GFM boards Hear My Voice

Just before Berlin, London-based production, financing and sales outfit GFM has announced it is to handle international sales on Thorsten Schmidt’s new $6m feature Hear My Voice, produced by Nils Dunker of Lailaps Pictures.

The film comes billed as an Israeli “Slumdog Millionaire“-story, a modern fairytale about a brave young Palestinian girl who overcomes political and cultural barriers in order to live her dream. She has a beautiful voice. Her ticket to stardom is competing in a TV talent show.

Hear My Voice is English-language and is due to shoot later this year for delivery in the summer of 2015. Casting is underway.

At the EFM, GFM, the company run by industry veterans Guy Collins, Michael Ryan and Fred Hedman, is also continuing sales on big budget Japanese sci-fi animated adventure Harlock: Space Pirate.

Italian distributor Lucky Red released on Jan 1 and, according to GFM, has achieved 611,000 admissions and $6.9m box office. Ocean Films Distribution launched the film in France on Dec 25 and to date it has achieved 710,000 admissions and $8.4m box office.

GFM now has a re-edited English language version of the film for the international marketplace and is looking to close some of the remaining major territories, among them the UK, Germany and the US.

In the run-up to the EFM, GFM has already closed some major pre-sales on Absolutely Anything, its new comedy directed by Terry Jones, starring Simon Pegg and featuring the voices of Monty Python legends John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Jones and Michael Palin, along with Robin Williams.

The film, due to shoot in late March, has  gone to Svensk for Scandinavia and Icon for Australia among other territories.