The Luxembourg co-production The Breadwinner, an animated feature film produced by Melusine Productions as well as Cartoon Saloon (Ireland) and Aircraft Pictures (Canada), will feature Angelina Jolie Pitt as Executive Producer; the film will be directed by Nora Twomey, the co-director of the Oscar-nominated film The Secret of Kells.
The Breadwinner is based on the young adult novel of the same name by Canadian author Deborah Ellis and tells the story of Parvana, a young girl living under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, who must disguise herself as a boy and become the breadwinner of the family when her father is unfairly imprisoned.
The Breadwinner is very close to Jolie's heart. She funds a girls' school in Afghanistan and her own children have read The Breadwinner. According to Nora Twomey, who met the actress recently to discuss the project, Jolie has been keen for some time to make a film of the book.
"Millions of young girls like Parvana are growing up today under oppression or conflict, and helping their families to survive in those conditions. This story is a reminder of the immense value of their contribution," Jolie Pitt said. "I am delighted to be working with a talented team of artists who I know will do justice to the richness, creativity and strength of Afghan culture and to little girls like Parvana."
The novel has been published by Groundwood Books for over 15 years and is recommended reading in numerous middle schools throughout the States, Canada and Europe. Author Deborah Ellis recently completed My Name is Parvana, the fourth book in the series which has cumulative sales exceeding 2.5 million copies across 25 languages. Ellis has reportedly donated more than $1 million from her book royalties to the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan charity, and Jolie Pitt has stated she will donate any profits derived from her executive producer role in The Breadwinner towards education for Afghan girls.
The film is currently casting and in pre-production and is due for completion in early 2017. It was developed with support from Telefilm Canada, the Irish Film Board, the Film Fund Luxembourg, Corus Entertainment, the Harold Greenberg Fund and the Belinda Stronach Foundation. Following the Oscar nomination for The Secret of Kells from The Cartoon Soloon, Tom Moore, Gerry Shirren and Paul Young of Cartoon Saloon are all involved in the production of the film; Luxembourg's Stephan Roelants of Melusine Productions and Studio 352 were heavily involved in Ernest and Celestine which also received an Oscar nomination at last year's awards. Both animation studios also worked together on the other Oscar-nominated film Song of the Sea.
One of the questions is will Angelina Jolie Pitt herself come to Luxembourg or Ireland to voice one of the characters.
