in post-production on vampire action pic “Half” (2026), starring Ranjith Sajeev, Aiswarya Raj and Amala Paul. Further acquisition announcements are expected in the months ahead.
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