"This is exactly what we are looking for!"
Sophie Boe of Canal+, France, was delighted. The cause was producer Thomas Borch Nielsen's presentation, at Cartoon Forum, of the animated feature "Marco Macaco" together with a proposed series of 52 six-minute episodes for television.
The protagonist of the film and the TV series, "Marco Macaco", is a charming monkey who works as a beach officer on a tropical island populated by singing and dancing monkeys. He reunites with his childhood sweetheart and falls in love all over again, that is, until the film's villain, Carlo, who is building a casino right on Marco's beach, steals her affections and launches a sinister plot to become the island's president.
"Marco Macaco", the feature, will open in Denmark on 11 October, after three years in the making. In 2008 director Jan Rahbek won the Nordic Talent Pitch Prize awarded by the Nordic-Baltic film schools for his film project.
The TV series has been sold to Canal+, and Zodiak has come in as the sales agent.
The director's penchant for monkeys is also seen in his graduation film, Space Monkeys.
Marco Macaco
Director Jan Rahbek
Screenplay Jan Rahbek, Thomas Borch Nielsen
Production Thomas Borch Nielsen for Nice Ninja Productions
International sales Sola Media