Andrea Arnold’s ‘Bird’ Takes Flight With Global Distribution Deals

Scott Roxborough
·1 min read
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Andrea Arnold’s Bird is soaring to new heights, securing distribution deals worldwide following its successful premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Cornerstone Films, which is handling international sales, confirmed the coming-of-age drama has been picked up across several major territories including Germany (MFA), Italy (Lucky Red), Spain (Avalon), Japan (New Select), and South Korea (Challan). Cornerstone also struck with Benelux, Scandinavia, Latin America, and others. Arthouse streamer Mubi previously picked up the rights for Bird for North America, in a deal co-repped between Cornerstone and CAA Media Finance, as well for the U.K., Ireland, and Turkey. Ad Vitam is releasing the film in France.

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Newcomer Nykiya Adams stars in Bird as Bailey, a 12-year-old girl living in a squat in North Kent with her single dad (Barry Keoghan) and brother (Jason Buda), who is struggling to protect her younger siblings and herself from domestic violence while seeing connection something she finds in an off-beat relationship with a strange outsider known only as Bird (Franz Rogowski).

Arnold (Fish Tank, Red Road) wrote and directed Bird as a House Productions film with Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Lee Groombridge producing. The film was backed by BBC Film, the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Pinky Promise, FirstGen Content and Access Entertainment.

The British filmmaker, who this year received the Carrosse d’Or, or Golden Coach Award, from the Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight sidebar, called Bird “the hardest film I ever made.” It marks her first feature since 2016’s American Honey. In between she directed the documentary Cow, which premiered in Cannes three years ago.

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