PRESS RELEASE
Australian/China co-pro ‘Sneezing Baby Panda – The Movie’ a feature length live action mockumentary based on the viral YouTube hit of the same name has landed a North American all rights deal following its highly successful launch at the American Film Market in LA in November.
Sam Eigen, Executive VP of Shoreline Entertainment, the film’s ROW sales agent based in LA said “Shoreline Entertainment is thrilled to be a part of the international phenomenon that is the Sneezing Baby Panda. Working with partners like Viva Pictures in the US, we look forward to bringing the heart-warming origin story of this furry internet sensation to audiences around the world.”
‘Sneezing Baby Panda – The Movie’ is the brainchild of Australian wildlife filmmakers Lesley Hammond and Jenny Walsh who produced, wrote and directed the film. It tells the story of a young biologist (played by Amber Clayton) who, desperate to save her struggling zoo from being closed down, embarks on a quest to find the most famous panda on the planet, the Internet sensation ‘Sneezing Baby Panda’.
It’s been a busy month for ‘Sneezing Baby Panda – The Movie’ which has just been selected to screen at The Big Picture Festival in Sydney. Mark Spratt of Potential Films which is distributing the film in Australia and NZ says ‘’Potential Films is delighted to be working on Sneezing Baby Panda which is slated to open in limited release in Australia in early May and in New Zealand in early March. It’s a widely appealing film for all ages especially animal lovers. Mixing breathtaking documentary style footage of pandas atop China’s serene mountains with live action, Sneezing Baby Panda serves up a highly enjoyable big screen experience.”
‘It’s a mockumentary’ says Walsh ‘ it pretty much spoofs everything, wildlife films, particularly the old fashioned ‘voice of God’ style nature programs, ‘quest’ films plus the notion that captive animals can be returned to ‘the wild’! In most cases it just doesn’t happen!’
‘But there’s also an underlying bullying message’ adds Hammond, ‘ throughout the film Sneezing Baby Panda’s nemesis is a panda called Thug Tao, he’s an ogre! But in the end Chi Chi (the Sneezing Baby Panda) realises he needs to stand up for himself and seek help. Subliminal, we didn’t want to preach, but the message is there.’
The iconic Sneezing Baby Panda video clip which is owned by Walsh and Hammond is one of the most recognised video clips on the internet. They are Australia’s most experienced China producers having made eleven productions across the country since 1993. They also have the somewhat bizarre distinction of having made more films about the giant panda than any producer on the planet!